Houston #3

Back to some quilts from the show at Houston. This will be my last Houston post because.. it's time to move on and talk about the present, not the past. (Real meaning = I'm feeling too lazy to keep posting a bunch of quilt photos.)

I really liked the Lion King exhibit -- a Cherrywood Fabrics challenge. Quilts were beautiful.

the Quilts Beyond Borders booth.. quilts for sale include this one by fellow Sunshine member Charlotte K. (I believe I saw two of hers for sale, but only photographed one), and one by me. The person sitting and smiling is Carla T., one of the regional reps. And Cousin Beth is there turning in some finished quilts for donating to kids.

Best of Show: Reflections of Cape Town by Cynthia England

Gammill Master Award for Contemporary Artistry: Unknown Man by Marina Landy and Maria Lucia Azara

If you ever get a chance to go to Houston, take time to go visit the Johnson Space Center. It's very interesting!

Houston, #2

Here are more quilts we enjoyed, and other things we did while in the Houston area:

Etoile by Serena Vrnak, quilted by Patricia Harrison - of Texas. The woman above, on the left, is the maker of the quilt, describing her work on it to the woman on the right.

a general look at the venue, a very small slice of the huge place that was full of quilts and people

City at the Bottom of the Sky by Virgnia Anda of California

Inside the Capitol Dome by Cheryl FitzGerald of New Mexico
You may have seen this one in a magazine. It was part of the "Textile Architecture" exhibit, as was the one above (City at the Bottom of the Sky). That exhibit was a nice one with many very creative quilts.

Pseudo Lunar Topography by Meggan Czapiga of Maryland
This was another cool exhibit - of moon quilts.

Last Quarter Moon by Ricki Selva of Virginia

Thread Challenge: In the Season of Flowers by Misik Kim of South Korea

Neon Challenge: Weekend by Martha Wolfe of California

Final Gifts by Steffanie Schwam of Massachusetts

a display of miniatures.. the finger is there to show scale

One of our friends had done research into the top twenty restaurants in Houston. She had a list, and each time we were on the hunt for eats, we checked her list and tried to find one that was relatively close to us. One night we tried hard to find a particular one, but couldn't get it show up on GPS. Finally we were attempting to find another one and seemed a little lost, when all of a sudden we looked to the left, and there was the first restaurant that we had not found in GPS! Turns out it had been spelled wrong in the GPS attempt. It looks quite humble but is in fact very delicious. Luckily for us, their largest crowds appear at lunch time, and we were there for dinner. We had the place almost to ourselves, so the staff gave us a tour of the barbecue pit. This is the oldest pit in Houston, built in 1935. They've got it down to a science now, cooking their meat on a wood fire, starting first near the fire and then moving it further away as it cooks. Food was delicious, and the special treatment we received made it even more fun. Pecan pie for dessert - my favorite!

You can see that it's old the way the bricks are bulging out.

Seriously, this was the best pecan pie I've ever eaten in a commercial establishment. My mom was known for her fabulous (perfect) pies; pecan was her specialty. So for me to say this was good is high praise indeed.

People dressed up in special outfits for the quilt show.

I Went to Houston, Y'All

I was very lucky to attend the International Quilt Festival in Houston this year. I was there with four friends for five days. What a blast! The quilt show is huge, fabulous, and a fun experience. The quilts were awesome and just kept going and going. More than once I thought I had seen them all, when I'd catch a glimpse of yet another aisle that I had not yet examined. I was so inspired! There were some great special exhibits and a huge variety of quilts. I am going to start right in and show you a few quilts. In the next few days I'll show you more and more, and also will tell you about the fun stuff we did (hint: we ate very well.) By the way, I got sick upon my return home, so it has taken me a while to get my pictures organized. Please enjoy some of the lovely quilts:

beautiful carpet in the skyway where we entered from a neighboring hotel

Age of Asparagus by Connie Fahrion of Texas

Geese in the Parking Lot by Phyllis Tarrant of North Carolina

Portrait Noir (a self portrait) by Trish Morris-Plise, quilted by Sandra Bruce of California

Mother and Children by Bodil Gardner of Denmark

Cross Woven by Victoria Findlay Wolfe of New York

White Lace on Red Velvet by Lauretta Crites of California

Source of Life by Hollis Chatelain of North Carolina (in the "Water is Life" exhibit)
I took one class while in Houston, and it was a class by Hollis Chatelain. It was a lecture/demo type of class. We watched her paint a face and then after the break she quilted on it (or a look-alike that was already dry). She is very talented, but it is probably not a technique I will ever do. I'm not comfortable with painting and would find it stressful to mix a lot of painting with quilting. A tiny bit? Yes.. I have tried and would like to do more. But I will never do large, gorgeous pieces like Chatelain's. I feel lucky to have witnessed her doing the process. Her quilts are awesome.

La Passacaglia by Sharon Burgess of Victoria, Australia

Here is someone in contortions to get just the perfect shot.

We ate lunch at the food court, and we bumped into this famous person... do you know who he is???

Yes, it's Rob of Man Sewing! You can see him on videos at Missouri Star Quilting. He's very friendly and lively, as you can see from these pictures.

That's it for now! I must go get my "put an end to this cough and cold" sleep.