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| Orange You Glad I Got the Blues (left) and Spinning Stars (right) |
After years of telling myself that my quilts weren't Houston worthy, I put on my big girl pants and entered two of my quilts into International Quilt Association's Quilt Festival juried show. I was surprised and delighted when I learned that both quilts above were accepted!! I celebrated this milestone by planning my first trip to Houston Quilt Festival: Awesome Roommate-check! Hotel-check! Flight-check!
As I shared in this
video interview with Lyric Kinard, even after seeing lots of images of quilt festival on social media in years past, I was still overwhelmed by the sheer size and caliber of Quilt Festival!! Here are just a few snapshots featuring just 2-3 rows of almost 20 rows that make up the Vendor Mall (left) and a small slice of the Quilt display (right)!! It took us almost 2 full days to see all the quilt exhibits. Moreoever, I was really impressed with how well the quilt show is mounted. Each quilt is well lit and displayed to its full beauty!
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| Go Big or Go Home! |
By Friday, I finally made it over to the Vendor Mall side. While exploring the various vendors, I met up with some pretty amazing women who have played a significant role in my free-motion quilting journey:
- Hilary from Aurifil (left). She is my go-to for all things related to being an Aurifil Artisan and hooked me up with lots of thread for those taking my upcoming workshops!!
- Leah Day (top right) Her online classes and website have been instrumental in helping me to overcome my initial fears of free-motion quilting. She was a busy gal, but I just had to thank her in person for being such a fabulous teacher and inspiration!
- RaNae Merrill (bottom right) I was honored to have my quilt included in her Free Motion Mastery in a Month book. The experience gave me the courage to ween myself off of the Bernina Stitch Regular and explore new quilting designs!
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| Free Motion Fun |
Of course, I couldn't resist making a few fun purchases:
- Books signed by authors Cindy Grisdela and Sue Bleiweiss
- Fabrics including some digital prints, ombres, and Cherrywood (including the new Bob Ross Challenge bundle!) I guess I really like that one color palette as it matched my backpack perfectly!
- A new Juki free-motion quilting foot
Many thanks to my friend Gayle for packing an extra suitcase to help me transport my goodies back to San Jose, as my two large suitcases and I were heading off to San Fernando Valley next for a lecture/workshop!
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| Houston Haul |
While there was lots of quilting inspiration inside the two exhibit halls, there were some wonderful sights to be seen all around the convention center.
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| Convention Center Art |
As well as some spectacular lines and pattern to be discovered all around Houston's architectural scene.
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| Art in Architecture |
After 3.5 days, I found myself wandering aimlessly through the aisles: a sure sign that I had hit my saturation point. We left the convention center to get some fresh air and explore the surrounding area just before it started to rain again. We took it as a sign to head back to the hotel and get ready for our departing flights.
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| Quilt Festival Farewell |
In my next post, I will share pictures from the various quilt exhibits that intrigued me. Stay tuned!
Such fun reading your post which brought back memories of my first Houston experience oh so many years ago. I had a quilt in the show, was teaching 2 classes, and had my first Fairfield Fashion garment in that once prestigious show. I loved how you embraced the moments….they fly by so fast…enjoy!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! You had a whirlwind first-time experience at Houston with teaching, in addition to having two pieces in the show! Pretty impressive! And yes--I am already realizing how quickly moments fly by so fast. Thankful that I can always refer back to my blogging to help me remember my many wonderful adventures!!
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