International Quilt Market & Festival - Houston

It was a whirlwind trip to Houston for both these events. First up was 'Market', the wholesale show where shop owners can buy EVERYTHING to fill their store shelves: fabrics, patterns, books, notions. Along with the buying part is a strong educational component called Schoolhouse. Shop owners can learn about business topics and unique ways to display and promote products. I attended a few of these presentations and learned a few things for my business too.

My friend Jane Sassaman was showcasing her new fabric line, Early Birds. Here are Jane and her 2 assistants during their Schoolhouse presentation. I especially love the Hepburn Apron they are wearing. It's a reversible apron, covers your 'backside', and has great pockets. The pattern is available from Jane's website.

And here is Lonni Rossie, deisgner for Andover Fabrics showing her 3-D floral quilt made with her new fabric line, Bubble and Swirl. She said she made large circles with the fabrics, gathered them in the centers and then attached them to the main quilt . There are lots of fluttery circles in each flower. 

Market (and International Quilt Festival which follows Market) is one of the largest conventions at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The vendor booths, quilt shows and classes FILL this 1.2 million square foot space!

The quilt shows are a wonderful showcase of quilts and other exhibits. I was fortunate to have 2 pieces accepted for this year's judged show, Quilts: A World of Beauty. 

First is Looking West, based on a photograph taken from Vancouver Island (and looking West!).

The second piece is Three Wee Figs, using scrape-painted fabrics. This was one of the techniques I taught the students in my Fibre Art Thursdays group at Calico Cupboard Quilt Shop. All the students are working on their pieces (and MORE) and we hope to have an exhibit of our work in 2012.

I stayed at the Hilton Americas hotel which is connected to the convention centre by a skybridge - very convenient for running back to the room to change shoes or grab a snack!  In the evening the trees across the street are beautifully lit.

This is the edge of a new greenspace that has been added to the area. Discovery Green was full of activity while we were in Houston, including the largest Zumba group I've ever seen!

I'll be posting more from Houston in the next couple of weeks so check back for more pictures of the quilts and many of my students at the Festival Classes.