International Quilt Festival, Houston

I have just returned from my whirlwind trip to International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston. I thought I would share a few of the highlights of my time at Festival.

The quilts - WOW! The quilt exhibits were awe inspiring. And some of my friends won top awards!

Here is Jane Sassaman with her quilt Illinois Album. Jane won the Baby Lock Master Award for Innovative Artistry. Jane is wearing a scarf showing her fabric designs. I love those fabrics and have been collecting them for many years. I think it's time to use some to make a quilt myself!

Jane and I taught at the Mayflower Guild retreat in Nova Scotia a few years ago. The other teacher at the retreat was Elaine Quehl. The 3 of us really connected at the retreat so I was thrilled that Elaine was also rewarded for her work in Houston. This is Curtain Call 2, First Place in the Art-Naturescapes category. 

 

The Best of Show award went to Melissa Sobotka for her piece Chihuly's Gondola. This was an amazing quilt!

You can see a complete list of the winners and photographs on the International Quilt Association website.

At Festival I taught 2 classes and demonstrated at the Saturday Sampler. Students learned my Give & Take Applique technique as they made a small Super Nova quilt.

Free Motion Studio was a full-day session to help students conquer their fear of machine quilting and improve their skills. Great job everyone!

My Sampler Session (a double ballroom with 20 demonstration tables and teachers throughout the space) was extremely well attended and I enjoyed meeting so many quilters and sharing my 2-for-1 fusing technique.  Thank you to my friend Jennifer who handled product sales during the session. It was so busy I didn't have time to take any photographs!

Of course, Festival also includes the opportunity to SHOP - at hundreds of booths with thousands of products and new ideas.  I didn't have a lot of time to shop but managed to find a few fabrics for new projects and some tools that I will be testing and reviewing.

Now it is back to the reality of home - meals to cook, pattern orders to ship and new pattern design deadlines on the horizon.  I have also scheduled time in my studio to work with the new tools and fabrics. I'll share my results soon.

Hope you are finding time to be creative too!