International Quilt Festival 2019-the People

While there are thousands of quilts to see, and thousands of vendors to shop, the most important part of the Houston experience for me is the People.

Many years ago I worked as the buyer of my local quilt shop, where I still teach, and went to Market in that role. I looked forward to seeing my favorite sales reps, most of whom are now retired.

Today I go to Houston as one of the Education Show Team. There are 23 of us currently, 4 employees of Quilts Inc. and 19 "volunteers". We come from all over the country: Arkansas and Alabama, Kansas and Colorado, Tennessee and Texas.

Here are a few of the team photos we took with our daily garments, taken at our 6:55 AM daily meeting:

Marica Barker, far left, Suzanne Hyland, far right

As the week goes by, accumulated fatigue sets in, but, as you can see, we are all still upright and vertical--for the most part.

The Market Team arrives 5 days before the Festival folks--we get the office ready and everything in place to welcome the Faculty of 133 we had this year:

Jill and Vickie missing here

Vicki and Barbara missing here--it is hard to get all of us in the room at the same time

The first full day I deal exclusively with Faculty Freight--trying to keep it all straight as each box is brought in, found on the freight sheets, tallied on my master spreadsheet then placed alphabetically, more or less. This room was packed full of boxes by the end of the day. Just call me the "box whisperer":

This year we welcomed a wonderful new member to the Education Staff--Suzanne Hyland was recently named Director of Education and Industry Relations for Quilts Inc. She is stepping in as Marcia Barker, the current VP for Education, is retiring after many years working with the Education Team. I am so sorry I did not get a photo of them together--other than this "it's all over dinner" shot. Suzanne is second from the left, Marcia is second from the right:

I met Suzanne a couple years ago when we were teaching at Road 2 CA. Spending 13 days with her in Houston was a treat and she will be a real asset to Quilts Inc. in general and Education specifically. Welcome onboard, Suzanne!

When Marcia told me last May she was retiring I thought I should make her a quilt. Then I realized I had several under construction--she could pick the one she wanted and I would work hard to get it done by October. She picked Sizzle--HOT!:

It took some doing, but I put my best quilting into this and got it done on time. It hung in the Education office until it was time to go home with her. I will miss this quilt, but not as much as I'll miss Marcia, having worked with her for almost all of the 21 years I have worked for Quilts Inc. on the Education Show Team. She stepped in when we lost Judy Murrah, and has led us forward the past two years. Best wishes for a long and fruitful "retirement"--whatever that is.

At the Faculty Appreciation luncheon, Ricky Tims snapped a photo of our table--I keep  good company:

Seeing the gang from The Quilt Show is always good. This year we revealed the 2020 Block of the Month: Afternoon Delight, a Sue Garman pattern. The event was aired on Facebook Live--check this out if you missed it:

The Big Reveal

Another highlight of this trip was the reunion with my "longest" friend, not "oldest" friend: Eileen Williams. We grew up in the same Philadelphia neighborhood, K-12 together. After college she joined the Navy and I joined the Marine Corps. We both married Marine Lieutenants from Alabama, both had sons, both became passionate quiltmakers and are both still happily married. Her work as a Fabric Artist is much different from mine but we speak the same language. Hard to believe it has been 5 years since the last visit--when she helped me celebrate the Ruby Jubilee. Here we are at a nice restaurant, Indianola:

I took time to say hello to Betsy Chutchian, another quilter friend I admire. She will be coming to my guild June 2020--we planned it for a time when I will be at home:

Another Faculty friend who is a real friend, is Jenny Lyon--we made time at the end of a very long day to visit with each other and learn more about our "real" lives, the life beyond quilting--no photo of us together but here is Jenny:

Many more people could be named as those I look forward to talking to each year--but you might accuse  me of name-dropping. I hope they know who they are. 

And to all of you who told me you follow this blog, or got help on Sizzle when you needed it, or are so eager to get started on Afternoon Delight: THANK YOU! Sometimes it can seem like I am talking to the wilderness--is anybody out there? It was very nice to know I have been helpful to some on their Joyful Journey. 

It's good to be home but I'm already looking forward to next October! If you haven't been to Houston, make next year the first. You will love it.

Let's quilt. 

Barbara