LONG BEACH -- PART ONE

 International Quilt Festival returned to Long Beach, CA in early August. It is a beautiful location--I was there for the previous 6 shows, the last time 10 years ago. The weather is spectacular, especially for us Southerners--70 degrees, sunny, low humidity and ocean breezes. Pretty sweet.

The Queen Mary is docked in Long Beach but is not currently open to the public:

The Convention Center is a very nice facility and there are lots of restaurants and attractions right close by: 

As usual at Festival, there are amazing quilts and terrific vendors. Just a few photos to give you an idea.

This New York Beauty is by Nancy Roelfsema and she displayed it during her Open Studios presentation on how to improve your free motion quilting:

Superior Threads--I did some damage here: 

There are more than  quilting supplies to buy: 

I was most excited to see the Special Exhibit of Wood Quilts by Judy Murrah's son, Troy. His art is amazing and Judy would be so proud of him and how he has combined her love of quilts with his sense of design using found wood of various types: 

Troy Murrah

This version of Color My World, the 2021 Block of the Month for The Quilt Show, designed by Wendy Williams, was included in the Special Exhibit A Celebration of Color:

The vendors had lots to see also. This booth, Sewing Party, was so colorful: 

Before the show opened the first day I was taking photos while I could. This booth caught my eye because of the Color My World top on display--the patterns are now for sale: 

I was impressed with the center, very well done:

Rachel Mayfield is the maker and this is her booth. She was astonished to see me taking a photo of her quilt. As a Star Member of The Quilt Show she knew immediately who I was and thanked me profusely for the videos/blogs/Forum help that helped her make this top in a very short time, getting ready for Festival. Well done, Rachel!

Another Star Member of The Quilt Show came to say hello, Linda Jahraus. I noticed the ribbon on her badge which showed she had a quilt in the Special Exhibit The 1876 Centennial Quilt Encore! I made a point to find her quilt and here it is, Amazing work! There were about a dozen of these in the exhibit, done by a group of friends around the country: 

After my Education office duties were done each morning, I gave Open Studio presentations on the show floor. Free, two-hour demos, four going on at the same time, this is a chance to learn something, no cost, no sign-up needed, just stop by and sit awhile. I gave two presentations on Thursday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. This gives you an idea of the set up:

Over the week I was there, many members of The Quilt Show recognized me, and came by to say hello. Many were eager to show me their Block of the Month quilts and I was eager to see them. Kayla V came to several of my Open Studio presentations and got some ideas, especially for how she can incorporate quilting with  her Girl Scout troop. I insisted we get a photo:

There were more than 500 quilts and LOTS of vendors so this is just a taste. I hope you are making plans to come to Houston in November 2022--the biggest and best Quilt Festival in the world. I'll be there!

Because there is more to share, look for Long Beach -- Part Two in a few days.

Let's quilt.

Barbara