INTERNATIONAL QUILT FESTIVAL HOUSTON 2025 PART 1

 I recently returned from a delightful 9 days in Houston TX, where I attended Quilt Market and taught at Quilt Festival. Here is a look at the Friends and Food. Next week I will show some of the Quilts. 

WARNING: very Photo HEAVY!

Hilton Americas is my favorite hotel. The view from my room:

The George R Brown Convention Center: 

Lovely welcome image:

My quilt clashes with the "art":

All set for 9 days of work and play:

The Hilton takes good care of me. I have stayed there for over 25 years, building relationships with many. I receive a lovely welcome gift from the General Manager, along with a handwritten note. The gift bag held amazing high end chocolates I took home to the husband. This is so appreciated:

Another person I adore and keep in touch with throughout the year is Brenda, the keeper of the Executive Lounge. No one does Hospitality better:

At Quilt Market I start at the Quilters Select booth to see my friend Alex Anderson:

I also meet up with her husband John, Mary Kay Davis and Kristin Goddert who are all busy taking lots of photos for The Quilt Show. No photos of us together, unfortunately. Mary Kay and Kristin and I enjoyed dinner at Pappadeaux, where we solved the problems of the world. Great food, sorry no pictures.

As I am in Houston for 9 days, planning meals is important. I start each day with a great breakfast:

The second day I walked to Phoenicia where I got a big salad and strawberries--this was dinner Sunday and lunch on Monday:

 Monday I hit the ground running: 6 classes and 2 Lectures would keep me busy all week. Day 1 was CHARMING SAMPLER, and the students did so well:

Tuesday was DISAPPEARING PATCHWORK. While my sample quilt is neutral, no student has ever made it in neutrals. I look forward to seeing the fabrics students use:

All the students blocks

Wednesday was SAMPLER in the morning. 30 teachers give continuous demos over two hours and the attendees move about the big room at their leisure, looking at whatever interests them. I had 7 TIPS to share and repeated the presentation at least 7 times. I LOVE Sampler because I always learn something valuable.

If you were there, here is a link to a couple of those fun TIPS, found in my TUTORIALS tab. There are many more good links there.   LINKS FOR STUDENTS:

All set and ready to go

My table ready for the first presentation

Wednesday afternoon I taught a 3 hour hand piecing class to 25 amazing students. Having a hand piecing project ready is a great way to make good use of your time. I kitted the class so there was little for the students to bring. Unfortunately, I took no photos of the class. As PREVIEW NIGHT started at 5 pm it turned out to be more like a 2.5 hour class--the students were ready to SHOP! 

Here is my ANTIQUE ROSE STAR BY HAND sample:

72 Kites make each star

Thursday was OH MY STARS!, the class that filled in 20 minutes the first day of enrollment. The students did so well! It's a lot to learn in 6 hours but they kept up:

I am teaching this next at EMPTY SPOOLS SEMINARS 2026. There are only a few spots left. Check out these posts to read about this MAGICAL experience:

EMPTY SPOOLS WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

MY EXPERIENCE 2025

Friday was my "easy" day, a Lecture at 10:15 am and a different Lecture at 4:30 pm. The audio/visual side went off without a hitch, and I enjoyed the events.

TIME MANAGEMENT FOR QUILTERS, about 200 attended:

Just some of the room

A QUILTERS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT, AKA Your Kids Don't Want Your Stuff.  I didn't get a photo of this event but there were about 100 there. It was 4:30 pm Friday. They were either tired, broke or interested in planning for the inevitable:

The rest of Friday I spent on the Show floor, looking at the quilts and the vendors. All I bought this week was a jacket and a sterling silver thimble.

Saturday was WESTERN SUN. I was thrilled and amazed to have several students back from earlier in the week. A couple took all 4 of my machine piecing classes! 

Janis from Australia was in a couple classes with me this week. She was very efficient with her time and was my "stunt double" a lot of the class, always ready with the next step. Tremendous job, Janis!

For me, much of FESTIVAL is about the PEOPLE. Here are a few of my favorites:

Friend and teacher Nina Clotfelter

Ricky Tims in front of his quilt THE VISITATION, Best of Show!

Hugo Dos Santos in front of his quilt EMILIA, made for his mother, he's a new quilter, on his way

With Hugo

Thursday night I was invited to "Show and Share" where a group of Lakeview Quilters show what they bought, along with booth numbers for those who want to buy that too. It is fun, I've attended several times before, and will be teaching for their guild in March 2026. A great group and the pecan pie was good too:

Friday night I attended Ricky Tims in Concert, a fabulous hour and a half performance: 

My Fitness Heroine, Jackie Kunkel, came by my classroom Saturday during the lunch break, so good to see her!

Saturday night I went to dinner with Ricky, Hugo, Susan Cleveland and two friends of Ricky's. We went to my favorite restaurant. No photos of Enchiladas Del Mar, my favorite dish, so good I just ate it.

After dinner we were in the Hilton lobby and met up briefly with Wendy Richardson and Katie Pasquini who just happened to walk by. It's always a reunion in Houston:

Lastly, the Education Team on the 3rd floor work so hard to make it possible for me to do my job. I appreciate their efforts on behalf of Education! I didn't take any photos but here is one I snagged off Facebook:

I worked with the Education Team for 24 years, in charge of Faculty Check In. Each year we were given fabrics to make 2-3 garments and wore them on specific days. This made us recognizable as "staff" on the third floor. This year there was a fun special exhibit on the third floor of many of those garments. I made all of them but have only kept a few of my favorites, the rest I sold. Enjoy this display:

Well, that is quite enough for one post. Next week I will share some of the quilts. 

Let's quilt!

Barbara

INTERNATIONAL QUILT FESTIVAL 2023 -- PART 1

 There is so much to share about Quilt Festival, there will be two posts about it. The first is about my teaching experience at Festival.

After working in the Education Office for 24 years I "graduated" to the other side of the desk. My friend, Vicki T., checked me in as Faculty--it's official now:

The first class was Western Sun, the most challenging of my 3 classes this year, and the one that taught the most: 

Ready to Go

Happy Students

Lest you think teachers just show up, there is  a lot of prep that takes place months in advance. I ordered the Template sets for the Kits, had the Pattern handouts printed, prepared all the supplies needed for 75 students, and shipped 3 boxes of teaching supplies to Houston a month ahead of time. 

Once in Houston, it was time to assemble the 25 Kits for Western Sun. My King size bed was the perfect place to do that:

Laid out and double counted

Everything stuffed in a resealable bag

The class was a great success and I was riding a big wave into the next class, Antique Rose Star by Machine. I love to teach this class and students love the big trick they learn that makes a Y-seam so easy:

Ready for the day

Some Student work, still in two halves for a very important reason:

Happy students at the end of the day:

In the blink of an eye, it was Day 3 and Disappearing Patchwork was up. My sample is a neutral quilt because I wanted to prove to myself I could work with only Neutrals. It was a struggle but I like the result:

Ready for the last day of teaching

It is so much fun for me to see the fabric choices of the students. This class did not disappoint. Some Student work:

Happy students at the end of the day:

A copy of the Class evaluations are given to the teacher after class. Let's just say, I am keeping all of these in case I ever have a bad day and want reassurance I am doing what I was born to do, sharing my love and passion for quiltmaking with those who want to learn. Awesome teaching experience all around and I hope to repeat it with new classes next year.

The other goal I had for the week was to get in the daily exercise I am used to. Each morning I hit the Fitness Center for an hour and a half, starting at 5:30 am. I usually had the place to myself:

A little sweaty

30 minutes on the Elliptical Trainer

Power walk for one hour, 4 MPH

Three times I swam in the beautiful rooftop pool, loved that. No pictures of the two piece swimsuit because, in photos, it looks way too much like lingerie!

Eating smart is important while traveling. I started each day with a high protein breakfast. Lunch was often part of a big salad purchased at Phoenicia Market, or oatmeal and protein bars. Dinner was more eggs or Chinese from a local place, rounded out with Muscle Milk shakes I brought from home:

Salad, hummus, pita--at least two meals here from Phoenicia

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS: 

Daily breakfast, eggs, bacon or sausage, a big bowl of fresh berries and skim milk in my coffee

As expected, I was up 3 pounds when I returned home. Two days later they were gone, two days after that I was down 2 more. Getting right back to my normal diet and exercise routine works!

I love the Hilton Americas hotel. It is my home every year (except last year), since 2008. It feels like home, I am an honored guest and the relationships I have built over the years are priceless. 

One of the best is Brenda C, who takes such good care of me. We email a few times during the year to catch up on our families. She is the best! This year I gave her a quilt to give her granddaughter who just bought her first home:

We are almost the same size--she was so surprised to see me this year

A gift for her granddaughter

My view

Homeward Bound top I brought to give to the new owner

I LOVE  a full moon

This class sample is what I slept under--I love quilts on hotel beds

This week could not have gone any better. I was filled with gratitude as I went home. Next year is a BIG one, the 50th anniversary of Festival and I will be there. I certainly hope to be teaching again, a few new and exciting classes as well as doing a few other events. I will apply, time will tell.

Next week I will share more about the quilts and special friends I was able to see and hug.

Let's quilt.

Barbara