Highlights of Houston 2018

Not surprisingly, I hit the ground running after returning from my 13 day trip to Houston--classes to teach, bills to pay, mail to sort through, and laundry to do. Now I'll try to give a glimpse of what my time is like there, working for Quilts Inc.

First, my favorite view of the city--from my room at the Hilton Americas Houston. The George R Brown Convention Center is the white building on the right with the iconic red "thingies" on the roof. Straight ahead is the Marriott Marquis hotel, and just behind it is the Astrodome baseball park. Discovery Green, a lovely park, is in the foreground, left.

My bed, featured by Hilton Americas Houston on Instagram and Facebook:

I hurried to get the binding sewn on before I left, figuring I would finish stitching it down in the hotel--rarely touched it there, finished the binding when I got home. Now I am adding lots more quilting--it is coming along nicely.

The first day on the job, my primary responsibility is Faculty freight. With 130 teachers, there is a lot of freight--they have to ship it weeks in advance to be sure we have it in the office when they arrive. I check in each box, on two master lists, one for me and one for the Tex Expo folks who handle the shipping. We go from an empty room to a full one--it takes all day. Before:

 After:

 When the luggage starts to arrive, it gets really crowded. This is the last time the carpet was visible for days:

The next day I was told my Red and White quilt was the "Photo Op" quilt. People take photos in front of it to share with friends at  home:

There was a special tribute exhibit to our beloved former boss, Judy Murrah, who passed away December 8, 2017. It was a lovely tribute to her with a wonderful slideshow full of great images from  her more than 40 years with Quilts Inc.:

It's not all about quilts. How about quilted leather saddles? They sure are beautiful:

There are thousands of photos on Instagram and Facebook, much better than mine, find them here:

My favorite quilt and the one I was hoping would be awarded "Best of Show", Eternal Beauty by the amazingly talented and even more humble Sherry Reynolds. This is its' 6th Best of Show award:

Speaking of talented and humble, one of our guild members, Teresa Rawson, won First Place, Applique', Small for her terrific quilt, Contentment, made to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary--all hand done. It, too, has done well in previous shows:

This quilt was photographed thousands of times, from the Special Exhibit: Antique Quilts from the British Isles. It was for sale, I did not inquire about the price, if you have to ask, you can't afford it:

 45,000 1/4" hexagons, Circa 1845. Maker Unknown--PLEASE label your quilts, so you will not be anonymous.

Other quilts that caught my eye:

From certain angles, the face was not visible, it only looked like bubbles. Entitled Kora, by Carol Morrissey, Double Oak, TX. 

 

Two of my favorite antique vendors had remarkably similar quilts for sale in their booths. Cindy Rennels, Cindy's Antique Quilts, had this one:

Julia Kelly-Hodenius, of Pique', had this one:

 

The red solid was very similar as were many of the fabrics. The maker fussy cut most of the hexagons, and they appeared to be the same size. The white hexagons were all the same fabric in each quilt so the maker had a sizeable stash. Cindy told me someone with much more knowledge than I have has taken lots of photos of both and will study them to see if it is reasonable to guess they were made by the same person. Again, a label on each would be so helpful. Cindy's was sold before the end of the show so I am glad I got to see it early. I don't know if Julia sold hers, but I hope so. Sales is the reason vendors are there.

Some days I don't get off the 3rd floor nor outdoors. The days are long, the nights get shorter, but it is wonderful to work with a great team. Here are some of us in the morning group photo:

For me, the job is mostly about the people, faculty friends I enjoy catching up with, student/guests I look forward to seeing each year, vendors who have become friends, and my closest team friends, who mean so much to me--friendships developed over the 20 years I've been part of the Education Team.

This year about two dozen people recognized me or my name and came up to tell me they follow and enjoy my blog--that is truly rewarding.

Two ladies from the Friendship Quilters of Downer's Grove, IL came by for a quick "hello"--I am teaching for them November 2019:

I was also able to hand off the Secret Stars sample I made for the Lakeview Quilters guild in the Houston area, I'll be teaching for them in March 2019. And one of the members of the St Andrews Bay Quilt Guild in Panama City, FL, made a point of telling me they are rebuilding and fully expect to have me come in April 2019 for the two great scheduled workshops. Hurricanes only slow quilters down for a bit.

All too soon, the 13 days come to an end and it's time to pack up. Everything is inventoried, labeled, packed and crated, going to 3 different storage locations. I never cease to be amazed at the organization necessary to make our shows work:

There will be more to come, but this about wraps up the overall experience I have in Houston.

Let's quilt,

Barbara

Spring Market Portland OR 2018

It is one of my life's joys that I get to work at Spring Market, a trade show that is open to the trade, not the public. The Spring Market moves around the country, while Fall Market is always in Houston, the week before Festival. Last year Spring Market was in St. Louis, next year it will be in Kansas City.

Shop owners come from all over the world to meet with fabric companies, publishers, pattern designers, sewing machine companies and many more vendors who are all part of this $3.75 billion dollar industry. I enjoy seeing some of my favorite people at Market.

Here is just a taste of my trip to Market:

Set up day is chaotic on the show floor but it is always ready to open on time:

There is a lot of art in the Oregon Convention Center:

My very favorite is this Foucault Pendulum, the coolest non-quilt thing at the show. My university had one of these in the Science Building so it always takes me back to see this:

The Oregon Convention Center is a LEEDS certified building, meaning they have worked very hard to reuse and recycle things and reduce their carbon footprint. There are several large wall displays that explain how they do that. Here is a fun display:

The view of the convention center from a nice restaurant on the top of a nearby hotel. The restaurant is called Altabira. I recommend reservations:

At Schoolhouse vendors show what is new in 30 minute mini-classes. A quilt I participated in making was unveiled by StudioE, using Peppered Cottons, wonderful shot cottons that are a delight to work with. My block is in the lower right:

RJR always has a great wall that faces the wide walkways and many people take photos here:

Great fabrics are unveiled as they are now available for shops to order for future delivery:

Patrick Lose

Gypsy by Jessica VanDenburgh for Windham Fabrics

Gypsy

Road Trip by Allison Glass for Andover

Metropolis by MODA

Metropolis by MODA

An adorable pattern:

Occasionally we get a little time to get out of the building and explore. We hoped on the light rail and went to Saturday Market, where there are lots of arts and crafts things for sale, many food trucks with many different kinds of food, and lots of people. It was a sunny day and everyone was having a good time:

This guy stood completely still for long periods then would move unexpectedly:

 Kids always have fun:

All too soon we pack up and it's time to go home. Here is just a small portion of the Education Office crates being readied for return shipment to Houston. Each crate is numbered, inventoried, and sorted by which of 3 locations they will be shipped to, then palletized and headed out for shipment. It takes a good bit of time to do this right but we've got it down to a science now. After 20 years I am still impressed with the way this all works:

The carpet in the Doubletree, 11th floor, I love gingko leaves:

I flew from Portland to Detroit and was amazed by this lightshow in the tunnel from one Terminal to the next. It did change to bright red while I was on the walking sidewalk but I didn't stop to capture that:

My goodies. I almost always buy thread and this time I got some great fabrics too. And tote bags, we always get tote bags:

Now it's time to get back to work. Several tasks have to get done today and tomorrow--first up was laundry: check, all done. 

You can find thousands of images on Facebook and Instagram, among other social media, #quiltmarket, if you want to see lots more of what happens there.

Let's quilt!

Barbara