International Quilt Festival 2019--the Quilts

The interesting thing about big quilt shows is which quilts grab you enough to make you want to take a photo. Houston is a HUGE show, easily more than a thousand quilts on display, some in the IQA judged show, "A World of Beauty",  and many more in the 35 Special Exhibits.

Here are just a few--the ones I took time to photograph.

It is the Sapphire Celebration--45 years and Festival is still going strong. The blue and white quilts hung in the air were spectacular:

Mine is in the middle, Spellbound, a pattern by Debbie Maddy:

Quilts I loved enough to take a photo:

This is truly an International show--this maker is from Israel:

Log Cabin: 100K Artist, Amy Pabst--this exhibit was astounding. Watch this Video interview to see the size of these quilts! And, the maker is 31 years old--I am thrilled to see young quiltmakers following their passion.

Amy Pabst--100K

 The maker made many Log Cabin quilts, with very narrow logs, and counted ALL the pieces until she had made quilts in this series that totaled at least 100,000 pieces--a woman after my own heart. The catalog says there are a total of 102,779 individual fabric pieces in the quilts in this exhibit. 

I wish I  had photographed more of them:

This Special Exhibit was very moving:

The Bob Ross Cherrywood Challenge was fun to look at, all those "Happy Little Trees", here are just a few of the many in the Exhibit:

This one stopped me in my tracks--it won the Pfaff Master Award for Machine Artistry, a $5000 prize:

 I'm in the Pineapple Zone, working on one currently, this was so colorful:

 My good friend, Eileen Williams, is a wonderful Fiber Artist and she had two quilts in the Judged show:

Read the information card to find out why this quilt is titled "Second Chance":

Antique quilts always speak to me and this was no exception:

I did buy an antique quilt top from Cindy Rennels, this top is such an amazing collection of fabrics, some more than 125 years old:

 We believe the embroidery in the center of the top says:

"Pre(sented) to (Fl)orence Dec 25, 1887":

I now know what my Second Lifetime Quilt will be--a collection of small versions of this block in a wide variety of layouts. Since I still have a bunch of those small half square triangle units left.

My time on the show floor is limited and I saw lots more than I photographed. If you were there, your photos probably look nothing like mine--that's the beauty of such a big show. There is something to inspire everyone.

Here is a complete list of all the Winners. in the Judged show.

In a few days I'll have another post--about the PEOPLE.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Spellbound for Houston

What a nice surprise to get the "Congratulations" email, that Spellbound will be joining many other Blue and White quilts in Houston this Fall, to help celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the International Quilt Festival, the Sapphire Celebration. She is nestled in a box and safely in Houston right now:

This simple but striking pattern is from Debbie Maddy at Calico Carriage Quilt Designs. I have taught it to a large group of students and they enjoyed making it too. Being organized is a must, there are 3 different sizes of strips to cut.

The SAPPHIRE CELEBRATION is sure to be as wonderful as the Ruby Jubilee was, 5 years ago. I hope you are making preparations to join us, October 31-November 3, 2019, with Preview night October 30. Find more information here: IQF Houston Show Information

I may be a bit lest "bloggy" in the next month or so--there are three working trips in the next 5 weeks: Kansas City for Spring Market, Austin/Victoria, TX and Ft Myers, FL, all great trips that I am looking forward to. At the same time, our grandkids are moving back here in 3 weeks from St. Louis--so excited! AND I am in the middle of a very big project I must keep under wraps. So when home, my head is down and the (sewing machine) pedal is to the metal!

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Stitchin' The Blues

Every other year the Heritage Quilters of Huntsville guild presents a Challenge program. A committee meets, sets the rules, those are announced to the guild about six months in advance and then we get to work making an entry.

Here are a few overview shots, taken by the committee before a lot of people came and it was tough to get good photos of the room:

Some years there is a lot of interest, some years---not so much. This year may be the biggest number of entries we have ever had--75--that means at least one-third of the guild particpated!

Here are the rules as presented:

1. The entry size, a rectangle or square only, may be anywhere from 18 inches by 18 inches to 36 inches by 36 inches. The length or width should be no longer than 36 inches or no shorter than 18 inches.
2. Use only blue and white fabrics. These may be solids, stripes, plaids, prints or batiks.
3. The entry must be a quilt – three layers held together with stitching.
4. Each entry made by one person only.
5. No kits.
6. Please keep your entry a secret.
7. Put a label on the back, but cover your name with tape or fabric. No obvious means of identification should be on the front, of course.

The meeting is open to the public and a lot of word-of-mouth advertising brought at least 50 guests. On the ballots we were given, we selected our top 10 favorites and "Best Interpretation of the Theme". Enjoy a little show, some of my favorites, in no particular order:

33. Blue California Star by Linda S.

37. Blues of a Feather by Pam A.

24. Carry Me Away by Linda H.

68/ My Blue Heaven by Sharon St.

44. Bluebird of Happiness by Paula N.

38. Swingin' the Blues by Teresa Rawson

34. Wedding Tradition by Kari H.

72. A Few of My Favorite Things by Anne C. This won first place for Best Interpretation of Theme. The detail in this is beyond belief--Anne outdoes herself in every challenge and show.

8. Blue Melody by Denise P.--this won 2nd place in Best Interpretation of Theme

61. Stitching the Blues Away by Leigh H. --this won 3rd place in Best Interpretation of Theme

64. Caribbean Waters by Sue B.

One of my most favorites:

51. Blues in the Night by Ben D.

15. Dave in Blues by Elaine H.--based on a photo of a well-known local musician Microwave Dave

Here is my entry, a variation of Spellbound by Calico Carriage Quilt Designs:

It is 19.5" x 21.5" and is made from the leftovers from my full-size Spellbound:

This one is bed-size and the quilting is about half-done. I am working diligently on it now. My eldest son saw it a few weeks ago and said "Who is THAT ONE for?" He really likes it. Christmas is coming. Don't you love it when someone really likes a quilt you are working on? 

Blue and White quilts have been very popular the last few years as we move toward the Sapphire Celebration of October 2019--the 45th anniversary of the International Quilt Festival in Houston. Our challenge quilts are too small to be entered in the Special Exhibit in Houston but this is a good way to get started and excited about the upcoming Celebration.

If you  have a blue and white quilt you want to consider entering in the Sapphire Celebration, here is the basic info--submission dates will be provided later this year:

Sapphire Celebration

I saw this quilt at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago in 2017. It is Sarah's Revival, a Sue Garman pattern, made by Gail Smith and quilted by Karen McTavish. I think it is just spectacular! I hope to see it again at the Sapphire Celebration.

Maybe a Blue and White Quilt is in your future.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara