Traveling Home

 Today I am flying home from Salt Lake City, where I worked at the International Quilt Festival. 

I was really looking forward to several of the Special Exhibits at this Show: Special Exhibits My photos won't be this good so, for now, look at these from the Quilts.com website.

Antique quilts thrill and inspire me and I can't get enough of them:

Early Center Medallion  from the Pieces of the Past Exhibit

The 1876 Centennial Quilt--ENCORE! One wonderful old quilt inspired a small group of quilters around the country to make their own versions and this amazing Exhibit is the result: 

1876 Centennial Quilt by Laurie Latta

I Spy a Barn Quilt: Barn Quilts Across America for the Sunday Driver. These will be great graphic designs:

The Electric Fan by Teresa Schoonover

If you missed this show, some of these quilts will also be on display at International Quilt Festival Long Beach in early August--find all the information for that show here: Long Beach

I will be presenting 5 different Open Studio classes throughout the Long Beach show--these are FREE presentations on the show floor, each is two hours, and no sign up is necessary. Just come by and see what we are teaching. You are sure to learn something!

Let's quilt.

Barbara

MY JOURNEY: QUILT # 15

 Another quilt from the Special Exhibit My Joyful Journey, part of the Virtual Quilt Festival, December 3-5, 2020.

QUILT # 15: JOYFUL JOURNEY, 87" X 87",  machine pieced, longarm quilted, 2009, quilted by Pamela Dransfeldt:

The Story: This might be my most important work--I call it the quilt that changed everything. I decided to put my best work into this quilt and use my most favorite fabrics. A long-term friendship with designer Sue Garman began with this quilt. It expands my love of center medallion quilts, especially those with feathered stars in the center. Most importantly, it represents my willingness to take myself seriously as a quiltmaker. 

It was juried into AQS Paducah, 2010, and featured as one of the best 500 Traditional Quilts in the book by that name, published in 2014. It was included in the Special Exhibit in Houston, 2014, featuring some of those 500 quilts. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Announcement, Announcement, Announcment!

Guess what? There will be a Special Exhibit of my life's work at International Quilt Festival Houston this Fall, October 2020.

International Quilt Festival Houston--George R Brown Convention Center

To say I am "over the moon" is putting it mildly. The Exhibit is entitled "My Joyful Journey" and will feature quite a few of my quilts from the mid-1980's when I was a "baby quilter" to my current work, and a few award-winning quilts.

I consider this my "Lifetime Achievement Award"--to present my progression as a mostly traditional quiltmaker, from the early days when they were "less than lovely" to where I find myself today.

My first International Quilt Market was 1996, when I attended as  the "buyer" for my local quilt shop, Patches & Stitches. I have attended every Fall Market since and every Festival since 1999, when I began working for the Education Department of Quilts Inc. There is much about that experience that I love, I have written about it many times, but this, oh, this is really a special dream come true.

This collage was assembled by Quilts Inc. and represents just a quick look at the past. So much has changed with quilting and yet much has remained the same--our passion for playing with fabric and thread to create a vision as well as make useful objects. I especially like that it features 1996, the first year I stepped into the George R Brown Convention Center, when it was somewhat smaller than it is today:

Yes, I know this is a weird year. And, yes, I know many people might not come to Houston this year. But as long as there is a Festival, and that is most definitely the plan today, my quilts will be there and I will get to see them hanging as a collection. Pretty cool....

In the  next few weeks I will know which quilts are included. Some of these:

Maybe some from my "Artsy Period", like this one:

Maybe one of my favorites, like this one I worked on for 7 years:

They have a lot to choose from so I will be very interested to see which quilts are selected to represent my work and make an interesting Special Exhibit for attendees to enjoy.

I hope you will make it to Festival this year--a show that only needs to go by one name: "Houston". A place I feel at home, a place filled with people I love and admire, a place I am so honored to be able to share my work.  Make your plans and I'll see you in Houston!

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Happy News!

Yesterday I got the Happy News:  Stars in a Time Warp was selected for inclusion in the Special Exhibit "In the American Tradition--Pieced Quilts" in Houston 2017:

While this means it won't be in our guild show in October, 2017, it does  mean 60,000 of my closest friends will get to see it.  What a thrill!

A huge thank you to Barbara Brackman for her wonderful history lesson she provided with this project and to Mechelle Armstrong, Magnolia Longarm Quilting for the beautiful and simple way she chose to quilt it.

See you in Houston!

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Traditional Treasures 2013

Here are the quilts on display in Long Beach.

My Few Days in the Light

This Special exhibit is here at Long Beach and I am thrilled to have two quilts in the exhibit.  These are the words I'd like to have on my tombstone, a very long time from now, of course.  Except that would cost a lot so my husband won't do it, I'm sure.