Just a Bit of Houston 2017

I am still in "recovery mode" from my 13 amazing days in Houston at Quilt Market and Quilt Festival.

You can find much better photos of all the winning quilts here. In reality, I saw only a few of them as my time on the show floor is quite limited. Here you will get just a taste of what I did see over the 13 days I enjoyed in the great state of Texas.

The first quilt I went to see is mine--in case I never got back downstairs again:

Then I went right to the next exhibit I had to see. There were 75 quilts in this exhibit, here are just a few:

Sue was designing and drafting this pattern in November 2015 when we spent a week together at a private teacher's retreat in Virginia Beach. It took my breath away to see it completed:

This is what brought me to tears:

Oh, Sue, how I miss you! The love and admiration that was shown to you at this show is beyond description. You live on in all of us who were lucky enough to know you or your work.

Another exhibit I took a moment to see was the work of Danny Amazonas:

I was thrilled that a mostly "traditional" quilt won Best of Show:

And my favorite view of Houston is the view from my Hilton Americas hotel room:

Just to the right of the Marriott Marquis hotel, that tall building in the center back, is Minute Maid stadium, where I understand there were some baseball games played while we were there. I did not step outdoors for 9 consecutive days so the World Series didn't bother me in the least. Houston was abuzz with excitement and they had a big parade while we were there--several blocks from the Convention Center. Restaurants were crowded but that's always the case during Market and Festival.

Here is the gang I hang out with in  all our finery:

And at our Farewell Dinner Sunday night, at Pappasitas, those of us who stay over for Monday departure. It's a good thing this shot is a bit blurry, because so are we:

Now that I've had 8 hours of sleep for the first time in 2 and a half weeks, I can't wait to do it all again NEXT YEAR!

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

New Finish, New Start

It's great having a professional photographer for a son.  Last Wednesday on the way to visit our granddaughter, Stella, in St. Louis, I dropped off 3 quilts for Joshua Black Wilkins to photograph. Yesterday on the way home, I stopped to pick them up.  He did a great job on two very recent finishes and one I finished in 2015 but didn't have good images of:

Rajah Revisited, 65" square

Stars in a Time Warp, 96" square

Antique Rose Star, 74" square, hand quilted with Big Stitch, perle #8

It is good to have these done.  There are several tops I need to quilt myself and I'll be back at that later this week.  And now I have a new start:

I love the Jen Kingwell style and found this new Block of the month on the Homestead Hearth website. I ordered the book and the kit in "Jen Kingwell" colors/styles.  I was lucky to stumble across a Sew-a-Long that is just starting with this pattern:  Gnome Angel. It starts this week and will be at a fast pace, but I like that--the faster it goes, the more I am engaged in the process and eager to keep up.  The downside is the kits only come once a month, this quilt will be done by mid-July, so I'll be using my own fabric for this one and making one, more slowly, over the year as the kits come in.  

Of course, there is the Halo Medallion from The Quilt Show to keep up with.  My small group is enjoying the process, here are some of them with their work so far:

Keeping up and writing a detailed blog each month takes time but keeps me on track and I know the blogs are helping people out there--some are kind enough to let me know.  Next up are those curved flying geese and I'm able to say, they can be done!  I have one so far to prove it.

Here is the reason we went to St. Louis, our adorable grand-girl, Stella, 21 months old:

At the park across the street from her house

Watching Wheel of Fortune with Pop Pop

Give a waffle, get a smile

She was happy with us most of the time, especially if a waffle appeared as soon as she woke up.  There is a reason to have children when young--she is on "Go" all the time.  We had to really keep watch when outside.  

The weather was great until it snowed and we had fun until Lauren, my DIL, and I got food poisoning from a salad we shared Friday night.  We had planned to leave Saturday morning but I couldn't get out of the hotel bed that whole day except to run to the bathroom.  Finally was able to eat some soup Saturday night and was able to travel Sunday.  By then all snow was gone and it was a pleasant day. Still not 100% but I'm getting there.  It's been a long time since I've been sick, hope that never happens again.

I hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are, parts of the US are going to get a big snowstorm tomorrow--sounds like quilting time to me.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Easy Things and Others, Not So Much

I needed a break from tedious, really careful work so I started on a simple quilt that will be a gift for an old buddy. Random Ohio Stars, a free pattern from Bonnie Hunter:

The twelve 12" stars are done, now I need to make 13 more 6" stars and I'll also make two 3" stars.  I  must say, those 12" blocks feel huge to me, so much bigger than I usually deal with.

Then there are the four flying geese for Temecula's Wild Goose Wednesday project.  I love flying geese and always make four at a time.  Their size is 6" x 3" but after making a few of those I scaled down to 4" x 2"--I like this size much better:

I am getting a bit tired of my "Lifetime Leader/Ender Quilt" so decided to start joining it together. These are 1.25" finished Half Square Triangles, read more about this project here.  This is about one quarter of the finished quilt, I think. The Front:

The Back, more careful pressing is still required:

This week I've been free-motion quilting on Stella's Splendid Sampler.  Not the best quilting ever but this will be one of those "finished is better than perfect" quilts, full of love. There is a long way to go yet.  Here are  a few shots:

Stitch in the Ditch with the Line Tamer ruler

More Stitch in the Ditch

Stitch in the Ditch done

More Stitch in the Ditch

Free-Motion

More Free-Motion

Today I picked up "Stars in a Time Warp" from the quilter, Mechelle Armstrong of Magnolia Longarm Quilting.  She did a great job and I love the wool batting we selected, soft and with lovely loft.  I am eager to get the sleeve made and then sew it and the binding in place.  The label is ready and waiting:

Tomorrow I teach all morning, Saturday I teach all day, Sunday afternoon is a Quilt Show meeting I am involved in--when will I get more quilting done?  Next week...

And the next weekend:  Stella herself will be here--can't wait!  She is 22 months almost, scrumptious!

 She eats really well:  hummus, tomato, cucumber, peppers, yum!

Let's Quilt!

Barbara