With Halloween time comes the time for the Houston International Quilt Festival, here in downtown Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center. My quilter friends and I (and Mom before me) usually get hotel rooms and stay downtown for several nights so that we can really take time to explore the booths and take in all of the beautiful quilts. With the show being so scaled back this year, we scaled back also and just drove up for the day. I'm not complaining! I'm happy the show was in-person this year. I do hope that it grows back to its previous size next year, though. I've already got my calendar marked to make those elusive hotel reservations.
All that said, this month I'm going to just post pictures of some of the quilts that I saw at the show, in no particular order, which I loved some part of, that inspired me, that amazed me, or that is based off of one of Mom's patterns. Oh! One thing before I get started. I've gotten A LOT of requests for the Trick or Treat quilt pattern. It is at the top of my list to update an re-release, hopefully in the next couple of weeks. I'm almost done updating the Yuletide Joy pattern, so that one will probably appear on the website first. Progress!
The first quilt I want to show you is La Catrina by Cindy Stohn. First because she's a good representation of Day of the Dead (which is right after Halloween), and second because it reminds me so much of one of my favorite photos of my sister and I. This quilt was made without any technology, paint, or fusibles. It is layers of hand cut fabric which were appliqued during free motion quilting on a hand-dyed background. Over 66 colors of thread were used! This is a really fantastic work of art, in my opinion. The eyes are so realistic!
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| La Catrina by Cindy Stohn |
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| Real life Catrinas, Jenny and Mary (several years ago). |
Next up, I'm walk us through some of my favorite miniatures. I do love miniature quilts... the teeny tiny pieces just blow my mind sometimes! They're one of my favorite sizes to make because I know, with certainty, that I will be able to finish the quilt!!!
First miniature is Dream Weaver by Judy Spiers, which received a second place ribbon. It's so bright and colorful! At first, I thought the fabric had a really nice texture to it. But no! This quilt is make up of itsy bitsy pineapple blocks! There are 225 blocks containing 17,325 pieces (who's counting?!), making up a quilt that is only 18 1/4 inches square. Holy moly!
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| Dream Weaver by Judy Spiers |
Next is Flower Baskets by Lahala Phelps. This one amazed me because not only is it hand appliqued, but it is also hand quilted. And so beautifully!
The first place ribbon went to this quilt, Emerald Labyrinth by Kumiko Frydl. Just wow! This is a miniature wholecloth quilt that uses thread painting to add color. It is based on an image of El Barkookeyeh Mosque in Cairo.
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| Emerald Labyrinth by Kumiko Frydl |
Firebird by Megan Farkas received honorable mention in the miniature category. Those tiny princess feathers, though! When I complain to myself about too much applique, I will just remember this little quilt, which probably contains as many applique stitches as some larger quilts! |
| Firebird by Megan Farkas |
Soft Pride by Amy Pabst is another teeny tiny pineapple block quilt. Incredible! Can you believe it is ditched?! This one contains 11,925 pieces.
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| Soft Pride by Amy Pabst |
The last miniature for today is Cabin Fever by Patricia Caton. I have lately found myself drawn to log cabin quilts. So... I love miniatures and I love log cabins... of course I love this little darling!
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| Cabin Fever by Patricia Caton |
Next exhibit at the show for me was Barbara Black's Joyful Journey exhibit, which had several quilts based on patterns of Mom's. First, though, is Barbara's My Lifetime Quilt, which came from a leader/ender project over three years. It contains 12,800 triangles, that are 1 1/4 inch each. It's like Omigosh and Good Golly multiplied by ten! After that quilt are the ones Barbara made from Mom's patterns... Ruffled Roses, Stars for a New Day, and Washington Medallion, respectively.
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| My Lifetime Quilt by Barbara Black |
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| Ruffled Roses by Barbara Black |
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| Old Stars, New Day by Barbara Black |
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| Joyful Journey by Barbara Black |
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| Lady of the Sea by Chong Kropik |
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| Closeup of Lady of the Sea by Chong Kropik. That quilting is phenominal! |
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| Starlight Rhapsody by Sandra Ching-Fong. Love the red! |
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| Ruby Halo by Karen Lambdin. She added her own applique border, and changed up another border to the lattice border, which came from another of Mom's patterns. LOVE! |
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| Closeup of Ruby Halo by Karen Lambdin. This quilting is just exquisite! |
And now, just a couple that stood out to me, personally. Now that I'm looking at the photos a week later, I think it's the quilting that drew me in the most. These are just beautiful quilts.
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| A Legacy Intertwined by Paula Dornenburg. |
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| Songkwangsa Temple by Mikyung Jang. This is an original design using fused applique, thread drawing and thread sketching. Jaw dropping! |
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| Wreath of Roses by Sally Magee. This beautiful work of art is hand appliqued, hand embroidered, and hand quilted. I can't imagine the number of hours it took to complete. |
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| Pure Velvet by Amy Pabst. Another teeny tiny pineapple block quilt. This one has 21,609 pieces. |
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| Closeup of Pure Velvet by Amy Pabst. |
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| Cake Plate by Salena Korpi Beckwith. ALL SILK! It is so perfectly pieced and beautifully quilted. It's no wonder it received a blue ribbon! |
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| Closeup of Cake Plate by Salena Korpi Beckwith |
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| Bee by Linda Fleschner. Who doesn't love bees? |
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| Circles in Bloom by Robyn Cuthbertson. This quilt is threadpainted and trapuntoed. It amazed me! |
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| Closeup of Circles in Bloom by Robyn Cuthbertson |
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| The Garden of My Memories by Kayoko Hibino. The fabrics used in the applique came from the quilter's mother's keepsake kimonos. What a beautiful tribute to her mother. |
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| Inherited Inspiration by Michelle Plourde. The cording around many of the seams drew me in. There is over 600 feet of custom cording in this quilt. |
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| Bricks 'n Gears by Claudia Pfeil |
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| Closeup of Bricks 'n Gears by Claudia Pfeil |
Last, but certainly not least, this crazy quilt still has me staring at its photo for way too long, trying to figure out how the quilter actually put it together and planned it out. It is hand pieced, appliqued, embroidered, and quilted... so, I suppose that means she could have put it together with less planning. She made it to represent her wish that all of us help each other to make a happy and joyful world. And, she used bright colored fabrics to express such a world. I think we should all share in this belief!
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| Friend by Hideko Kawai |
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| Closeup of Friend by Hideko Kawai. Note that there are fish outlines stitched into the background, swimming right alongside the appliqued fish. |
That's all I've got for now. Stay safe, stay warm, and as always...
Keep quilting!
Jenny
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