International Quilt Festival, Houston—Part One

It would be impossible to describe the International Quilt Festival in Houston to one who has never attended. There were roughly 55,000 attendees from over 35 countries, with more that 1,100 vendors' booths and over 45 special exhibits of quilts and related needle art. It can be overwhelming, but oh, the inspiration that abounds! All quilters should put this experience on their bucket list.

We took a plethora of pictures, which we will spread out over several posts, so as not to overwhelm you (though that would give you a more accurate feel of  Festival.) We will share a couple of the quilt exhibits in their entirety in their own posts. For today, we'll show you a few highlights. Above are views of the exhibitors booths from the second floor.

We were not alone in loving the Dutch Heritage reproduction fabric in this booth with Petra Prins.
She sold out of all of her stock before the Festival was over! The samples below show why. Stunning!!  

                 

One of the exhibits that we found intriguing was The Millefiori Quilts, sponsored by Quiltmania Editions. The attention to detail in composing these intricate quilts is almost beyond imagination.

Polychromatic Medley, by Christine Belding; hand-pieced using English paper piecing,
from the book Millefiori Quilts, by Willyne Hammerstein.

Detail: Polychromatic Medley

Detail: Polychromatic Medley

Hexagons were everywhere! Here are the girls in the Moda booth demonstrating English paper piecing with hexies, using mini charm packs (Moda candy) of Grunge fabric. They even handed out a sample of the Moda candy so we could all try it. Start small, and you, too, could end up stitching a Millefiori quilt, totally by hand! Why not?

And we just have to say that the David Bowie quilt hanging in the Moda booth was incredible!!

For your viewing pleasure, here are a few more quilts in exhibit that we enjoyed. Stop back soon and see some more of our favorites!

Winter Memories, Chieko Shiraishi; Japan
Hand appliqué, hand embellishing, hand quilting, hand embroidery

Detail, Winter Memories

Whooper Reflection, Judith Roderick; New Mexico, USA
Hand-drawn with soy wax and gutta-dyed, machine quilted; hand-painted silk

The Peaceable Kingdom, Margery Hedges; Texas, USA
Machine appliqué and quilting; hand appliqué, painting

Second Chances, Rhonda Dort; Texas, USA
Hand piecing, appliqué, quilting and embroidery; machine embellishment and embroidery
Made with vintage linens, doilies, trims, ribbons, laces

My Favorite Paisley, Yoko Izumi; Japan
Hand piecing, hand embellishment, hand quilting

No Bake Appliqué, Wendy Reed; Maine, USA
Hand-appliquéd and quilted, potholder method 

Wendy asked for a photo of us with her quilt; here you go, Wendy!
And congratulations on your ribbon!

That concludes this taste of the Houston Quilt Festival. There is so much more to see. Stay tuned!

To Market We Go!

What a weekend! We landed in Houston on Saturday morning, checked into our hotel, dropped our bags, and hit the ground, running to the George R. Brown Convention Center for our first Quilt Market experience. Of course, our first stop was in the Exhibit Hall . . . to find our quilt.  We were delighted to find it in Aisle A, just beside the "red carpet."

We decided to view the rest of the exhibit during Festival and headed directly to the Market Hall. We got so caught up in conversations with vendors in the booths that we neglected to take as many photos as we'd have liked. But here are a few highlights of our weekend.

Obviously, this was a favorite quilt, hanging in the Blend Fabrics booth,
where we bought a bundle of Little Red Riding Hood fabrics.

We were thrilled to see Jan Vaine's quilt and pattern—Sister's Garden—in the Valdani booth.

We were so excited about this sweet quilt (it really spoke to a few particular friends—you know who you are)
that we forgot to note where it was hanging! 

Tula Pink

Brand new fabric line from Free Spirit Fabrics

Michael Miller Fabrics

Of course, Kaffe Fasset's booth was absolutely stunning. And yes, we both purchased his new book!

This Kim McLean quilt starred in Kaffe's booth.

We have some fun ideas planned with the new paper pieces we received from Paper Pieces/Polar Notions. Samples below.

 

We we SO thrilled to find that there is a brand new magazine devoted to telling the stories of quilts and their makers.  Of course, we signed up to receive a subscription. When we get our first issue, we will write a review for you. For more information, go to http://www.quiltfolk.com/. To subscribe, please use promo code SHOP 1051.

We spent a good deal of time planning a project using hand-dyed wools and threads by Tracy Trevethan Designs.
She has such delicious colors! We can't wait to start our new pattern set.

There were a number of antique quilt booths, where we spent a fair amount of time studying old treasures. Oh, how we wish that money were no object! There were so many that drew us that we would have loved to purchase any number of them. 

A beautiful silk-sashed crazy quilt in the booth, Quilts from Mulberry Lane.
Chatting with Carolyn was like meeting an old friend.

A great example of a charm quilt in the same booth.

Julia, in the Piqué booth, showed us an incredible selection of appliquéd quilts,
which we will save for a future post.

This pineapple log cabin quilt from mid-1800s was in pristine condition, found in yet another vintage quilt booth.

This striking antique star quilt was the inspiration for a new fabric line by Washington Street Studios.

Detail of the star. How we would love to be able to find that Prussian blue fabric!!
(We learned that the process for achieving this color is quite expensive to reproduce
—the reason it is so difficult to find today.)

Our morning walk to the Convention center, just before the fog burned away.

Monday's class with Judith Baker Montano, creating an undersea picture using mixed media and embroidery.

Burning the edges of ribbon and fabric gives an interesting effect,
but our classroom smelled less than flowery.

We also spent a lot of time chatting with Brooke from Hanah Silk Hand-Dyed Ribbons.
On Tuesday, we created some samples of pansies for her. Stay tuned for an upcoming tutorial!

While talking to Pepper Cory in the Colonial Needles booth, she asked us to put together some
embroidery samples using Presencia threads.

The samples we finished during our Tuesday stitching session.
Featured stitches: spiral trellis and cast-on.

Cheers to an awesome first Market!
Now we are resting up for Festival.

News and Updates from Through the Needle's Eye

Houston, here we come!

We are preparing for our trip to the International Quilt Festival in Houston this weekend. We are leaving first thing on Saturday morning and checking out Quilt Market to see what is new in the quilt world. On Monday, we will take a class, and then we have a couple of unscheduled days to see what strikes our fancy. We may see what classes or lectures are still open or check out some quilt shops. Or perhaps we'll just stitch!

We are so excited to see our quilt, A Fairy Tale Album, left, on display at the show. It will be hanging in the special exhibit, In the American Tradition: Appliqué. That will most likely be the first thing we search for when we get there! Are you going to Quilt Festival in Houston? Perhaps we will see you there!

Academy of Appliqué 2017

Have you signed up to attend the Academy of Appliqué yet? The Academy is held in Williamsburg, Virginia, from February 27 through March 4. If you have never attended, it is hard to describe the instant kinship you feel with everyone there, who shares your passion. You may meet people from Ireland, California, or even Australia, but you'll have something to talk about, as if you'd always been friends. Pamper yourself . . . or start hinting that a week away to appliqué would be the PERFECT birthday, Christmas, anniversary, or "just because" gift! We would love to have you join us in one (or both) of our classes! For more information about the classes, go to needleseyestories.com or read our post, A Floral Wreath, The Secret Garden, and a new website!

Floral Wreath, February 28–March 1

The Secret Garden, March 2-4