Farewell to 2011

This is the next to last day of 2011 and I wanted to say goodbye to 2011. It has been a great year for me. I turned 60 in April and to celebrate I wanted to go to as many quilt shows and classes during the year. I'm so glad I attended these shows and classes this year.
1)Mid Valley Quilt Guild Show in April. I entered a quilt for the 3rd time.
2)AQS Paducah Quilt Show in April. I went to David Taylor class on applique and Libby Lehman class.
3)Quilters Affair in Sisters OR in July. I attended a 2 day with Melinda Bula which was fanastic.
4) Northwest Quilting Expo in Portland/Sept.I entered a quilt in the show.
5) Machine Quilting Expo in Portland/Oct. I took 3 classes with Kim Brunner
6) International Quilt Festival/Show in Houston/Nov.
It was so great to attend the 2 biggest quilt show in the country. I'm so glad to be a quilter and meet quilters from all over the world. I love making tablerunner, wall hanging and quilts. I'm have enjoyed using my Pfaff Grandquilter 1200 for the last 6 years but can't wait to use my new/used Pfaff Grandquilter 18.8 that I recently brought.
It has been a wonderful year for quilting for me. I can't wait for next year 2012.
Happy Quilting

Merry Christmas 2011

I love Christmas with all the decorations, lights, food and holiday spirit. I remember as a child getting up in the middle of the night with my brother to look at the tree with all the gifts. My Mom or Dad would always hear us and told us to go back to bed. We would have to have breakfast before could open presents. It was a magical time. I miss my parents during the holidays. My parents instilled in me that Christmas isn't all presents but a birth of the Christ child.
I wish everyone a blessed Christmas with family and friends. I'm blessed with a wonderful husband and my pets Maddie and Sassy.
Merry Christmas and Peace for the World.

Pfaff Grandquilter 18.8 and Quilt Artist

I'm so excited about finding a Pfaff Grandquilter 18.8 with frame plus a Quilt Artist with software on Craiglist for a great price. The previous owner brought it in Oct 2010 to use for a quilt business. She had to give it up for her REAL job. We went to look at it yesterday. It is in perfect condition. She showed me how to use the Quilt Artist(computer) which is going to be so much fun. Wayne and Roger went to get it today. This is the perfect way to end my celebration of my 60th birthday this year with a almost new bigger quilt machine.

International Quilt Show/Festival Houston TX 2011

I had a trip of a lifetime going to the 2011 International Quilt Festival 2011. I had a great time meeting quilters from all over the world. The Quilt Show has the BEST OF THE BEST quilts in it. I love looking all the different types of quilts and art quilts. It made me appreciate the ART of Quilting whether it is handmade or machine made quilts. I LOVE QUILTING!! I have a few pictures of quilts that I really loved.

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

Nov. 5,2011 This is tha last day of show for me. I has a Saturday Sampler from 10-12. It was held in the ballroom with over 28 different teachers. I went to 4 different teachers that interest me. 1) Wendy Butler Berns Stabilize Embellishing Stitches Sucessfully 2)Melinda Bula Cutting Garden Quilts 3) Deb Karasik Paper Piecing the Easy Way 4)Suzannne McNeill 10 Minute Blocks and Quick Tricks. I enjoyed the sampler. I went looking at the quilts and vendors until 12-2 which was the luncheon with Libby Lehman called Quiltx. It was about several Texas quilts. The luncheon had BBQ Chicken Salad, Bread, and Pecan Tart with ice tea/coffee. I meet quilters from everywhere and it was easy to talk to everyone. I went looking at the quilts and vendors and then went back to the hotel to rest. Ricky Tims concert was from 5:30-7:00 and then the Gala on the Green was from 7:00-9:00. Ricky show was fine but he did a better show in 2008 and at Sisters Quilt show. It was dark and cool for the Gala and the food was ok. I meet quilters from Wisconsin and a long armer from TX. The music was great with rock and roll. I did stay until 8:30 and then back to the hotel. I finished packing to leave Sunday Nov 6 to stay with Jan until Nov 9. I will post several pictures of the sampler and Ricky Tims.

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

Since this is last day of November I want to finish my trip to Houston.
Nov. 4,2011 I took the tour called Texas Star Tour. We had 2 buses full that left at 7:45-6:30. We went over 100 miles northwest of Houston to 3 quilt shops and to see the new Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange. The tour gave some Texas history since it is the 175th anniversary of Texas's indepedence from Mexico. We stopped at the Washington on the Brazos and Winedale Historial complex. We saw several very old quilts at Winedale. We stopped at Round Top, TX. It was a cute top with stores and resturants. We stopped at the Copper Shade Tree shop to see a display called Quilts by Men. It was several quilts made by men from all over the USA. They was several cute stores and a wonderful resturant called Royers. It was a small by in the style of the 50-60's. They had great homemade pies and got a piece of cherry pie. Our lunch was late to eat in the park at Round Top so had to eat them on the bus. That was disappointing because it was a beautiful day to eat outside. We went to a quilt store called Gerline's which was so small it was hard to move around in it. The next stop was in Giddings,TX called Around the Block which was a very nice shop. We went to the Texas Quilt Museum which was great. The last quilt store was in Katy,TX which was nice. The tour was running behind on time and then going home there was an accident that made us really late. We got back to the convention center at 7:45. I had a great time talking to a lady from Australia. It was a fun group of quilters on our bus. One of the gals won 2 1st place awards for hand made and handmade applique. It was a very fun day!! I will post a few pictures of the tour.

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

We got a new computer which works much better and faster. I have several pictures of the area of the vendors and quilts. There were over 1500 quilts which took me 2 days to see them. I was glad I had 5 days to enjoy the quilts and vendors and not feel over whelmed. I took a picture of Marianne Fons after the lecture.

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

I posted a quilt in the previous blog that wasn't Melinda quilt. It is called Artichokes in Bloom which won Judge's Choice.
Nov.3 I was able to look at the quilts from 10-12. The quilts are amazing. I took alot of pictures but it was hard not to take a picture of every quilt. Some of the quilters were by their quilts to talk to everyone. I have a few pictures of them. After 2 hours of admiring the quilts I was ready for the lecture/luncheon with Marianne Fons. The lunch was a 2 course with Asian Panko Crusted Chicken salad, fresh bread, key lime tart and ice tea/coffee. The luncheon was to benfit the new Texas Quilt Museum. Her talk was "Why We Quilt". It was very interesting. I meet several quilters from Canada. After the luncheon, I went looking at the quilts and shopping.
I wanted to post pictures of the vendor and quilt area but are unable to at this time. We have been having trouble with our computer. I will try later to post some pictures.

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

The last picture I posted of the flower isn't Melinda's quilt called Monet in Pasadena. I can't figure how to get the picture off unless I delete the whole post which I don't want to do. I will have to look up what the name and quilter is on this quilt later. I will post Melinda's quilt now.

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

Nov 2,2011 I attended a lecture by Cynthia England called "Making The Most of Your Stash. She lives in Dickinson TX and has a company called England Designs. She made you look at fabric at different angles for different designs and uses of color. I got a kit from her called For The Birds. I got another kit in Paducah called Life is a Beach. The class was an hour from 9-10. I wanted to get into Melinda Bula class which was Texas Bluebonnets but it was full. I found out in her blog she had about 3 people in the class give her a hard time about the way she teaches and they left the class. You go to a class to learn from the teacher not tell her how to do it better. She had a waiting list which I was one of them. I decided to bring a project to sew on from 10-12. They had a room set up with 20 Brother machines for sewing. It was great to have some place to sew for awhile. I worked on a Sew Oregon Shop Hop block from 10-12. I went over to show Melinda my Coneflower that I decided to bring to show her. It was near lunch break and was able to see her. She really liked the quilt and showed it to the class. She is a great teacher and person. I did buy the Sunflower pattern from her. Her husband Joe was there so it was nice to see her hubby. I went to lunch at Chick-fil-A and then back to the room for a rest. The VIP Preview for the Show opened at 5:00-10:00. I decided to look at the vendors and get some shopping done. I shopped for about 2 hours and then went back to my room. The Hyatt had Einsteins Bagel which had great turkey sandwiches. I will post 2 quilts that Melinda had in the show. She should have won an award but didn't.

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

It was great to see the winners announced for the first time and their reactions. I sat by a fellow quilter Suzanne Kistler from Visalia, CA. She had a quilt in the show "Through the Waters" which didn't win a prize. She was a friend of Sharon Schlotzhauer that I meet on the shuttle ride. Sharon won 2 1st place awards in Art-Whimsical called "Really Wild Flowers" and 2nd place award in Art-Miniature for "America the Beautiful II". She had a quilt called "Uninvited Guest" in the Celebrate Spring! 2011 section. There is a article in the Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine about Sharon. It was an enjoyable evening for my first day. I was ready to get back to my room because I was very tired since I have been up since 2:30 am. I will post pictures of Sharon and Suzanne quilts.

International Quilt Show Houston TX 2011

I went to the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX from Nov 1-6. This is the 2nd time to the festival with the last time in 2008. I knew what to expect this time and had a super time by myself. Here is an account of my trip to IQF.
Nov 1, 2011 We left home at 2:30 am to get to the airport by 4:00am. I flew Continental to Houston from 6:00am and arrived in Houston early 11:40am(12:08). I took the Super Shuttle to the Hyatt Regency(downtown). I shared a ride with a fellow quilter from Colorado Springs.Her name is Sharon Schlotzhauer and she had 3 quilts in the show.It was great to meet her. I arrived at the Hyatt by 1:30 and then headed to the Convention Center. It is a nice walk of about 8-9 blocks. The weather was sunny and warm/humid with temp in mid 80's. I got checked in to get my tote bag and commemorative program. I checked for classes but not much available. I signed up for a lecture with Cynthia England for the next day from 9-10. I walked over to the Houston Shops to have a Chick'Fil with waffle fries. This is a treat for me because we don't have any of these resturants in Oregon. I went back to the room for awhile and then took the quilt shuttle bus back to the convention center. I attended the "Academy Awards" 2011 WINNERS in QUILTS A World of Beauty from 6:00-8:00pm. This is the presentations of category awards which had 21(1st,2nd,3rd and honorable mention) and the majors prize winners which has 11 category. To be continued.

Fall International Quilt Festival Houston TX

I have always like the fall season the best because of the fall foliage, cool and crispy days/nights, fall cooking with apples, pumpkins, squash etc and rain. It is a great time to sew/quilt.
Tuesday, Nov 1 I'm flying to Houston to attend the biggest quilt show in the world. This will be my 2nd time to attend the festival. I went with my sister-in-law Mary in 2008. This is my celebration for my 60th birthday to go to Houston again. I'm so excited to see over 1,000 quilts, vendors and attend classes and lectures. I will stay at the Hyatt Regency downtown Houston where Mary and I stayed in 2008. I will be there from Nov 1-6 and then I will visit with my college girlfriend Jan from Nov 6-9. I'm looking forward to a great time in Houston. Hope to meet alot of quilters from all over the world. More later about the trip and pictures when I get back.
Happy quilting!!!

Machine Quilting Expo

Machine Quilting Expo

The heron quilt was the front and the back of it. I loved the Christmas quilt with the glitter on it and the scalloped style/praire point binding. I have a few more pictures of the show.

Machine Quilting Expo

I attended the 1st Machine Quilting Expo on the West coast in Portland on Oct 12-13. The Quilt show started on Thursday with several vendors. I attended 3 classes with Kim Brunner. She has won the award for Best Machine Quilting Teacher 2 times in 2009 and 2011. She was a great teacher and learned alot about rulers. I have several pictures of the show. There were alot of fanastic quilts.

Sew Oregon Shop Hop/Taste of Home Cooking School/ Machine Quilting Expo

This has been a very fun week which started last Friday Oct 7. I started the Sew Oregon Shop Hop which runs thru Oct 22. I did the central district of a total of 16 quilt stores. The Grand Prize is a Quilting criuse to Alaska in August 2012. The quilt stores were in Salem, Eugene, Corvallis area and the coast with Newport, Waldport and Florence. Each shop had a quilt block from the fabric called Autumn Splendor by P&B textiles. I haven't done a Shop Hop in awhile but it is alot of time and driving. They have district prizes and drawing at several quilt stores. I worked the weekend and then off the week from Oct 10-16. I went to the Taste of Home Cooking School in Wilsonville on Monday night. It was alot of fun with great recipes and door prizes(I didn't win anything.)
Wednesday and Thursday, I went to the Machine Quilting Expo at the Convention Center in Portland. This was the 1st MQX on the West Coast. I took 3 classes with Kim Brunner. I had 2 classes on Wed from 8-10 Rulers/templates and 11-1 What I know now about quilting. I went to Bridgeport shopping at Crate and Barrel and Sur La Table. I had late lunch at Fuddruckers and then stayed overnight at the Super 8 in Wilsonville. I had to get up early on Wed to get to the class at 8:00 and didn't wat to have to do that on Thursday. Thursday class was from 11-1 which was about quilting panos and free motion. I went to the Quilt show/vendors at 10 and 1 and then headed home at 2:00. I did get several rulers that I can use on my short arm machine. I will post some pictures of the Quilt Show. I really enjoyed the classes with Kim and the Quilt show/vendors. Next is Houston on Nov 1. Happy Quilting

Northwest Quilting Expo

I have some pictures of the Northwest Quilt Expo in Portland. I picked up my quilt yesterday. I had some interesting comments by the judges. I enjoyed the show and was glad I entered a quilt. The guild meeting with Nancy Chong was very interesting. She makes beautiful Hawaiian quilts. She gave a history about Hawaiian quilts. I have 2 quilts ready to quilt and started another quilt this week.
I'm going to the Machine Quilting Expo in Portland on Oct 12 and 13.