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.