Not Current

Now, about what is not current.  That would be blogging about the goings on in my life.  I went to the Houston Quilt Show in October and not a word has been posted here.  There are several other things I want to write about too like a completed secret project, a trip to Washington D.C., a completed quilt, and a few other odds and ends.   I'm going to try to get caught up, so we'll start with Houston.

Going to the quilt show is one of my favorite things to do.  I get to see my dear friend Diane, somehow she escaped the camera.  Ummm, that would be because I forgot to take a picture.  We get to catch up, eat, and see the show.  We have a great time.

Sometimes I get to see my Aunt Elaine and Uncle John there.  They live in Louisiana and I don't get to see them very often.  My Aunt Elaine quilts too and they try to make it to the show every other year.  Here we are coming back from lunch. 

I also get to see another friend, Nancy.  She used to live in New Jersey, but she moved to Wisconsin.  I had a very good picture of Nancy, Betty, (my good friend that came to the show also) and me, but I can't find it anywhere.  I know I downloaded it somewhere (well, I'm pretty sure I did).  Ahhhh technology.  I try to keep up but sometimes its hard.

Another thing I like about the Houston Show is that not only do you get to see quilts, frequently you get to see and chat with the quiltmakers.  The first time this happened to me was several years ago.  Diane and I were admiring a quilt and we were leaning over the rope to get a closer view.  The quilter had done lots of threadpainting and there were small animals and insects all over the quilt.  The White Glove lady came over and asked if we'd like to see the back and we mentioned again how cool the quilt was.  She seemed really pleased that we liked the quilt, then she told us that she was the quiltmaker and explained how she got the idea and how she made the frog.  

We got to watch demonstrations by Jane Davila and Susan Brubaker Knapp.  Both these ladies were so nice and willing to share information on the techniques and products they use in their art.  It was really fun to watch them create.  Both of them have blogs, go check them out.  You can find Jane's blog here and Susan's blog here.

This quilt is "Grandmother's Legacy" by Gail Thomas.  Here she is encouraging a young quilter. 

I love the quilt because it reminds me of my Granny and her teaching me to embroidery and crochet.   I remember she wouldn't teach me how to single crochet until I could make a perfect chain stitch for at least 12 inches.  Then, I had to make perfect single crochets before I could learn to double crochet.  Embroidery was the same, I learned each stitch one at a time to her satisfaction before she would show me the next one.  I loved it. 

Here is one of the amazing quilts that inspires me to try new things, things that I would never think of doing myself.   It is "5 Pebbles" by Dianne Firth.  It is all about the thread and how you can use it. 

Here is a detail shot of her work. Just look at those stitches!  Look at how she uses the different colors.

We saw a lot of special exhibits.  One thing that bugged me a little bit was that in some of the exhibits, the name of the curator of the exhibit was far more prominent than that of the quilter.  I know that must be a hard job, but shouldn't the quiltmaker get at least equal billing?  I thought the curator was making quilts like crazy until I read the small print on one of the quilts.

My favorite exhibit was "Forest Fabric" by the Groebenzeller Quiltgruppe from Germany.   The quilts represented trees and were hung suspended from the ceiling around a campfire.  

Here is a close up of Unterhaching.

One very important thing I discovered was my new favorite shoe.  After walking on concrete for 8 hours or so, my little feet were sore.  I had a new pair of shoes that I was afraid to wear the first day because they were new.  (That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?)  The second day I decided to try them for the morning.  Well, I didn't take them off until I went to bed.  My feet actually started feeling better as I wore them.  If you don't have a pair, run get some Dansko clogs.  They are expensive, but your feet will be sooo thankful.

This is only a tiny sample of the things I saw in Houston, things that had the biggest impact on me.  There were hundreds of beautiful quilts and I could go on and on, but that's probably enough or this post will go on forever.  I should also mention that the winning quilts were stunning, as usual.   Now I'm looking forward to October when we get to do it all again.  Can't wait to see you Diane!