Vicki Welsh reporting from the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

This report will highlight quilts from Japan. If you read my blog you know that I love any quilt that has tiny pieces, intricate piecing or quilting or is just plain fiddly. That’s why I am so attracted to quilts from Japan. I notice more and more of them every year and I love every one of them.

Rondo of Roses was inspired by Monet’s roses.

I don’t often notice Japanese quilters entering abstract quilts but Blessings of the Sun was spectacular.

Fields, My Hometown and Flower Calendar were part of a display of prize winning quilts from International Quilt Week in Yokohama 2008.

Spring Fields was in the Hands All Around Exhibit

Vicki Welsh
My Blog: Field Trips in Fiber
My Etsy Shop

Vicki Welsh reporting from the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

One of the great things about my trip to the Houston International Quilt Festival this year is the opportunity to meet so many fellow bloggers and other quilters that I have met on the web. You can read about my visits with other bloggers on my blog. Today I got to finally meet Debra of Debra’s Design Studio. We spent all of today going through the quilt exhibit selecting some of our favorite quilts to share with you. We didn’t photograph any of the winning quilts because you can see those on the IQF web site. Over the next few days I will share some of our other favorite quilts from the show. If this isn’t enough Quilt Festival information for you, you can find more on my blog, Field Trips in Fiber.

Let’s look at some of the art quilts that were in the juried part of the exhibit.

Beyond the Horizon is an entry in the Art-Pictorial category. It is based on a woodcut print in an astronomy book from the late 1800s. The bottom part of the photo is a close up of part of the quilt.

Three Women at the Hilton was made in memory of three friends’ visit to the Houston Quilt Festival in 2008. This quilt and the next two were in the Art – Whimsical category.

Day of the DEADlines is a play on the Day of the Dead and includes a skeletal version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream.

I wasn’t sure exactly how Autumn’s Palette was included in the Whimsical category but I liked it nonetheless.

Winter Water was in the Small Art Abstract category. This one is made with tissue paper bonded to cotton with acrylic mat medium and has various surface treatments mixed with piecing.

Stairway to Heaven, in the Art-Pictorial category is based on the artist’s photograph of the Chapter House steps at Wells Cathedral in Southeast England.

Vicki Welsh
My Blog: Field Trips in Fiber
My Etsy Shop

Vicki Welsh reporting from the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

While I am don’t make reproduction quilts, I absolutely love antique quilts. Some of that love stems from the collection of quilts and quilts blocks left behind by my Great-Grandmother. My Mom and I have spent a lot of time finishing up some of her tops and blocks and we enjoy giving her treasure quilts to many of the members of her family. The International Quilt Festival never disappoints in providing a nice display of antique quilts. Here are a few from this year’s exhibit.

Star of Stars was made around 1845 and is totally hand pieced, hand appliqued and quilted. The corner square and side triangle blocks are fussy cut chintz prints. This one is also the cover quilt for the Festival program.

I fell in love with the bright colors and beautiful trapunto of this Feathered trapunto Applique. It is also completely hand appliqued, pieced and quilted.

So many bloggers are working on Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilts so I selected this one for them. This must be what happens when you obsessively make hexagons. This stunning quilt was made around 1890.

Chips and Whetstones with Oak Leaves is estimated to have been made between 1860 and 1890

This graphic Folded Log Cabin is my favorite of all of the antique quilts. It is hand-stitched on muslin.

My second favorite is this Silk Courthouse Steps quilt. The photo has an inset enlargement of 4 blocks. This one was made around 1890 and like all of the others, is by an unknown maker. Is there any better argument for documenting your work than this exhibit of beautiful art by unknown artists?

Vicki Welsh
My Blog: Field Trips in Fiber
My Etsy Shop

Vicki Welsh reporting from the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

Hello from Houston quilt fans! I thought that Quilting Gallery readers might like to see some highlights of the exhibits. Today I will start with the garment exhibit. All of the garments in the exhibit are stunning and the three winners are:

1st place – Autumn Breezes by Donna Brown of Laramie, WY

2nd place – Second Time Around by Eileen Daniels of Brodhead, WI

Honorable Mention – City Kitty by Candace West of Floral City

I’ve included two photos of the rest of the entries and I promise to try to do better with my photography skills tomorrow!

Vicki Welsh
My Blog: Field Trips in Fiber
My Etsy Shop

The Linus Connection is a Central Texas non-profit organization whose mission is to make and deliver handmade security blankets that are for children in crisis situations in the Austin and Central Texas area. The blankets go to children in hospital emergency rooms, in crisis centers, foster care, battered women’s shelters, and to any child who is in need of a little extra security in their lives.

All of the blankets are handmade (quilted, knitted or crocheted) by volunteers in the community, either as a group or individually. Each blanket is given to a child in need of some extra security.

Since 1999, The Linus Connection has distributed over 33,600 blankets to children in need across Central Texas. Almost 3,000 of those blankets have been distributed in 2009 alone.

TLC will celebrate it’s 10th anniversary serving Central Texas in October with an annual challenge, food and visits from both sponsors and recipient facilities.

When we meet: The 3rd Saturday of every month, 9 – 11 am (next meeting October 17, 2009)

Where we meet: St. Philip’s Methodist Church,16321 Great Oaks Drive, (the parking lot is off Racine), Round Rock, Texas 78681-3659

To learn more about The Linus Connection, see Show & Tell photos, contact us, leave a comment or to find out how you can help, please visit the TLC web site.

Did you ever wonder why I started this web site? What was behind me creating the Quilting Bloggers directory? What’s my vision for the Quilt Shop Locator?

Find these answers and more as I’m a guest blogger at Women on Quilts: Michele Foster on her Quilting Gallery, Not an Anonymous Woman Anymore.