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

It is Thanksgiving this weekend here in Canada. To celebrate, I’ve gathered together some fabulous Canadian photos from family and friends to share with you. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into Canada from coast to coast.

Thanksgiving Give-Away

Pink Panda Fabrics has offered to help me celebrate Thanksgiving by offering 2 half yard bundles of Denyse Schmidt’s Katie Jump Rope fabrics. Each winner will get 4 yards total (half yard of each of the following fabrics).

Pink Panda Fabrics is a Canadian-based online retailer of designer fabrics that are a little bit funky, sometimes cheeky, very cute and always modern. This is not your run of the mill fabric store!

You’ll find affordable fabrics by well known designers and manufacturers such as Amy Butler, Michael Miller, Heather Ross, Free Spirit, Lecien, Kokka, Echino by Etsuko Furuya and much, much more.

We are a family-run business and customer service is our #1 priority. We’re a very chatty bunch — so feel free to email us, join our Facebook Fan Page, our Flickr group, tweet with us on Twitter, read our blog or contact us. We’d love to connect with you!

To enter the contest:

Two winners will be selected to win a half yard bundle. To enter, leave a comment below answering, Besides the rotary cutter and mat, which quilting tool are you most “thankful” for? Contest closes: Tuesday, October 13 at 9:00am (eastern). Winners will be chosen randomly.

P.S. If you’re reading this on Facebook, please click through to the blog post to leave your comment.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention what my favourite tool is: the shape cutter ruler.

UPDATE: This contest is now closed. Congrats to #27 Linda Smith
#146 Deborah on winning the gorgeous fabric bundles.

Congratulations to #10 Denise for winning the cute learn to sew accessory kit donated by Ruby Jane’s Retro Fabric last week.

This week’s give-away is a piece of approximtely 36″x44″ vintage feedsack fabric donated by Marydon Ford ~ Feedsack Fantasy.

This fabric is a bright bold blue & red on creamy white background fruit & flower print. It has the stitching holes still visible.

Marydon Ford ~ Feedsack Fantasy carries 2,000 to 2,300 of these gorgeous vintage feedsack fabrics online and in their shop. They are the largest purveyor of these gorgeous fabrics. They may be contacted at: Blushing Rose Boutique (USA clients) or at Feedsack Fantasy (International clients). Shipping is FREE in the USA. They also give discounts on large orders. Their shop #48 in the Westminster Antique Mall, 433 Hahn Rd, Westminster, MD is open 7 days a week. Marydon has a blog too.

To enter the give-away, please leave a comment below. The contest closes October 15, 2009. One lucky winner will be randomly chosen to win the fabric piece.

UPDATE: This contest is now closed. Congrats to #30 Bradie for winning the gorgeous feedsack fabric.

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