Category: International Quilt Festival

People, Portraits & Figures from IQF

Today, lets look at one of the Judged Show Categories…..people, portraits and figures. As expected, the quilts were breathtaking.

Let’s start with the Blue-Ribbon winner….

“The Man Lost in His Memories” by Marina Landi, quilted by Fabia Diniz

I could spend an ENTIRE blog post talking about this quilt!

Just look at the fabrics used, and the quilting that highlighted it….

Even the quilting in the background was sensational….

Second place went to….

“Survivor” by Alexandra Curran

Once again, the quilting added so much to the quilt….

Third place was given to this poignant quilt….

“Let’s Have a Coffee Break” by Noriko Nozawa

Noriko says… “The theme of this piece is a scene from a calm, everyday afternoon with the aroma of coffee in the air.

She used a photograph for her husband and the coffee “stuff, but the entire background is done with thread!

“Surf Sirens of Manly Beach” by Julianne Walther

The inspirational photo was obtained from the National Library of Australia and believed to have been taken in the 1940’s.

These ladies look SASSY!!

“Answering the Call” by Jan Reed

I particularly appreciate the “shadow” warrior….

One of the things that I enjoyed about this category is that most of the pieces tell a story, like this one….

“Grandpa Glenn and Nathan Hunt for Carp” by Sharon Carvalho

The last one I will show is a bit different style…..

“I AM” by Lisa-Marie Sanders

…but equally stunning!

Thanks for joining me as we wander our way down the aisles at the International Quilt Festival.

MORE TO COME!!

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If you don’t want to miss my personal tour of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, be sure to subscribe…….

Reading & Remembrance

One of the sweetest exhibits at the International Quilt Festival was called “Reading & Remembrance — A Tribute to Barbara Bush”.

The first quilt in this exhibition was PERFECT to represent Barbara Bush…..

“Legacy” by Ginny Selber Jones

….complete with a blue dress and pearls!

The maker of this quilt said this…..

The quilts in the exhibit reminded me of books old and new…..

“Anne of My Imagination” by Mary-Ellen Thompson
“Giraffe Problems” by Ginny Selber Jones

This quilt made me check out the book and my grandson may find it under the tree this year.

“Put Me In the Zoo” by Nancy Zimmerer

It is always a perk to see the quilt maker standing proudly by her quilt….

“Changing Lives Through the Power of Literacy” by Susan DeScioli

This quilt was a gift to the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation.

“Bookshelf Mystery” by Lois Womack

Lois says that this quilt expresses the mystery that can be unlocked by literature.

As expected, there were numerous quilts from the Harry Potter genre….

“freedom” by Karen King-Giles

In her artist statement, Karen notes that the Harry Potter series has encouraged more individuals to read than any other series. I was thinking the exact same thing!

“Banquet In the Great Hall” by Polly Maynard Davis”

I appreciated the hexagon ceiling….

This wasn’t a large exhibit, but it was poignant in its own way…..

…and a wonderful tribute to a great lady!

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If you don’t want to miss my personal tour of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, be sure to subscribe…….

Handmade….the mind boggles!!

Every year, I am amazed at the quilts that are include in the “HandMade” category, and these were no exception.

The first place ribbon was awarded to…..

“Invitation to Japanese Tea Ceremony” by Yoko Izumi

The photo does not do justice to the quilt, as the colors are much deeper and stronger, but the applique is extraordinary!!

Second place was awarded to…..

“Be Fashionable on Rainy Days!” by Akiko Yoshimizu

Akiko has done it again with her tiny…..tiny dolls….

This year she added a fun embroidered finishing technique…..

The third place ribbon went to this stunner…..

“Peacock” by Naomi Ootomo

Look at the detail of the quilting, not to mention how even the stitches are!!

This next quilt was a team effort. Each of ten makers shared in the piecing and applique….

“Juneberry Swaying in the Wind” by Mayumi Miura with 9 friends!

You really need a close-up look at this to appreciate it fully…..

Another group of six quilters created this quaint village….

Others that were noticeable for their work included…..

“Eternal Beauty” by Zena Thorpe

Here is an up-close-and-personal shot…..

“Third Spools The Charm” by Barbara Korengold
“The Shimmering Blue Rose” by Yachiyo Katsuno

There’s more to come….stay tuned!!

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If you don’t want to miss my personal tour of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, be sure to subscribe…….

Exquisite Quilts from Abigail Vargas

One of the more interesting exhibits at the International Quilt Festival was this…..

When Linda and started walking thru the exhibit, we didn’t really understand the quilts, but then we met these two…..

…and I am sad to say that I don’t remember their names!!! (If you know, tell me and I will get them in here).

They had both been involved in various collaborations and were able to tell us more.

Each quilt was given a theme, with color suggestions and sometimes even swatches of fabric to be used.

Each block participant was told to make a block that contained a “connector” at a specified place along the outside of the block. Then all of the blocks were lined up to make a continuous link.

OHHHH….that makes sense!!

Now that we understand, let’s look at the quilts…..

In this case, the white lines were the connecting points!

These blue “connector lines” mirror upward movement…. like vines reaching for light. The placement of the various blocks helps to promote that imagery.

This quilt drew from Op Art’s bold geometry, using black and white plus one!!

This was the first quilt made using this collaboration. I don’t feel that it has the same cohesiveness as the others, but the quilting does a great job of pulling it together.

This was the third quilt and probably my favorite. The collaborators got REALLY creative in this one…..don’t you love the telephone?

Bottom line, this exhibit was fun because of the exuberance oozing from our two friends. They were proud to have been involved….and they had much to celebrate!!

We are slowly continuing on our walk between the frames at Houston….keep coming back!!

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The 1 x 4 Challenge at IQF

Today, we are back at the International Quilt Festival, and I want to show you one of my favorite exhibits, one that I almost missed!

It was our LAST day at the show and Linda and I had stopped for a late lunch (early Dinner). Afterwards, we decided to take one last turn around the floor and my eye caught an exhibit that we hadn’t seen yet…

Here are a few of my favorites….

“Marsh At Dawn” by Robin Hamill

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“Soaring II” by Janice Walker
“Braided River: by Robin Hamill
“Cosmic Sliver” by Margaret Griffeths
“Bubble Madness” by Margaret Griffith
“Coffee Jenga” by Marijke Durieux
“This is Where it All Begins — Or Does It?” by Janice Walker
“Stamp Collection” by Kirsten Niemann

And yes, those are real stamps!!

Wouldn’t this be a fun challenge to be involved with? There is SO much that you can do in a 1 by 4 format.

WHAT WOULD YOU MAKE?

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If you don’t want to miss my personal tour of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, be sure to subscribe…….