For this exhibit, artists depicted how they, a family member, or a friend celebrated a loved one’s wedding, birth, birthday, or memorial.
This first one doesn’t need any explanation…..
“Love is in the Air: by Jane Deskis
What an excellent way to remember a special kiss!
This one is a new type of “Grandmothers Flower Garden”…..
“Grandmother’s Flower Garden” by Hsin-Chen Lin
The artist used fabrics that were laid beside her mother’s sewing machine when she passed away. Isn’t that sweet?
And, look at this lace butterfly that she added…..
This next one…..
“Off Her Rocker” by Sandra Holland
The quilt was inspired by her sister’s backyard deck when advancing cancer made her too weak to enjoy her morning tea there.
I was impressed with the use of yarn/jute to show the stems of the vines….
This quilt celebrates 11 years of cruising and snorkeling the world’s oceans with her husband……
“Harmony Pacifique” by Marie Dufour
“We Remember Mom” is a memory quilt made using clothing belong to her deceased mother….
“We Remember Mom” by Barbara Bowman
From viewing some of these blouses, I feel that I knew who her mother was!!
I also loved the photos that she chose to include…..
Next…..
“My Mother Has Alzheimer’s:These Last Five Years” by Carly Mul
In her artist statement…. “She slowly bleached out and entered a world of grey and darkness.”
This portrait quilt…..
“Alecia Beth” by Shelly Shoultes, Quilted by Natalia Bonner
She made the quilt as a tribute to the singer/songwriter Pink and is adapted from Tee-Shirt images from the Truth About Love tour.
This beauty……
“Ida’s Blocks Series – #4” by Karen Hansen
The blocks were made by Ida, who died in 1950. The artist is making a series of quilts using her blocks…..her way of keeping her memory alive!
This album quilt commemorates the quilters’ daughter’s wedding with the blocks being specific to the family……
“My Daughter’s Wedding” by Audrey Sussman, Quilted by Angela McCorckle
Not only is the applique wonderful, but the quilting is outstanding…..
The final quilt……
“Ties That Bind” by Gail Smith, Quilted by Ida Anderson
This quilt is a celebration of 420 men who have served as ministers, deacons or members in their church. The artist said…. “I have a new respect for the price of ties after taking them apart. The prep work took much longer than the sewing project.”
These are just a few of the quilts, but I love the emotions, celebrations and memories that are included in each of them!!
Come back tomorrow and we will explore the “In Full Bloom” exhibit!
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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…….
One of the most exciting things about the International Quilt Festival are the BIG winners and this year they were varied and wonderful!!
The Master Award for Thread Artistry was…..
“Solitude” by Judith Phelps
We talked to Judith for quite a while, and she told us about painting the background, drawing in some of the details, and then thread-painting the heck out of it!! She made the quilt sandwich before she started doing the threadwork so the piece is double sided…..
AMAZING!!
The Master Award for Machine Artistry went to……
“Butterflies, Bees & AlphabeTrees” by Janet Stone
I like the design of the quilt, but as usual, my eyes go immediately to the intricate quilting…..
Just look at these grid-quilted sheep…..
Exquisite!!
The Master Award for Traditional Artistry was a MANDALA…. color me excited!!!
“Pathfinder” by Kyra Reps
In her artist statement she says “In a world that isn’t always so colorful, I hope you smile when you look at her!”
I mean…..look at this work…..
Some of those hand-appliqued circles are 1/4-inch!!!
And, the quilting is wonderful too, especially this border made entirely of thread…..
Next is the Master Award for Innovative Artistry……
“The Naughty Corner” by Tania Tanti
Tania asks “Do you ever have quilts that whisper to you after you’ve thrown them into the naughty corner?” Apparently, this one kept coming back to her and it serves as a reminder to never give up!
Next is the Master Award for Contemporary Artistry…..
“The Arrival” by Kestrel Michaud
Kestral has been a regular on the “WINNERS ROW” in the last few years…..
Her husband is her biggest supporter and was there this time, showing viewers Kestrel’s process….which is quite interesting!!
She uses her iPad to draw the design and add the color elements. Then, she uses a Cricut to cut out all the necessary pieces that have already been backed with a fusible.
Once all of the pieces are fused to the quilt, the immaculate quilting process begins…..
Kestrel has a fantastic imagination. She and her husband are very humble about her gift and are a joy to talk to!!
I am sure that you have already seen the “Best of Show” in some of the show advertising, but here it is again….
“Still Life” by Chen Jing
Before we go further, get into your head that it measures 18-inches by 17-inches!!! It is TINY!!
AND, the frame is made from fabric and is part of the quilt!!
In her statement, she said she wanted to “explore unique free-motion quilting to present different picture effects on the front and back of the work”
What effects you might ask……
It is almost impossible to find the cat faces on the front of the piece but they show up brightly on the back! AMAZING!
So here are the Best of the Best, but believe me, there are plenty more to come!!
I enjoyed viewing all of the quilts, took hundreds of photos, and will start sharing my favorites from each of the categories and displays. With over 1100 quilts to choose from, you can expect weeks of quilty goodness…..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…….
I had originally written the bones for today’s post focusing on the big winners at the International Quilt Festival. But, it is late, it has been a LONG day and I want to give plenty of time to those amazing winners.
Instead, I will just give you a quick rundown of my day…..
Linda and I arrived at our terminal, saw a woman in a Kantha quilted jacket, and asked if she was a quilter. The immediate answer was YES!!
We sat across from her and started talking all things quilting. Her name was Sue and she was from the South of England.
Another younger man sat down close to us and I saw his eyebrows go up when he heard the word “quilts”!! Come to find out, he is a fairly new quilter and is from the same town as Linda and I!!
The four of us continued talking and another woman joined us…..from Scotland!!!
We were all good friends before the plane took off!!
Upon arriving in Houston, we checked into our hotel and headed for MEXICAN FOOD…..
Can you say YUMMY???
We then waddled over to the Convention Center and stepped into the wonderland that is the International Quilt Festival!!
Since things were a bit quiet, I headed to the Cherrywood Fabric booth to purchase the fabrics for the 2025 Cherrywood Challenge. It is called “Abyss” and the fabrics are luscious!!
I also bought the “Poppy” book that has my quilt in it…..
Then it was time to see some quilts!
The first one that we found was the Poppy Challenge…….
….followed by the “Catherine Wheel of Color”……
It is so humbling to see quilts hanging in this amazing venue and in the midst of wonderful quilt artists!!
Okay….it’s bedtime.
Come back on Monday and we will get down to business!!
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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…….
