International Quilt Festival Fun

Hi Everyone!

Guess where I was this past weekend!  If you guessed Houston and the International Quilt Festival, well, you guessed right!  What an amazing event!  The quilts were unbelievably beautiful and I was in awe at the level of artistry that was displayed.  Everything from traditional hand-pieced, hand-quilted beauties to thread painted works of art to modern-art deco was hanging in the George Brown Convention Center.  I could have spent days and days and days enjoying the beauty and craftsmanship that went into each and everyone of them. 

 

Now, you're probably wondering, "Where are the pictures?" and I'm sorry to say, I only took about three pictures.  Why?  I was so enthralled with what I was seeing that it completely slipped my mind!  I started out well enough... 

 

As we entered there was a photo-op spot so my hubby took this...

 

 

I gotta say, I have THE best husband!  Not only did he drive the 3.5 hours to Houston and endure an ENTIRE day of looking at quilts, but he also let me shop without complaint!  Here he is posing under the banner:

 

 

 

Now, once I finished oohing and awing over all the quilts, I got down to some serious shopping.  It was amazing to have all those vendors and shops in one location.  In lots of ways it was sensory overload.  The vendors were set up in long rows and every major quilty brand was there.. Aurifil, Hobbs, Gammill, Accuquilt, Red Crinoline Quilts, Handiquilter, Olfa, Bernina, Pfaff, Mary Flannigan Woolens! and the list goes on and on!  Lots of quilt shops were there too! Some of them I have seen in my summer travels...Back Door Quilts, Stitchin' Heaven'... and some are my favorite online shopping shops (Primitve Gatherings).  Needless to say, I did not leave empty handed.

 

I did go with an idea of what I did and didn't need.  For example, I do not need any more wool.  I love wool and almost every vendor was selling wool.  I nearly lost my mind when I saw Mary Flannigan Woolens. But, I managed to control myself and feel and admire her wonderful wool but not buy any! 

 

However, I did need some civil war shirtings for a scrappy project that I've been saving civil war scraps for.  Civil War reproduction fabrics are getting harder and harder to find and even harder is finding the shirting in white or near-white colors.  Lots of creams and tans out there but white?  Forget it.  I also have been looking for the Sulky 12 wt thread that I like to use for embroidery and and Aurifil Lana Thread for wool applique.  I  was also desperate for Aurifil Mako 50 wt which is my favorite thread to use for piecing.  Mako is easy to find but, darn!  It has gotten so expensive! Some places were selling it for $12 a spool!  I did find one vendor with reasonable prices- $9 a spool.  But they had the big cone for $40 so I went with that. Unfortunately, they are wholesalers which means I should have bought two :-P  I also needed new snips for loose threads and hand work. My Famore's are my favorite because they have a little hook at the tip which makes un-sewing a little easier.  Imagine my joy when I found the Famore booth! (I bought two of my favorite snips only to find out I can send them to Famore for sharpening.)   Looky, looky, here.   SCORE!

 

 

I found a few patterns I couldn't live without

 

 

and after spending an evening with Bonnie Hunter on QuiltCam I had to pick up her book "Ring Around the Hexies"

 

 

 

But my greatest find at the Festival is my 1914 "Singer For The Girls".

 

 

 

Not only does it still have it's clamp, it also has the original box, instructions, key AND needles!  I love the selling points on the box...

 

 

"As the twig is bent the trees inclined"  Fabulous!

 

I started collecting these about a year ago, this is my fifth one (although truth be told I already had this version although not as complete!)  Here are the other four that I have:

 

 

The third from the left is my "double".  Aren't they cute?  My research tells me that there are 22 different models.  I hope I one day find them all.

 

 

I also got to meet some quilter celebrities...

 

 

This is me with Alex Anderson!

 

 

And Pat Sloan!

 

Eleanor Burns of "Quilt in a Day" fame was there too, but she was surrounded by a ton of people and I couldn't even get close enough to take her pic :-/

 

I had so much fun!

 

I've gotten some quilting done too.. 

 

 

This is called "A Quilt for Abraham" which is designed by Roxie & Joe Wood of ThimbleCreek Quilts.  I was able to use my Accuquilt Studio to cut out the million-billion little pieces that this quilt required.  It made the sewing so easy as every piece was so accurately cut.  I love the colors.  All I have left to do is the sashing and it will be ready for Gammill Bea.

 

Well, I better get busy.  I need to finish a bunch of projects before Bonnie Hunter divulges the first clue of her new mystery quilt, Celtic Solstice. .  This is my first opportunity to start one of her mystery quilts and I am so excited!  If your interested, you can click the link on the left to read all about it.

 

Until we meet again, stitch on!

 

Irene

 

On the Road Again...

Hello my friends!

 

 

How are you?  Have you been busy quilter bees? My life continues to be a hot mess!  It seems that just when I think things are going to settle down something else comes up to keep me hopping!  The good news is that everything that is keeping me crazy is all good stuff! 

 

This week my husband and I made a little trip to Virginia where good friends of ours ended their 20-year Air Force career with a wonderful retirement ceremony followed by a great retirement party!  Never one to let the opportunity to visit a quilt shop pass, I quickly scoped out the shops in the area and along our route and while we weren't able to stop anywhere on the way we did manage a few stops while there and on the way home (:-P)  Lucky for me I have a WONDERFUL husband who is ready and willing to shop hop along our routes when traveling by car and this trip was no exception!

 

Norfolk, VA

 

We made our first shop stop while killing time
between the retirement ceremony and retirement party. 
This is the Fabric Hut.

 

 

 

It's a very big store and carries not only quilting fabrics but

 lots of sewing products including bridal fabrics,

decorator fabrics, sewing machines, and notions ~

kinda like an independent version of a retail chain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virgnia Beach, Virgina

 

We also managed to squeeze in some time at Sarah's Thimble

 

 
 

 

This was the perfect day to stop by as
Sarah, the owner, was there and so nice
to demo her Statler Stitcher for me and my hubby.
It's great because he now realizes that
I absolutely should have it! 
Now I just have to find the $15,000
it will cost to retrofit Gammill Bea!

 

 

 

Not the greatest picture I know but you get the idea!

 

Here's one of the main part of the shop.

 

 

 

Another good thing about stopping in on Friday

was that all the Batiks were on SALE!!  50% OFF! 

 You know I took advantage of that!

 

Mechanicsville, VA

 

 

Now, Millstone Quilts is not exactly on the beaten path but don't let that stop you from going because it is well worth the trip! 

 

 

 

This is the second time I have been to Millstone Quilts;

the first time I went was with my friend

and quilty pal Michelle (click her name to go to her great blog).

 

Millstone Quilts is a Quilt Sampler Featured Shop

and lives up to the reputation!
The shop has three levels- this is the first level:

 

 

Isn't it beautiful?  I took 25 pictures of this shop and

had such a hard time choosing which ones to post!

This is the Gristmill Wheel and is over 150 years old.  

 

 

 

 

I love the way they use the space for display!

The Grist Wheel is on the second level of the shop and

 I was standing in front of it to take the next photo.

 

 

 

 

 This is the second level looking down from the third level.

 

 

 

And here is the third level.

 

 

And here's just one of many well-done displays

 

 

 

It's a great shop!  The staff is warm and

welcoming and ready to help.  They have tons

 of samples and many of them have been

 made into kits and are ready to go. 

This is one of my all-time favorite shops!

 

Stauton, VA

 

Our last quilt shop stop was Rachel's Quilt Patch.

This shop is located in an old train station along with several other businesses.

 

 

As you can see they have yarn as well as quilting fabrics.

 

 

They were very nice in this shop which is

owned and operated by a mother-daughter team

 with a grand-daughter "in-training" (she's probably about 5

 but you're never too young to start quilting!)

It was a busy day as they were photographing and cataloging

 quilts for the Shenandoah Valley Quilt

Documentation & Discovery Project.

  The Virginia Consortium of Quilters is researching

Virginia quilts made before the year 2000. 

 

 

 

Now, the next picture isn't that great but

if you look CAREFULLY, you'll see some blocks

 hanging on the design wall. 

There are two sets...can you see the smaller ones on the left?

 

 

 

That is a new Civil War block of the month

that is coming out in September so...

Yep- I signed up! I couldn't resist!

 

It's called Hampton Ridge

with Fabrics by Paula Barnes for Marcus Brothers

 and quilt design by Red Crenoline Quilts.

This is the photo from the Marcus Brother Website

 of the completed quilt. 

You can see this photo and thumbnails

of all the fabrics by clicking on the photo.

 

Hampton Ridge

 Now, sadly, many shops close early on Saturdays

so this was the last quilt shop we managed to get to on our way home.  Fortunately, antique stores stay open a little bit longer! 

 Didn't find anything I couldn't live without but I had fun trying!

 

Of course, between shops there's a lot of free time on the road so I took a project with me...

 

This is another Block-of-the-Month that I am working on.

 

 

Now the pattern is actually written as a traditional appliqued quilt but Bella Quiltworks in Tuscon Az has modified it by reducing the size of the blocks and making it out of wool.  I've received the first 4 or 5 months of blocks but have only finished month one and two. 

 

 

 

Neither have been squared up yet and I probably should have ironed them before I took their picture but...oh well.

 

 I'm halfway done with month three, too! :)

 

 

Now, I have one more thing to share...

 

About a year or so ago I went to a quilt shop

where they sold "Stitch-a-book" and

I FINALLY tackled it and got it done!

 

 

Basically, its a binder and pages that you

cover with your choice of fabric. 

Page choices include address book, password book,

quilt diary and four or five others. 

You can get the custom binders and pages

 from stitchabook.com if your

local quilt store doesn't carry them. 

They come in three sizes...mine is a medium.

 

 

There's a pocket on the inside and next time

I'll pick a contrasting fabric for the pocket.  

You can customize it so that you use

more than one fabric but the

designer recommends you make one "single-fabric"

cover before tackling the multi-fabric cover

and I can understand why having made one. 

Now that I understand how the pattern works

 it will be easy to properly place secondary fabrics.

 

 

Well, that's been my week...what did you do? 

I'd love to hear from you and

if you have any suggestions

(shorter posts?  more pictures?  fewer pictures?)

I'd love to hear those too!

 

Keep on Quilting!

 

Irene