My Week at Houston International Quilt Festival

On our way to lunch on the last day,  two cohorts, Sue and Susan and I stopped by the photo booth!

My view of IQF is a little different than most attendees. I arrive on Sunday and Quilt Market is winding down, but still going on.

 Some booths are here for quilt market and quilt festival so they do not need to tear down and pack up until the following Sunday.

 Love the name of this booth.

I collect Pinocchio memorabilia, but this one didn't come home with me.

 Monday morning arrived early! I had to be ready to start checking in bus tours at 6:30AM (4:30 pacific time!)

 Even with the world series games going just blocks away this week, this was a quiet time in the morning and no lines at Starbucks!

Only lines for the tours!

I did this every morning Monday through Saturday, which I loved!

We are allowed to register for 1 1/2 days of classes. I chose to do classes I didn't have to bring much in the way of supplies. It is also a great opportunity to get into classes with world class teachers. 

What drew my eyes to both of my classes was the opportunity to see vintage textiles. 

We learned about the history of African indigo and saw several examples.

It was a fascinating class with Lori Triplett. She is a wealth of knowledge in many areas.

 The next day when I had a little free time I popped out my beans(top right design)  and snipped my rubberbands  and slipped across the street to dry my pieces. I didn't think leaving them wet in a plastic bag for 5 days was a great idea.

And then later when I had a few more minutes I found this way to completely dry them. It's a great way to start a discussion and make new friends! LOL 

 Here is my friend, Debbie, who I worked with last year in the Ed office. She opted not to return to work, but to take classes. She signed up to do the Sashiko with me.

Becky Scaletta of Shibori Dragon was the teacher and she also brought some vintage pieces to share. Last week I showed you the boro bags. I loved the edges of these sashiko pieces. These are single layer sashiko with a small hem on the sides. 

 Downstairs near the vendor area is rotating speakers throughout the day. When it is on our schedule we make sure they are miked up and everything is working properly. These two sisters are Delane and Helen Young. Their mom Blanche Young wrote Tradition with A Twist and is still in publication after 21 years! These ladies were a hoot!

Here was another woman (sorry I don't know her name) doing Brazilian embroidery.

 This year I didn't work special events but was able to take a quick cruise through the Saturday sampler. I have 4 headlamps I use for hiking, camping, and running. Why did I never consider it for hand work??! It should have been obvious!!

And there is usually a few minutes for some fun and friendship!

 Kevin the Quilter and myself enjoying Barb V quilt. It was fun to get to know him better too. 

Sue M, who I met in NYC said hello. (that's the tunic I made from the Menagerie line)

I ran into another Sue who I met years ago on a cruise with Bonnie Hunter!

 Vicki made a point to find me and say hello- she gave me treats too!

I almost feel like a Texan in this photo!

I would also like to thank the woman (I think her name was Becky) who was a teachers pet and made a donation to my Colombia mission trip! I should have snapped a quick photo of your name tag. 

Thank you to Joyce T from Richmond, TX and Mush M. from NY. You have no idea how your generosity and thoughtfulness touched my heart- really, seriously. 

 Here's some quilt loot that was donated by sponsors and passed to teachers and the education team. A few of these were donated to the ed team by the teachers. Joyce, from above, donated a goodie bag their lunch table won to me! She had to come and find me because I had to eat and run!!  Thank you!!

These are small pieces but perfect for me and my small quilting!! It is fun to try some new battings.

I do not subscribe to any quilt magazines so it was fun to have a bit of reading material on my way home.

 The quilt I loved the most just so happened to be made by my quilting friend Susan McD from NJ! Nice job Susan!!

 Here is the small stack of my purchases. 

And a great photo of the Education Team- Looks like we were all there too!!

Now I'm feeling a little under the weather, no surprise since I was in contact with so many people this past week. Have a wonderful weekend!