So my road to the hot place is clearly better paved today than it was when I last wrote that I was going to get to this post before Thanksgiving. Sigh. I’ll just say I cooked instead and the pie and gravy (not eaten together) were REALLY good. But at long last here’s my post about International Quilt Market, a trade show open to quilt industry professionals.
Eli, Cross Country 2013 in the Dinner@8 exhibit Reflections
I only had about 90 minutes on Sunday afternoon and the same on Monday during the lunch break from the class I was teaching to visit International Quilt Market. It is aimed primarily at shops who come to see what’s new and order inventory for their stores for the coming season from the various independent designers, fabric companies, notions manufacturers and wholesalers. But other industry professionals (teachers, longarmers, authors, press) are allowed to attend, also. There are many booths at Market that do not stay for Festival, so it’s a great time to network if you work in the industry as I do.
On the way in, I dashed through the exhibits (fewer people, easier to get from here to there quickly) and spotted my quilt of Eli running around the corner in the Reflections exhibit. Jamie re-hung the exhibit so the quilts were in a better color-flow order for Festival (more pics in a future post), but I got this picture. The theme was Reflections, and I vowed for once I would NOT be literal! Instead, I chose to make this portrait of Eli, four years (and the same age) after I did the portrait of Joshua playing guitar. I see reflected in him my father’s and brothers’ shoulders, brother Charlie’s forehead, Paul’s (hubby) athletic ability, my eyes and sense of color and taste. Can you tell I’m proud of all my guys?
And I also spotted this…Two of Us , in the Inspired by the Beatles exhibit!
Two of Us, my quilt, is on the right. For the exhibit we were to make a square quilt (I think it was 24 inches?) with the title of a Beatles song but, due to copyright issues, no lyrics on it. I chose to make an anniversary quilt for Paul (then promptly told him he had to give it back to be in several exhibits, the life of a quilter’s husband!) with hand-drawn and collaged images in the center and a scrapbook style frame pf photos from the time I met him in west Africa, through our wedding and life overseas, the birth of our children, life in Maine, to mother’s day in 2013.
Then I made it to the floor of Quilt Market. On the way to meet someone, I passed this booth and had to stop. I fell in LOVE with these fabrics and quilts from the RiverWoods collection by Troy. Hope they will be available locally or online!
Now isn’t THIS an eye-grabbing display featuring fabulous fabrics?
And
The fabric samples. Yes, I’ll take a yard of each! Actually, I’d take a BOLT of that mango and pink!
A close up of one of those quilts:
That glorious color!
They also had this lovely sample in quieter colors…I’d love a bed quilt like that!
Blues beautiful sea blues
I’m taking a bit of a teaching sabbatical from Aug 2015 to late June 2016 to be home for every day of Eli’s senior year. Maybe I can make some new bed quilts!
Booths to enjoy
One thing about digital cameras, you can take pics as you whiz by. This booth was, I believe, part of the Westminster fabrics area (they print the Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics)…love the carpet, the kimono, the riot of color!
Then you see things I for one wouldn’t think to do…like black and white (by Jennifer Sampou) but that are fab! That storm at sea is one of my favorite traditional patterns, and love this contemporary take on it.
But color wins out….I managed to pass by Jamie Fingal’s booth promoting her new line of fabric just after the closing bell rang…Jamie had already made it out, but I snapped a pic anyway!
Jamie Fingal’s latest line of fabric features pinks, greens, oranges….. LOVE IT! I’ll tae a yard of most of these, too.
Tula Pink had a colorful booth. Check out the fantastic Union Flag quilt on the left, the stylized alphabet quilt on the wall in the corner (above the pinked up Bernina on the table), and that arched doorway quilt on the right wall. Maybe I need to make a Union Flag pillow for my living room chair to commemorate Eli’s and my trip this past summer!
And last booth pic,
What a profusion of pattern and texture. I am pretty sure these are Parson Gray and Amy Butler. I just want to sit in room with those ottomans and funky old wood bits!
And no trip to Houston would be complete without at least a couple dinners at Ninfa’s on Navigation! We can get lots of good ethnic foods in Maine, but alas Mexican is not among them, so I indulge in Houston:
My favorite dinner of taco, tamale, and enchilada with refritos and rice. And when the teaching is done, add a margarita or mojito! I started eating then remember the photo, so the tamale is already eaten!
Back soon (I hope) with more good stuff from Houston and England.
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