Lovely Daughter and I used to attend the annual Houston International Quilt Show. I’ve missed a few over the years, especially when she went off to college and couldn’t make it home for that one weekend. I’ve found some fellow quilters and for the last two years I’ve gone with them. It’s just so much more fun when you can share your admiration over someone’s handiwork with someone else who can also admire said someone’s handiwork.
This quilt show is the world’s largest, I believe. It runs almost a whole week, and the display and vendor areas take up about 2/3 of the bottom floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center. There was a food court that took up almost the rest of the space. Upstairs, various artists taught their skills to others willing and able to pay for the classes and spend an afternoon learning the special techniques of mastering points and curves without losing one’s mind and possibly your best friend in the process.
For many of the general public, quilts are oh-so-boring a topic, but when the skills are considered – the selection (and finding) of the perfect fabric, the careful cutting, the exacting joining, the exquisite stitching – and the patience, vision, and persistence involved – one can only give in to the “ooh” and “ahh” when a particularly spectacular quilt is presented. The prize winning quilts and one stained-glass quilt in particular made me catch my breath. The pictures I am going to share with you don’t even come close to giving these quilts justice. There’s a certain quality to the fabric, the colors, and stitching that doesn’t translate well, especially since I didn’t bring my best camera. Flog me. Next year I bring the ‘spensive picture taker.
There’s a theme or a featured country each year. The year the Japanese quilts were featured were a delight in silk and sophisticated imagery! This year was a breast cancer awareness theme. Yes, there some pink quilts, but I found the quilt with boobies quite amusing.
My photostream can be found here. Again, I apologize for the poor photography. Though I’m sure the guys can find the boobie quilt without a problem. That is, if they can get past the man cave with the big screen TV playing football, and the reclining chairs.
Next year, I’m going to have to prep myself. Perhaps train for a marathon, or some such. Maybe while I’m viewing psychedelic 60’s movies to work up a tolerance to sensory overload. Then I won’t be so worn out.
Extreme Quilt Show Viewing 2011
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Comments
14 responses to “Extreme Quilt Show Viewing 2011”
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???? Must be a chick thang. Whats’ next, links to one’a dem home improvement shows? Somebody post reloading or hunting links stat.
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???? Must be a chick thang. Whats’ next, links to one’a dem home improvement shows? Somebody post reloading or hunting links stat.
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Just goes to show…
…everyone’s a geek about something.
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Just goes to show…
…everyone’s a geek about something. -
Quilt show wimps, the both of ya!
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Quilt show wimps, the both of ya!
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Hey gtotracker and wagonburner, you is lookin’ at lotsa $$$$$ in the value of the artwork and the prices they can sell for. 🙂 Never mind the boost to Houston’s economy. Until this year’s bigger OTC, the quilt show was the largest convention in Houston attendance wise for several years running, and now it’s #2.
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Hey gtotracker and wagonburner, you is lookin’ at lotsa $$$$$ in the value of the artwork and the prices they can sell for. 🙂 Never mind the boost to Houston’s economy. Until this year’s bigger OTC, the quilt show was the largest convention in Houston attendance wise for several years running, and now it’s #2.
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The quilt show is the largest convention hosted in Houston, by far.
I heard that from the head of the convention bureau. -
The quilt show is the largest convention hosted in Houston, by far.
I heard that from the head of the convention bureau. -
Some interesting and intricate fabric art, but my taste in quilts runs to Americana standard designs. I couldn’t figure out the breast quilt, even in the closeup it looked like a fruit-oriented dessert tray to me. I was pleased to see some of the male Hamsters had ventured over and even commented.
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Some interesting and intricate fabric art, but my taste in quilts runs to Americana standard designs. I couldn’t figure out the breast quilt, even in the closeup it looked like a fruit-oriented dessert tray to me. I was pleased to see some of the male Hamsters had ventured over and even commented.
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#6 mharper
I also tend towards the traditional patchwork, but I’m not beyond admiring the skill and beauty in the newer forms. Well, most of them. I’m sorry, but photographing or painting the fabric is cheating, IMHO.
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#6 mharper
I also tend towards the traditional patchwork, but I’m not beyond admiring the skill and beauty in the newer forms. Well, most of them. I’m sorry, but photographing or painting the fabric is cheating, IMHO.
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