Houston Eye Candy 2018 - Part 1

Houston International Quilt Festival is in full swing and I am blessed, once again, to be able to enjoy the visual feast.  Are you ready for some eye candy?  As always, keep in mind that I do NOT wander around getting pictures of the winners.  I grab the ones that grab me.  Talk to me.  Inspire me.  Here we go.

First up is "Small Happy Crazy Quilt" by Aki Sakai of Hachiouji, Tokyo.  It is a mixture of  cotton, linen, and lace along with being an original design.  She says, "I like small and cute things very much.  The designs are based on my favorite things and family memories."  It is hand quilted and includes applique, embellishment, yo-yo's, and trapunto.

When you round a corner and go "Ahhhh," the camera must come up.  Cathedral Windows are not really my thing, BUT this one touches my soul.  Entitled "Beach Textures", it is by Lisa Ellis of Fairfax, Virginia.  She writes, "I am inspired by the overlapping circles from the Cathedral Window block and how they can be pixelated to create a landscape scene.  In this piece, I have created an inviting beach scene with sandy beach, cool teal waters, and cloudy skies."

Medallion quilts tend me grab me more than others as anyone who has seen my own designs would understand.  Isn't this just fun?  It is by  Ikuma Yuriko of Azumino City, Nagano, Japan.  It is another hand quilted item and that also thrills me.  Containing applique and embroidery, Ikuma says that she "made this medallion quilt using 12 divided angles and transformed Log Cabin blocks."

Now, for some small pieces.  Oh, how I do love them.  I'm not really into the color palette all that much but the pattern and workmanship make me just heart happy.  This, too, is from Japan and made by Kayoko Hata of Yokohama City in Kanagawa.  She calls it "Card Trick" and writes, "I was inspired by the traditional wood craft, 'Hakone Yosegi Zaiku,' from the Edo era.  I selected fabrics and quilt patterns to express delicate geometric wood patterns.  The work was harmonizing Japanese tradition with American tradition."  It is also hand quilted, but also hand PIECED.  Crazy bow down going on here.

How about some color?  Why does this one grab me?  Y'all know I'm not a huge fan of modern quilts but this one has certainly stopped me in my tracks.  The fabrics are so cool ---- ooooh shiny.  The pattern is mesmerizing and the hand-appliqued circles scare me to death.  All in all --- everything required to make me stand in awe.  It is by Beth Nufer in Brookings, Oregon with help from Clem Buzick and aptly entitled "Carnival."  Her write up reads, "I wanted to make a modern quilt with a 3D effect.  I used Dupioni silk fabric with a gradated cotton background fabric.  It was a fun quilt to make."

 Baskets galore!  Again, not my favorite color scheme, but the work is beautiful.  I truly adore the tiny baskets used as cornerstones on the sashing.  This one is "Farm Market Blooms" by Nancy Simmons of Duncannon, Pennsylvania.  Her words are, "I love diamonds in antique quilts, and I am inspired to create new quilts using them.  I'm drawn to the precision required for piecing the diamonds . . the smaller, the better.  This is my adaptation of Edyta Sitar's Flower Box pattern."

Now, speaking of tiny pieces.  I almost walked past this one without realizing just how cool it truly is.  It's one where you really have to get close to see what takes place.  At that point, your jaw will drop and eyes will bug out.  I promise.  I even tried to get pictures at all angles because it is just too cool.  Created by Angela Petrocelli and entitled "Celtic Migration", it contains foundation piecing and work with colored pencils.  Angela says, "This quilt was inspired by my love of Flying Geese and blends the simple complexity of Celtic knots with the subtle beauty of taupe fabrics.  In total, there are 7,924 Flying Geese blocks.  It took a little over two years to complete."  All I can add is that she is the woman.  Wow.

 Are you noticing the same thing I did at the show?  The color palette throughout the show was pretty similar and I struggled with it a bit.  I'm just keeping it honest here.  I love fall colors and enjoy seeing them used, but it just seemed as though over 75% of the show was brown or a shade of it.  At any rate, here is another one that I love but more than anything else, the quilting pulled me towards it.  By Lynda Lynn of Otis Orchards, Washington with help from Nola Mauch it is called "Monreale and Mom."  Lynda writes, "Inspired by the amazing floors seen in the Monreale Cathedral in Sicily, this quilt represents a collaborative effort with my mother.  She is a fabulous precision piecer, and the quilt would never have been completed without her.  As we were working on it, we did not know she was losing sight in her right eye, and her other eye was diminished with a cataract.  I'm so grateful for her help and for having a quilt with so much of her sewn into it!"

Every area of this quilt is quilted differently and I truly love it.

 A word on art quilts.  Struggle.  Yep, that's what I do with them.  I can view them with unrestrained admiration.  They are like a painting to me, which I know is the intent in most cases.  The talent is intense and it is something I would likely never be able to create.  With that said, I feel there was too many of them at the show this year.  Like the color palette, it seemed to me that over 75% of the show were art quilts.  Lots of bling and many are raw edge (which I, myself, have done and understand thoroughly what I am about to say) leaving me to wonder how they are cleaned.  I can't afford to dry clean clothing and thus, a large quilt is impossible.  Argh --- I am not whining, honest.  As I said at the beginning of this paragraph -- I struggle.

Having a husband who is a photographer, I use his eyes as a guide when viewing the picture quilts.  This one (again in that same color palette), grabbed me as perhaps something we would have seen on our travels.  It's simply wonderful.  Called "The Provider", it is by June Jaeger of Sister, Oregon and she says, "Capturing the heart and soul of this Mexican man, who was sheltered on the steps of an old rundown church influenced my construction.  I used fusible applique, painting with inks, and I hand-dyed fabrics to coordinate with the batiks before machine quilting.  Unfinished outside edges contributes to the feeling of the piece."

The use of fabric is the reason I stood staring at this next one for awhile.  The perfect placement of the leaves makes it all stand out to me.  It is "The First Snow at the End of Autumn" and made by Ha Minyoung of Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.  I can so see her vision in it as well.  She writes, "The beautiful colors of autumn and the first snow of winter bring excitement and regret.  This is when autumn and winter meet."  It is embellished with crystal, stone, and metal beads.

 Oooooh, I've been here.  Well, maybe not exactly that spot, but a very similar one if not - and, yes, in Maine.  Sitting by a rock bridge and contemplating life is one of my greatest pleasures.  The thread work in this one is the reason I am standing her with my jaw open.  The water ---- oh the water.  It is "Acadia's Own - Cobblestone Bridge" by Barbara Binotto of Island Falls, Maine.  Barbara writes, "Maine's Acadia National Park is well known for its 18 stone bridges along it's carriage roads.  Cobblestone Bridge is easily the most spectacular.  I was fortunate to be able to take this photo during the Spring of 2017 with the fast water running freely from the winter's snow melt."

 Hand quilting is how I began in this art and I still have a hand fame up in my house at all times with a quilt in process.  I started out taking a picture of this quilt because I knew my sweetheart would really like it and then, with a closer look, realized that all those tiny circles are hand stitched.  Bowing down once again.  It is simply amazing and apparently I am not the only one who thinks so since it received a blue ribbon for Merit Quilting, Hand.  "Songs of Early Spring" is by Chizuko Ito of Hokuto City, Yamanashi, Japan and she says, "This quilt was inspired by emerging bubbles from the bottom of a pond in early spring.  I used a traditional pattern and quilted it using traditional Sashiko style."

 Oooooh, more tiny pieces and these give the illusion of feathers.  Wonderful.  "Gail Shopped at Logan's Patchwork" (what a fun name) is by Robert James of Woolooware, New South Wales, Australia.  His story goes, "Gail Saddleir, a fellow quilter, gave me a packet of blue fabrics for Christmas.  She purchased it at Logan's Patchwork Shop in Sydney.  I decided to use this and other fabrics from the same shop.  I love Log Cabin variations and chose Cat's Eye.  It was machine foundation pieced, contrasting the bright colors against rich creams.  I quilted it in the ditch using invisible thread."

 And speaking of tiny Log Cabin blocks --- here is another that I loved.  "Chenault" by Amy Pabst of Le Roy, West Virginia has 8,092 pieces and was foundation pieced and quilted in the ditch.  It is a mix of cotton and Dupioni silk.

As Val and I wandered the show, we both stopped to talk about the crazy straight quilting lines on this piece only to discover that they are not quilting lines.  They are seams.  It is a QAYG entry and I LOVE it.  I think trying something like this is definitely in my future.  Leah Gravells of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada calls this "Flax Fields" and says, "I was inspired by the periwinkle blue flowers of the flax fields of Alberta, Canada.  On the prairies, the fields and blue sky create unending space.  The design contains 147 batik fabrics that were individually cut into 3/4-inch strips.  Each strip was quilted to the batting and backing using the quilt-as-you-go technique on a domestic sewing machine."

 I am drawn to places in nature.  I've always known this about myself.  "Stepping Up" by Pat Durbin of Arcata, California looks like a place I would love to be.  "During a morning forest walk, we came upon the steps to a bridge over a creek, and I was amazed at the amount of tiny plants covering the steps.  I decided this would be a fun scene for a quilted art piece."

 This next quilt has selvage fun going on throughout it.  I LOVE it and perhaps will use this as inspiration on the stack of selvages I have been starting to save.  "Selvage Siblings" is by Mayleen Vinson of Haysville, Kansas and she says, "This is the fifth quilt in my Selvage quilt series.  I chose to challenge my hand applique skills by creating Sunflower Sue and Overall Bill using selvages.  Hand embroidery and big stitch quilting were added in the background to create texture and interest.  Each sibling has a unique personality.  Thank you to my friends and quilt guild members for contributing selvages!"

To start to bring this post to an end, here are some of the big winners that really inspired me and made me want to stand and stare for a very long time.  Winner of the Gammill Master Award for Contemporary Artistry is "Velvet Flowers" by Linda Anderson of La Mesa, California.  She has this to say about it:  "In the quiet village of Santa Rosa in Oxaca, Mexico, all the women, and some men, embroider blouses and skirts of velvet with hand-stitched flowers.  They gather around tables, chatting back and forth, as they create a style of dress also used by the artist, Frida Kahlo.  Flowers continue today to dance across the rich clothing on the solid women of this land."  I remember the days when I first learned how to quilt and it was done around a frame just like this and was filled with conversation and fun.  I miss those days.

The Founder's Award goes to Setsuko Matsushima of Otsu-shi, Shiga, Japan.  It is entitled "Over the Waves" and contains hand-quilting, piecing, applique and embroidery.  So, so beautiful and pictures do NOT do it justice.  Setsuko writes, "A huge tsunami occurred in Japan in March of 2011.  I made this quilt to honor the people who sacrificed.  I hope all people receive this light as a ray of home from a lighthouse."

 Here's a slightly closer look at those wonderful square in a square blocks.

 Best of Show goes to Sherry Reynolds of Laramie, Wyoming for Eternal Beauty.  This title is spot on.  Once again, pictures are just not the same thing as seeing it in person, but it's still pretty cool to see it at all.  Sherry says, "Dedicated to my mom, whose beauty in life shines eternally in my heart.  I chose the colors she loved and paired them with a Robert Kaufman print.  Four years and 15,000 pieces later, I created a vision of love and beauty in the night sky.  The mosaic tile border that frames the quilt is original and pieced.  Roughly 5,000 hours of work went into this quilt."  There is some embellishment with Swarovski crystals.  It's not the best picture as getting close was impossible, but enlarge it if you can.  That's it for this post - part 2 coming soon.