Houston 2019 Eye Candy - Part 1

Houston International Quilt Festival's 45th Anniversary Sapphire Celebration is underway and I am crazy excited to be here.  My eyes cannot hold still for even a second --- there is just so much to see.  Are you ready for some eye candy?  I know I am and I'm so willing to share what turns my head.  I'm not wandering around looking for the ribbon or big money winners --- just what makes me happy or leaves me in awe.  Come along and enjoy.

As our group enters the show, all eyes rise to the ceiling.  Blue and white quilts take center stage and once I pick my jaw back up, the camera comes out.  I managed to lose my copy of just who each of these belong to -- so my apologies to the amazing creators.  This is one of the most magnificent displays I have ever had the pleasure to view.  The center structure holds 120 blue/white quilts with 70 hanging underneath it and 50 more scattered about as part of the exhibit.  This is a total of 240 sapphire quilts and does not include random blue and white quilts that are not part of the exhibit or the minis below.  WOW.  Just WOW.  (There were colored lights waaaay up high, thus giving the pinkish color to these photos.)  Another fun fact, compliments of my friend Val, is that this exhibit will travel for the next couple of years so many of these quilts won't be returned to their owners until 2021 or 2022.

This One Block Wonder has me thinking perhaps I'd like to try one.

At this point --- our necks hurt from looking up and we are ready to pay closer attention to eye level.  Under the main display, I see this mini and have to tell you that it just makes my heart sing.  Look at these little pieces.  It is Snowflake 9 Patch by Andrea Blackhurst of Centerville, OH.  The little squares finish at 1/4".  Yep, you read that right.  Very cool.

As we leave the blue carpet and begin another section, jaws are dropping again.  Amy Pabst of Le Roy, West Virginia, has an exhibit entitled, "Log Cabin: 100k."  I'm going to spotlight several from this area as they are just messing with my mind.  I like little pieces, but . . . .  First up is Off-Center Barn Raising, which has 2, 730 pieces towards the total of 100,000 pieces in the series.  These are finishing at 1/4".

Next is "Marching Elephants," containing 2, 750 pieces towards the total.

I've put my finger near the quilt so that you can see how small it truly is.  Like I said -- jaw dropping.  (No, I am not touching it.)

God's Eye has 1,344 pieces and is foundation pieced.  Why?  Well, the strips finish at 1/8".

Stars and Stripes boasts 5,480 pieces towards the exhibit count.  OMG.

The last one I'll share from this exhibit is "Thunderstruck."  And I am.  Truly.  I went and found my friends and brought them back for a second look at this one.  It has 4,330 pieces towards the total and the strips finish at 1/8", which is crazy enough, but . .

Check out the border up close.  (I'm sorry it's a bit blurry, but you get the point.)  Wow, just wow.

I am loving that small piecing is being featured so much this year.  It is where my heart lies (although these are really, really tiny pieces so far) and has my mind just buzzing.  "Pieces of My Life" is the next exhibit that pulls me in.  It is by Shizuko Kuroha of Sugianami-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.  This first piece is called "Echoes of Light" and is hand quilted.  She wrote that the fabric was the inspiration for this quilt.  This is one of the blue/white quilts that I referred to above --- it is not included in the Sapphire count.

"Breeze Through The Leaves" is so interesting and I cannot even begin to figure out how it was assembled.  Seriously.  I do love that it uses recycled shirts and the border fascinates me as it is made from hexies.  Hmmmm.  I have been avoiding them rather well, but I do like this concept.  It is an original design by Shizuko and is also hand-quilted.

Another of her quilts, "2000 Stars," allows the fabric to take center stage.  How the squares are laid out creates the pattern.

Moving into the Landscape Quilts division finds me staring at "Missouri Barn" by LeAnn Hileman of Glendale, AZ.  "Using fabric and fiber, as well as the quilting techniques such as trapunto and thread-drawing, in this quilt I interpreted a photograph I took near Hamilton, Missouri.  I wonder who built and owned that wonderful barn?  This one made me think of my grandfather, a Danish immigrant who in his time built the biggest barn in Dakota County, Nebraska.  Every barn has a story," says LeAnn.  It is hand appliqued and embellished, machine appliqued, quilted, and embellished, trapuntoed, thread-drawn.

"Still Life" by Pauline Salzman, of Gulfport, FL, also makes me stop and stare.  It also came from a photograph and she writes, "Like the trees and the bushes, elderly people are part of the landscape around us.  We don't always notice them or care.  These fellows are in Chateau de Choenoceau in France sitting on two benches with their dog."  It is machine appliqued and quilted.

"Beautifu Taiwan-Mountain Ranges" by Shu-Hui-Chen of Xinwu Dist., Taoyuan City, Taiwan is machine pieced, appliqued, quilted and embellished.  Again, taken from a picture, "the mountains with ever-changing clouds, tea gardens, and pink cherry blossoms, create a unique world of its own.  When I visited, I was impressed," she writes.  Look at the detail.  Simply magnificent.

Speaking of landscape quilts, y'all know I have struggled with them in the past and am learning to have an appreciation for them.  I always have "cleaning" in the back of my mind and lay that blame squarely at my husband's feet, but appreciating them is getting easier for me even though I will likely never make one.  "Perusia" by Annamaria Brenti of Frascati, Rome does make me want to travel and definitely has the feel of a painting on the wall.  It is an original design and  she writes that, "These are the lights and the magical atmosphere in Perugia, Italy.  You can almost hear the sweet music of Orpheus playing his lyre to the animals in a 2000-year-old Roman mosaic.  Past and present, dream and reality, day and night seem to be floating together towards a harmony of colors and sounds."  The techniques include hand pieced, appliqued, and quilted, trapuntoed, paper-pieced, reverse applique.

It definitely kept me standing there for quite some time examining all the angles.

One of the sections involves Baltimore Album quilts.  Over the years I have shared several that I love and would maybe like to tackle some day.  Maybe.  This next one is "My First Baltimore Album" by Teresa Sherling of Denton, TX and quilted by Nicky Burch.  Look at the border on this one as it is what stopped me.  I think borders can make a quilt go from one level to the next and this is one I would love to try sometime.  Those little diamonds appear to still be attached to the main fabric.  Is it all appliqued on?  I can't tell.  Teresa writes, "This is my favorite quilt of all time.  It is full of symbolism of my family and my heritage.  From the peacock reminding me of those owned by my in-laws, to the pear preserves that my mother and grandmother created from our own pear trees, this quilt holds a special place in my  heart.  The yellow rose is in honor of my mom as it was her favorite color and flower.  Lastly, the sewing and embroidery used to complete the quilt is an homage to my grandmother who taught me to sew and embroider."  The techniques used are hand appliqued, embroidered, and embellished, machine pieced and quilted, inked.

"Precious Memories" by Debbie Coates of Denton, TX and quilted by my friend, Maria Hall, is hand pieced, appliqued, and embroidered, machine pieced and quilted, painted, embellished.  She says, "Precious Memories began in a one-year Baltimore Album quilt class with Barb McCraw and Teresa Sherling  (quilt above).  This quilt became my life story, representing our family, friends, our farm, my yard, and its gardens.  Many details in each block have personal meaning to family members such as the coconut representing my grandmother, and the needles and hands that represent me.

Now for something different.  An explosion of color perhaps?  "A Rising Star" by Miri Tsoi of Kyiv, Ukraine is all hand pieced and quilted.  Yep, that makes it even more incredible.  If you can zoom in --- you need to.  Soooo many pieces.  Miri says, "After taking Jinny Beyer classes in the Ukraine, I made a kaleidoscope quilt of my dream.  It was a challenge for me to make a background that could show the sparkling colors of the star.  For more than a year I worked on design ideas and then it took me almost a year to collect the fabrics."

My heart just melted when I spotted this quilt.  Any of my grandsons would have loved it at a point in time.  It's just happy and I love the bear paw block even though I have not yet made one - plus it uses recycled shirts.  Bonus!  This is called "The Performance" and is by Linda K. Ainsworth of Beaumont, TX.  It is hand appliqued, machined pieced and quilted.  Linda writes, "This quilt began as an idea since 1995.  I wanted a plaid quilt with a banner on top depicting the dancing bears over Bear Paw blocks.  I hand-appliqued all the animals and added a road runner.  The seven inch Bear Paw blocks form the remainder of the quilt.  I finally had a purpose for expanding my idea that has been with me for more than 20 years.  Sometimes, it just takes that long . . "  I agree and that is why many projects sit in various stages throughout my studio.

This is just the best "round robin" type of quilt I've seen in a while.  All those small pieces make me happy and although I'm not a big fan of the civil war color palette, I like this a lot.  Entitled "Vintage Melody" and made by Ramona Griffin of Austin, TX, it was quilted by Angela McCorkle.  I LOVE what Ramona has to say about it.  "I enjoy making traditional quilts using Civil War reproduction fabrics.  Instead of making six miniature quilts, I joined three of Kim Diehl's patterns together in a round robin style quilt.  The quilt includes Churn Dash blocks, an appliqued border, and a Double Four Patch block.  The traditional theme of this quilted garden is brimming over with colorful blocks, blossoms, and birds in sun-drenched colors that will never fade."

Remember what I said about borders?  Well, dang.  This one is wonderful and I am ready to make one right now.  Love, love, love it.  This is "A Little Green Goes a Long Way" by Judith Scheppach of Batavia, IL and quilted by Erica Barrett.  I am definitely going to give this a try.

Sherri and I had spent some time talking about chenille and the many uses of it so when I came across this purse, I felt it deserved a mention.  I want to work with this product but each time I try, it goes awry.  Perhaps another effort is ahead.

I'm going to end Part 1 with an award winner.  Montserrat Forcadell Blasco of Cambrils, Tarragona and Catalunya, Spain took home the Gammill Master Award for Contemporary Artistry which included $5,000.  One can easily see why.  What one can't easily see is how these log cabins go together to create this masterpiece.  Oh my.  It is called "Blau de Colors - El Tubo and the artist writes, "Inspired by the theory of relativity and quantum physics from Max Planck, I created a grid where log Cabin blocks were strategically designed and placed, giving direction to the whole construction.  Light was efficiently placed as the center spot of each block.  Color choices were based on the chromatic circle of colors."

This is phenomenal!!!  I cannot express how much I stand in awe of it.  I had seen it before in a picture, but in person --- wowzers.

And that's it for installment one of 2019.  I'll have the second half up within a day or so.  Hugs to all.