Sunday, November 27, 2016

Houston 2016 - Special Exhibits Part 1

Hi all -

Today I'm going to start sharing some of the quilts from the special exhibits with you. There are even more special exhibit quilts than there are contest quilts, so I'll only be sharing a sampling. But it'll give you a good idea of just how many quilts you get to see during the Houston festival!

Specimens by Susan Carlson

The special exhibit I was most looking forward to was the Specimens exhibit. I love Susan's quilts and read her blog each week, so I was really looking forward to seeing some of these quilts in person. They are incredible!

This is my favorite of Susan's quilts and is the one that brought her work to my attention:

Tickled Pink by Susan Carlson
I would love to be able to honor my pets in this way:

Golden Temple of the Good Girls by Susan Carlson
This is her latest piece, completed just in time for the exhibit:

Kaloli Moondance by Susan Carlson
And you wouldn't want to miss her life-sized, 20-foot crocodile quilt! I was lucky to be able to take a picture of the entire quilt without any people standing in front of it:

Crocodylus Smylus by Susan Carlson

Twisted

The Twisted exhibit was really cool! For this exhibit, Mary Kerr took pieces of antique quilts and made modern tops out of them, then gave them to different quilters to be quilted. These quilts were incredible and inspiring!

Dahlias in the Snow by Mary Kerr, quilted by JoAnne Blade and Kim Diamond
Flower Power by Mary Kerr, quilted by Linda Thielfoldt
Pumpkin Harvest by Mary Kerr, quilted by Gina Perkes
Homespun by Mary Kerr, quilted by Donna Ferrill James
Let Me Count the Ways by Mary Kerr, quilted by Debbie Kauffman

The Millefiori Quilts

I had never thought about making a Millefiori quilt until I saw this exhibit in person. These quilts are incredible! But a lot of work!

Tulafiori by Gisele Therezien
Star Gazing by Claudia Menzia
Ballet Avec Kaffe Fassett by Brigitte Jouve
Polychromatic Medley by Christina Belding
Passacaglia in Blues by Asa Holmer
My Butterfly Garden by Dawn Monk
Good Day Mr. Penrose by Karen Tripp, quilted by Sue Fox
There's a lot more to share, but I'm going to stop here for now. My internet is slow tonight and the Broncos/Chiefs game is just starting. Hope you enjoyed this!

Nancy

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Houston 2016 - Contest Quilts Part 2

Hi all -

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Below are some more pictures of the Houston contest quilts. These are quilts from the categories that I didn't cover in my previous post. They are all so beautiful and there is such a variety! And these are just a few of the quilts that were in the contest. I wish I had time to share them all!

In my next post, I'll start sharing quilts from some of the different exhibits at Houston this year. Again, there are a huge number of beautiful quilts in many different exhibits, so I'll just be sharing my favorites. I hope you enjoy them!!

Nancy


Innovative Applique

Moonflower by Molly Hamilton-Mcnally



Aztec Sunset by Linda Roy


Innovative Pieced

Bug: Trixelated Transportation by Dionne Matthies-Buban

Vertigo by Elaine Wick Poplin
This is the other quilt in the contest by my friend Connie, her second Honorable Mention ribbon. Again, clean lines, clear colors, beautiful workmanship and clever subject. I wish I could design quilts like these!
View From the Microscope: Pickled Paramecia by Connie Kincius Griner

The Disintegration of the Persistence of Artichokes by Sylvia Schaefer
Mr. Swirl E. Bones by Victoria Findlay Wolf and Shelly Pagliai
The picture of this quilt doesn't do it justice. The colors are really luminous!
Quahadi by Marla Kay Yeager

Bodacious by Marilyn Badger and Claudia Clark Myers

The Big Swirl by Betsy Vinegrad
iQuilt by Kathy York
Five Turns of the Wheel by Sandra Peterson
Merit Quilting, Hand

Sparkling Beyond the Dream by Keiko Minami
Princess Roses by Sachiko Chiba
Merit Quilting, Machine - Frame

From the Bride's Trousseau by Margaret Solomon Gunn
This is another quilt by a friend of mine and another one where the picture doesn't do it justice. This quilt is a beautiful, deep blue. Donna's work is always stunning!!
Imperial Majesty by Donna James
Merit Quilting, Machine - Stationary

This quilt is incredible! It's actually a wholecloth quilt made with black fabric and all of the gold color is created by thread. She says she went over the background quilting three times to make it look like fabric. I had to practically touch the quilt with my nose to see that it really was thread rather than a fabric design!
Little by Little by Ximo Navarro Sirera
Some Kind of Wonderful by Telene Jeffrey
A Spring Twist by Karlyn Bue Lohrenz
Miniature

Merry Christmas by Aki Sakai

Circle of Spring by Shoko Ferguson

Silk Road by Kumiko Frydl
Mixed Technique

Waltz of the Flowers by Keiko Okamura
Flowered & Feathered Frenzy by Susan Cleveland
It was fun to see this quilt in the contest because it is the class sample from Karen's iQuilt class on English Paper Piecing by Machine. This is the pattern that Trevor's Christmas wallhanging was made from.
Spot On by Karen K Stone
Kaleidoscope by Yurie Suzuki
Traditional Applique

Gift From Two Daughters by Fusako Takido
A Corner of Eden by Hila Maria Lott Leslie
Fantasy Flower by Keiko Ike
Flower Basket Medallion by Sylvi Sealy
And here is my friend Janet's new quilt. It's amazing to me how many beautiful designs she can create using the alphabet and sheep! And they are all so original! The colors are gorgeous!
The A-E-I-O Ewes by Janet Stone
Traditional Pieced

August Lily by Debra Lohman and Donna Lohman
Wheel of Fortune by Judy Ettema
Luminance by Betsy Vinegrad
From Indigo to Silk by Robert James
Grand Illusion by Beth Nufer and Clem Buzick