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

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