Houston Quilt Festival 2018, the quilts, Part 1

I’ll probably have at least 2 posts of the quilts at this year’s Houston International Quilt Festival. Stay tuned as I may have more than one post/week for just awhile.

It was not until I began to go through my photos that I realized 2 surprising things: I was drawn to applique (which I do not do!) and I’m shocked at how many of the quilts I liked that were made by international quilters. Walk with me through the show:

This tribute to Judy Murrah brought tears to my eyes. Judy headed up the Education for Festival and was an author and teacher for many years. I find it hard to put into words how much she contributed to quilters and garment makers and how deeply loved she was. It felt very odd to walk into the Teacher’s Lounge and not see Judy. She was always supportive of me and helped me along the way. I miss her.

The Power of Women exhibit was, well, powerful! It was a striking installation of 3 types of quilts: the long banners hung high from the central display, smaller quilts hung near the ground and the banners hung in conjunction with the larger display. Each quilt expressed the maker’s love and appreciation of an influencial woman in their life. There were no signs on individual quilts, so I don’t have the makers or titles.

Another view…

Although there were very few people on the floor during Market, I ran into 2 makers while there:

Judy Williams Beskow made a quilt to honor Karen Nyburg, the astronaut who made quilt blocks in space.

Edith Gross’s quilt Just a Teacher had a story to tell. In the background she quilted guns, drug paraphenelia, family strife and other images depicting the many things a teacher deals with in the classroom.

I was struck by this piece but don’t know who it depicts or the maker. If you know something about this piece, please write me and I’ll amend the post.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral by Ursula Cierbaumer-Bohle of Austria. Stunning piece from the Tactile Architecture exhibit. Painted, pieced and appliqued.

Quilting Overtakes the GRB by Jean Grimes. To those of us that go to Festival every year, this is an iconic image of the “GRB”, the George R. Brown Convention Center. Look, there are feathers in those windows! The surface was painted and appliqued.

Like Butta by Mary Markworth, quilted by Melane McCuller. An update on a simple Churn Dash with curves and some awesome quilting made this one of my favorites. Love that orange!

Minis were one of the brightest points of this year’s show. In addition to the Miniature category in World of Beauty, The Quilt Show sponsored the International Miniature Quilt Exchange which highlighted how quilting brings the world together. Quilters from the US were paired with an international quilter and together they created their theme.

I am embarrassed to admit that in my haste, I did not realize the pairing, so my photos were taken of each individual quilt.

I loved Laura’s colorful take on the Log Cabin.

And here is her masterful partner. I couldn’t resist taking a photo to show the scale:

OMG!

Oh what beautiful sweetness! Again, the scale:

Impossible, no?

The mastery that it takes to create such a quilt….

Esther’s Cheddar Casserole by Wendy Caton Reed. Who doesn’t like cheddar? The applique was beautiful and I so enjoyed each block.

Retired to the Country by Denise Oyama Miller. Denise and Nancy Ryan’s exhibit, Textures of the Sierra captured the beauty of our nearby Sierras.

Somewhere in Nevado by Nancy Ryan. This hand-painted piece stopped me in my tracks. I feel the wind and the panoramic beauty of the Sierras.

Newton by Janet Clare, UK. This is an unusual piece and caught my eye. Janet is inspired by the weather and has designed a fabric collection around the subject. No coincidence that she chose a “rain” fabric to cover the UK!

Geese Study 1 by Heather Kinion. Oh the beauty of the simple! Hand quilted with Kantha-like stitches.

Flower Power by Janice Richardson, quilted by Beth Cardozo. Janice used the Rosemaking in Baltimore pattern.

Her applique was exquisite!

The Wonder in Color by Tamar Ophir, Israel. At this point it became obvious to me that I was drawn to applique, color and flowers. This is a wow!

Flora Australis by Denise Griffiths, Australia. What a masterful use of scale, fabric, color and design! I loved the border around the outrageously over-sized flowers.

Esodo by Angela Minaudo, France, in the Trip to the End of the World exhibit. Refugees search for a better life, often at their own peril.

Small Boat, Small Trip by Sandra Van Velzen, France. Painted and appliqued. Beautifully rendered.

Aussie Bush Delights by Lois Parish Evans, New Zealand. Appliqued and hand colored with Inktense pencils. This evokes a sense of a botanical drawing to me and the addition of the Inktense makes for a glorious work of art.

This is half of the Adventures in Comics and Cosplay exhibit by Cheryl Slaboda. I can’t imagine the work that goes into the structure of some of these pieces. Note the Jack Kirby inspired quilts in the background. My photo does not do the exhibit justice. Some viewers were intrigued, others were just downright puzzled.

Marie-Henriette by Martine Crabe-Lanux, France. This is applique! So whimsical, with exquisite attention to detail and technique.

Vase de Fleurs et Roses Grimpantes by Michele Beugnon, France, inspired by a mid-19th century quilt in the collection of Kay Triplett. Oh so charming!

Delightful! Too bad I don’t applique…

The Twinkle Stars Remake Quilt by Helma Huisman Hildebrand. A beautiful take of a traditional Amish quilt.

Sophia by Liz Jones, UK. Liz wrote that she is intrigued by the combination of various textures and patterns to enrich the surface of a quilt. The border was so lovely and her color choices spot-on. This was one of my favorites also.

Winter Shadow by Sara Sharp. Ah, love the beauty in everyday scenes about us. What an interesting piece–I felt the winter afternoon.

On Reflection: Cape Town, Harbour Fenders by Susan de Vanny, Australia. This is based on a photo taken from Susan’s hotel room using applique, embellishment, collage and thread sketching. It was one of the most striking pieces in the show.

Provisions by Deborah Boschert. There was such beauty, interest and quiet balance in this piece. And so much fabulous detail!

The Urn by Jane Sassaman. This was based on the Dutch still life paintings, vanita, which portray life’s brevity through symbols. If you know Jane’s work, you’ll see her signature in the motifs.

Staccato 2 by Margarete Steinhauer. Margarete interprets the musical term, staccato in this piece. I love its graphic nature and movement!

Stone Lakes by Jan Soules. Oh the colors and peacefulness of this! This is probably the piece I would be most likely to put in my home if I could buy more art.

Please note, I don’t post photos of quilts that I have already shown in previous posts, nor do I generally post the big prize winners. You will find excellent photos of The Big Winners other places, so no need for me to post mine. If you want excellent photos, go to Pam Holland’s blog-she is an excellent photographer with a refined eye for talent and artistry.

Remember 2 things: stay tuned, I may be posting more than once/week for awhile and two and I’ll be linking up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday!