Fall Travels

I've had a busy and incredibly inspiring past couple of weeks!  Houston was phenomenal - by far the best show I've ever seen. Although the special exhibit of 500 traditional quilts was fantastic, the red and white quilts stole the show.  The exhibit was breathtaking!

I have been wanting to make a red and white quilt ever since I saw photos of the exhibit in New York, but after experiencing the Houston display I feel that I absolutely must make one. I am still trying to decide on a pattern. I already have a start on collecting fabric for it, though. We attended a 40th Anniversary Celebration luncheon while at the Festival and were treated to a beautiful room of red and white - white tablecloths topped with squares of a gorgeous red Moda fabric, accented with coordinating Moda fabrics for napkins. Our napkins were ours to keep as a souvenir, and one lucky person at each table won the table topper. I was the lucky winner!  I plan to use both the napkin and the table topper in my red and white project.

Another exhibit I really enjoyed at Houston highlighted Australian quilters. Quilts by Di Ford, Carolyn Koenig and Michelle Yeo were displayed in one section of the show.  They were all beautiful!  All three were available at the exhibit, autographing books and answering questions. Di and Michelle also taught a free broderie perse class at the Craftsy stand.  It was a wonderful and unexpected surprise to get to chat with them and learn their techniques.

There is so much more to tell about Houston - a class with Luixin Newman and a new scanning and cutting toy that I can't wait to try out....But then there was the Birthday Bash at Wooly Woolens over the last weekend. It is always so wonderful to go to Janice's!  The food is terrific, the wool is to die for and the company is always tons of fun.  We sat with Barb from Iowa and Karen from Nebraska. They were great table-mates!  We are hoping that we can all get together again at a class next year.

I started a new rug. This is officially the largest rug I have ever started. And by large I mean huge.  Really huge. Somewhat intimidating, really...  I am making great progress - or so it seems until I take it off the frame and see how much more there is to do.  I am so happy with the colors that I want to work on it every chance I get!

Too bad the new rug excitement always wears off long before the project is complete!