Home from Houston

Work and travel have interfered with my sewing and rug hooking over the past six weeks so I haven't had much to post about. I did manage to piece a back for the star quilt, see the binding on Celtic Solstice and Grand Illusion (another 64 feet of binding to hand stitch!) and finish piecing my Quatrefoil top.  Nothing all that picture-worthy, though.... As much as I usually like Edyta's fabrics I'm not completely in love with Quatrefoil.  I'm hoping the quilting can bring it to life.

Baltimore on the Prairie was a little different this year - new location, split into two groups to accommodate all the requests for Sue Garmin - and left me feeling a bit disappointed.  I usually leave there so inspired but this year that was not the case. One thing I saw that did catch my eye was the sign in the lobby of the lodge.  This tree would be awesome in appliqué!

Although my September trip fell a bit short of expectations, my trip to Houston definitely made up for it!  I was worried that it would not be all that exciting - I'm at a point where I have so many projects lined up that I really want to do that I really am not interested in shopping (awful, isn't it??) and things are so crazy at work that I knew It would not be a true vacation.  As it turns out, spending a little less time walking the vendor floor (although I spent plenty of time there, trust me!) and a little more time listening to presentations and wandering around downtown made for a great trip!

I listened to quite a few of the "Meet the Teacher" presentations. I didn't get pictures of them all, but here's Kathy Dunnigan on stage talking about her appliqué techniques:

It's hard to get a flattering photo of people when they are talking!

The first day I was in Houston - in fact, even on the plane on the way down - several people mentioned the Phoenicia as a great place to eat.  I decided to check it out for lunch on Thursday.  It is the coolest specialty market with prepared foods and groceries and places to sit and eat.

I was really impressed by the pita bread line.

Such a cool place!  I ended up eating there again on Friday.  It was great!

There were a number of really awe-inspiring quilts, including this one made by Barbara Korengold with an insane amount of gorgeous appliqué and embroidery:

And this one that turns out to be this quilter's first quilt (seriously?!?):

The trip ended on a high note with the most fantastic workshop on Friday - needle turn appliqué with Irene Blanck.  She does a couple of things that I really haven't seen before that are a bit intriguing and worth giving a try.  She is such a down to earth person and so incredibly nice! The class was a blast!

I'm back home now after escaping the monsoons in Houston this morning and in between unpacking and doing laundry I've already made the run to Lowe's for my paint chips.

Let the mystery madness begin!!!