Tuesday and Wednesday I spent in Houston at the International Quilt Festival, helping with the SAQA booth and viewing acres of beautiful quilts. My friends were well-represented--Suzan had two pieces on display, and one got an Honorable Mention. Hope had two of her quilts in the Festival as well. And then all three of us were inordinately proud of our Thread Songs group quilt, "Canopy.". This is a not terribly good photo of it--I don't yet have great skill in using the camera in this computer (the lens is off to the side, so centering the photo is tricky and I cut off parts of the side panels). You can probably figure out that I did the middle panel. I think the oak in my back yard (the model for the photo we used) should be quite flattered. If, indeed, oaks have egos.
As we get better at the technical aspects of quilting, our critiques tend to get snarkier but more detailed. I know now why some of the pieces didn't impress me, and why others were so very compelling. And sometimes there was a wonderful concept diminished by marginal workmanship, or superb precision that just didn't say anything.
Tomorrow friend Shirley and I will go to Festival for the day. I have one more volunteer stint in the SAQA booth, and I'm going to be videoed talking about "Canopy" for "Go Tell It at the Quilt Show" organized by Quilt Alliance. I believe I get three minutes to say something profound. We will admire quilts and shop until we drop. I have already outspent my thread allowance, of course, but I certainly have some outstanding colors to add to the pieces I'm working on. When I wander the aisles, I hear person after person saying, "It's not as though I NEED more fabric, but I just couldn't resist . . ." And everyone around nods understandingly.
So, then that will be the end of IQF 2014, and we can think about next year. On Monday my new stove should be delivered. On Tuesday I'll be an election clerk. EVERYBODY GO VOTE! And the following week, I'll start a grand adventure with granddaughter Catherine. I'll blog about that later.