Wednesday doings

Wednesday is preview night when out trip enters its third and final phase of the Show itself; the first two are Out & About then classes. Preview night is also when the bulk of the shopping gets done.


Liberty and silk samples; other attendees started a quilt. I played.

Attendees examining the best in show made by a Texan.

One of the 20 long aisles of traders.

Meet up for drinks and Show & Tell afterwards.

Photo Session

Modern Mystery class with the wonderful Gyleen Fitzgerald which we all
did and all agreed was fantastic. The Juki machines were good too.

Belinda's MM work.

My work

Olive Garden with Carolyn and Mandy, Note this also involved a further visit
to JoAnn's and Walmart.

My Trash to Treasure workshop with Gyleen today (Weds)

They say Hi too.

Show and Tell in the Olive Garden,

My T to T morning work - trying variations using Liberties and silk.

Reporting from Houston

My Xcentrics

Anita Grossman Solomon in fron of her class.

Woke up to a fierce electrical storm on Sunday morning - no car lights on the distant freeway. Judi stayed home to rest her foot and Stan took us two to the premier outlet shopping centre where it was good to browse with no particular object in view though I bought two pairs of linen trousers very cheaply in two different sizes, one for going out and a looser pair for at home.
Monday classes started with a vengeance but both my daytime ones involved presentations and notetaking. Jodi Barrows gave a good lunchtime lecture relating cotton industry to the economic development of the country and to quilting and her family history illustrated with quilts and slides. The lunch was fresh and delicious too.
In the evening two of did X-Centric squares while Judi went silk painting. Cocktails in the bar afterwards joined by Philippa and friend Maggie.

Quilter's Palette with Jan Matthews

Jodi Barrows lecture

Mary Sorenson showing us needleturn applique; great teacher and
great class. Inspired so bought DVD.

Block from Mary S. pattern which I won for being fourth
to sign up - the pattern that is, not the quilt.

 

 



Belinda's X-centric samples

Saturday in Texas

Another very good day here and good weatherwise too. We visited two quilt shops but first we stopped at I-Hop for breakfast American style. Then onto the Painted Pony (I think), a huge shop with lots of up to date fabrics in overwhelming choice. It took us longer than we expected to get out of there. Then onto Galveston where we decided to forgo the planned trip to the Moody Mansion but to explore downtown and  the Halloween fun going on there. There were lots of little children (and grown ups) in fancy dress finery. Shops who would welcomethem  had notices on the window and if the children were costumed and said the magic "Trick or Treat" spell sweets would be forthcoming. Once the car parking was up we drove along the coast and viewed some fancy real estate. Then back across the bridge to JoAnns and the Pinwheels and Posie shop where I sourced  some lovely Royal Blue. We finished up at Round Robin for beefburger and G & T and Show &Tell, quite extensive, back at the hotel.

I-Hop

Painted Pony with masses of space left and right

Disnet cruise ship at the end of the street

Halloween party goers

We all scream for ice cream.

Back in the USA

Here we are outside an 1837 planked cabin in the Historic Society park

Split
nine patch in the hotel loo?

Paula Nedelstern quilt designs used for
the hotel carpets.



Spit roasting meat at our
lunchtime restaurant,

Great to be in Houston again for the Quilt Show. Here we are adjusting to the different time scale. We've had a lovely day today starting with an 11am lunch at Fago de Chao a Brazilian ranchero restaurant with spit roasted meats and wonderful salads then on to the Historic Society's collection of transported buildings. Connie, our guide. led us knowledgeably around four of them. There were some wonderful old quilts and exquisite quilting but we were not allowed to take photos inside so as consolation Connie took a picture of our group outside a planked cabin dating from 1837. Then onto JoAnn's where I bought all I needed for classes. We didn't find Walmart but stocked up with supplies from a supermarket with a strong Mexican influence which I loved with many happy memories of that country and its people. Back to the hotel for a margarita in the bar and G&T in J&S's room with snacks fom the supermarket foray. A great day and now in the lobby catching up with the wider world online.

U3A Block 1a

The first block we are drafting and making is the churn dash block, a ninepatch. We are making 12" finished (12.5" unfinished) blocks so the individual squares within the block will measure 4" finished (4.5" unfinished). We made templates to make the patches with the option of making finished size card templates and drawing round them on the fabric or, especially if hand piecing, drawing around the finished size on the fabric then using the brass wheel to add the 1/4" seam allowance.

Chain piecing and using a thread saver at the end of the sequence

Two I made earlier now framed and
sandwiched ready to quilt.

Triangle  patch with seam lines drawn on it and placed right
sides together with a contrast triangle ready to sew.

Pieces set out on padded board; block partially sewn.

Completed block

Three rows of alternative version using stripes

Completed block

Avril's pretty quilt
 

At Quay Quilters Avril showed a quilt she has made and is raffling in aid of an African charity. Today I bound my four -stacks-and-whackery "A River Runs Throuh It" quilt so I would have something to sew while getting over an operation to reduce my eyelids one of which was so flabbly it formed a shadow over my vision. Thank you to the top surgeon and his assistant who cut and sewed so beautifully and to the nurse whose hand I felt round mine throughout and thank you our wonderful National Health Service.

Mary Fisher fabrics. I love the undulating quilting pattern in
perle cotton.

Sandwiched

Sandwich ingredients: block, backing fabric and wadding.

Backing laid down wrong side up, then wadding
and framed block on top safety pinned and tacked together.
 

I thought I would use the discarded block to illustrate quilt sandwiching by pinning or tacking and later quilt as you go. I'll machine quilt it at a future U3A session.

New Term

U3A Blocks done

I'm starting to teach a new set of U3A beginners tomorrow. These are the blocks I made last year - I would show them one completed and one in the making. Now they're all done and ready to be made up in a quilt though I decided to substitute one which was too dark and blodgy - Row 5 No.2. I shall frame them and hand quilt as I go then join and border.

This year's blocks are in a very different colour scheme.

I'm replacing the one on the right with the one on the left as it will play
better with the others.

Back at Bonnie's

October 4th was our meet up day after quite a long break to take account of of various holidays and also our agreed deadline for completing the flying geese border which we all met, Fran having completed two versions. Next and last pieced borders will be 6" log cabins.

Trish's

Mine

Mavis's



Fran's Yellow One

Coming next: log cabins

Fran's Blue One