Posy Pocket Tote - The Holiday Version

When I cleaned out my sewing room I came across a few unfinished projects. This was one of them.

I started this holiday tote last year thinking that once complete I would use it throughout the month of December.

The next thing I knew, it was packed away until I found it while cleaning. I had the outside put together but the inside needed to be completed.

Then I had to make the handles and just put it all together. It didn't take much time once I got going on it.

Now that it's done, I like it so much I want to make another. I love the size, the way it stands up - so sturdy, and the fun zipper pockets. It's going to be perfect for Christmas shopping.

The pattern I used is called the Posy Pocket Tote and the free tutorial can be found here.

International Quilt Festival - Shopping

Now that I am home from a whirlwind 4 days in Houston, I can finally sit down and relax. One of the first things I did when I got home was gather up all my purchases from the quilt festival.

With hundreds of vendors at the show, just viewing all the booths was overwhelming. All-in-all I didn't make many purchases but I did make some good investments. 

I purchased a new Oliso iron and one of their new mini irons. Both will be shipped directly to my home which is nice - that meant no worrying about carrying it on a plane. I had planned a visit to Superior Threads to buy more thread for my longarmer and I also planned to visit Urban Elementz. I buy most of my pantographs from them and even though I had no wish list with me, I let their sale prices dictate which pantographs I picked up.

I also made sure to stop at quilt shop booths where the fabrics were very different from any I've seen locally. Amazingly, I ran into Jenny Doan from Missouri Star Quilt Co. I didn't buy anything there because they come to the Madison quilt show so I knew I would see them again. I did get really excited when I saw Patrick Lose. I have his books and love his fabric lines. I asked if I could get a photo and he graciously said "yes." He was so very nice. 

The Saturday Sampler

Yesterday I attended an event called the Saturday sampler. It was the last thing on my agenda during my week at the Houston Quilt Festival and I was starting to get homesick so I was totally ready to end the week after this.

The Saturday Sampler was an event where 30 instructors were giving demonstrations at the same time. Each instructor was an artist, author, pattern designer, subject matter expert, etc. The demos were around 10 minutes each and the attendees had 2 hours to select the demos they wanted to see. At the end of the 2 hours, I had hoped to see 8 different instructor demos and I ended up attending 10. Here are some photos from the event.

Judy Gauthier - Using odd scraps to make beautiful scrap quilts.

Maria Shell - Improv patchwork - Dynamic quilts made with line and shapes.

Kathryn Pellman - Drawing with your sewing machine.

 Marti Michell - What do I do with precuts.

I wasn't sure what to expect and this event did not disappoint. I learned so much, got lots of inspiration and look forward to trying new things now that I'm back home.

The Prince Challenge

I've seen the Prince quilt block challenge online before and I thought it was a fantastic idea. The challenge was to use Cherrywood fabrics to make a quilt block inspired by Prince's story or his music. The challenge was "to create your own masterpiece using the gorgeous hand dyed fabric in saturated purples."

It was quite a surprise when I came upon the completed quilt blocks right smack in the middle of the vendor floor at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I couldn't believe I got the opportunity to see this exhibit up close. It was incredible. I took some photos of some of the blocks. There were so many I could not get photos of them all. 

What an incredible display.

International Quilt Festival - Longarm Quilt Class

I attended a longarm quilting class yesterday. The class was called Bubbles, Curves and Straight Lines - A Way to Modern Quilting and the instructor was the award winning quilter, Claudia Pfiel. She is from Germany and she was a delight to listen to.  Her instruction was very helpful. We started by sketching in a notebook which was to prepare us for quilting at the longarmer. Once at the machine, I still wasn't so sure I would be able to do what she was teaching but I did it. The class was worth the $$ and I am glad I got to participate.

Ms. Pfiel gave each participant one of her patterns. Yes, she does that too! Here are the quilts she brought along as examples of the kind of quilting she was teaching.  The last two photos are her quilt up close. What amazing work.

International Quilt Festival - Quilt Exhibit

Last night I attended the preview night at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. The vendor, exhibit, and classroom space is overwhelming. This place is huge!

The exhibit space has hundreds of quilts on display. There were so many different exhibits that it would be hard to describe them all. Here are some photos of the ones that I enjoyed viewing.

International Quilt Festival - Houston

My husband and I flew to Houston yesterday to attend the quilt festival here. I was happy that he wanted to accompany me to the event. We will spend some time doing those touristy things that are available in the area and enjoy some relaxing time together away from home.

We spent today at the Johnson Space Center/NASA and we had a fantastic time.

Tonight I look forward to the quilts on exhibit...one of them being mine and then there's the shopping. Check out this view of the vendor floor:

The George R. Brown Convention Center is the largest space I have ever seen. 

Here is my quilt at the exhibit. 

I was so excited to see people checking out my quilt. It felt rewarding and I felt a little self conscious and the same time.

Selvage Bag WIP

I've been prepping for my trip to Houston and at the last minute I decided to make a bag from selvage fabrics.

So today I started sewing selvages to some muslin to make some selvage panels.

The bag will hold my sewing supplies for the classes I am taking while I'm at the quilt festival. I hope I can finish it before my flight leaves, ha!