Laptop Case

I decided before I went to Houston, that I wanted to take my laptop with me. Heavy, doesn't fit in my backpack, but it might be useful for looking up stuff in the hotel at night. It's fairly new, and I hadn't yet acquired a case for it. I had in mind a zippered colourful neoprene thing. That's what I had in mind. What I ended up with is colourful all right, but not zippered, not neoprene!  I looked around the house for another UFO I knew was somewhere. . . I found this.

I had this quilted piece around, one of the first things I made, before I knew anything about quilting.  Looking at it now, I didn't know how to do bindings or applique. It all seems pretty unorthadox now, but I really like the colours, and the second chakra design I worked with at the time.  And I didn't have much stash to work with!  My stash has improved immensely by now, and I probably wouldn't have stuck that turquoise on it.

Anyway, it didn't have any quilting on it, so I did some quick free-motion work to it, joined the corners together, added some velcro for a closure, and voila:  a brand new laptop case. And it makes good use of an old piece that wasn't seeing any action before.

More on Houston

 When I was in Houston, one of the quilt displays I saw was a selection of Texas Star Quilts.  It was an amazing display of a variety of pieced, appliqued and art quilts, mostly with a star or Texas theme. All were made in Texas by Texas residents.  Here you see the front and back covers of the book, Lone Stars III: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1986 - 2011, by Karoline Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes. Images reproduced here with written permission.

There were two previous books about earlier Texas quilts, and this third book represents the more recent history of quilts in Texas. It was a very impressive display. I think I've said this before, but to see the quilts in print is one thing, but to see them on display is quite another. You get to see the stitching and pieces up close, and get a real feel for the piece in person.

There was no photography allowed in this particular exhibit, so I bought the book. I am pleased to do so in any case, since it is the best representation of the show, and is a good memory keepsake of my trip to Houston.

Houston Project #2

This afternoon, I spent some time making a scarf out of the exquisite yarns I bought in Houston. I stretched them out between two sheets of water soluble plastic type material, then stitched across the yarns to stabilize them. Soaking in water dissolved the film, and now I have a brand new scarf. All the yarns are wool, or silk, or a blend. A couple of them are silk chenille. How yummy is that.

I wanted mostly dark blue, purple colours, with a bit of pink mixed in, and this is what I got. Surprise, surprise, though, I thought I had enough yarns for two or three scarves, and alas, this one used up all the yarn. Now I have some leftover water soluble film for another project.

New Projects

When I was in Houston, we were talking about which project we each would start first, from all the goodies we bought. I wasn't sure, I think I said I would finish a white Winding Ways quilt I already have going. Well, I have been so excited about a ball of hand-dyed yarn I picked up, that I just had to start knitting a scarf. I had one in progress, but did not like the way the yarn was knitting up, so just now I cast that one off. It will never be finished up anyway. Maybe I can use that small piece somewhere else.

This casting off was soon followed by casting on the new yarn. It's not like I don't have other yarns to knit, but you know how it goes. Something new is always  more exciting than something old. So far, I love the way this looks, and feels. It is a blend of mohair, silk and wool. And all those pretty colours, with a loopy  texture, what's not to love? I'm not a superfast knitter, though, so it may take me a while to finish my scarf. I'll keep you posted, when it's finished.

In Houston. . .

So I spent the weekend at the Houston International Quilt Festival, with two of my friends from Alberta.  I've known them for a long time, from way back in my tailoring days, and we are all quilters now. Anyway, they are both a lot of fun, and all three of us had a blast in Houston.

We will never be the same again! Seeing so many amazing and beautiful quilts all in the same place is spectacular, and changes the way you see the world of quilts. It also changes the way you see your  own place in the quilt world, and the way you create your own work, so I'm very happy to have been there. We all feel now, that there is room to improve our own work. If nothing else, seeing all the fabulous quilts will make us better quilters.

Seeing the quilt displays was one thing.  The quilt market was quite another!  HUGE. Did I mention it was huge?!  There were so many vendors, it was hard to cover them all, but not impossible. And cover them we did. We all bought a lot of fabric, gadgets, patterns, and other cool stuff that we can't find in our corners of the world. At the end of each day, we would all lay out our purchases to show and tell. So much fun. Now we all have enough projects to keep us busy for a while. Can't wait to get at it.

Marmalade's First Snow
by David Taylor

I want to include a photo of a quilt that I particularly love. A cat of course, and there were a number of cat quilts, and being a cat person, I especially like this one. When I was looking at this quilt, I feel like I've known this cat for a long time.  Plus, I really like red tabbies, so that caught my eye, too. This quilt is by David Taylor, called Marmalade's First Snow.