I’m back from Texas, and it was an inspiring and exciting trip. I arrived early on Thursday and immediately saw inspiration at the airport.

Look at those colors.

Then I grabbed a cab to the convention center, bought tickets for the International Quilt Festival show, met up with Susan, ate some lunch, then began the tour.

I really liked this award winner by Melissa Sobotka of Richardson, Texas. She used batiks and silk. The colors were earthy and I was drawn to the applique:

This next quilt is not modern, but it is strikingly beautiful: Brilliant Rose by Junko Fujiwara of Narasheno, Japan.

I made it to my quilt, and a friend of Susan’s (on left) took our photo with Random Perfection. 

Susan was a big help in getting me registered for classes and events.

On Friday I took a bus tour through Texas. We began early.

The Texas Quilt Museum was our first stop. They had an amazing collection of contemporary quilts, but I can’t show them to you. They didn’t allow photography. This is a shot from the inside, showing outside to the streets of La Grange, Texas. I saw stars at many stops along the way. After lunch and shopping in La Grange, we traveled to Round Top, Texas where the Festival Hill Institute is located. They have an incredible music academy there with a star-filled auditorium:

After that we visited a local quilt shop in the Stafford area of Houston, called Quilters Emporium. They had goody bags for us, and then back to the convention center. Susan was so good to wait for me to get back from the bus tour.

Then it rained and rained. It was more than the streets and bayous could handle. Susan and I attempted to get to the convention center Saturday morning but the streets and highways were flooded. We survived this exciting ride and just relaxed the rest of the day.

I am grateful to Susan for her hospitality and good cheer. I had a great time, and I’m sure this thousand-star experience will find its way into a quilt.

Wanda