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Sign In This blog post shares some of the amazing quilts seen at the International Quilt Festival 2024.
International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX for 2024 is in the books. Festival, as it is affectionately known, is the big show each year in Houston. It is held at the end of October / beginning of November. (Just a little FYI: an earlier schedule is set for Festival 2025. Mark your calendars for October 9-12, 2025.) Quilters from all over the globe come together to celebrate the art of quilting. They enjoy classes, quilt displays, vendors, lectures, a judged contest, and each other. And it is a real treat to see the amazing quilts.
Handi Quilter is proud to sponsor the Best of Show award for the judged contest. Along with Best of Show, the show presents 5 Master Awards, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in eight different categories, 1 Viewer’s Choice and 3 Judge’s Choice awards. Quilters world-wide compete each year. Besides bragging rights, the Best of Show award is a $12,500 cash non-purchase prize. The Master Awards are $5000 each.
Come to the quilt show with me
Hi, I’m Mary Beth Krapil, Handi Quilter National Educator. This year was my 17th visit to Quilt Festival in Houston. It is an astounding show. I love the magic atmosphere of all the happy creative quilters soaking in inspiration and gathering supplies for their next projects.
I took photos of random quilts that caught my eye this year, so that I could share them with you here. The quilts were, as always, spectacular! There are quilts of all types. Pieced, appliqued, paper pieced, painted, 3-dimentional, hand quilted, machine quilted, longarm quilted, modern, traditional, traditional with a modern twist.
International Quilt Festival
Celebrating 50 years
As I walked through the doors, I saw by this breathtaking display of red, white, and blue floating quilts. 50 Years of Great Quilts was the special display in-the-round at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas for the 50th anniversary of the Houston International Quilt Festival.
At the bottom of the above photo you see a display of miniature quilts. Check this one out. I didn’t actually touch the quilt. Just put my finger about an inch away from it, so you could get an idea of the size of those tiny pieces.
I could have spent hours looking at these wonderful quilts. But it was so busy in the Handi Quilter booth, I only had small snippets of time to see the quilts.
Handi Quilter Best of Show Award Winner
Speaking of miniature quilts…
Still Life by Chen Jing of Bejing, China won the Best of Show Award that was sponsored by Handi Quilter. This quilt is a mere 18″ x 17″!
Artist’s Statement: “I wanted to use silk to express a realistic still-life painting, including the picture and the frame. The realistic effect of the picture frame was achieved using embroidery by manually controlling it on a stationary machine. At the same time, I wanted to explore unique free-motion quilting to present different picture effects on the front and back of the work.”
The back of the quilt has some interesting surprises!
Traditional Quilts
Some traditional quilts I loved:
Sunflower and Flying Geese by Arlene Heinz. Quilted by Julia Mason of Waxahachie, TX
Spin the Wheel by Ramona Williams. Quilted by Melba Drennan of Missouri City, TX
11-year Pineapple Quilt by Terri Winsauer with Jean Hardies of La Vernia, TX. (I’ve got some UFO’s older than that!!)
42 Cent Forever Stamp by Jean Johnson. Quilted by Sheri Mecom of Murphy, TX
Modern Quilts
Climb Every Mountain by Kazuyo Doi of Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. This quilt won a first pace in the Abstract Quilt category.
Moroccan Magic by Linda Steele of Park Orchards, Victoria, Australia. Linda says Morocco is a sensory overload with its doorways, winding pathways, and exotic markets. If this is what Morocco looks like, I want to go!
Cataract by Ginnie Hebert of Puyallup, WA. Many pieces of hand-marbled fabric came together to create this colorful artwork. I love free-form shape of this quilt!
Eiffel Up by Andrea Barrett of Atlanta, GA. A photo with an unusual perspective was the inspiration for this quilt.
Pathways by Mimi Ghauri-Young of Yountville, CA. This improvisationally pieced quilt suggests the many unexpected pathways as we navigate our lives.
3-dimensional Quilts
Fighting the Frost Alone and Quietly – Three Drunk Hibiscus by Li Ying Hui of Taipei, Taiwan. These 3-D flowers pop off the quilt!
Sunflowers Bloom by Li Jung Chan of Taipei, Taiwan. The petals on this quilt are so realistic.
Ellie Bellie by Hanne Lohde. Quilted by Cindy Paulson of Aliso Viejo, CA. Embroidery and embellishments create the 3-D look of this sweet quilt.
Applique Quilts
Peony by Kathy Kennedy of Llano, TX. Creating this peony as an art quilt satisfied the quilter’s desire to grow them.
Blooming Peonies by Lin Su Ling of Taipei, Taiwan. Peonies were a popular subject for applique quilts!
My London by Marina Panzhinskaya of Houston TX. This quilt maker utilized fusing for this applique. Do you see the co-existence of the muggle and magic worlds?
Thank you!
Thanks so much for coming to the quilt show with me! I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the quilts and perhaps got a little inspiration for a quilt of your own.
Next Steps
Plan a trip to QuiltCon in 2025. QuiltCon is a fabulous show featuring modern quilts. Read this post for some tips:
Til next time…Quilt Every Day!
by Mary Beth Krapil