THANK YOU PAT GOULD FOR THIS WONDERFUL ENTRY ABOUT THE 2013 IQF HOUSTON SHOW!

I've attended every Houston show since 1993 with the exception of 2007 when we did our Nile trip in November. New Mexico was well represented at the IQF Houston show this year as always, both in having works exhibited and attending the fun-filled festival. As best I can recall, these NM members attended and I apologize if I omitted anyone but I must not have run into you among the 62,000 other attendees. 

Pat Gould, Betty Busby, Julie Filatoff, Holly Altman, Cheryl Fitzgerald, Judith Roderick, Lynn Welsch, Vicki Conley, Shannon Conley, Martha Wolfe, Donna Dixon, Marianne Williamson, Lorraine Hollingsworth, Jennifer Day, Betty Hahn, Katie Pasquini-Masopust, and Gay Young. 

As always, the exhibits were stunning and we all had a great time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. The major SAQA exhibits drew large crowds and our Walk in the Wild exhibit was also a big hit and got a lot of attention. It is always nice when people are discussing your piece or the show and you can jump in and discuss more in depth about your work or how the show came about. 

One very fortuitous introduction was when Betty met Amy Milne, Executive Director of the Quilt Alliance on Friday afternoon. Amy and Betty arranged that Amy would film 3 minute interviews with artists whose work was in Walk in the Wild on Saturday morning as part of their mission to document quilts and the stories behind the quilts or their creators. Unfortunately, not all the artists from our show could be interviewed as they had to catch their flights home but I think we had about 8 of us who were interviewed and filmed by Amy. It was a very nice experience and it was lovely chatting with her. 

About a week or so before the festival, some of us arranged to rent a car on Thursday and drive to the Texas Quilt Museum to see our "Unfolding" show. The drive there was edgy as there was a torrential rain, making it difficult to even read the highway signs, but Betty got us there safe and sound. Once there, the storm blew over and the sun came out for a lovely day. We arrived at the TQM in La Grange at about 10:30 and were immediately met at the door by Lucy Carr, currently managing curator, and Jim Ayer who is the historian/librarian of the collection, as well as several local quilters who volunteer as docents. The following is from the TQM website "The Texas Quilt Museum is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit entity,  It is housed in two historic 1890s buildings, which provide a fine showcase for both antique and contemporary quilt art with their high ceilings, brick walls, and original hardwood floors. " http://www.texasquiltmuseum.org/index.html. Our show, as it was hung at the TQM was entitled, "Land of Enchantment: Art Quilts from New Mexico". We had the entire back gallery for this exhibit and it was beautifully displayed. We spent a few hours there talking about our work to the staff and visitors and getting to know Lucy and Jim a little bit. They had graciously arranged for us to have lunch at a local restaurant called Bistro 108 where we had an awesome lunch and the ambiance of the Bistro was great. La Grange reminded me of villages/towns where I grew up back east with its mostly Victorian style brick and stone buildings. 

The 2013 IQF Houston was another great festival. 

Pat Gould