Rita's house

Rita Carter is a member of our Block Builders house-swapping group.  Here she is, next to her house.

Of course, at the moment, I can't recall which of the two story red brick houses is Rita's (apologies to Rita!)  I will correct this post once I've remembered (or been reminded) which is hers, promise!  (hazards of aging -- the forgetful mind, or is it the hazard of holding onto UFOs for far-too-long?).

 

Here are the three of us at the Quilt Show this past summer.  I only wish that more of our group of ten were there that day.

Stay tuned, tomorrow I will post a view of the quilt without smiling quilters blocking it.  As mentioned previously, this is Betty Rivers' quilt made from ten blocks traded many years ago when we were all in the QGGH Block Builders Bee.  I have since switched to another bee, but the Block Builders Bee still meets (on Wednesdays, right?) -- perhaps I will rejoin them!

Betty's house

This is Betty Rivers in front of her house block, the one just above her smile.

With a last name Rivers, naturally Betty incorporated a flowing stream, err, river, in her house block.  Her house is set in the woods, next to a flowing river.  Look to the left to see a narrow sliver of my red Victorian.  Notice that she added a gingerbread man in her doorway, too.

As mentioned in the post before this one, this is Betty's quilt made of blocks we traded in our Block Builders Bee several years ago.  There were ten quilters that made blocks for this building swap.  Mine are still in my collection of UFOs while Betty finished hers in time for this year's QGGH quilt show.  She has finished other award-winning quilts from blocks we traded in our bee.  Click here to see another one of Betty's quilts.

My house

Years ago, I made ten of these two-story red Victorian homes for a small block swap in my Block Builders Bee, one of the many bees in the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston (QGGH). 

 

For this swap, each of the ten swappers were to make ten blocks of a house -- I can't recall now if we had a size restriction, possibly a size range to keep in within (larger than X" and smaller than Y').  I'll check to see if anyone remembers.  Should I mention that my ten blocks are one of my many UFOs?  Then what is this I'm standing in front of, you ask?  Betty Rivers pieced her blocks together and entered it into this year's QGGH quilt show!  She added the gingerbread man standing in my doorway.

A Texas Call ...

Craft Texas has opened it's 2012 Call for Art ... This Call culminates into a Fall Show, CraftTexas 2012, at the Houston Contemporary Craft Center (HCCC).  This is the seventh year for this special exhibit which features the best of Contemporary Craft made in Texas.  Featured artists, artisans and craftsmen hail from across our grand state and specialize in a diversity of materials including fiber, wood, glass, metal, clay, recyled/found objects and more.  Click here for more information about the exhibit and application process or go to http://www.crafthouston.org to see learn more about HCCC.

Applications are made through CaFE, CallForEntry.org, a website that specializes in Calls for Art (this is the first time I've ever heard of it -- but then I rarely apply these days ...).   Now just because I'm not applying, doesn't mean you shouldn't!  Go for it! (but you must live in Texas .... so move here, if necessary!)

Don't Kill the Birthday Girl

This book happens to be my second memoir this month ...  a different kind of memoir ....

Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life by Sandra Beasley is a fascinating read, all the more so for me as I have two allergic Kindergarteners in my class this year, one of whom is highly allergic.  My eyes have been opened to a precarious life-hazard previously unknown (or rather unrecognized) by me.  Sandra weaves her story of emergency room visits and her coping techniques (not recommended for you to try) with facts about foods and their associated allergies.   Click here to read another review with more comments/endorsements.  If you have a friend who has food allergies, or a friend whose child suffers from food allergies, then reading this book is a must.  Don't Kill the Birthday Girl is an excellent read even if you do not have allergies.

Note: I happened on this book in my local library on the New Releases shelf.  Perhaps you will find a copy in your local library -- or request it through inter-library loan -- or borrow it from a friend -- or read an e-book version -- or purchase it from a local bookstore or via an online one.  Have I listed all the possible options yet?

Tactile Architecture

I recently found this neat slideshow of the 2011 Tactile Architecture exhibit from the 2011 International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston.   I wanted to be able to find it again, so am doing a post-dated post (sending it back into time on this very blog).  Hope the links work -- I am slowly becoming more adept at running my own blog, but it's a very slow process. 

2011 Tactile Architecture click here

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a6b7a4e544d344e44673d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link

Photo Ops with Alice

Beyond the Borders, my art quilt group, had our "Alice's Odyssey" in a Special Exhibit at the International Quilt Festival this fall.  It was our challenge piece that was started perhaps 2 years ago .... and we were thrilled to be sharing it with the quilting enthusiasts that flock to the largest quilt show around, especially since it will soon be dismantled with each individual puzzle piece being returned the its original maker.

We tried gathering everyone for a group photo ... finally agreeing that we were too many to coordinate the same one day and time.  So we scheduled two photo-ops with our Alice.

First is our Thursday gathering ...

 

From the left (seated) are Nancy B. Dickey, Linda Teddlie Minton, Ann Schaefer and standing are Cheryl Johnson and Jo Sweet.  I'm the one kneeling.

Then we gathered again on Saturday ...

 

Connie Fahrion, Hannah Mallon, Sara Sissenwein Norris, Elaine Connelly all joined me this time around.  

Missing from these photos are the Alice puzzle-piece makers Bethany Carter (the originator of this challenge), Susan Carter, Gloria Kohnen, Janice McKeehan, Susan Fletcher King and Liz Broussard. 

Our quilt as seen at the Quilt Festival (with protective barrier in place).

Alice's Odyssey

 and for the curious among you .... here is my piece.

I like to call it "Big Foot Alice" ....