SPECIAL EVENTS

Come join the celebration at the 35th Annual International Quilt Festival /Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center.  There are hundreds of booths to shop for quilts, supplies and crafts, as well as classes from beginner to expert. This annual festival is reputed to be the "The World's Fair of Quilts." Collectors and anyone with an appreciation for fine handiwork consider this to be a must-see event. 

At the 35th annual edition of Festival, you can expect to shop atmore than1,100 booths, pick from more than 400 classes, lectures, and special events, enjoy free teacher demos, and learn from educational exhibits. But best of all…You’ll seemore than 2,000 great quilts, dolls, and pieces of fabric art inexhibits like “The Festival Gallery of Quilt Art: Wonders of the World,” “The Silver Star Review,” “MakingMemories,” “SAQA@20:Art and Excellence,” “Faces FromMyHeart,” and “Quilts: AWorld of Beauty,” the annual fall Judged Show of the International Quilt Association.

Plus, the 2009 editions of “In Full Bloom: Floral Quilts,” “In the American Tradition,” “Tactile Architecture™,” “Celebrate Spring!” and “West Coast Wonders.” International Quilt Festival also features over 365 hands on classes, 27 lectures,numerous special events, and a renowned faculty of 119 experienced teachers. Select from a variety of beginning to advanced classes on every aspect of quilting plus other subjects.

Special Events:

Friday Sampler, Friday morning 10 a.m.-Noon. Over 30 Festival teachers at separate tables will offer continuous demonstrations of particular techniques and methods. Students circulate around the room informally. Enrollees receive a book of one-page handouts from participating teachers. (A second Sampler with different topics and teachers will be held on Sunday,October 18.)

The Stitchin Time Fashion Show is a luncheon with commentary by noted wearables designer Marinda Stewart. It will be held Friday,October 16, from Noon-2 p.m.This is your chance to showoff your wearable art creations and see designs by others.

30th Anniversary IQA Celebration Luncheon WednesdayNoon-2 p.m. Charlotte Warr Andersen, IQA President, will present the top eight Winners’ Circle recipients and their quilts. Short talks will be given by each of them and by Charlotte.

Totally Ricky!, featuring Ricky Tims is scheduled as a luncheon on Saturday, October 17 from Noon-2 p.m.

Professional Development: 

Following Your Passion/Marketing Your Strengths, offered Monday night, will be taught by Hollis Chatelain.

Turn Your Quilting Passion Into Profit by Morna McEver Golletz is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Repair and Restoration of Old Quilts will be offered Tuesday afternoon by Dixie McBride.

Preparing to Teach, offered Sunday morning,will be taught by Flavin Glover.

Continuing from Last Year:
•Night Owl Learning continues on Friday night from6-9 p.m.

•Sunday morning classes will continue, as well, to round out a full weekend of classes, lectures, and activities. This is especially helpful for those who can only attend Quilt Festival on theweekend.

•Quilt Shop Tours—Take the Old Town Spring Tour or Cowboys & Quilts Tour, heading north or southwest ofHouston to visit some grand quilt shops and learn about Texas history. Multiple buses for these full-day tours will depart from and return to the Convention Center on Wednesday, October 14.

On Thursday, the Shop Hop to Space Center Houston visits three quilt shops and NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Again this year, there will be a post show tour on Monday and Tuesday, October 19 & 20.Little Slice of Big Texas Overnight Tour stops overnight in Kerrville with visits to four quilt shops along the way, including historic locations in Austin such as theTexas Capitol.

Preview Night
Be one of the first to see the spectacular exhibit quilts on Wednesday,October 14, from7-10p.m. If you are a class enrollee or IQA member you are entitled to a VIP Private Preview from5-7 p.m.

New for 2009:
The Quilters, a revival of the famous play, will be performed Thursday and Friday nights and is the story of a pioneer woman and her six daughters. Each scene is written around a quilt block, and the final scene combines the blocks into a Sampler quilt “sampler of life.” Produced by HIS Company Theater.

Longarm Quilting classes will be offered all week, coordinated by Linda Taylor. There will be two hands-on classrooms with only two students per machine head for more hands-on time. Offered again in 2009 will be the theatre-style Longarm Demo Classroom.

Machine Quilting Forum will be offered from 9 a.m.-Noon on Thursday. Learn from six well-known creative machine appliqué artists.

Again This Year:
Mixed Media Miscellany Sampler is now being offered twice—on Thursday afternoon and on Saturday morning. Learn many aspects of making art quilts and other mixed-media techniques from about 20 expert teachers in each session, and get a handout booklet with a contribution from each.

Stretching for Quilters, led by Randall Cook, is scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. The one-hour sessions will teach you exercises to decrease fatigue and release muscle tension, and to prevent tiredness while at the sewing machine and cutting table.

Art +Quilt = Adventure! devoted to MixedMedia explorations, will be in two classrooms again this year. This week-long educational experience is coordinated by Lesley Riley.

Appliqué Techniques Forum will be offered from 2-5 p.m. onSaturday. Learn from seven highly creative appliqué artists.

With sponsorship from the Electric Quilt Company, a series of hands-on computer design classes will be offered over all seven days of Quilt Festival. Again this year by popular request, you will bring your own laptop with EQ6 loaded.

The Silk Experience will be held in one classroom each day for learning all aspects of working with silk. You’ll have the opportunity to learn how to dye, over-dye, silk-screen, paint or print on silk, do a silk naturescape, make silk beads, do fabric origami, and more. Organized by MaggieBuckman.

Sunday—a Day Full of Fun
Eighteen classes will be offered Sunday morning from 8-11 a.m. THE SUNDAY SAMPLER follows from 11:30-1:30 p.m. Exhibits remain open until 5 p.m.