Master Pieces
The art of the Texas quilt.
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International Quilt Festival, Houston
Each year, the International Quilt Festival turns Texas into a mecca for quiltmakers from around the world. It is Houston’s biggest convention, with more participants than the annual Offshore Technology Conference or the Astroworld series of dog shows. Given that most Texans know at least one quilter, either in their own family or someone else’s, it’s surprising that more people don’t know about the festival. “We’re celebrating our 24th anniversary this year, and yet there are many Texans who’ve never heard of it,” says public information director Nancy O’Bryant. Between the three-day International Quilt Market for trade members and the four-day open festival that follows, the Houston expo goes a long way toward generating the estimated $1.2 billion dollars spent on quiltmaking each year.
IQF is the brainchild of O’Bryant’s cousin Karey Bresenhan, a fifth-generation Texas quiltmaker who is now its director. Bresenhan held the first show in her Houston antique shop in 1974, one year after an unsuccessful bid for the Texas State Legislature. To her surprise, several thousand people came for the lectures and exhibits, and they bought $20,000 worth of quilts in just two days. Bresenhan credits timing for the wild success of that first show. The bicentennial was just two years away, and Americans were rediscovering a fondness for old-fashioned handicrafts and folk art. And the women’s movement, which Bresenhan very much supported, was changing the value placed on traditional “women’s work.”
Bresenhan went on to channel the energy that would have gone into a political career into developing the quiltmaking industry in Texas. With the help of other women in her family, she founded the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston, the International Quilt Festival, the American International Quilt Association, and a host of quilt conservation and education projects under the umbrella of her company, Quilts, Inc.
2009 Texas Fall Quilt Shows
Canton Quilt Show When: October 9-10, 9am-5pm; October 17, 9am-4pm Where: Canton Civic Center, Flea Market Road off Hwy 64 W, Canton Information: Jackie (903) 873-3949
Midland Quilter’s Guild Show When: October 3, 2009 9am-5pm Where: Midland Center, 105 N Main Street, Midland Information: Becky (432) 570-5207 or Email Mary
Brazos Bluebonnet Quilt Guild Show When: September 11, 10am-5:30pm; September 12, 10am-5pm Where: The Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest Drive (east of Earl Rudder Fwy), Bryan Information: Email Dawn M. Belleville International Quilt Market (open to trade professionals only) When: October 10-11, 9:30am-6pm; October 12, 9am-4pm Where: George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas, Houston Information: (713) 781-6864 or email Show@Quilts.com
International Quilt Festival
When: October 15-17, 10am-7pm; October 18, 11am-5pm; Daily Admission: $9.00
Where: George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas, Houston
Information: 713/781-6864 or email Show@Quilts.com
2009 Alamo Heritage Quilt Guild When: September 18-20, 9am-5:30pm Where: Live Oak Civic Center, 8101 Pat Booker Road, San Antonio Information: 210/653-9494 or Email Beth Barron
South Plains Quilters Guild Show When: November 1-30, Mon-Thu 9am-9pm; Fri-Sat 9am-6pm; Sun 1-5pm Where: Garden Arts Center, 4215 University Avenue, Lubbock, TX Information: Quilt Shop II: 806/793-2485 or Quilter’s Front Porch: 806/687-6264
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