My previous post mentioned almost all there is to know about the Houston International Quilt Festival. Now I want to tell you about my personal experience. I am not a quilter but I love to go the the show to admire the wonders people can create out of bits and pieces of fabric, threads, beads.... I also love to be around quilters who not only have a passion for their craft but also know how to have a good time.
Somehow a visit to the Quilt Festival gives me a boost of creative ideas. Luckily, I have a dear friend who is a lover, a connoisseur, a collector of quilts, and who, like me, is enthusiastic about projects.
Some years ago, finding ourselves empty nesters, we came across tee-shirt quilts. We both decided it was the perfect project and gave ourselves two years to complete the task of creating quilts out of the many tees our children had left behind.
After all, my friend Janet's son was preparing to live abroad for two years and a quilt would make a wonderful surprise to celebrate his return.
My sons haven't left the States, but I agreed it was an ingenious, thrifty, environmentally sensible idea.
So, I emptied closets, cleaned, folded, and neatly separated some 60 tee-shirts in two piles: club tees and high school tees.
Having raised two competitive swimmers, I knew I had enough material for at least 2 quilts!
To make a long story short, Janet and I either got busy with other things, or we somewhat lost our quilting bug. My swimming tee-shirts still remain neatly folded in a hamper.
Now, this year, we discovered that we both like all things marbleized: fabric, paper etc...
Friday must have been our lucky day, for we came upon a booth where Mr. Teng was demonstrating the art of marbling, using wonderful dyes and shaving cream! The whole process looked so easy that Janet and I had to try it. Believe it or not there was a special offer going on and for $30 you could get everything you would need to marble anything.
Six colors on a display tray, one squeegee, one mixing tray and six pipettes.
What a deal!
With many new projects in our future, I feel confident that, this year, we will surprise our families and friends with our artistic talents.
Then, a funny thing happened when Janet and I approached the cash register (tended by Mrs.Teng.) She gave us some extra pointers on how to mix shades and even use aloe vera gel to paint fabric. Mrs. Teng considered the colors Janet and I had selected, slowly looked at us from head to toe and expertly announced we must be visitors from New-England!
When we asked her why, she replied that our choice of colors (truffle, forest green, cool gray, chocolate, vintage wine, midnight), lacked the vibrance one usually sees in Texas customers and that, by the way, Janet and I had completely bypassed the glitter paints!
So friends, the marbleizing queens are ready to amaze you, but don't expect any bling!
P.S. Upon Mrs Teng's suggestion, I am happy to report that we exchanged one color for white...
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