Houston International Quilt Festival Saturday

Papaver Somniferum, Grace Meijer.                                                                                                         

 

 This was one of the quilts from Europe, it was awarded an award of Merit, the inspiration was from paper cut-outs from Mrs. Delany and 18th century lady who began cutting at 72 years of age.

 The detail and colours were wonderful.

 Passiflora, Lauriane Lucas, inspired by a photograph of an exotic flower.

 Another European featured quilt.

 Sunflower by Bella Kaplan from Israel, another European entry.

 She was inspired by sunflowers in the upper Galilee agricultural are where she lives.

 Summer, Hasea Naveh also from Israel.

 Representing the colours of Summer dominated by orange yellow and red, her Israeli Summer.

 Antique quilts and wares for sale.

 Every nook and cranny has a special item.

 Interesting pin cushion beside the teddy.

 Whimsical display for a shop.

 Saturday afternoon and the shoppers are still crowding about.

 Some more antique quilts for sale.

 Santa's sleigh, I recall seeing this featured in a quilt magazine, don't recall the issue.

Arizona centennial quilt.  Wanda Searle is on the right and her cousin Janette to the left.  Wanda had a dream about the quilt and gathered Arizona quilters to create her vision.

 The back is actually a second quilt and the two have been sewn together to become one.

 Wanda created the Saguaro Cactus on the right.

Some interesting facts about the quilt.

 Members of the committee and creators.

 Details of who did some of the portraits.

 One can never have enough volunteers.

 San Xavier del Bac, the White Dove of the Desert, south of Tuscon, a favourite sight to visit.

The Grand Canyon I love the pink convertible pulling the trailer along Rte. 66.

 A big horn sheep in applique and shadowed in quilting.

 The north of the state.

 A view from above, lots of people and lots of things to buy.

 People buzzing around, a bit different than the first photo while set up was happening.

 My personal purchase, a le Moyen star quilt that came safely home with me.

One more day of photos to share...stay tuned.

I think he went thataway...no maybe thataway....nope...thataway? I don't know which way he went.

The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix is a must when you visit. You will find cacti of differnt shapes, colour and sizes. The first time I went it was over 100F this time we went earlier in the day but the temperature still climbed up quickly.

There are birds everywhere you go, some sitting on cacti, some singing, some attending to their young. If you look closely you might see some lizards and other wildlife.

The saguaro cacti blooms late at night when the air cools down, the flowers wilt in the heat of the day.

You never know what part of the cacti the flowers will appear. I found this to be an unusual place for them to grow.

These unusal cacti caught my eye. I also took some just of the top of it, they almost look like creatures from outer space.

This Anna's Hummingbird was flying around and I couldn't get a picture of it feeding until it took a rest on the branch.

Here is a closer view of the saguaro blossoms. I was delighted to see the bee in my picture.

This little round tail squirrel scampered past us on the path and then stopped to check us out. I wish I could have helped him turn on the tap for a cool drink.

It is interesting to see how the different the cacti shapes can be.

Everywhere you looked you could see cacti in bloom. You could spend hours taking pictures and wondering around the paths.

We then left Phoenix and headed down to Tucson we stopped in at the Saguaro National Park.

Once again some interesting shapes and colours.

I found this view to be quite awe inspiring, I love how the mountains disappear in the background.

The next day we drove south of Tucson, down to Nogales. We then turned around and stopped in Tubac an artists colony.

I think if I look back at my 2001 trip photos I may have a picture of this same cactus. This time it was a lovely rich colour.

I found it interesting that the grillwork was the classic clamshell shape used by quilters. This is part of San Xavier del Bac. This church is called the white dove of the desert.

They are currently restoring the left side of the church, so I just tried to get the right side in. People were entering the church for Sunday mass, so I tried not to disturb them.