Houston IQF
 

Anyone going? I'm not for several reasons. Just can't justfy the expense. Have the fab, tools, patterns to last 2 lifetimes. I'd love to before I get too old..72 right now..so I'll just stay home and contine to sew charity quilts.

I'm going for the first time this year. (been on my bucket list...) My brother lives an hour from Houston so we'll be staying with them and my SIL and I will be going. Husband will stay and "play" with my brother. LOL Really looking forward to it.

Not going--too far from home.Would be almost 12 hour drive 1 way. Can't get that far with my chair. Will be working on some UFOs instead.

I will be going but only because I will be lucky enough to happen to be in Texas at the time.

I'm going! I go every year because I live in the burbs north of Houston. It's only about 1/2 hour for me to get to the George R Brown from my house as long as I go at off peak times. I'm not taking any classes. I used to do classes every year and they're fantastic, but I lost my buddies that I would ride in with so the drive in the morning without being able to use the HOV lane is horrendous. I need to try to take some weekend or afternoon classes again. Let me know if you want to meet up.

Sure wish I could go. Maybe next year. But my sewing buddy isn't able to travel much and I don't want to go alone.

Don’t look at it as a shopping mall (even though it can be if you want it to, lol!). You could spend 2-3 full days just marveling at the quilts. My friend Peggi (Peckish here) and I have gone a few times, and oohing and awing at the quilts really gets our creative juices flowing every single time we’ve gone to the show. We always made sure we spent time every day looking at the quilts and discussing why we admired them. We’ve both found new techniques that have encouraged us to try something new and innovative. Let the show inspire you to step out of your "normal" and spark your creativity!

A friend and I went to the Houston show. We spent 2 1/2 days looking at vendors and about 1/2 day looking at quilts!

I’m going for the first time on a bus from a LQS. If I was smart I would leave my credit card at home and avoid all temptation, but that’s no fun!

No! Don't do that! The shopping and finding the perfect fabric/pattern/project to make is half the fun. I usually go down 3 days and spend part of days 1 and 2 shopping and part of them looking at quilts. The third day is looking and photographing quilts.

I've found it helpful to take a pen and pad of paper to jot notes about where various things are located in case I want to visit them again before the show is over. I also find wearing my money/credit cards and ID/Medical cards in a hanger around my neck is helpful. I don't have to dig in a big bag to find them when I want to buy something and its much harder for someone to lift them.

I take an extra lightweight bag with me in case I want to put things in the package check so I don't have to carry them until I'm ready to go. This has helped me out a lot when I decided to buy a kit or other large or heavy article.

Comfy shoes are a must! Lots of walking involved. I wear a Fitbit and normally log around 15,000 steps when I go to Festival.

it was on my bucket list, but life kept getting in my way i did go to some large regional shows and found that I needed to look at all the quilts first, taking notes and sometimes taking pictures of quilts or techniques I liked. Then I went shopping - I only spent cash so I would not buy more than I could afford.

One thing that was fun was seeing all of the fun jackets, etc that some of the attendees were wearing - they were inspirational too.

When you see a jacket you like, as the wearer if you can take a picture. I do a lot of wearable art and I'm always pleased to pose for pics in one of my jackets. It makes me feel good.

I am going!! It is a girls weekend

I went with two friends in 2015. We planned to return in 2020 but Covid got in the way - maybe next year....

Oh I'd been told no photos are allowed when at shows. This was near Boulder, Colorado.

That's not correct. There are designated areas that are clearly marked where you can't take photos of the quilts, but its a small section. Most of the display quilts can be photographed. I always ask if I want to photograph something that is in a vendor's booth.

I wrote a chatty message on this topic and the iPad ate it when I tried to post it. 🤷‍♀️ Let me shorten it to say I LOVE Quilt Festival! If you have any interest and if you can , then go before your health or situation makes it even more difficult. It is challenging for me because of big city traffic and parking, but I look forward to it all year. I finally made it to the AQS show in Paducah in 2019 , and a smaller one in Branson this year. I enjoy local Guild shows too, wherever I can get to them, but there is nothing like Quilt Festival.

Is there someplace to find a list of classes ahead of time. I hoping I can catch a few for a rest as well as learning new techniques.

There is a complete class listing on quilts.com for the festival. This late most of the popular classes will be full. People do sell their places in classes at Festival. There's a board upstairs where openings are posted.

dsmith, if you do not get to take classes this year, do not be too sad. There are many opportunities at Festival. Open Studios will have presenters all day rotating through offering instruction on some idea or product. ( Usually it is something they are selling) There is usually a Meet the Teachers area where something similar happens as well. Even if you are not registered , (which is a required fee to take classes) you can pay about $12 at the door for 50 minute lectures on a particular topic. Many vendors will demo their products and or answer questions at their booths. Cashs_mom referred you to quilts.com for info on classes. There is a lot of useful info there about the show. You may want to spend some time looking at info there. Schedules for Open Studios and Meet the Teachers will be in the program ( you can buy there) and also at their locations on the floor. Lectures are listed with classes, I believe, and also on an events list. I hope you have multiple days because there is much to see and do. It will be fun!

YESSSSS!!! We've also taken some really awesome classes together... last time we went, we took classes taught by Danny Amazonas (awesome!!) Yoko Saito (amazing!!), they were major bucket list items for sure.