A Room with A View

Taken with my little, old point-n-shoot Olympus, this was the view from my 18th floor hotel room at the Hilton in Houston. I was there to teach for Quilt Festival, but the wellness gods did not shine on me during this trip. Due to a very painful ear infection, most of the week was a blur. I am so thankful to the wonderful students who graciously overlooked the sniffling, sneezing teacher that couldn't hear well.

Still, there were some remarkable highlights at the 2007 International Quilt Festival. Among the most remarkable quilts was the 10.5 foot high x 120 foot long masterpiece of Esther Bryan and Friends, "Quilt of Belonging". It features the work of 263 different Canadians depicting their countries of origin. An unbelievable piece of art and history come together in this stunning interpretation.

The winners of the IQA judged show were equally stunning. The grand prize winner for 2007 was Hollis Chatelain, whose quilt "Hope for our World", is another of her masterpieces. In the quilt, Desmond Tutu is standing in a field surrounded by all the children of the world. Hollis spoke about her vision for this quilt, "I dreamed in purple, that Tutu was standing in a field surrounded by the children, representing hope for our world. Hollis' painted and heavily stitched quilts stand alone. Like many other artists, Hollis works toward a cause, and her cause is Africa. She is a remarkable woman.