The International Quilt Festival

Of the 835 entries to the annual International Quilt Festival held in Houston, Texas (since 1974), less than half were chosen as finalists to be displayed at this, the biggest quilt show in the world. This October, if you should find yourself among the more than 20,000 quilters at the show, you'll be lucky enough to get a close look at our wedding quilt among them.

Yes. You heard right. Our quilt is one of only 400 Finalists in the show. The quilt, which you signed if you made it to one of our wedding receptions in July or August of 2006, was designed and pieced by Ann Bowen, Brittany's mother, who also did the beautiful hand appliqué that runs along the vertical and horizontal edges of the quilt.

Drawing thousands of women and, allegedly, a few men (while male quilters are about as rare as minnows in a school of piranhas, one of Brittany's favorite quilt and fabric designers is actually a man by the name of Kaffe Fassett), the quilt show boasts hundreds of vendors, booths, classes, and, of course, quilts and thousands upon thousands of quilters.

Brittany, her mother, and her sisters Madison and McCall will be traveling to Houston for the show at the end of October. Being accepted to as a finalist is a prestigious mark in the quilting world, not to mention a great excuse for a trip to Houston.

If you are interested in learning more about the show, you can find the official site at www.quilts.org and also at www.quilts.com.

Free Spirit Fabric is a manufacture of some of Brittany's favorite fabrics. A blog that Brittany visits daily is Heather Bailey's blog, a fabric designer. To see some of Brittany's other favorite quilt designers, fabrics, and online sites for quilting products, visit the following sites:
www.gloriouscolor.com
www.westminsterfibers.com
www.amybutlerdesign.com
www.cabbagerosequilting.com
www.joeldewberry.com