Houston 2006

Hi Everyone

I've finally sat down and started a journal of my trip to Houston this year.
I hope you enjoy the adventures we had before and after the show.

It was fun chatting with Butterfly, Joshua, Tricia and Michael. I'm sorry I
missed the rest of the RCTQer's that were at the show. There were some
amazing quilts on display and a huge vendor's market that went on and on. I
enjoyed speaking with Cathy Miller the singing quilter from B.C. If your
guild has a chance to book her as a speaker you will have an enjoyable time.

I also had the chance to speak with Nancy Lee Chong from Seattle, she does
amazing Hawaiian appliqué and her designs are great.

I bought a book from Freddy Moran, I was wearing my Mary Lou Weidman Hoochy
Mama pin and she commented on it. She and Mary Lou get together and quilt
every year. Her new book with Gwen Marston "Collaborative Quilting" is
wonderful. I'm making my way through the 250+ pages. For $US19.95, or
$CAD25.95 it's quite a bargain...mind you with the Canadian exchange
improving you might want to purchase it in the US.

So here comes chapter one.

October 26th 2006, mom and I flew out from Vancouver to Houston. Arrived
on time after a very turbulent ride through clear skies. 84F with
thundershowers as we landed; they eased off as we picked up our car and
headed west out of town along I-45.



In Sealy we stopped for a bit and then looked at an antique shop in
Columbus. There were many interesting old houses with neat porches. I
started to rain heavier, so we decided to get a hotel room; lucky thing as
just after we got the room thunder and lightening put on a show.



The next morning we woke up to blue skies with strong winds. We drove
around Columbus and saw the second oldest oak tree in the state. We also
check out a few of the antique shops in town.



Heading further down I-10 we went into an antique shop in Weimar where I saw
two antique quilts for $125.00. One was pieced and the other appliquéd.
The appliquéd one had some lovely work, but was lumpy from being washed and
it was quite badly stained on the back. The second quilt was nicer, but I
liked the appliqué one better, but not enough to buy it.



In Schulenburg we found one of the many painted churches in the area. The
ceiling looked like it was mosaic, but in fact it was painted. Next we
drove through rolling hills with cattle ranches down to Victoria to have
lunch at Fossati's, the oldest Deli in Texas. We found it four years ago
when we came for the Houston International Quit Festival. While having
lunch we asked if there was a quilt shop in town and were directed to
Quilter's Patch.



Quilter's Patch www.quilterspatch.com is a nice shop, they were going to be
at the Festival in Houston, but the shop is a great destination. They have
a local designer who does some amazing appliqué and embellished blocks of
the month.



We continued to head south towards Corpus Christi and stopped at two antique
shops and a roadside fruit vendor.



We arrived in Corpus Christi and drove south along the causeway. We stopped
and looked back at the downtown area to take some pictures. We had dinner
at Landry's on a boat at the pier. While we were dining, we watched
Pelicans diving for their dinner. The sunset was pretty; there were an
amazing amount of butterflies circling around us. Tomorrow we'll try and
head over to Mustang Island and some of the smaller towns around.





The next morning we were woken by singing birds and drove up to Rockport.
We went to an antique shop that was closing; the woman and her husband had
spent time living in Calgary and shared some memories with mom and I.



Farther up the road we found Golden Needles and Quilts www.quiltscapes.com
you enter the door and are right in the middle of their saleroom! They have
lots of little rooms with some nice fabrics. They have some great kits for
sale.



We headed back to Corpus Christi driving by the beaches. At Brian's
Antiques we asked about a quilt shop and they said it was closed, but he let
me look in the phone book and I found The Quilt Cottage on Staples
www.thequiltcottage.com they have a very country look with wool penny rugs.
They were packing up to go to Houston. Mom bought me a cute Crescent moon
and angel holding a moon ornament.



Back downtown and drove along the shoreline almost to the Naval Air Station.
We stopped to take pictures of some of the shorebirds. We then drove back
downtown and found Whataburger, it is similar to In and Out Burgers in
California except they originated in Corpus Christi.





Tomorrow we head down to Brownsville and see what that part of the state is
about.




--
Sandi in New Westminster B.C.
Queen of the Travelogues
www.shh.apparitiondesigns.com

Hi Sandi!
Oh yes. That Moran/Marston book is so
cool! I had Freddie autograph it to me.
She thought my eyeglasses are cool
.... I returned the compliment. Hers are
red and match her lively ways. I agree
about Cathy Miller. She came to our
guild a couple years ago. I chatted with
her DH John for a minute. They are both
delightful, and talented.
PAT

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the support of my incomplete review. I love the style of their
writing and also their quilting style. Mind you I also enjoy Ruth McDowell
style. Took a lot of bird pictures that I hope to develop into a quilt.

Sandi
"Pat in Virginia" wrote in message
...
Hi Sandi!
Oh yes. That Moran/Marston book is so cool! I had Freddie autograph it to
me. She thought my eyeglasses are cool ... I returned the compliment.
Hers are red and match her lively ways. I agree about Cathy Miller. She
came to our guild a couple years ago. I chatted with her DH John for a
minute. They are both delightful, and talented.
PAT

Sandi, I love reading your travelogues! Thanks -- I'll be watching for
Part 2. g
--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1

AKA Dame Sandy, Minister of Education

it's already posted!
LOL
Sandi
"Sandy Foster" wrote in message
...
Sandi, I love reading your travelogues! Thanks -- I'll be watching for
Part 2. g
--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1

AKA Dame Sandy, Minister of Education