Elvis Exhibit at IQF

Now that we're home and somewhat back to a normal routine, we can share more from the International Quilt Festival. We arrived at the George R. Brown convention center about 1:30 in the afternoon.

It was the first trip to Houston for both of us.

We entered the center on the second floor from the parking garage and had been advised by fellow quilters to check out the view from the round windows on that level which overlook the convention center floor.  We later found out that the GRB is designed to resemble a ship, hence the round windows.

Above is a look at the vendor section.

And this is the quilt show section.

The first place we went was to see Sue's quilt in the OURstory exhibit.  However, due to prohibitions on photography, we can't share photos of that exhibit.  (not until we get an OK from Susanne, our fearless leader).  But there were no limitations on the Elvis exhibit, curated by another friend from Northern Virginia, Donna DeSoto.  The Houston exhibit included 40 of the 96 quilts in the collection that celebrate the life and career of Elvis.

Jail House Rock is by Lesly-Claire Greenburg of Fairfax, VA.  The main technique is fused raw-edge applique.

Goodnight from Elvis is by Kaye Sauer of Queensland, Australia.  It is machine appliqued, quilted and embellished.

Debra Gabel of Clarksville, MD, made Elvis: A Portrait.  She used painting and machine quilting to create the look of a faux postage stamp.

Pink Cadillac is by Susan Bynum of Falls Church, VA.  The 1955 Cadillac was Elvis' favorite and can still be seen at Graceland.

Lucky in Love 2 is by Ricki Selva of Fort Myer, VA.  Her piece represents Elvis with his most famous leading lady Ann-Margret.

Blue Suede Shoes is by Joyce Carrier of Bluemont, VA.  The famous song warns against stepping on his blue suede shoes, but Joyce imagines that perhaps there was one that could step on them.

Fever by Claire Josiak of Calgary, Canada, is based on the lyrics "cats were born to give chicks fever".  This whimsical quilt was a fun addition to the group.

All the quilts in the collection have been published in a book called Inspired by Elvis: Art Quilts Celebrating the King which is available from Amazon here.