Houston 2024 Win

 I woke up at 6am on Saturday to watch the award ceremony for the Houston International Quilt Show and was absolutely thrilled to win second Prize in the Pieced section for my quilt Citrus Zing.

Below is a screen shot from my computer.

2nd Place Houston

Another Australian won a prize too. It was my friend Tania Tanti who won the Master Award for Innovative Artistry for her quilt The Naughty Corner.

The Naughty Corner by Tania Tanti

Best of Show went to a miniature quilt. I would love to see it in person, it must be amazing. It was made by Chen Jing from China. The quilt is only 17" x 18".

Still Life by Chen Jing

Houston is on at the end of the month, it's a shame that I won't be there to see it.

Here is a better photo of my quilt Citrus Zing.

Citrus Zing by Linda Steele

It's been quite a popular quilt. It was used to advertise the Golden Textures Exhibition last year.

This year it is being used to advertise the AQIPP prize for next year.

I suppose the colours are unusual.

A couple of weeks ago the prizes for the Sydney Quilt Show were announced and Ocean Dance 2 won a Judges Award.

Ocean Dance 2 by Linda Steele

It has been a lovely end to my year when I think that  also got into Quilt National for the first time. Quilt National will be opened in Ohio next May and I am planning on going.

Here is a small detail photo of my Quilt National quilt.

Communication Breakdown detail

I know it is not all about prizes etc but they are nice to receive.

Bye for now,

Linda

Autumn Song Sold

 My quilt Autumn Song was on display at The Houston Quilt Festival last week. It had been selected to tour with the SAQA Global exhibition called RED.

I was enjoying seeing the various Houston posts on Facebook and saw pictures of the Red exhibition. They are not my photos so I don't think I can share them here.

I received a wonderful email during the week to say that someone had bought my quilt!

It was such a thrill and an honour that someone decided that they wanted my quilt. I also sold my quilt called Grief at Houston in 2021. I remember being thrilled then but never expected to sell another one.

Grief by Linda Steele

So, I won't see both those quilts again. They take a long time to make but I have made so many quilts over the years, I am happy to let some go.

Here is a photo of the full Autumn Song.

Autumn Song by Linda Steele

Autumn Song was one of the first fully improv quilts that I made. I am glad that somebody else liked it too.

Bye for now,

Linda

SAQA Red in Houston

 The big international quilt show in Houston begins this week. I have been lucky enough to go twice although my quilts have been there quite a few times. I didn't enter the judged show this year but I do have a quilt on display in the SAQA (Studio Art Quilts Associates) exhibition.

The exhibition is called Red and I was delighted to find that my quilt was on the cover of the catalogue.

SAQA Red Catalogue

The pages are quite glossy, so it didn't photograph very well.

Here is my spread inside the book.

Here is a photo of the actual quilt.

Autumn Song

Here are a couple of detail photos.

I made this improv quilt in 2022. I just started cutting and piecing with no pattern or plan, but halfway through making the quilt, I was reminded of Autumn and so that idea stuck.

The other exciting thing that happened recently was that my husband and I went to the Paul McCartney Concert.

I bought the tickets as a treat for my husband because he was a big fan of the Beatles when we met in the 1970's. It was a fantastic concert. There was no support act and no interval and Paul sang and played multiple instruments for 3 hours. You could tell how much he loves singing and performing.

I could have easily sat through the concert again, it was so good. We stayed the night in the city, a short walk from the stadium, so we didn't have to deal with the traffic after the concert. It was like a mini holiday.

Bye for now,

Linda

Houston Silent Auction 2019

Every year the people at the Houston Quilt show invite previous winners to donate a quilt to their silent auction to help raise funds for the wonderful show that they put on every year. I try to donate one every year because they put on such a great show and do so much to encourage quilters from all over the world.

Once again, I was invited but knew that I didn't really have any spare time to make something. Then I remembered the little crazy quilt I did for the Crazy Quilting calendar last year. You can read my blog post about it from 9th October 2018 here.

I added a red silk border to it.

Adding the border

The deadline to have it arrive in time was looming and even with the fastest postage from Australia, it takes a week to get there. So, I quilted the border with a feather pattern which didn't take very long.

Crazy about Christmas by Linda Steele

Here are some detail photos.

I received the news that it has arrived in Houston and now I just have to hope that someone bids on it and buys it.

It is the only quilt I will have in Houston this year; I didn't get one done in time. Hopefully I can get my latest quilt done in time for next year's show!

Bye for now,
Linda

Houston Quilt Show 2017

The Houston quilt show is over for another year and from all the photos I have seen on social media it was a huge success.
I had a couple of friends who went this year and to our excitement one of them, Linda Crouch won first prize in the miniature section. Here she is at the prize winning ceremony.

Linda Crouch receiving her prize

I was away on holiday with her when she was finishing up tying off all the threads but I forgot to take a photo of it, I'll have to wait until it arrives back home. Meanwhile I only have the photos from the show.

I can assure you that it is absolutely beautiful.

Linda Crouch with Whirlygig

Another Victorian won a Honourable mention, Karen McGregor with her beautiful turtle quilt that was in our latest Vic Quilters show.

Green Sea Turtle by Karen McGregor

Two other Australians won a prize, Helen Godden won a 3rd and Gillian Shearer won an Honourable Mention.

I had a quilt in the show but I missed out on a prize. My Quilt, The Bleaching was in the Embellished section.

The Bleaching

I also had another quilt in the A Matter of Time Exhibition, at one stage my quilt was used to advertise the floor talks, which was a thrill.

I also had a quilt in the silent auction, I know someone has bought it but I don't know how much money it raised yet.

The Coral Reef by Linda Steele

I have been to the Houston Quilt Show twice before and it is huge and so exciting and hard to believe that there are so many beautiful quilts in one place.

Meanwhile I am here at home after a few busy couple of months, things should be settling down now and I can get on with some sewing at last.

Something that always puts a smile on my face is my beautiful granddaughter Savannah who turned 3 over the weekend. She loves all the Disney movies but we decided to have Simba on her Ice-cream cake.

Bye for now,
Linda

Houston Silent Auction 2017

Once again I have been invited by the International Quilt Festival or better know as the Houston Quilt Show to participate in their annual silent auction. It is an honour to be asked and I am happy to help as it is a major fund raiser for them and they do so much to promote quilting around the world.

My quilt named The Bleaching has been accepted into the show and so I thought I would make a small quilt with a coral reef theme.

Unfortunately I didn't take any progress photos as I was in a rush to get it made on time.

Here is the top finished before quilting.

The Coral Reef top

Because of time constraints this quilt is all done by machine, I didn't have the time to do the hand embroidery that is done on some of my other Coral Reef quilts.

Then I pin basted it.

Then it was time for the machine quilting.

It didn't take very long to quilt because it is 16" wide by 22 ½" high.

The Coral Reef ©2017 Linda Steele

Here are a couple of detail photos.

I hope someone likes my little quilt and bids on it. 

Houston has had some very bad floods and storms lately and we have been assured that all our quilts are safe on the 5th floor and told that Texans are very resilient and the show will go ahead. I wish them all well; we have watched the devastating scenes on TV in Australia and can hardly believe the tough times that they have gone through.

Bye for now,

Linda

Houston 2016

The big International Quilt Festival in Houston is over for another year. I wasn't there but I had two quilts on display, so I feel as if a part of me was over there.

My quilt A Time for all Seasons was in the Embellished section in the World of Beauty judged show. I wasn't lucky enough to win a prize this year.

A Time for all Seasons©2016 Linda Steele

I also made a small quilt for the Houston Quilt Show silent auction. I don't know if anyone bid on it yet, I hope so! I called it The Reef.

The Reef©2016 Linda Steele

The Best of Show quilt was won by Cynthia England with her quilt Reflections of Cape Town. It's an incredible picture quilt that is appliqued with hundreds of little pieces of fabric. She has done magnificent quilts before that are pieced but apparently this one is applique.

To see this quilt and the other winners go to the IQF website, I have included the link here.

Bye for now,
Linda

Houston Silent Auction 2016- The Reef

Every year for a few years now I have been invited to donate a quilt to the Houston Quilt Show Silent Auction. I try to make one every year as it's an honour to be asked and I am happy to support such a wonderful organisation.

I often make a little quilt that is similar to the one I have in the show but this year I wanted to keep with my Underwater theme. I called my quilt The Reef and it's 16 1/2" high and 11" wide.

I had to be quick this year as I knew I had a little grandchild on the way so I didn't take many progress photos.

Here is the quilt top before I added any stitching.

Quilt top before stitching

I remember adding a bit of paint to the background fabric because it had some sections that were too light and were a bit distracting.

Here is the little quilt all finished.

The Reef©2016 Linda Steele

I did take a couple of close up photos before I posted it off to Houston.

The Reef detail-top

The Reef detail 2

Hopefully someone will like it enough to bid on it.

Bye for now,
Linda

President of Waverley Patchworkers

At the last Waverley Patchworkers AGM (Annual General Meeting) I became the new President. I originally thought that I would take on the role of Vice President and after twelve months of learning the ropes I would take over as President.
Imagine my surprise when the President told me that she had decided not to go on for a second year! So I went straight into being President and have to do a crash course on the job.

I have been a member of Waverley Patchworkers for 16 years and have spent three years on the committee in the past and I have run three of Waverley Patchworkers Quilt Shows and been on the committee for two other shows so I am not completely new to how things run at Waverley.

I am still the coordinator of the Waverley Art Quilters and a Valuer for Victorian Quilters so I will be busy especially as I do want to keep making quilts as well. This year is especially hectic as I am still minding my baby granddaughter four days a week. I must be mad to take on another job!

My main aim as President for the first year is to have a stable year and to get everyone in the club to know each other a little better.

Last week the International Quilt Festival was on in Houston and if you click here you can see the photos of the prize winners. I didn't have a quilt in the show this year but if I get a move on I might have a quilt finished for next year.

Bye for now,
Linda

500 Traditional Quilts

There is a new book on the market called 500 Traditional Quilts. I was thrilled to find out that 4 of my quilts are included in the book.

It is a compact 8"square book and quite thick. Of course I am biased, but I think the book is beautifully put together. The publishers have taken a lot of care to make sure that quilts that are on facing pages work well together.

Every type of traditional quilt is included and although most of the quilts seem to be American there are quilts from the UK, France, Japan, Canada, Brazil and Australia.

Here are the four quilts of mine that have been included.

Crazy about Ballet  Linda Steele

Holiday Waltz Linda Steele

Naturally Crazy Linda Steele

Scottish Dance Linda Steele

There is going to be an exhibition of many of the quilts in the book at the Houston Quilt Show this year and then the quilts will travel around America for 12 months.
The 3 quilts that will be in the travelling exhibition are Scottish Dance, Naturally Crazy and Crazy about Ballet.
 Holiday Waltz is in France for the Australia Quilts Exhibition.

I actually have 5 travelling quilts at the moment because my Christmas Crazy is travelling around America with the World Quilt Show. What well travelled quilts I have!

Bye for now,
Linda

Houston Silent Auction 2014

Every year the IQA (International Quilt Association) Houston run a silent auction to raise money for all their various quilting promotions. You have to be invited to donate a quilt and I have been very honoured to be asked for the last few years.

I always like to donate something because I have been to Houston twice and it is the most wonderfully well run and happy quilt show that I have ever been to. I have also been lucky enough to win a few prizes in their show.

I usually make a small quilt that is similar to a quilt that I have entered in the judged show but I didn't enter this year. All my teaching commitments, the cruise and the Waverley Patchworkers quilt show meant that I not only didn't get a quilt finished, I didn't get one started!

I remembered that I made a little crazy quilt for the Waverley Patchworkers Red and White with a touch of Black challenge and so I have decided to donate that.

Crazy about Red and White©2014Linda Steele

This is what the base block looked like before the embroidery.

From the look of the photo I must have been going to embroider the swan but I must have changed my mind afterwards because I ended up appliquéing him.

Here is the swan completed.

I have another couple of close-ups as well.

I am posting it off to Houston today, I hope someone bids on it and they raise some money.

Bye for now,
Linda