Daily Blog

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Enjoy some of the quilts from the Celebrate Spring! 2011 Exhibition at the Houston International Quilt Festival presented by the International Quilt Association.

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Watch Ami and her volunteers set up their booth on the last day of the show in Houston.  Watch 'til the end, they get a little goofy.

Ami also wanted to remind you about popcorn bidding for the Stanley Cup Quilt-Off online auction in which Alex and Ricky are participating.  Here's what she has to say:

Our online quilt auctions feature dynamic bidding, also known as "Popcorn Bidding." If a bid is made within 9 minutes and 59 seconds of the auction's scheduled closing time, Popcorn Bidding automatically extends the scheduled closing time for the auction of that particular item for another 10 minutes after the bid is made. Each subsequent bid resets the clock to allow bids to be made for another 10 minutes. Once there has been no bidding activity for 10 minutes, the bidding is considered completed and no further bidding is accepted. The auction for the item is closed. As always, the person who placed the highest bid wins the item.

Popcorn bidding prevents a practice known as "sniping," where bidders place a bid in the last seconds before an auction closes, thus preventing other bidders from responding with a higher bid. Auctions which employ Popcorn Bidding mimic traditional "live" auctions.

As always, if there is a specific item you really want, it is in your best interest to monitor the auction during the last few minutes.

The auction ends this Thursday, starting at 9:50pm CENTRAL time should be very interesting to watch should there be any popcorn bidding going on.

For more info, to see the quilts, or to bid, click here.

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Susan Van Swearingen (TQS member name: sooze52) dropped by the TQS booth in Houston and dazzled us with her coat of many colors.  She created the coat from Cherrywood Fabrics, both digitized and used OESD embroidery designs, and designed the lining fabric and had it created by Spoonflower a company that prints your custom fabric on demand.  

Be inspired!

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Here are quilts from award winning quilt artist, lecturer, author and TQS TEACHER, Nancy Prince, as they were exhibited the the Pacific International Quilt Festival XX in a Special Exhibition. Nancy is a thread painting artist and uses no embroidery cards in these works.

Nancy teaches her thread painting techniques right here in the TQS Classroom, click here to find her lessons.

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 Our 1:00 meeting at the TQS booth was incredible!!!! Thank you for stopping by for our picture perfect family reunion -  It got kind of crowded - but that is OK - because we know,  It's a NEW DAY, EVERY DAY!!!!!!  (PS - This year there are a bunch a first timers at Houston - it is pretty exciting stuff)

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Walking around Quilt Festival in Houston, TX always gives us a chance to see what's new and happening in the quilt world, but often spot some more quirky and unusual items along the way as well.  Remember the button sorter and the t-shirt pants?  Or how about the quilt inspired by handkerchief carried by brides in the family?  Check the Daily Blog as we bring you more fun stories as we find them.

T-shirt pants

Spring of Desire by Ted Storm

Button sorter

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Photo by Jim Burt

The holidays have begun and what are you going to do with those out of town visitors?  Such is the question posed by many.  TQS has found a few events that will help you entertain the young and old while at the same time keep your sanity.

• Ride the Holiday Train in Chicago, IL.  The train's cars, decked inside and out with holiday lights, include Santa and his helpers who are there to hand out treats to riding passengers.  For more info click here.
• See the Zoo Light at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, IL. In addition to the Zoo Light the zoo includes giant snow globes, and other amazing scenes sure to delight.  Click here
  for more info.
• Take the gang on the Window Walking tour of some of New York City's finest window displays.  From Macy's to Bloomindales's the spectacular scenes in the windows make for a festive way to spend an evening out of doors.  Click here for more info.
  
• Listen to the sounds of Nashville's Music City Bronze December 4, 5, 11,12, 2011.  This hand bell ensemble be sharing two free holiday music concerts.  Click here for more info.
• Visit historic Colonial Williamsburg, VA.  During the entire month of December step back in time as this historic village offers everything from music, spectacular fireworks, walking tours, wreath making workshops, and more.  For more info click here.
• Drive the family through nearly a mile of spectacular holiday scenes illuminated by over 1 million lights at Santa's Ranch in New Braunfels,TX .  More than one hundred displays and animation is sure to impress even the grouchiest of scrooges. Click here for more info. 
• Step back in time by visiting the town of Quedlinburg, Germany.  This thousand year old town, filled with hundreds of half-timbered homes, participates each year in drawing visitors from around the globe to share in the delights of an old fashioned Christmas Market. Don't miss Germany's largest Advent calendar.  Each day the door of one of twenty four homes near the castle is opened.  For more info click here. 
• At the stroke of midnight, we celebrate the start of a new year! Sydney does this in style by lighting up the night sky with a spectacular Fireworks Display launched from seven barges on the Harbour, the rooftops of seven city skyscrapers and, unforgettably, from Sydney Harbour Bridge. Bringing more than 1.5 million people to the Harbour, this majestic 12-minute Fireworks Display is the reason why Sydney is the New Years Eve capital of the world.
  
• Pony rides, Christmas tales and festive children's shows are just a few of the treats sure to delight the youngsters in your family at the annual Harewood Christmas extravaganza in Yorkshire, England.
  

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If you watched Episode 909: Techniques, Tips...and Turning "Trash" into "Treasure" with Gyleen Fitzgerald you would have been introduced to the lovely Onaledge B&B in Manitou Springs, Colorado by Brett Maddox, the Executive Director of the Red Crags Estate.

The estate is believed to have a few ghostly inhabitants and today they are inviting you to view their "enchanted home," built in 1912 by architect, builder, and coppersmith Roland Boutwell.  The home is an example of the Arts & Crafts movement popular at the time.

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Here a just a few of the examples in the entries in the Wearable Art competition of the Pacific International Quilt Festival.  The workmanship is beyond compare.  To see the winners from this year's competition, click here.

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Come take a look at the colorful and intriguing world of quilt artist, Dianne S. Hire.  You'll get to see her studio, her fabulous garden and grounds, and her well-trained cat.  You'll also get to see why she is called the Dump-Queen and what she does with "found treasures."

To see more of Dianne, watch Episode 908 - Wedgies, Danglers, and Funkies...Oh, My!