Houston Rodeo Quilt Show: Part 1

I have a real treat planned for you guys over the next few days. I was able to attend the Houston Rodeo & Livestock Show which for me is basically "the Rodeo Quilt Show". These are all traditional quilts made by Texans. Some are very do-able...one winner was just a Half-Square Triangle quilt! Others are what I would call "Ten Year Quilts" because they appear to be so detailed it would take 10 years to do them. I keep trying to figure out how I could enter a quilt in the "doable" category. If you know, let me know!  The following quilts are what my bestie Amie would simply call "BEYOND".  They are beyond my skill, beyond my imagination, and beyond all expectation!

 

First up is Cactus Roundup.  This is a very "Texas" quilt.  The thing I loved was all the varieties of cacti around the border.  They are hand appliqued and embellished with various embroidery for flowers and needles.  

I love the background fabric.  It looks like they are riding off into a sunset.  I like that they chose to use a shadow of the cowboys instead of trying to be realistic.  It could have ruined this quilt.  They did a great job.

This is a wall hanging which one best of division.  The most genius thing on this quilt for me was the pleated red flange between the pieced section and border.  It is hand quilted but my husband thought it had been done by a machine because it was so perfect and even.

This quilt had a lot of different trapunto flowers and applique.  It was stunning in person.

Here are the tulips.  I think that is a little ladybut on the leaf.  The detail work in this one is amazing.  I wish I had a good photo of the poinsettias...they used a fabric covered button for the flower centers.

The judges were as impressed as I was, obviously.

Here is another quilt that amazed me.  These are mums, I think...each petal is folded fabric.  It is extremely 3 dimensional.  

This is the same quilt but I loved the rose and forget-me-nots.  This is a talented quilter.

This is the same quilt but I had to show you EACH grape is hand applique'd.  I love the stitched vines as well.  One again, the judges and I were in agreement!  This was a wedding quilt for a couple that got married in 2007.  I sure hope they appreciate this beauty! 

I have a lot more quilts to share but I am going to break this up into several installments.  I took soooo many photos.  I apologize for the poor quality of some/most of the photos.  They were behind glass in  weird lighting and it was hard to get a good shot.