Dear Friends@Festival
When the last issue of Friends@Festival went out in July of this year, the world was reeling from the effects of a worldwide pandemic, with everyone feeing a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about the future. And now in early December we find ourselves…in pretty much the same place (though the vaccines should be coming soon!).
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Of course, we were not able to meet in person this year in Houston due to the forced cancellation of International Quilt Festival. That decision was made not only by local and state regulations, but for the health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, faculty, volunteers, and staff.
But…like so many other types of shows and businesses, we pivoted! Our debut Virtual Quilt Festival will be held December 3-5. A $10 admission “ticket” gives you access to the vendor mall, quilt galleries, Open Studios™ product videos, and a free lecture by Jenny K. Lyon. Plus the chance to win an HQ Moxie™ longarm quilting machine. Additional lectures can be added for $10 each, and Master Classes or Forums for $20 each. And with few exceptions, all of those educational offerings will be recorded and available for viewing for an additional week!
In this issue of Friends@Festival, we cover some of the people who are taking part in VQF. Angela Walters, “The Midnight Quilter,” talks about her quilting journey and Master Class “Show Off Quilting: Designs to Enhance Your Tops.” We profile Jennifer Patterson of Quilted in Clay, who tells us about her creative process and quilt-inspired jewelry products you can see in her virtual booth. And we hear from Dr. Sandra Sider and Pamela Weeks about the amazing quilt exhibit Deeds Not Words, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote. Finally, in the Best of Suzy’s Fancy, Suzanne Labry introduces us to a group of more than 200 Australian women who collaborated on The Queensland Quarantine Quilt about life in lockdown.
Hopefully, we will be able to overcome the current health crisis, and “the new normal” will start returning to “the old normal.” That means there will be quilting bees, quilt guild meetings, and quilting classes that are live and in person. And of course, the return of quilt shows! We are already planning for International Quilt Festival in Houston next year, October 28-31 (with Preview Night on October 27). And we know it will be an extra special reunion for us all.
Stay safe, stay well, and stay quilting!
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