Today I leave for Houston for the International Quilt show. It will be my first time to visit that show, and I am looking forward to being overwhelmed. I have two days to view it, and hope that is enough. I didn’t sign up for any classes this time. Oh, some looked tempting all right, but I resisted. I need to use what I know for a while before moving in new directions.
I haven’t decided whether to take my camera or not. I view a show much differently if I am taking pictures. I am more interested in light, angle and composition. I become a photographer instead of a quilter. It also makes me more impatient of crowds, the people who get in the way of my carefully composed shot. I prefer enjoying the people.
I do much better just enjoying the quilts, looking at design, looking at technique, maybe commenting to my companious or eavesdropping on others who are commenting. Of course i do not touch, though that takes MUCH restraint. On rare occasion I have sketched something I want to remember, but I do that less and less. Instead I figure the mental image will do, and if it gets distorted, maybe there is a reason. There will be bed quilts, wall quilts, traditional quilts and art quilts, and I will revel in them all.
I will be meeting friends in Houston, and that certainly adds to the fun; I will also be staying at the new Hosteling International Hostel, the Morty Rich Hostel. Hosteling is a great way to travel; in the US it has always been for people of all ages, and they finally took “Youth” out of the name of the organization.
So time to get packing.
