People say to me, “You’re everywhere! You’ve just taken off!” And I think to myself. Yes. This is true. After 20 years of dedicated focus at my sewing machine a few people out there know who I am. Thank you.
I am eternally grateful for all of the recognition my work has gotten in the last few years, BUT this did not happen over night.
The truth is that most “stars” work for a very long time before anything happens.
Hence, when I was invited to be a Rising Star at the 2019 International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. I felt a bit sheepish. Am I Rising Star? And then I thought, to heck with that, HELL yes. I want to have a special exhibition at the IQF Houston.
The hard work to put together all of this exhibition happened back in June, so it wasn’t really on my radar at all until I got to the show.
But when I walked through the exhibition on Sunday of Quilt Market, I was overwhelmed by seeing all of my work together at this iconic event. It was INCREDIBLE!
I kind of went nuts with having photos of me at the event, but you know, how often does this happen?
I gave several gallery tours that were surprisingly well attended.
The exhibition featured some of my very first quilts.
It was so cool to see them all together. You can see the complete selection of quilts that were featured in the exhibition in this slide show. (If the slide show doesn’t work for you, just scroll down to the bottom and you can view them there.)
And then, before you could say International Quilt Festival three times fast, it was over.
The white gloves were brought out.
I got a peak at how the Festival handles installing and taking down almost 4,000 quilts.
The simple answer—VERY carefully.
It was an amazing moment in my quilting life.
I am very grateful to Karey Bresenhan (founder of IQF) who selected my work for this exhibition, Becky Navarro (Special Exhibitions Manager for the show), and Aurifil Thread (Sponsor of the Rising Star Exhibition). AND to everyone who helped me photograph the exhibition, attended the gallery talks, and stopped by to say hello. It was wonderful to share this moment in time with you.
Thank you folks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the show.
Very nice. Congratulations.
Mary
Thank you!
Congratulations Maria, WOW!
Thank you Sandi!
Congratulations! How exciting. Tricia
Thank you Tricia!
But how lovely to be an ‘overnight success’ despite the number of nights! Your journey inspires so many of us. Can’t wait to see what’s next ✂️🧵❤️
Up next is the Shelburne Museum! I am deep in the stitching now. Thank you!
CONGRATULATIONS! So exciting. deserving, and rewarding to be a special exhibit at the big show. So happy for you.
Thank you Kay!
Kudos to you, my crazy-busy friend, this is so well deserved.
Thank you Beth–you are kind of busy too, eh?
Congratulations Maria! What a thrill to have a “Rising Star” exhibit in Houston. You are everywhere these days and that is accomplished by hard work, perseverance and sacrifice. You earned it! So proud of you! Cindy from Texas
Thank you Cindy!
Hi
This is my plaid from Rad Plaid class in Houston. I enjoyed the class as well as linear blocks! I always learn many new things and canât wait to get back home and practice it all! It was good to see you again. I love the colors but need work on getting things to line up better.
Cindy from Texas
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I am glad the Rad Plaid experiment worked out in the end. I think it is going to be a great class, and I appreciate all of you who learned along side me that day!
Congratulations Maria, what an honour for you which is definitely well deserved. It looks like a fabulous display of your quilts, thanks for sharing the photos and story. I’m seeing you and your quilts everywhere these days which makes me happy as I’m a big fan of yours.
Thank you Marsha! I really appreciate you saying that.
Congratulations!! All that hard work paid off.
Thank you Patricia!
So proud to know you! Wish I could have seen your exhibit in Houston but it wasn’t in the cards this year. My son and daughter in law were visiting us in California.
Sally Wright
This is HUGE! Congratulations.
Thank you Sarah!
What an amazing body of work! Your honor was well earned. Congratulations!
Thank you Jane!
Congratulations. Those hours and hours of work show
Thank you!
Congratulations on this achievement and show. I hadn’t thought of you as a rising star, as I thought you had already risen, but so nice for you to have that recognition.
Thank you Shasta!
What a special moment in your quilting life! Your talent, vision, skill, and artistic voice express themselves so wonderfully here. You’re a star in my book. Congratulations!
Thank you Mike! That is very nice of you to say that.
So wonderful…for both you and for all of us..a big congratulations..
Thank you Diane!
Congratulations! You deserve it!
Thank you Mickey!
So proud of you Maria! 👍🏻
Thank you Jennifer!
So amazing. You deserve it. Congratulations, Maria!
Thank you very much Julia. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving in the woods!
Thank you! It was lovely. I hope you guys had a yummy, cozy day too!
Wonderful! Congratulations!
Thank you Tierney!
Congratulations! You are a star!!
Thank you Janet!
You are a star–still rising, no end in site. Congratulations on your show. Proud to say I knew you back when you were beginning to rise.
Petra- YES. I am very grateful to have known you for a good amount time. Thank you!
No end in SIGHT.
That is so awesome! Congratulations!
Thank you Carrie!
Congratulations! Wish I could have been there in person to see the exhibit. Awesome!
Thank you Elizabeth!