Submitted by Liz M.
Quilt Festival is usually held in Houston, Texas each fall. This year, due to the Covid pandemic, the quilt show was cancelled and the organization created a “virtual” event from December 3-5, 2020. Quilters submitted quilts for the regular show categories, special exhibits and contests. These quilts were organized into PDFs to view and included a full image and a detail shot of each quilt. Each photo allowed the viewer to zoom in to see the quilt in additional detail. Show tickets allow access to the quilts through March 5, 2021.
Festival included classes, lectures and group forums on the live Zoom platform. Most were recorded which provided the opportunity to view your selections at a convenient time. This function also meant more quilters could “attend” because space was not a limitation. I enjoyed one class on Digital Design that reviewed programs and apps to use in quilting. A handout listing those programs and apps was included. Machine Quilting, Forum I and Forum II showcased five quilters in 20-minute segments with a few minutes at the end for questions. It was interesting to see each quilter’s “style” both in quilting and teaching. Classes and Forum content are available through December 12, 2020.
It is nice to be able to view the quilts a few times without walking miles in a huge conference center and without people in front of you. Pictures are not the same as seeing the quilts in person but it is another way of staying involved in the quilt world!
The Zoom class and two forums I viewed had some technical issues due to connectivity on the teacher’s side and one speaker even had a bomb blizzard that complicated her time! I am looking forward to the next virtual quilt show in 2021 and can’t wait to attend an in-person show again soon! Houston’s Quilt Festival is scheduled for October 28-31, 2021.
Did you try out the Virtual Quilt Festival? What did you think? Will you do another virtual show? Or a virtual class? Any suggestions or recommendations? Let us know in the comments
I attended the virtual show and did 3 lectures. Basic Embroidery and Quilt Anything with 6 Basic Shapes were very informative and inspiring. Quilting on Your Embroidery machine was disappointing. Lots of concepts/techniques mentioned but nothing shared that could be used right away. That said, I’d do it again. Just hope it’s not necessary.
Interesting to hear about a virtual quilt show; I hadn’t realized that Houston had done that this year! Glad you enjoyed it. I’ve been watching recent openings of quilt exhibitions from a few museums; not as good as seeing the work in person, at its true scale, but definitely a step up from not seeing it at all. Gotta make do!