By Lynn Holland

They say they do everything in a big way in Texas, and this year's Quilt International was no exception. We had never been to the Houston show before, so we were definitely blown away by the enormity of it all. (Not to mention the eccentricities of the Houston freeway system.) We should have been tipped off by the size of the vendor's area when we attended the San Antonio guild show a couple of years ago, but that didn't fully prepare us for this Texas-sized extravaganza devoted to goodies for quilters.

Our first response to the whole deal was WOW!

We began in sort of a haphazard fashion, but by the end of the first aisle, we decided we better develop a plan, fast. Consulting the map, we staked out the important locations the ladies rooms, the men's room, and the food court. We were dragging our rolling Planet Patchwork T-shirt cart, but that didn't slow us down much. We had identified a few must-visit spots, and we started with the Electric Quilt booth, and then picked up a button at Quilt Pro right around the corner. Both booths were crazy-busy demonstrating their quilt software. It was great to finally meet the people whose names had become familiar in our household and to have the opportunity to speak face-to-face to the folks who have been so influential in the computing quiltersâ community.

Then we stopped by to drool at the Jasmine Quilt Frame booth, where we were surprised to learn that Jasmine, (to us an icon in the world of quilting frames) is still a family-run business. I can't express how impressed I was to meet the woman who invented those frames along with several other products that make quilting easier.

There were lots of famous (to us) people and even more neat stuff. It was definitely a celebrity-spotting opportunity, sort of the equivalent of standing on the street prior to the Oscars. I pretended to be cool while standing in line at the ladiesâ room. Right in front of me were Roberta Horton and Mary Mashuta, talking about buying buttons. I did not embarrass myself by squealing or fainting in the presence of greatness, but I was suitably impressed. Another thrill for me was meeting St. Teresa herself, Terrie Mangat, the founder and former owner of St. Teresa's Textile Treasure Trove in Cincinnati. Thank you, Penny McMorris, for the introduction.

In the cool stuff department, there were way too many beautiful and unusual fabrics. There was a strong Japanese presence, and many hand-dyed and marbled offerings, too. For the real quilt artist, this was the place to stock up for a year's worth of creations at one time. There are many things, that, in hindsight, I wish I had gotten.

Unfortunately, I get overloaded when presented with too many great choices at one time, and next time Iâll spend one day reconnoitering and the next day buying, after I've had more time to think about how I might utilize things. In my "should have" list are some of the adorable "treats" from Cotton Candy. These items look like and are wrapped like all-day suckers, but are in reality fabrics to make a doll-sized quilt. What a super present for a secret pal or other quilting friend. Also in that list is one of those "when is a thimble not a thimble" inventions available from House of Quilting. And then there were those "Big Boards" that go over the top of your ironing board and look like just the thing for pressing those quilt tops and backs . . . I could keep going, but it's probably just as well from a financial standpoint that I have trouble with decision-making.

To the credit of the show's organizers, the food selections were nicely varied, and not just your standard nachos and hotdogs that often dot these events. There was even a source for more substantial stuff and some good- looking salads, too, but we didn't discover that area until after we had lunched in the vast fast food room. But then we would have missed what was probably one of the more amusing events of the festival the great potato quest. One of the vendors offered baked potatoes, but had apparently underestimated the demand. At one point it was announced that there were ten potatoes left, and the next batch would not be ready for 45 minutes. There was a good deal of grumbling and jockeying in line for the too-scarce baked potatoes, particularly when more appeared about three minutes too late for some disgruntled lunchers, but a good 30 minutes ahead of their announced arrival. Organizational plusses here were lots of seating and the "instructors can cut in line" rule.

Oh, yes, there were quilts on display. The whole center of the gallery was quilts, dolls and wearables. So much to see, so little time! Definitely a reason for a return visit next year.

TVQ	Planet Patchwork