The Houston International quilt festival has been on my bucket list for many years and I finally got to check it off. I have heard that it is the convention where you will see new items, techniques and get inspired. It was definitely all that.
Now I live about 12 hours from Houston so we decided to break the trip up by staying in Natchitoches Louisiana the first night. The length of the drive is doable in a day for me but I have a soft place in my heart for this little historic town. My husband and I both spent time at Northwestern State University and we have many fond memories of the Christmas Festival of Lights, Cane River, Front Street, Restaurants, Bed and Breakfasts, Pecans from Little Eva Plantation and so many other things. So it is always a place we will try to get a visit into.
Gumbo-YUM!
This bread pudding from Fontenot's Restaurant is some of the best I have ever had.
Even though we haven't reached Thanksgiving, the town was already setting up for the Christmas Festival of Lights. Here is an iconic light fixture on Cane River
I have to give some love to Lasyonne's Meat Pie Restaurant. This was our breakfast Thursday morning before we pulled out of town.
We had an obligatory stop at Toledo Town which is right before you cross the Toledo Bend Reservoir bridge into Texas. This is a spot my husband loves because of the fishing tackle.
We made sure to drive slow enough to Hit Lufkin Texas right about lunchtime so we could eat at another old haunt of ours. Cafe Del Rio has some of our favorite Mexican food. Order the green sauce and you will know why. Cool creamy and addictive with their hot crispy tortilla chips. Can you tell we judge our trips by the food? If you travel with us, you are gonna eat well.
We pulled into Houston on Thursday afternoon and Friday Morning bright and early an Uber picked us up at my brother's house. This was a first time for me and I am now hooked on the Uber app. I think the worry of driving and finding a parking place in a downtown area or garage is one of the worst parts of travel. No more because I now understand why so many people say they just "grab an Uber"
I met the Gourmet Quilter. I couldn't believe she travelled all the way from New Zealand and I was worried about finding a parking spot. This lovely lady got me through Covid quarantine. She had so many videos to watch I was constantly learning something new.
I saw Emily who is the Collage Quilter. She was plenty busy so I didn't get to talk to her. I love her quilting designs. If you haven't seen her work, check it out.
Here is a lineup of guests at the All Brands Booth. SO many talented people.
I got to visit with Becky from Power Tools With Thread. We had a nice chat and she was super popular. I saw a lot of people coming up for photos with her.
Adam from Adam Sew Fun is one of my favorites. If you have never seen his videos, look him up on YouTube. I have learned so much from him and he is always being brave and trying new things with his Long Arm machine. He is also a hot Handi Quilter Ambassador traveling all over the country teaching.
Kaffe Fassett was on one of the main stages. He was very popular as you can see. I was at the back of the standing room only crowd. Did I mention there were quilts there? LOTS of beautiful quilts to get you inspired and make you drool.
I also brought several quilts to my family that I had been working on. My car was stacked with them. It felt really good to pass on those beautiful quilts that they will enjoy using.
When we got home, I was welcomed by this beautiful mum in my yard. I had to share this because it came from a very small piece that broke off another one last year. I nursed it all last winter and look how beautiful! What wonderful memories I have from this trip. I feel so lucky to have been able to go and that we can congregate once again with others that enjoy our crafting journey. I have a video you can watch below with more footage from my travel. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work.
