…in Huntsville, TX. Actually, I taught near Houston before coming to Huntsville – at The Quilter's Crossing. A cute shop in Tomball, TX. I lectured the night before at the meeting of the Tri-County Quilt Guild in Cypress, TX. (I've been in a variety of towns in the Houston/Huntsville area the last many days.)

This was the 10th annual Airing of the Quilts on the town square in Huntsville. Quilts were hung all over the place. Off the second store railing of the courthouse balcony:

Along the street:

And in the shaded grassy area around the courthouse:

I was in the featured quilter booth right by the courthouse. I visited with people for most of the day. My quilts hung on the stage of the old theater. It was cool in the morning and it got pretty darned warm later in the afternoon (it is Texas after all). Luckily there was a breeze/stiff wind all day. People kept commenting that I was sitting on a slant – it wasn't until I saw this photo that I understood why. It didn't feel that slanted – there are streets in Sherman like this. The road is graded high in the center to encourage the rain to run off the road.

There was entertainment throughout the day. Lots of music and in the afternoon there was a perfomance by the Ballet Folklorico from Dallas. Those are glasses of water on their heads!

In other news – my sister ended up in the hospital while I've been gone. Her shunt closed up and it turns out that it has been failing and no one knew so her dialysis sessions haven't cleaned her blood much. She fell, mom fell… I got one of those "oh my" text messages in the middle of my class on Wednesday.

But you know what? My son and daughter-in-law were there in a flash. Christy rode in her first Sherman ambulance to the new hospital in town. She is much better now. Mom is OK. They didn't have to deal with this trauma alone and that's why they moved to Sherman. Seriously, it could be worse. AND, the day after the medical meltdown we got a contract on mom's house in OKC. Oh happy day! No one is counting any chickens until the sale is complete but we are all breathing easier. And all this while I am away from home. I am thankful for the technology that keeps me touch when I'm gone.

Linda and I flew home Sunday. Monday I did laundry and re-packed because on Tuesday I drove to the Houston area to lecture and teach. I think today is Wednesday – isn’t it? I lectured last night and taught today for the Tri-County Quilt Guild. It was a fun day but I admit that it seems strange to think that 3 days ago I was in France.

I have a few final pictures from the quilt show. This is what the vendor mall looked like from the second floor before the crowds came:

The ‘little house’ next to us housed the quilts made by Petra Prins:

And next to Petra was, I think, Shizuko Kuroha. I admit it, I didn’t take good notes but I think this is the person who made these quilts. She wasn’t there, only her quilts were there.

In comparison to our neighbors, our quilts were very colorful. Tres jolie as they said. And we had a way cooler sofa!

There was a nice dispaly of garments near us. I especially liked this black dress. I would look terrible in it but my DIL would look good in a dress like it. The white dress was also lovely.

I miss the regal old-ness of Paris. Sherman feels, and is, very new in comparison.

I am picking up where I left off in my last post. Here is the view as you walk in:

And if you look to the right you see this wall….

And this is where we sat to stitch and visit with those who came in. I have to say that not being able to speak French cut down on the visiting but everyone did their best and there were lots of smiles.

This is the view across from our chairs…

Quiltmania did a marvelous job of displaying our quilts. I wish I could take that sofa home!

I’ll take some more pictures of the show floor today and try to post them before heading home. I’m home for a day and a half before heading to Houston and then Huntsville, TX, to teach. Spring Market is right after that. I’m almost halfway through a month of traveling and I admit that the time home, even if it is short, is going to feel good.

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We are in Nantes at the quilt show. We were invited to attend and teach by Quiltmania magazine, a wonderful quilt publication.
I was surprised and happy to see my quilt hanging just inside the the front door. It is the first one you see when you walk in and it looks great!

Our “little house” is upstairs. We have a large space and many of our quilts are hanging. Quiltmania chose a lovely green backdrop for our entire space. This is the entrance.

Our house has the brightest colors and most of the people who walk through really love the happy colors. We hear “tres Jolie” a lot!

I’ll share more photos tomorrow or when I get home. Our days are long and Linda is already trying to go sleep tonight. It’s time to turn off the lights…

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Last night we went to see the Eiffel Tower as the sun went down. There is a light show on the hour starting at dark which is worth the effort to go see. (The first time I posted this, the photo was sideways. I just fixed it.)

Today we wandered the streets and I had gelato twice – for breakfast and lunch. If it was close I’d have some more now!

We took the Metro to see Sacre Coeur. There are lots of stairs to climb up from the Metro and then up to the church at the top of the hill. There is a tram-like car that some of our group rode to top. I climbed the stairs. The view of Paris is wonderful from there – and the church is amazing too!

Linda found a place in the shade to rest.

The sky was clear and the church held a nice pose for me…

Sacre Coeur is near a fabric district. Of course we shopped.

This is where we are staying – pretty sweet!

More tomorrow!

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