Roadtrip to Houston for the Texas QAL! Plus a giveaway.

It's my turn to host the "Deep in the Heart of Texas QAL Roadtrip." So glad you stopped by.

Today the roadtrip takes us to the great city of Houston!

If you're new to my blog... I'm Teresa, a native Texan. I grew up in Houston riding horses and lovin' football! We just can't help it, it's what we do. I've been quilting for a long time, blogging for a couple years and I'm in the process of writing a book on Japanese quilts. So, that's me.

Cristina at Pretty Little Quilts and Melissa at My Fabric Relish are Texas QAL Roadtrip organizers.

Here's the rundown on what you'll find in this post.

First - my art quilt of the Texas sub-surface: "Texas Rocks!"
Second - a couple fun facts you need to know about Houston!
Third - the block and pattern for Houston for the QAL.
Fourth - the Aurifil give away!

First
The Texas QAL is a really cool pattern... and as I stared at it, a new idea started to form. Eventually, this idea took hold... you know how that happens... it was simply calling me: do the sub-surface (you know, below ground - the rocks), make it abstract, use interesting fabrics and quilt it to resemble the 3D seismic lines that geologists love so much. You see, I spent many years working in oil and gas (left a year ago). I'm not a geologist, not even close. But you spend that much time around petroleum engineers and geologists, and some of this stuff starts to wear off on you.

I found this vintage geologic map of Texas, loved it, and set out to reinterpret it.

Vintage geology map of Texas.

Here's what I came up with.

"Texas Rocks!" by Teresa Duryea Wong.
The Texas sub-surface based on a vintage geology map.
Machine quilted.

Clearly, this is a departure from the pattern everyone is making for the QAL... I felt compelled to make an alternate version, and I have to say, it was quite fun to make.

Detail: "Texas Rocks!" by Teresa Duryea Wong.

The quilted lines and fabric shapes resemble the markings from a seismic survey - these point out fault lines, anti-clines, underground 'rivers'... even a couple 'hot spots' in the layers of rock.

To do this right, I used at least half of my Aurifil thread collection! Here's the resting spot for each spool as it went on and off the Bernina. Isn't that just a thing of beauty, all those beautiful spools?

Second

Here's what you need to know about Houston. It's big! Six million people and counting - and you can drive for about 100 miles from one end to another - pretty darn close, anyway. We have a lot of freeways and very little mass transit. Driving a car here is practically a God-given right.

Houston is hot, but we love it anyway. It is home to the Port of Houston (one of the world's largest ports, by the way)... NASA's Johnson Space Center is here... we have a huge medical center with over 60 institutions... and of course, we are the epicenter of the world's oil and gas industry.

But, best of all, Houston is the host of the International Quilt Festival (and Market) every fall. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the festival. It is truly an event not-to-be missed, as I am sure you know.

Thinking of moving here? Well, you should know... we're in the middle of a massive real estate boom! The average time it takes to sell a house in Houston, Katy or The Woodlands? One to three days! Crazy, right? Put your house on the market at noon, have 5 offers by 5 pm! Totally true. Remember those things called newspapers? Read 'em and you'll see!

We divide the city according the Loop 610 boundary (kinda like Washington's DC's beltway). There's life 'inside the loop' and 'outside the loop.' Sadly, inside the loop, there is only one brick and mortar quilt store left standing (that I know of anyway - not counting JoAnn's or High Fashion Fabrics). Luckily it is a darling little place: Tea Time Quilting, on 11th Street at Tulane (in the Heights). It's tucked behind Jana's Flowers... and if the door's locked, just pop in the flower shop and they'll open up the quilt store for you. That's the way they roll in the Heights.

Tea Time Quilting, Houston's last quilt store in the inner city.

Besides quilting, if I were to recommend you do only one thing in Houston - it would be to visit to The Menil Collection! This is our finest art museum, and frankly one of the best private museums anywhere. It was founded by John and Dominique DeMenil and originally housed much of their amazing art collection. You must see the large Rene Magritte collection!

Like Beer? Well, then you're gonna want to stop by the Beer Can House. That's right. This quirky little house is covered in beer cans, what else? The artist/ beer drinker and his wife drank all this beer, and then started putting those cans all over the house. Only open weekends.

The other thing you must do while in Houston is eat! BBQ of course, and fajitas are our favorites. BBQ, or barbecue, is not what a lot of Yankees think it is... BBQ is not throwing raw meat on an open flame. People, that's grilling! BBQ is a slow cooked or smoked beef brisket, pork loin, whole chicken or sausage. And right before we eat it, we douse it in BBQ sauce. There's lots of choices... I recommend Goode Company BBQ. For your TexMex, there's about a million choices. The best fajitas are at El Tiempo on Washington - a Houston staple for the past 50 years.

Last but not least, you must head south to the water! Either Clear Lake or Galveston Bay and go sailing, or just go to Kemah, or Galveston. Both of those places have theme parks now. Or better yet, hook up with one of the yacht clubs and go for a sail!

Third
Which brings us to the QAL block for Houston. A sailboat!

There are 2 pieces of fabric for the background - water and sky. Then applique the sailboat pieces on top using whatever your preferred method is. I used the machine and the satin stitch. Here are 2 images with the pattern. Print these on 8.5 x 11 inch paper.

While this image is fairly simple, my favorite part is the front sail - called the spinnaker. These sails are usually very colorful, so have fun with it.

Fourth - the Fabulous Aurifil Give Away
One name will be drawn from comments left on this post. In order to enter the drawing, please leave a comment here. If you follow me on Google or Bloglovin, or you start following me, please leave a second comment here telling me so. Your name will be entered in the drawing twice.

Here's the give away. Aurifil has generously offered a pack of designer thread (like the one pictured, but not this exact thread set). Plus, the winner will receive a sample pack of thread (5 weights, one color) and an Aurifil color chart!



Winner will be drawn at random on Friday, July 11. Winner will be announced on Saturday July 12.

Thanks to Melissa and Cristina for inviting me on the Texas Roadtrip. And thanks to all the great sponsors.