I finished some quilts before vacation

We're leaving the 16th for Colorado, so I wanted to take some completed quilts and tops to the guild meeting today. 

First, I tied and bound three of the scrap-busting split 9-patch quilts. Each one is made with 2" squares and HSTs.

I also finished a pink one, but forgot to take a picture.  All four of these were donated to our community service program.

Next, I donated this top to our Home of the Brave project.  Cathy and I talked about how there was a need for quilts for older little girls - too often the children's quilts are pretty "young."  This one will be nice for an older little girl who has lost her father/mother in combat.  It's a paper-pieced pattern I adapted from one I found in an old quilting magazine - I can't remember which one.

It's just a top, but Cathy will quilt it and someone else will bind it before it's presented.

Lastly, I finished our upholstery challenge.  A few weeks ago I asked for advice as to where I should place the buttons - and the consensus was on the "cornerstones" and not the blocks.  I think this turned out really, really cute!

Your Help Needed

This is a part of a challenge quilt I'm working on in a contest being run by my guild. I'll go into great detail about all the rules and show the finished piece when it's done, but for now, I need advice.  One of the rules is that you use wood, plastic, or metal on your piece. I've got a bunch of wonderful color-coordinated buttons in all the colors that are on this quilt (it's a mini). Should I put those buttons ON the patches where the X's intersect?  Or should I put them on the white sashings where they intersect (and thus cover up some un-matched seams)?  My original intent was to put them on the sashing - sort of like cornerstones - and then I wouldn't have to worry about those seams. 

What do you think?

Sue Rasmussen trunk show

We had a wonderful trunk show by Sue Rasmussen at our last guild meeting. The day before, Sue taught a class on curved flying geese.  See her lovely jacket? She's got curved flying geese all over!  In the class, we learned how to design and execute our own curved flying geese - and when I finish the little piece I made that day I'll be sure to post it.

At the guild meeting, Sue showed us a variety of her quilts - so many different styles!  It was fun eye candy and we were in awe of her skill.

Detail from the quilt above. All the fabrics in this quilt are dots, and no two fabrics are alike!

This last quilt was actually a group effort. 5 different quilters were given a photograph and each made a panel. Sue's is the one on the far right.

Citrus Belt Quilt Guild - Quilt Show

My guild held its quilt show two weekends ago - I am just now getting around to posting about it. (Retirement keeps you busy...) It was held at the Yucaipa Community Center, which has a huge gymnasium that served as a wonderful location for our show. I joined the guild too late to be one of the in-show volunteers, but was able to do some service by helping with the dismantling on Sunday.

On Saturday I showed up just as it opened so I could take photos and see all the quilts. I deliberately left my wallet in the car - I knew that if I saw something I wanted, I could go home and think about it overnight, and go back on Sunday to get it.  As it turned out, I was able to resist the call, and bought nothing.

Below are my favorites:

These were all the "wearables," including the antique pink dress at far right.

"Goose Tracks Rainbow" by Mary Aslanis

"Magritte & Me" by Laura West King. This one is made of thousands of little torn pieces.

"Liz's Baskets" by Liz Kennedy

"Amore Italia" by Mary Aslanis

"New Zealand Memories" by Mary Aslanis

"Tangled Threads" by Sharon Bergh

"Trail's End" by Phyllis Whitlock

"Memory Handkerchief Quilt" by Barbara Khacherian

"Doug's Ties #1" by Cindy Chrisler

"Betsy's Closet" by Phyllis Green

"Pick Up Sticks" by Donna Gaston

"Redlands Ties that Bind" by Nelda Stuck

"Country Fair" by Phyllis Green

My first quilt guild meeting

I joined the Citrus Belt Quilters yesterday. It's a pretty large guild (I think) - there were 109 members and 5 guests at yesterday's meeting. I'd wanted to join one for quite some time, but didn't have the time while I was still working. I know a couple of ladies there, and have already been roped into helping with our vendors' tables activity in December (members selling their own stuff).We're having our first annual quilt show in October - the Harvest of Quilts, and it'll be at the Yucaipa Community Center.  I'm sure I'll be able to help with that, too.

After the business meeting, we  had a great speaker - Lyn Brown of LynBrown.com.  She's from Anaheim Hills, just down the road a ways, and did a presentation of quilts she's made and designed "through the seasons." She started with Winter-themed quilts, and worked her way through the seasons and holidays.  She also had her patterns with her for sale, and sold them for $5 each - they're normally $8.  I bought one - I'd been looking for a way to use up a set of fat quarters I bought a few years ago in Seattle, and this one will be perfect.