I missed our last quilt group meeting so when we met last Friday I carried an entire vat of joy into Helen's home with me! It was SO great to see my friends and their quilts - inspirational to be sure and I didn't mind one bit each time my jaw hit the floor as one beautiful quilt after another was shown! I'm excited to share them here with you - some you might remember as we bring our quilts in all stages of doneness... sometimes we just bring in fabrics and talk over ideas, or we bring in the pieced top or we bring in the quilt without the binding and sometimes we even bring in the entirely finished quilt...bound, washed and ready to be loved. So sit back and enjoy the show!
This pattern is called One Block Wonder, and it truly is a wonder! Each block has about 8 (or 10 or 12, I have no idea, I just know there are a lot!) pieces. It is kind of mind-boggling how it works and it is supposed to be easy, but in my quilting world, easy is a relative term!! And it's not related to me! This is Janet's quilt and she plans to use it in her family room...I think it will be fabulous at Christmas time! I especially love how the colors were put together, a really pretty gradation...now there's a word I don't use every day!
Marsha! Marsha! Marsha! She has worked on this quilt for her daughter for the longest time and she has worried over it and sewed and re-sewed and pinned and re-pinned and finally it's done! It's Queen-size with a very generous over-hang - in other words, to quote The Donald, it's Huuuuuuuuuuuuge! Way to go Marsha!!
Speaking of The Donald...no one is really going to vote for him, are they?!?!?! (That was me stepping into the muck, please forgive me, I shant do it again so no need for you to weigh in...truly, no need at all!)
Lori's colorful Irish Chain is not really an Irish Chain...I have no idea what it is called but I know I love it. Lori asked for opinions on how to quilt this top and I think the consensus was to do a cross-hatch over it all...or not, it's been more than 5 minutes so who can remember?
Stephanie brought in these "twins"...they originated from scraps from one of Marsha's quilts that she was going to toss before Stephanie stepped in, salvaged them and turned them into these adorable baby quilts.
This is another masterpiece from Lori...it's pinned because Terry, our resident machine-quilter, was getting ready to get to work on it but she had some questions for Lori so the pins are necessary to keep everything in place. Of course, we all had input on this beauty, too! I love the colors in this quilt - it's made with homespun fabrics so when it's washed and dried it's going to be soft and down-right yummy. Yes, friends, yummy is a term that can be used when talking about fabrics, so there!
Denise made these super cute pieces, called Iris Paper Folding. I had not heard of this before but these are made with paper...folded paper, which is taped down in place on the back of the piece! So fun! I looked up Iris Paper Folding online and naturally there are dozens of sites, click here to see one site...I think I might have some paper folding in my future! Thanks Denise!
Helen has been busy, really, really busy! This is just one of her latest creations! Helen asked about the border - should she remove it? add another? do something different? I suggested she embroider phrases on the white borders, like all roads lead home and home is where the heart is - just my 2 cents. I'm all for a decorative/involved/pieced/extra-work-involved-border, as long as I don't have to do it! I love house quilts...yet I don't own one...must rectify that soon!!
I snapped this pic of Helen's living room, which is always very patriotic - I found myself humming God Bless America as we were sitting there! There isn't anything I don't love about this picture!
Another Helen quilt - happy, bright, and intensely colorful! This "orange peel" pattern speaks to me...I have 2 different sets of fabrics for this pattern on my work table just waiting for my undivided attended...and there's the problem...my attention is very divided these days!
This is a Rail Fence...simple and easy yet it is so striking!! Helen loves working with these colors and since she always does, all of her fabrics work together...it's a pretty easy quilting philosophy if you ask me...yet, as I have pointed out, easy ain't in my wheelhouse! Nope, and if it IS easy I somehow managed to twist it and manipulate it into something that is unbelievably more difficult than it needed to be...which is why nothing but dust bunnies have been created in my work room for a while now!
Okay kids, this is the last quilt - and you've seen this beaut before, but now the binding has been sewn down and it's quilted and you can see it in all it's glory...Helen's Kitchen Sink Quilt! Don't you just love it?!?! Chicky-boom-chicky-boom-don't-you-just-love-it?! This could be my very favorite Helen quilt...but it's tied for first place with about 22 others.
After our show, where every one of us present (missed you Jenny, Kareena and Neva!) had something to show and tell and then some; we headed out to Helen's deck for lunch...I'll leave you with a picture of a part of her deck...it's as colorful as her quilts and Helen herself!!
Thanks Helen, we had a great time!! Oh, one last thing...Helen served us these delicious frozen treats for dessert...Girl Scout Thin Mints Frozen Treats!! She bought them at Albertson's - the next time you get a hankering for something cold, minty, chocolatey and yumderful, try one or two of these!! 
