Highlights of the 2014 River City Quilters' Guild Show - The Finale

The River City Quilters Guild is a prominent guild established in 1977 in Sacramento, the capital city of the state of California. We really enjoyed seeing the over 200 quilts in this year's show.  Here are the last of our show photos (well, not the last of the photos, but the last of the highlights!)

Two Red Poppies, 22 x 46", by Jan Soules

Jan notes, "Two Red Poppies began in a class with Donna Greenwald. I think her method of building a flower really lends life to the piece!"  This cheerful quilt would brighten up even the darkest winter day.

Close up, Two Red Poppies by Jan Soules

Pretty purple beads really add a glamorous three dimensional  embellishment to the center of the poppies. Jan's use of  split complementary colors gives a radiant quality to these eye-catching flowers.

Dragon Tale, 70 x 70", by Linda Bergmann, quilted by Lin Squires

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Second place winner in the Two Person Pieced Medium Size Quilts category, Linda writes, " This is a Judy Niemeyer design [Celtic Wave]; I thought the design that developed looked like a dragon.  I enjoy paper piecing and find it relaxing."

Close up, Dragon Tale by Linda Bergmann, quilted by Lin Squires

A background fabric of red-orange, gold, and smaller gray fans add to the vibrant Asian motif created by this intriguing design.

Blue Kaleidoscope, 57 x 72", made and quilted by Chrissie Reiswig

Chrissie is the blue ribbon winner in the Adult First Quilt category, which means that this as an adult quilter, this is her first creation. She writes, "I knew I wanted to learn quilting since I was in high school, but never found the right entry point. When I finally learned about a Kaleidoscope Quilt class for beginners taught by Carol Smith in 2010, I jumped at the chance."

Close up, Blue Kaleidoscope by Chrissie Reiswig

Chrissie adds, "This was my first finished quilt top, and I haven't stopped since!"  She quilted it herself, using a contemporary free-motion pattern which contrasts nicely with the bold geometric motif of the blocks.

Fiesta Stars, 36 x 42", made and quilted by Diane Ferrel

First place winner in the category of Medium Size Challenge Quilt,  Diane writes, " Like the lanterns at a fiesta, these stars are festive and shine bright. They actually sparkle!  No two star blocks are quilted the same." Diane has done a great job in constructing and quilting this dynamic pattern.

Close up, Fiesta Stars by Diane Ferrel

According to A Field Guide to Quilts, the basic block is "Texas Trellis".  It's a variation of the Whirligig design, published by the Kansas City Star newspaper in 1936 and updated in 1943. These blocks are six-sided hexagons, comprised of six triangles which fit together like slices of a pie.  One side of each triangle is comprised of the deeper colored fabric, and the black fabric comprises the base of the triangle. These blocks have an additional, lighter wedge that adds dimension to the stars.  Note added on January 31, 2015:  See the Bloom Bloom Pow quilt tutorial by Freshly Pieced Modern Quilts.

Stars and Flowers, 74 x 81.5", made and quilted by Jaime Watson

Jaime says, "This is a Piece O' Cake design.  It's mostly hand-quilted, except for the border." Jaime has used a variety of green fabrics for the twining inner border and lively striped fabric for the diamond, which provides visual interest energy to this large quilt. Extra charm is added by the two happy little blue birds at the bottom.

Close up, Stars and Flowers by Jaime Watson

A beautiful LeMoyne star center piece provides a striking focal point for this heartwarming traditional pattern.  You can see Jaime Watson's precise hand quilting inside the pink star.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.