Welcome to the 2014 River City Quilters' Guild Show !

The River City Quilters Guild is a prominent guild established in 1977 and based in Sacramento, the capital city of the state of California. We really enjoyed seeing the over 200 quilts in this year's show, and we'd like to share some of the highlights with you in the next few posts.

Geraniums,  32 x 44", by Laurel Anderson

Laurel Anderson is an award winning textile artist and an accomplished appliqué quilt designer.  This incredibly realistic still-life was one of the much-admired quilts at the show.  Second place winner for Appliqued Large Quilt, Laurel writes,  "The quilt Geraniums was created with a variety of fabrics from Northcott. Their new ombre fabrics comprise the pot and leaves." 

Close up, Geraniums by Laurel Anderson

Laurel continues, "The petals are shaped with Terial Magic and dried over marbles."  When drying fabric by placing it over marbles, or other rounded objects, the fabric then retains its rounded shape when it is completely dry. These petals are sewn together in large groups which gives a lush, full, appearance to the plant. Note that Laurel has cleverly appliquéd a shadow at the base of the plant to enhance the realistic effect of this image.

Close-up, Geraniums by Laurel Anderson

The doily was cut out of fused fabrics with with a Silhouette Cameo. Laurel says, "It is fun to create wonderful things with my new toys." We especially enjoyed Laurel's elegant quilting of her gorgeous creation. You can purchase a pattern for this quilt, called Geraniums in Copper Bowl, at Whisper Color.  The alternative colorway is called Geraniums in Blue.

Mediterranean Sunset,  60 x 83", by Phyllis McCalla, quilted by Laura Jansen

Phyllis McCalla was this year's featured artist at the the River City Quilters' Guild show. Prior to Phyllis' professional quilting life she worked for the University of California, Davis for thirty-four years.  She retired in 2004 as a Program Manager for the Cancer Research Program. Phyllis began teaching quilting classes in 2006.  She is a member of the Pins and Needles Art Quilting group.

Mediterranean Sunset by Phyllis McCalla

Phyllis says, "Completed in September 2011, more than 24 fabrics were selected to make this bright quilt. The block is a Sylvia Einstein design." Longarm quilt artist Laura Jansen has done a magnificent job of quilting feathers and leaves into this stunning display of tropical color.

Hawaii in Bloom, 66,5 x 78, by Cathy Brorby, quilted by Annette Blandin

First place winner for Two Person Applique Quilts, Cathy Brorby says, "I designed this quilt to give myself a portable applique project. Hawaiian applique and the background fabric were both important sources of inspiration."

Close up , Hawaii in Bloom by Cathy Brorby

Here you can see an example of Kathy's lovely needle-turn applique. She has done a brilliant job of selecting fabrics with a split complementary color scheme of greens, blues, and oranges.

Multi-Fassetted Starburst,  44 x 44", by Peggy Sahmaunt

This fantastic quilt was made entirely with Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  Peggy says, "Each point is the apex of a triangle, first attached by basting, then by a bead."  As shown in the closeup photo below, only the points of these raw edge triangles are sewn down.

Close up, Multi-Fassetted Starburst by Peggy Sahmaunt

This starburst pattern, with its radiating circles of triangle points, reminded us of the pine burr block from the American South, even though the construction is very different.

Kimonos in Paris, Or Is That Pairs? size 70 x 67",  by Phyllis Leavitt McCalla, quilted by Cheryl Thompson

Phyllis notes, "After enlarging an 8 inch kimono to VERY LARGE, who could resist embellishing with origami flowers?" These two delicately colored kimonos are suspended in a garden of wildflowers, in a classic Japanese design which is simple, yet elegant.

Close up, Kimonos in Paris by Phyllis Leavitt McCalla

We loved the background fabric for this quilt, which reminded us of a gentle snowfall of early winter. Phyllis has done a wonderful job experimenting with different fabric folds to create a variety of fun origami three-dimensional flowers.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.