A bouquet of roses for a weekend away

I just returned from my annual quilt retreat. I had a fairly productive weekend, sewing away at my Featherweight, and one of the projects I worked on was putting together this bed of roses. I had 13 free-pieced roses from several years ago, and I finally put them together. I had been stymied by the irregular shapes, until I realized I could piece them if I cut the outer edges into rounded shapes and joined them in a curved piecing method.

Here they are on a variety of green fabrics. I'm still pondering how to sew them onto the backing -- perhaps a combination of curved piecing and applique, or something else.

As always, the fun part of sewing with lots of other quilters is the cooperation in laying out designs and the many opinions that make a good quilt great. Here Heather and Laura, both from my guild, are laying out the Irish chain Laura was piecing.

Audrey, another guild member, put together this dresden plate quilt in soft colours.

Here's a close-up:

I've got lots more to show later this week.