We love a challenge

My quilt group met last night and we all demonstrated we love the challenge of finishing. For the past two-and-a-half years, we've done a variety of block exchanges, but our focus over the next six months is to finish what we've started.

First up was this beauty

Anne, who is holding the quilt at right, solicited six b/w  12 inch blocks from all of us, using aqua as the accent. Bonnie (centre) quilted it in an all over pattern on her new Handi Quilter.

This lovely measures 108 inches square and has already inspired two other similiar challenges.

A close-up of the quilting pattern. We calculated this project has 16 metres of fabric, and we're hoping to raise big $$ with it at an upcoming quilt sale benefitting a international relief and development organization.

Anne also pieced and machine tacked this quilt, made from our pizza box challenge of two years ago. She plans on giving it away (she's very generous, donating a dozen or more large quilts annually) but we tried to persuade her to keep it since we made it for her.

Stephanie finished handquilting this starry quilt for her yet-to-be born niece or nephew. She's happy to have finished it before the baby arrived.

Laura finished piecing this string quilt challenge quilt and is contemplating quilting options. We each contributed eight 6 inch string pieced monochromatic blocks. Would you be surprised if I told you the selvage ones at the botton and top corners were mine? Some of my blocks for this challenge are also pictured on my blog header.

Heather just picked up her niece's butterfly quilt from the LA quilter, who did a fabulous custom quilting job, outlining the butterflies and quilting in a variety of flowers in the purple squares

like this.

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The same LA quilter also put in a variety of textures into Heather's wall hanging from long ago.

Karen impressed us all by bringing a completed quilt top from what was just a bunch of strips at our retreat a month ago. The strips are as small as 1 inch cut.

And Anne and Bonnie, our heroes from the b/w quilt, showed off another beauty for the same organization. This one is machine appliqued and pieced by Bonnie and handquilted by Anne. All of you local folks have a chance to own either of them. I'll keep you posted about when they go on sale.