Those Mesa Ladies/ January

 My favorite day of the month

a day to sew

with those wonderful

Mesa Ladies

Several in the group

were making projects from

Lori Holt's book

Quilty Fun

 Such a great book

that can be found 

HERE

 I know Lori would be pleased to see so many in our

group sewing her designs :)

 Christine is new to our group.

She brought the cutest little bag

that held her sewing supplies.
*Pattern: Sew Together Bag
by SewDemented
can be purchased on Craftsy
HERE

 The side handles are made from the zipper.

 And the inside was full of several little pockets

that helped organize her notions.

 It was Julie's month to provide lunch

and she put on the most beautiful

and delicious meal

 of chicken tortilla soup and avocado salad.

These ladies really spoil us!

 Stephanie brought her home made salsa

 And Peg, the dessert wizard,

created a new cookie recipe

that was probably the best cookie I have ever tasted.

Julie gave each one of us a Valentine,

and candy hearts.

I don't think I've received these in years,

and her gift brought back many childhood memories.

A day where we all felt very loved :)

Gilbert Arizona Temple Open House

 We attended the Open House

for the 

Gilbert Arizona Temple 

yesterday

As members of 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

we are so excited to live within a few miles

of this beautiful temple!

Construction began in 2010

and every time we have driven by the building site, 

we anticipated and looked forward to this day.

"At 85,000 square feet, the Gilbert Temple 
is the largest temple

the church has constructed in 17 years.

The temple's spire reaches 195 feet, 

making it the tallest building in Gilbert."
Temple Worship Focuses our Lives 
On Jesus Christ

The Open House runs through February 15th

Everyone is invited to attend

Each day about 20,000 people stand in line to view the interior.

The lines move fast, and were so well organized that we 

were only there

from beginning to end

 about an hour and a half.

Within the 5 week Open House event

they anticipate nearly half a million people will 

view this Temple.

 Camera's were not allowed inside, but

I was able to take a few exterior shots before entering.

Magnificent !

is the best word to describe.

Every inch was designed with great detail!

The Temple is the most sacred place 
on Earth

for members of our church

 The Angel Moroni sits on top of many of our temples.

What we learn in the temple gives

meaning and direction in our lives.

 The motif of the Agave plant,

native to Arizona

is used through out the temple

 "The Agave signifies the influence of one generation on another.

The agave's lower, older leaves create impressions on the upper leaves,

just as ancestors' legacies leave an impression on

the generation that follows."

We invited our friends The Hollands

to attend with us.

The weather was a perfect 75 degrees

with the Arizona sun shining brightly

in the midst of azure blue skies.

A very special day.

The Long Winter Quilt

 Road To California 

added two new categories to their

Judged Quilt Show this year:

Negative Space In Modern Quilts

and

Modern Piecing

With being part of a Modern Quilt Guild myself

and 

one who loves Log Cabin quilts (especially unique ones)

I was quite taken with

The Long Winter

by Catherine Redford

Naperville, IL 

 She wrote:

"I made this quilt for the Naperville MQG Log Cabin Challenge

from just one charm pack

cut into 1 inch strips 

and pieced into blocks with a coordinating white fabric.

I set the blocks with more white squares for a 

deconstructed log cabin effect.

Dense straight line quilting adds visual interest

in the extensive negative space.

Log cabins emerge from a snowy background

bring to mind my very favorite

Little House On The Prairie book."

 Catherine took home a 1st place ribbon

in the Negative Space In Modern Quilts category

Impressive that she only used 1 charm pack in the construction, too.

This is a design I would love to make someday.

Celestial Splendor Quilt

 Where do Quilters find their inspiration?

Often by viewing the shapes and images around us.

Celestial Splendor

62" X 62"

by Rachel Wetzler

St. Charles, IL

won 2nd place in the

Innovative Wall Category

at

Road To California

 "Celestial Splendor is based on the ceiling in the crossing tower

of Canterbury Cathedral,

one of the oldest and most famous structures in England.

 Rachel shared:

Canterbury was an important spiritual center ever since Augustine,

but it became a major pilgrimage destination

after the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket in 1170

 The tower and ceiling were designed by English Gothic

architect John Wastell"

Rachel's fabulous use of color

and precision 

makes this quilt a masterpiece

in it's own right.

The original ceiling at Canterbury

Basket Weave Quilt

 We drove home late last night from

Road To California 

What a wonderful experience.

So much to see and do!

I took a few moments here and there

away from our Vendor booth

to capture some of the beautiful quilts in the Show.

The bright colors and geometric designs of

Basket Weave II: See Saw

by Ann B. Feitelson 

Montague, MA

drew me in.

I am always curious of the process that goes on
in a quilters brain

as they develop a piece.

What visions and colors do they see in the creative process?

I appreciated how much Ann shared on her card

that accompanied this quilt.

 She wrote:

Five sequenced solids combine with five sequenced stripes or plaids

to make a group of 25.

The color groups are interwoven and

all of the baskets in a color group face one direction.

Directional shifts reveal the different color groups.

 Triangle shapes have reciprocal forces, pushing up and down,

like a See Saw, reversing and balancing.  

The title also refers to seeing and having seen,

the way vision shifts in every blink."

Category: Innovative Pieced

Design Basis: Makers Original Design

Based on Traditional Basket Block

Perseus Saving Andromeda Quilt

 So many amazing quilts here at

Road To California

I don't know how the judges can possibly 

narrow selections down to "Best"

Perseus Saving Andromeda

Made and Quilted by Marilyn Belford

Chenango Forks, NY

is magnificent!

 Winner of Best Large Quilt

 Look at the details!

 Marilyn wrote:

"Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother has offended Poseidon 

by stating that her daughter's beauty

was greater than the Nereids 

who attended Poseidon.

Andromeda had to be sacrificed to the water serpent

to appease Poseidon.  

Perseus sees her chained to some rocks and saves her."

 Design Basis: Maker's Original Design

Once Upon A Time Quilt

 Sharon Schamber 

has won

Best of Show

here at Road To California!

"Once Upon A Time"

Sharon is a fellow Arizonian

and taught several classes at our guild this last year.

I've written several posts about her

on this blog.

 She wrote

"I started making this quilt in 2000,

then put it aside for 10 years.

It features hand applique

and embroidery and was

quilted on my long arm."

 An interesting tidbit about Sharon:

Before she even starts sewing the quilt, 

she completely plans out how she will quilt the quilt.

 Another little tidbit:

Sharon is the only person to have won 

3 First Place Ribbons at Houston.

 The White Glove Lady

shares the back.

Congratulations Sharon!

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild January Meeting

 Saturday started a New Year

for the 

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

This is the first month for our 

New Board to lead for 2014

Sign ups for

Vitamin D Bee

and

Swaps

were announced.

Show and Tell is always my favorite.

Tracy brought her

Drunkard's Path

that she is still in the process of quilting.

Love the colors of this quilt!

Doesn't this look like Valentines Day?

 The corners will eventually be rounded.

A nice example of a low volume quilt.

 Alyssa made a quilt out of left over scraps

 for her daughter's bedroom.

 Cat applique

 Charm Squares were the foundation

for this batik quilt.

and a cute fussy cut

 Churn Dash 

pillow.

The Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild 

meets the 3rd Saturday of every month.

As we begin a new year,

this is the perfect time to join!