What I desire for Valentine’s Day is more time to quilt! I recently helped my quilting guild, the Desert Quilters of Nevada with a quilt challenge. The rules were simple: take a piece of Challenge Fabric and create a quilt with the theme “What Your Heart Desires”. I provided the fabric (red Hoffman Cardinal batik) and helped organize the hanging, count the ballots, and present the winners.  Each of the members of the guild got to vote for their favorite quilts and winners were selected based who received the most votes in their category: pieced, applique, mixed, group, mini, etc.

This is the quilt I put together for my quilt circle, Rainbows. Each member submitted a heart block and I added novelty fabrics surrounding each representing what they desired. Themes were things like more time, money, happiness, sleep, travel, chocolate!, peace, tranquility, wisdom, good health, fabric & thread, etc. Although we didn’t win, we sure had fun trying!

Below are just a few of the quilts other guild members made. I am amazed all the talent we have in our group. They never cease to inspire me! Click each picture for a larger image.

Such beauty and workmanship!

Here’s a group shot of our quilting guild. We have big events each calendar quarter.

Ballot Counting

Finalizing the Winners

It sure was fun to be behind the scenes and  see all the work that goes into running a successful quilting event.  With the help of several members, we got the ballots counted in record time. Each winner received a gift certificate valid at the quilt shop of her choice (including mine!)

On my next blog post, I’ll write about the special guest speaker we had and show some of her beautiful quilts!