Saturday Night Trunk Show . . .

Last weekend I was at the Simply Stitched Quilting Retreat in Roosevelt, Utah (as one of the vendors) hosted by Sherie Schmitt ~  She was full of charm and personality and made the retreat so much fun!!  Her sister Denise came up from Bountiful to help her host the event!!  Denise was darling!!

  One of the instructors was Helen Butler.  She was the guest speaker Saturday night for the Trunk Show and she inspired us with several of the quilts she has made through the years.  Here is a sampling of her gorgeous work:

 Helen does all of her quilting either by hand or on her domestic sewing machine!!

 She has a special way of creating trapunto in her quilts as you can see in this incredible yellow full cloth quilt.

 All of her applique is needle-turn and she creates her own designs!!

 This one was beyond spectacular and that is Denise peeking out from behind the quilt!!

 Helen asked for names for this quilt and one gal called out "Delphian Blue" which I thought was perfect!!

 This one was probably my most favorite.  It was a round robin with several of her friends and one of the rounds had to be done on-point!!  I tried to steal this one but I got caught!!  LOL!!

This is Helen Butler and below is her curiculum vitae that she shared for the retreat:

"I began sewing when I was very young at the age of 6.   I majored in Clothing and Textiles at BYU.   I consider myself an apparel seamstress and I have sewn professionally for many years doing bridal, prom, drapery, and alterations.  I love all aspects of sewing but quilting is my passion.  I consider myself a teacher of sewing and currently run a sewing school in my home for girls of all ages where I teach basic sewing skills.  I also enjoy teaching quilting classes of all kinds around the state.  I love the people you meet and the friends you make along the way.  I enjoy entering my quilts in shows and have received many awards including 2 best of shows at Springville quilt show as well as many at HMQS and my quilt Turkish delight has won nationally. Many of my quilts have been juried into National shows as well.   I love all aspects of quilting from piecework to needle turn applique to hand quilting as well as machine quilting on my home Bernina and have taught these skills to many.  I enjoy judging quilt shows and being on the other side of entering."

  Helen has served as President of Utah Valley Quilt Guild, as well as other board positions and she has served on the Utah Quilt Guild board for many years and the Quilt fest committee for the state guild.    Many other local quilt organizations have been the recipient of her love of quilting and strong desire to further the fine art of quilting.  Wife to a very supportive husband and mother of 6, and grandmother to 6, she loves gardening, cooking, and reading, and hiking.

A great time was had by all!!