Antique Eye Candy

I love the solid red "stretched star" that appears in this 4 patch "jewel box" variation (or buckeye beauty type) quilt! Another one of those "WHO SAYS!?" quilts that I love to use as an example when someone tells me you should not use solids in reproduction quilts because they will just "read as flat".

Can you see me thumbing my nose?! I love solid red! I love solids. I mix solids and prints...no one is going to tell me I can't and I've got history on my side to prove how effective it is :c)

I also never get tired of 4 patches or 9 patches. They are just timeless and fun!

Bonnie

To Pickens & Back!

I had the most wonderful time with the trunk show and lecture in Pickens SC!!

I left here around 3:15 pm...car fully loaded, and the TomTom programed to take me where I'd never been before. I love this thing. The "Victoria" voice is so friendly, it is like having someone's sweet auntie telling you where to go..*hehe* And it works! I ended up right where I was supposed to meet everyone, at Tony's Italian restaurant with about 7 minutes to spare!

A whole group of ladies showed up to share dinner with me, Including an internet friend that I'd emailed back and forth with for at least the past 5 years or so, but had never met in person! Joan Parker brought her lovely daughters (and they are quilters too!) and joined us for dinner and for the trunk show. Joan is a fantastic quilter, and can you believe this was her first guild meeting EVER?! I hope it isn't her last. She has so much to offer :c)

I think if Joan and I had been in school together (we are close to the same age) we would have been the ones in trouble for giggling in the back of the room. And giggling at the silliest things! You know how something can hit you funny when normally it wouldn't?

I mean no disrespect for anyone in the Pickens guild who reads my blog, this is meant in the kindest most fun way! During the business meeting, it was announced that a member with the name of "Cookie Bar" was going to be in charge of this that or the other. And I thought it was the cutest name, and I started to giggle! Then Joan joined in....and we were so terrible! And now every time I think of the name Cookie Bar, I am jealous that I don't have a name that makes people smile. :c)

This morning I died laughing when Joan sent me an email saying she she had changed her name to MERCEDES PARKER! *LOL* And guess what? I get to be known as BARGAIN HUNTER. Oh thanks. She gets the hoidy toidy cute name and I get to be the goodwill girl ;c) But I guess it is better than being called Bounty Hunter or Head Hunter. But maybe if I was Bounty Hunter I could have the kind of life Stephanie Plum does in the Janet Ivanovich Novels :c)

After the meeting I was treated like a queen and stayed at a guild member's lovely home out in the woods. Thanks Paige! It was a real treat to meet everyone, and I have a chance to meet them all again at the Quilter's of South Carolina state guild retreat in October. I'm looking forward to it!

Bonnie

Two More Hours!

I have about 2 more hours until I head out for Pickens, SC to meet with the Upcountry Quilter's Guild! We are meeting at a place called Tony's for dinner before my lecture/trunk show at their guild meeting tonight.

I'm spending the night at a guild member's home. I love doing this. It is so fun to see other people's quilts in their homes, how they display things, what their sewing space is like. And of course spending time WITH quilters one on one is great.

The car is loaded...OH MY. I must have 200 lbs of quilts in the car! But they said that there was no such thing as too many quilts in a trunk show, so I'm taking a lot :c) Even the ones that are washed and worn and have been used on beds have a story to tell.

I'll be back tomorrow in time for my afternoon massage appointments. I'll have to leave recovery until thursday!

Bonnie

Binding Finished!

I finished the binding on the plaid star struck last night while watching CSI Miami. Reruns are good for that,you don't even have to look up to see what is going on ;c)

I love how home-spunny this quilt looks. And tickled with how much it used up!

I also had a few hours last evening since I was in between customer quilts..(next one goes on today)to put the pineapple blossom on! This one has 36 blocks set 6X6 with sashings. It turned out to be a really good size with the borders added, and the border used up nearly all the bonus triangle squares that came from the piecing of this quilt!


The binding is on, so is a hanging sleeve (good way to rid yourself of yet another 1/2 yard of fabric from the stash!) and I'll be starting on hand stitching the binding down in between massage clients today. I have a 10am, and an 11:15 am...and then nothing until 2pm....so there are a couple hours for binding in there, along with some lunch.

I also have to show you the nifty I got from TAZZIE!! She is selling cute little quilty things on Etsy and I fell in love with this piecer's mat she made! It is wonderful! It has pockets in the front, flannel panel in the center to hold your block pieces, and it is pieced in the cutest prints! The back has a non-slip surface. Here i have it placed under my sewing machine so I can put my goodies and notions in the pockets. It will be great to taking to the dear jane workshops I've started up again to finally push to get that pink/brown thing done! Check out her Etsy Store HERE!

I'm using the next couple hours before I leave to load that customer quilt and get it started so I can work on it some more this afternoon when I get home from massage....I just don't know what I'd do if I had more time on my hands! :cD

Bonnie

Triangulations!!

A gadZILLION!!!

I had a client reschedule this afternoon..so I don't have to go in for another hour or so. Fine with me! I needed to do some cleaning and sorting in the quilting room...before the piles overtook me. (Yes it does happen!)

I had pulled out a bunch of border fabrics for the pineapple blossom...got Jeff giving his input....the pink? No...okay..how about the aqua with blue squares? No? okay...maybe this deep purple? Yes..the deep purple got his vote, and I was fine with it so deep purple it was. But then that left refolding and putting back all the other fabrics that I didn't use.

I'll get a pic of the top as soon as the sun is down far enough in the yard. Maybe tonight.

I did have a piece big enough for a backing, and I feel quite righteous getting that OUT of the stash :cD

So..back to the folding and putting away.....I came across the baggies of bonus triangle squares that were left from the piecing of the plaid star struck. SCADS of them! I knew I had more baggies of these kinds of bonus triangles around, but I was unaware how many!! I got them out...and had to take a pic. These are from several projects, but because the projects used the same corner square triangle technique...they are all going to finish at the same size...

After the pic...I found ANOTHER bag! These gold/black ones are from the Road To Camp Gravatt quilt!

The last quilt I did that used these goodies was my Ocean Waves. I'm now looking for a pattern that will use these little 1/2 sq triangle squares as a leader/ender project. It never ends! There is always more to sew, more to use up, and I love every minute of it!

Charlotte and I have talked about ways that we can get together and do this mindless kind of stuff...the pressing and trimming of these little squares is enough to drive me batty....BUT....if we rented a couple of chick flick DVDs..and sat there and watched with TV trays, with some good company and some distraction (can you say Matthew McConaughey?? I think these little guys can be pressed and squared and ready for use! Anyone want to join us? :cD

Bonnie

It Came!

My new license plate finally arrived!

When I got my new Saturn Vue in April, my old PT QLTR plate from my PT Cruiser just didn't fit anymore. I started telling people that the PT stood for PART TIME or PONY TAIL or PRETTY TALL or PIECED TOGETHER...but it just didn't fit the car.

A few weeks ago when Jason went to get his SC license, he brought me back an application for a new plate from the DMV. I guess HE thought it was time that I did something about the mis matched plate too.

I decided to be a generic QLTVLLE and it will go on any vehicle I have in the future. :c)

It's funny though..just when you think you are the only one...I went on Etsy to register myself as QUILTVILLE and someone had already taken that name! Kind of floored me. It's not like I OWN the word or anything, it's just that I've used it for the past 12 years and am used to being Bonnie from Quiltville. I wonder if other people get her confused with me?

That said, there IS another Bonnie Hunter out there who is also a quilter, and I have gotten her mail! She is up in Maine somewhere I believe. It is a small world!

Yesterday was crazy. I had massage clients back to back from 2pm until 7:45pm last night. There was NO quilting time for me yesterday evening! I got home, had dinner, went to bed without even checking email.

This afternoon will be much the same,but I do think there will be some time for hand work in between a couple of clients so I should finish the binding on the star struck. I'm working on borders for the pineapple blossom, using all the cut off bonus triangles in the border. I'm shooting for having a TOP to show at the trunk show I'm doing on Tuesday in Pickens SC.

Oh...Tom Tom is a hoot! DH and I both like the British lady's voice. We've named her Victoria. ;c) "take the motorway" sounds so much better than "take the interstate". ;c)

Bonnie

Under Foot!

Well here we are at Wednesday! I'm not sure where this week is going....it's just going fast.

It's been quietly uneventful here, which is very nice. Just my usual routine of quilting when I am not doing massage or quilting for others. I reconfirmed to myself that no matter how much I like being out around people and doing things with others, sometimes I really cherish the quiet time at home alone to reflect, unwind, decompress, create, rest, restore.

Last night I had dinner at Charlotte's and we both did some hand work while watching some TV and visiting with our kids. I've got one side of binding left on the plaid star struck to go.

I met up with Sally at a quilt shop in Lexington yesterday for a bit of stash enhancement and lunch at the Crab Shack. FUN! I don't do that often enough I think. Just take off in the middle of the day to do something that wasn't on the work roster. I need to do more of that. I bought a couple half yards and one fat quarter. Both 1/2 yards are light backgrounds, and the FQ was a cheddar I didn't have. I feel justified in these purchases. I've been using up lots of lights the past few quilts, and some replenishing was in order.

Working a bit each day (maybe an hour before starting my regular work day) I've been able to get 36 pineapple blossom blocks pieced. Here they are laid out on the floor...and I have decided to sash them to make the quilt a bit bigger. I like the "churn dash" that appears at the block corners when they are put together with sashing. I have a couple quilts from other people that I will take to the workshop with me as well that have different layouts and border treatments. It will give people some options on how to set theirs. It is perfectly all right to let the blocks speak to you differently than they do to me!

I've got 3 of my 4 beasts under foot today. Sadie still has to be watched so she doesn't chew the bindings off of ever quilt she comes in contact with. Buddy is 7 years old and such a mellow fellow I never imagined what a challenge it would be to train a new dog with just ONE bad habit! And of course Oscar is always around wherever I am, finding a corner to curl up and take a nap!

Bonnie

Quickie Post!

Thanks so much for all the encouragment on my "wrong" (or different) spinning blocks!

I ended up setting the blocks as is, bordering them with leftover plaids...and will use the remaining blocks in a completely different quilt.I want to toy with different lay outs, maybe add a different design element and see what it looks like.

This turned out to be a good twin size...and it will be a nice lay on the couch size too. I'm happy with it!

You can tell from the close up pics that I used a lot of OLD lights in this quilt. There are cutesy hearts and chickens and music notes and a whole variety of old old calico prints as well as all the plaids.

Some of these fabrics are at least 20 years old!

All the light 2.5" squares for the digaonal corners came from the 2.5" square bin, and because I double sewed all the corners, I now have a gadzillion little 1/2 square triangles to square up and sew into some cute little blocks down the road.

I'm off to work...got massage clients lined up til about 4pm this afternoon.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Bonnie

One of these things is not like the others....

Or more like...HALF of these things are NOT like the others! I was happily sewing along on my second batch of plaid star struck blocks to make the quilt a queen sized one.

I got all the way to the pressing point before I realized that this second set of quarter blocks spin in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION! (*&@#$(*&(*&@!

What to do? What to do? I think I will try to come up with an alternate setting, and have two quilts. And use it as an object lesson on quilter's dyslexia after 11pm at night :c)

That WHOLE pile of quarter blocks at the bottom right of the picture are ALL wrong...or...maybe not wrong....just... DIFFERENT?!

Here are the "correct" blocks laid out. The center will measure 64" X 80" before borders so it will still turn out to be a nice twin/full size when done.
Oh the joys of quilting!

Bonnie

Alzheimer's Memory Walk

I just quilted this quilt for June who volunteered (or got sucked in! You know how it goes!)to making a donation quilt for the local Alzheimer's Walk for the Alzheimer's Association. The quilt measures 66"X66".

She used teeshirts from previous walks for the center of her stars. I've quilted teeshirt quilts before, many many of them, but I have never done an edge to edge design on one before. This one didn't really have BIG huge logos and I was using a sand colored thread that would blend through everything really well and not stick out with too much contrast. The logos weren't "TOO" rubbery if you know what I mean, so I didn't worry about any needle troubles as I quilted from behind the machine.

I used Jody Beamish's "Wild At Heart". It has become my favorite heart design! This from someone who is not all that fond of cutesie hearts. I chose it because it would fill the big blank areas gracefully and carry out the heart theme set by the pieced red hearts in the quilt.

I really like how June used some orphan blocks for the center of her backing! They also go with the red hearts and add a bit of fun to the quilt. Way to go June!

It's now 1:30. I don't have to pick up Charlotte until 5pm....so guess what I'm going to do for the next 3 hours or so? SEW!! I need to sew more triangle corners on those Star Struck Blocks...I need a finished star struck top to go teach this workshop!

And I may have to resort to begging and see if someone has a pineapple blossom I could borrow for the other workshop? I don't know how I am going to get one of those pieced between now and august when I go to MD to teach either! I'll pay your shipping? Anyone interested in letting me borrow a pineapple blossom top or quilt?(What would it take to twist your arm? Some FQ's?? Some Orphan Blocks? :cD)

Bonnie

Hello, Tom Tom!

On the 24th of July I'll be making a trip to Pickens SC to give a scrap quilt lecture and trunk show to the Upcountry Quilters Guild.

I'm enjoying my little jaunts around the south east very much! I'm seeing country and towns I've never seen before, and what could be better than meeting up with a group of quilters?

Because I am traveling to new places, it's easy to get lost, so I have just purchased a TomTom to keep me company :c)

Anyone else have one of these? I'd love to hear about your experiences with it! I ordered mine off of amazon, it seemed to be the most reasonable price and the shipping was not expensive..cheaper than paying sales tax on it here.

I've been quilting away over here, and listening to books on CD that I picked up at the library. I just finished Jame's Patterson's "5th Horseman" (good mystery,suspense) and am now listening to Fern Michaels' "Fool Me Once" A bit lighter listening, but so far very good!

Of course I have another book on CD going on in my car...I'm listening to Susan Grafton's "R is for Ricochet". I don't watch a lot of TV, but I sure like to listen to books!

I'm definately not as blue as I was. Things will work out. I am thankful for your friendship and support and kind words and for telling me to buck up and just keep doing what I'm doing. I've also had email telling me I shouldn't air my personal life and problems in such a public forum. Go figure! I'm not forcing anyone to read my blog....I just want to say things how I feel them.

If I'm having a blue day, I'm not going to lie about it. If I'm having a happy day, I'm going to talk about it. If my kids are in trouble, I may air that too, (Jason totalled his pickup last week...uuughhhh) and it is all a part of who I am.

Now I think I'll get back to quilting. I have a friend willing to go to guild meeting with me tomorrow night to give me some backbone :c) I have quilts to deliver and I'm not going to let the other people who WANT me there down. One bad apple isn't going to spoil the whole bunch.

Bonnie

And for some reason, now I can't add titles to my posts? It won't let me click into that box..oh well!! Live and learn!

I had some time home alone last evening. I was feeling kind of worn out and a bit down over some issues I have going on in my life right now. Let me just say that it is SO true that you can't please all the people all the time. And when you try to bend over backwards to protect your integrity, your professionalism, your character....they just use that opportunity to kick you in the butt. Because of this I have decided to leave a guild I am involved with. Some of the people I will miss. Others...I just can't handle the snide comments, the whispers, and the threats even from one person saying that she will tell everyone within ear shot and beyond of how she was not happy with my services. I'm sure there are other longarmers out there who can commiserate. We've all been there.

Every day I get emails and phone calls from people saying how much they loved the work I did for them. But it only takes one person to tear all that down.

So yes..I was feeling blue, and thought I would get my orphan blocks out and play with them. What I found instead was 30 "jacks and six" blocks (that's the name in block base, I'm sure it has other names) that never got made into anything. Believe it or not, I had plans to make a bed sized quilt out of these 6" little buggers!

I laid them out on the floor, set them 5 by 6....and didn't care that I was setting them asymmetrically. And I kind of like how it leads your eye without the pattern being resolved as if I had set it 8X8 or something. It was together in less than an hour and a half. It soothed my soul and calmed my nerves.

I could reiterate to myself that I am not a complete failure, that I do good work, the best I can do, I did the best that I could, I unquilted (which took months) and requilted (which took a lot of time) and it was a job I was proud of. You really can't please all the people all the time.

What's that song "You know you can't please everyone so you've gotta please yourself...." Sewing this little ditty last night was therapy for me.

I found a piece of black/cream toile in the stash that will work perfect for the backing.It has large farm scenes on it...I don't know how I would use it for anything else..maybe borders...but it will be fun as a back for this.

I'm off to work..two massages this morning, and then I'll be back to the quilting machine this afternoon.

Bonnie

happy 4th, USA!

I hope everyone is having a safe and fun 4th!

I had a great day today. I had one massage client this morning. I know I know, but it's 4th of July? well, this guy is MILITARY so it was the least I could do. It was the only day he could do it, so I served my country today :c)

After my client I headed out to my friend Charlotte's house for a sewing retreat day. Charlotte is Jason's girlfriend Kim's mother..and she is a quilter! How fun is that? Let me tell you, it is VERY fun.

I worked on my plaid star struck and she worked on her snowball quilt and we talked and laughed for about 5 hours worth! Jason and Kim were both there and they just looked at us like we were out of our minds....but they took enough time to take pics of us to document our fun.

Look...we both sew barefoot! :cD

Today was also a good day to get the tires rotated and spin balanced on my car since the tire center was not that busy. They worked on it while I was at Charlotte's and she dropped me back to pick up my car after. How is that for multitasking?!

This evening we were invited over to a friend's house on the lake for a BBQ and a ride in their pontoon boat. It was very relaxing and enjoyable...

I'm pooped now though. It is 9pm and the fireworks are in full swing here. Who knows how late they will go into the night. The dogs are a bit freaked out. You can smell the gun powder on the air outside.

All day long I've been thinking it is saturday. It's only Wednesday! I'm all turned around..but at least there are more hours left in this week to do what I need to get done. Back in full swing tomorrow!


Bonnie

Lucy's Dad

I finally heard from Lucy this morning. When I hadn't heard from her for several days, I knew things were drawing to a close. She writes:

"My dad passed away on 2 July 2007 !

I try to write you later more about everything but I have so much to arrange . It is all such a nightmare. There is so much to arrange at this moment. I try to mail you later this day.......

After a post on my blog I am off to my dad's house

a crying Lucy"

I haven't lost a parent, but I have lost grandparents, a cousin, and my infant daughter. Even when you think you are prepared for it, you aren't.

Lucy said she had been receiving mysterious squishies in the mail! I hope that lets her know that we are carrying her burdens with her. We will help lift her up.

Prayers and thoughts and well wishes from around the world to Lucy and her family.

Bonnie

Monday Morning, up with the birds!

I've been trying to balance everything around here so I have some time to sit and piece. I find that even if I am home machine quilting for others, if I run it like a 9-5 business, that leaves the early morning hours or the later evening hours for me to work on my own projects. I don't know how other longarm quilters do it, but this is what works for me. Of course, sometimes you have to push the evening hours so you can mail out that customer quilt the next day, and it doesn't always work that you get the piecing time you need to make progress on your own projects..but even 15 minutes of sitting at the machine is SO calming for me. Soul centering.

I'm sure that other people have their own ways to center their souls. For my mom, it's her garden. She has the most wonderful garden I have ever seen. I am amazed at what she can do, but I must have skipped those genes. The only plants and flowers I like to work with are printed on my fabric :c)

Some people find that taking some time to read a book, or to spend some time in the kitchen cooking up something special can take them out of their work-a-day world and center their souls. What works for you? I'm interested in what you all do to make sure you don't land in that rut that makes you feel like your life is on auto pilot, and you are just another cog in the machine of life!

Another thing I like to do is get out and walk/jog with the dogs (one or both!) early in the morning. Usually I'm out by 6:15 am. It's the only way to beat the heat and humidity here in SC. This morning I am not out. Guess who chewed my running shoe?!(&*@#($*&(*&! So shoe shopping is on my list today too...

I always heard the song "You gotta stop and smell the roses" when I was growing up. I guess I never understood what that meant until I reached this half way point in my life and see that I have pushed and pushed and pushed and missed those roses because there were more pressing things on my plate.

Over the weekend I took time to cut my plaid star struck strip pairs (say plaid star struck strip pairs three times fast! *LOL*) into 4.5" subcuts. They are now ready to add the quickie corner triangles. I chose a red bias plaid print I have had in my stash for eons, and I think it's going to be great to accent these plaids. I will double sew them so I have a gadzillion little bonus 1/2 sq triangles to use in another project.

Also to use in another project....anything from the strips that was too short to cut another 4.5" section got trimmed into 2.5" sections, and I made a pile of 4 patches with these! Nothing went to waste. The bare minimum of slivers is all that ended up in my trashcan.

It's now 7:45 and I have until 9am to work on this before the real work schedule takes over. I hope everyone has a great week, and remember to take some time out to center your soul with something for YOU!

Bonnie

Coming Up for Air!

I received an email from Linda today saying:

"I check your blog everyday and I am worried because you have not written in a week- I pray that there is not anything wrong and you are just gone on vacation or at least having a good time what ever you are doing-"

I figured I better check in! I didn't realize it had been that long, but it has!

I am still alive and kicking, it's just been a crazy week. I have finished a couple customer quilts in the past week, and I'm still working on more. My massage schedule has been full this week as well, in fact wednesday I took my last client at 6:45pm which put me home at close to 9pm. I was SO toast I didn't even check email until this morning, but also had clients today so I didn't have time to write a blog post.

My exciting news is I have been contacted by Quiltmaker magazine again, and they want my blue ridge beauty quilt along with an article on leaders/enders! I'm thrilled! I'll be sending that off this week, and it should appear in the January issue.

My BAD news is that Sadie tore up 3 antique quilts when left home alone :c( I'm so FRUSTRATED with her. From now on, she is kenneled if no one is home, or locked outside. It's not as easy as it sounds, as buddy has learned how to open the doggie door even when it is closed. But then he used to open the gates too until we put U bolts through the latches. So he opens the doggie door, and lets her back in the house. *pulling hair* And yes, the quilts are shredded beyond repair.I'm just sick about it. One of the quilts was the one that I bought with Lucy on our Paducah trip. That one I think I can repair. But the others....whhhaaaaa.

In my 15 minutes a day of cutting/sewing (I'm really trying to do a bit for myself each day..just HAVE to to keep my sanity) I am having to recreate another star struck quilt off the directions on my website. Now that I am doing trunk shows and teaching....I have to have a SAMPLE! My last ones went to hurricane katrina quilt drives. I think I have remade this quilt at least 6 times. All in different color ways. This time I decided to use those plaid shirts that are still filling up bins around here. So I've been cutting 2.5" strips from plaid shirts...and matched them up with pre-cut neutrals from the neutral 2.5" strip bin and have sewn them up into pairs. They are now ironed. The next step will be to whack them into 4.5" sub cuts. I think that is tomorrow evening's job after I get through the day. I've got 3 massages on the books tomorrow afternoon and am still quilting from home in the morning before I go into the office!

So....does that 'splain why you haven't heard from me in a week!? :cD I hope all is well with everyone out there in quilt maverick land!

Bonnie