It’s a Valentine’s Give-Away!

This Give-Away is Now Closed!

Happy Valentine’s Day to my favorite people---You!

I hope your day is filled with friends and family and loved ones. If I could, I’d stuff little valentines in envelopes full of candy conversation hearts and goodies and drop one in each of your mail boxes!

I loved Valentine’s Day as a kid. I remember taking shoe boxes or lunch sacks and spending time decorating them with doilies, hearts cut out of construction paper, glue and glitter. These special boxes and bags were just waiting to be filled with valentines from friends, family and classmates. Ahhhh, Memories!

I want to help you spread the love as well! So we are doing a “different” kind of Give-Away ----

Remember those poor books that had the imperfect covers? I’ve got one left!

And what I want to do with this special Give-Away is have YOU leave me a comment below with the name of someone you want me to send it to, and why! Tell me about your friendship! It can go to anyone you choose: A mother, sister, friend, even a secret pal! (Though you will have to explain to them why the cover is imperfect! LOL!)

This book will be signed by me and mailed to your friend with a note from you I will print out via email on why you have chosen them to receive this gift. Instead of winning it for yourself, you are winning it for your special friend. Isn’t this a fun idea?!

Of course, if your friend lives near by, you get visitation rights, right?

I will be drawing the winner on Valentine’s Evening! I want to be able to mail this out to them before I leave for Texas on Tuesday!

And here is a fun site I’ve been playing with to make your OWN Candy Hearts with your own sayings! Click here to get to the Candy Heart Generator and spread more love to your friends!

I had a great time driving home from Lexington VA today --- and including some visits to antique malls! I’ve gotta upload some pics, do some editing, and will give you a preview of some of the neat things I saw probably tomorrow…or I might set it to go live on Tuesday when I am flying to Texas!

I’ll be visiting with the Bear Creek Quilt Guild in Keller, the Denton Quilt Guild in Denton, and the Trinity Valley Quilt Guild in Ft Worth! Bring on the Tex-Mex & the BBQ!

Scrappy Mountains in the Blue Ridge!

It was a terrific day for a workshop! We set up our machines and power sewed the day away making Scrappy Mountain Majesties blocks!

I told you last post that this conference room is huge, and it is above the horse arena at the Virginia Horse Center, right?

This is the view of the well groomed arena from the bank of windows in the conference room! I was told stories that usually on any given weekend you can see riders and horses going through their paces down there while you sew….we must have been sewing on an “off” weekend as the arena stayed quiet the whole time we were there.

We sewed and cut and sewed some more!

		Lexington Virginia 2-12-11 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After the workshop, I came back to my room and crashed for a while, and then headed down into Lexington for some dinner! I just LOVE colonial buildings, and downtown Lexington does not disappoint!

Walking uphill I found this one, and the light of the evening was just PERFECT Wouldn’t you like to know what this building was like in it’s original state in the “early” days? I would! I like to imagine what the fashions were, who came and went, and the lives lived. I always wanted to live above a business….I can bet the proprietor had his shop or office on the street level, while the family lived up stairs.

Love the brick pattern on this one! Isn’t this a cool building? I’m sure it has had quite the life too….

After dinner I sewed the night away while watching tearjerker movies on either hallmark or lifetime, I don’t remember which…..but that Nights in Rodanthe just gets me every time! ***SOBBING*** And I am glad I was here to enjoy it because I “KNOW* that the men-folk at home would not tolerate such chick flicks! LOL!

So this morning, I’m packing it up --- Heading home --- but planning on some jaunts through some antique malls for inspiration along the way!

The sun is shining, the sky is blue…it’s chilly, but hey, at least it is not snowing, right?!

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day….and in honor of Valentine’s Day, we are going to have a very special “Share Your Heart” Give-Away! Come back tomorrow for more details!

A bit of Lexington!

I had a LOVELY LOVELY drive up today! It was a cold clear morning, but the sky was the most amazing shade of crystalline blue, and nary a cloud in sight. Just BRILLIANT!

I live about 100 miles South of Roanoke, VA, an easy jaunt up highway 220 with scenic highways and byways…….Within an hour of leaving my driveway, I have crossed the Virginia state line, and I’m in heaven!

A View From My Dashboard!

((Good thing I got the car washed yesterday or you wouldn’t see that mountain coming up so clearly!))

I get so excited when I see mountains getting closer. All of a sudden I feel like I can BREATHE. Hard to explain, but if you love mountains like I do, you’ll understand!

Pass one mountain and there is another! Roanoke is snuggled in the midst of the beautiful Blue Ridge on all sides! And though all the hardwoods still are bare, you can sense the sublime beauty of this area! You should see it when it is GREEN! It truly is one of my favorite places on the planet.

I stopped in Roanoke for a yummy Indian buffet lunch at Nawab – I have a 7 or 8 year history with this place. I ALWAYS stop there when going through, and I am never disappointed. Downtown Roanoke is so very walkable, and the historic district is full of wonderful shops and restaurants. I love this size of city! It is much like Winston Salem in size and feel.

The pic at the top of this post is of Lexington, which is about an hour farther up Interstate 81 from Roanoke, so it was an easy jaunt from there. This area is FULL of history!! Take some time to read a little bit here and you will find names you recognize from your history books, if you grew up in the USA.

You will even find a link to the Virginia Horse Center where tonight's lecture and tomorrow’s workshop are being hosted! There is a great conference room up above the horse arena! When it comes to finding meeting places for our lectures and classes and guild meetings, Quilters will leave no opportunity unturned!

The lecture was really fun, and I am now back at my hotel room. I’m pretty wired, so I might sew a bit before going to bed!

How’s this for set up!? It’s quite a large comfy room, I’ve got a desk AND a table! I set my machine up, I brought my tv tray and my pressing surface –set up to the right of the machine, and I put the ironing board at table top level to the left….got myself a U-shaped sewing station!

Little table….2 easy chairs for sitting and doing hand work, and my bins of crumbs and strings just ready for some paper piecing! This is the table I’m sitting at now while typing on the laptop you see sitting there. Ipod is plugged into my travel speakers, and I’m listening to my favorite James Taylor….sipping a nice hot cup of Harry & Davids chocolate raspberry tea. Nice, huh?

There was ONE thing I found silly! I’m sure you’ve had your own experiences with hotel furniture “WHHHAA!???” But look at this:

Nice dresser right? I thought so. Kind of colonial style. ((It is Virginia after all!)) My suitcase is on the top. I don’t know about you, but I like to completely unpack my suitcase and put the stuff in drawers. That way I’m not digging around and making a mess of my clothes. This 6 drawer dresser SHOULD have plenty of space right?

Except it is NOT a 6 drawer dresser --- it is a TWO drawer dresser! And putting my clothes in a drawer meant I might as well have been putting them on the FLOOR because the drawers go all the way down! Is this not the SILLIEST thing you’ve seen?? I don’t know what is worse….to have to bend over that far to get my jeans off the bottom of the drawer, or to just leave it in the suitcase and dig from there! LOL!

To Erin ((Vesuvius Mama!)) & Nancy & Kim --- Thanks so much for the warm welcome and the great company and the fun conversation tonight! I’m looking forward to a great workshop tomorrow and getting to know the ladies from the Rockbridge Piecemakers Guild better!

Night all ---- I’m off to sew a bit!

From Trash—to Treasure—for Trash!

I love goodies! Especially quilt-related-recycled-item goodies!

While teaching at the Road to California Quilt show last month, I was the happy recipient of a re-purposed trash holder made from an empty square kleenex box! Oh, it was the cutest thing!!

And truth be told, I don’t think she intended to gift it to me, just that I kept fawning over it and making puppy dog faces about how CUTE it was, and how I could sure USE something that folded FLAT like that!

Chris was an absolute doll and I received her little foldable trash keeper as a birthday gift!

Here is my cutie in a beautiful hand dye! Can you see the velcro closures? BRILLIANT!

And here is the cutie on it’s side with the velcro flap open—it is easy to dump the stuff out once it reaches “full!”

And just because Chris is such a super gal, she has uploaded the tutorial to her blog, Weekend Wisdom! I love love love the fabric she has used in her tutorial, it’s the pic you see at the very beginning of this post above!

A pic I lifted from Chris's blog of the two of us together at Road!

Go on and give her a visit and let her know you were sent there from Quiltville! If you make yourself a little trash box using her tutorial, I’m sure she’d love to see a picture of what you came up with.

The sun is shining brilliantly this morning…..but it is chilly chilly! The frost is glistening on my deck and the gazebo roof over my hottub….I love how it sparkles like diamonds, but I’m not exactly all fired up to get out there and finish loading the car for my trip to Lexington!

I’ve gotta make a post office run first…that is hogging the space in the car right now, and then come back and load up the trunk show and get on my way!

Will there be time for antique malls today? Maybe! I did get notice from several people that the quilt shop I am thinking of has closed. BUMMER! I never made it there, and now it’s closed!

I’m packing my machine and a bin of strings and hope to do more piecing in the hotel room after the Scrappy Mountain Majesties workshop tomorrow…and I don’t have to check out of the hotel until Noon on Sunday, so I might find myself piecing in my jammies before driving home too!

If you don’t hear from me for a couple days, you’ll know why ---Have a great weekend everyone!

Show & Tell Thursday!

We haven’t done this in a while, and I think it’s time to do this again!

My inbox is a constant source of inspiration, talent and beauty! I love the stories that come with the quilts, and here are some I would love to share with you!

I hope you enjoy seeing these beautiful quilts as much as I do! If you have finished a quilt from one of my designs, feel free to send me a pic at quiltville@gmail.com and you just might find yourself featured on a future "Show & Tell Thursday" post!

This beautiful diamond strings variation is from Kelly P! She writes:

Bonnie, thank you so much for your website -- I've been bragging on your diamond strings technique to all my quilty friends lately, after using it for this quilt. . .I used ONLY stash scraps, cut them without a ruler, scrambled them in a basket and simply pulled them out and sewed strips together without a foundation. Too much fun! Thanks again -- kelly p.

I’ve never met a string quilt I didn’t like…and I just LOVE what she did with this layout and the borders…Rock on Kelly!

This is Betty B’s Blue & White Pineapple Blossom!! This gal can sew pedal to the metal and I sure had a great time with her in Baton Rouge! I just adore 2 color quilts, I keep reminding myself to do more of them, they sure are striking, aren’t they? She writes:

Bonnie, Here is a photo of my blue and white Pineapple Blossom top. I love it and hope to have it quilted before too long. The classes with you were great! Now on to finish the Cathedral Star project so it won't become a UFO!

Love the baby quilt you made and thanks for the directions.

Betty B

This is Belinda’s version of Carolina Christmas….look at those yummy batiks! This quilt just sings! She writes:

Thanks so much Bonnie for sharing your fun mysteries with us! I am a little behind but just finished your Thanksgiving 2009 mystery. That was a difficult year for us as my husband lost his job and we moved back across the country to live with family while we looked for work.

Most of my sewing was in storage since didn't know which coast we would live on. This quilt was made from the scraps I had on hand. I did have to buy a little more black though. So I am pleased to have made a fun quilt without a huge expense (and so was my husband!).

I am giving this quilt to my sister for her birthday tomorrow. It was her family that housed us that winter and she even helped iron some of my pieced units! Happy Birthday Patty! Now ready for RRCB.

Belinda on the beautiful Southern Oregon Coast

Belinda, I’m SURE that Patty was more than pleased and happy on her birthday, I would fall over if someone gave me such a beautiful quilt for my birthday! Thanks so much for taking the time to share the photos and the story with me!

Jackie has been busy too! This is her Strip Twist --- Don’t you just love all the colors?!? She writes:

Dear Bonnie,
Just thought I would send you pics of the strip twist quilt I did for my daughter who graduated from Dental Hygiene last May.

This is my first quilt from your patterns but definitely will not be my last. I'm currently working on Pineapple Blossom for my son with mixed blues and a grey fingerpaint fabric for the squares.

I'm anxiously awaiting Shirts and Scraptails 2,this will be my third book from you. Thanks again for all the free and published patterns. Love your site and blog.
Take care,
Jackie H From Newfoundland, Canada

Bring on MORE COLOR! Oh, I love color! I woke up to snow this morning…beautiful in itself, but I am so ready for spring! This mix just makes me feel like it HAS to be on its way, doesn’t it?

This is is a Scrappy Bargello made by Bonnie D in St Charles, IL! Beautiful job!

Pam has also been busy! She sent in pics of two completions on her UFO list! First is her Sister’s Choice Quilt! And don’t you love the ingenuity of Quilters? She is using trouser hangers, hung from the gutter of her house…GREAT idea if you need a way to hang a quilt for a photograph!

She writes:

This quilt started out as a charm pack challenge at my LQS in 2008. I purchased one charm pack and apparently 1 yard of the peach fabric with the intent of making positive/negative 9-patches – beyond that I had no idea where the quilt was going. I mis-cut a couple of charms, the deadline for entry passed and the quilt went into the UFO pile. This January I resurrected it as part of the UFO Challenge at Patchwork Times. I still had no idea where the quilt was going, so finished up the 9-patches, then saw your post of January 6th.

I now had a direction and I dug through my stash to find a length of green fabric for the star points and decided to go scrappy for the background. The only new piece I bought was the border fabric. I even found an orangey peach to use for the backing in my stash.

Thanks for a great website. I do enjoy your books and patterns – not to mention meeting you in Lawrence and Kansas City.

Pam

And one more from Pam! ((busy girl that she is!))

This is Pam’s Oklahoma Backroads! She writes:

I don’t remember sending you a picture of my finished Oklahoma Backroads. Totally scrappy on this – slightly frightening. But the cool part is there were scraps from all of my quilting buddies. When we got together to quilt in September, we kept pointing out scraps from each of our stashes. This quilt went to one of our friend’s who was having a tough time. I may have pieced and quilted it before we knew it was needed, but there was a little bit of each of us when the hug was needed.

Pam in Kansas City

Aren’t you just inspired to dig into your scraps and SEW!? I know I am! I really enjoy being able to share these beautiful quilts with you thanks to those who took the time to send me the pictures.

Lisa and Shelby and I had a great time in the basement yesterday! I am NEARLY done with a very special long term project, and hoping to finish the corner blocks today so I can lay it out and start sewing it together. Not ready to show it yet, but I’m really happy with how it is coming out.

I also played with some string piecing, for a quilt revolving around a nick-name given to me by a dear friend. It makes me smile every time I sew another block unit together.

I leave in the morning for Lexington Virginia, and as predicted, we had a dusting of snow last night. I just want this all off the roads so that I don’t have any wet/icy hazzards to navigate on my way up there! I love road trips! And driving up through Virginia is just wonderful. My route will take me up through Roanoke, and I am planning a lunch at my favorite Indian restaurant there. And perhaps stopping at the Old School House Quilt shop as I trundle up I-81! I’m meeting up with the guild ladies for a dinner before the lecture/trunkshow, and on Saturday we are doing a Scrappy Mountain Majesties workshop…..there will be LOTS of power sewing and tons of fun!

I’m off to do mundane things like get the oil changed and tires rotated on my car….oh the glamorous life of an itinerant Quilter!

Have a good Thursday, Everyone!