Before I get to more about Bonnie, here are some highlights of my day with the Colonial Piecemakers - and I just HAD to take a few pictures of the SHOW AND TELL part of the meeting – what inspiration!

 Colonial Piecemaker’s SHOW AND TELL – August 2, 2008

Show and Tell

A Few of my Friends – OLD AND NEW

I was happy to see some of my “already friends” (this sounds better than OLD FRIENDS!) and some of my new friends!  First, my FAMOUS “Birth of a Sampler” teacher……

Linda, Bonnie, SAO and Patsy

I thought Carmen was in this picture with Bonnie, Patsy, and me (SAO) - here she is happily sewing away on her Singer Featherweight!

Carmen - Colonial Piecemakers 8 2 08

 

Oh yes and my NEW BFF- Kaye - who fed me chocolate!

Kaye with her CHOCOLATE that she SHARED!!!!!!

BONNIE K HUNTER – The Program and the Star Struck Workshop

Bonnie was so much fun to listen to and her quilts are amazing!  Bonnie carries her quilts in HUMONGOUS DUFFLE BAGS!

 

Look at ALL OF THESE QUILTS!

Bonnie's Quilts

Bonnie is so creative and has so much energy – and she is never still a minute – no wonder she is so trim and slim!  She has to keep moving to use up all of her stash – she says sometimes fabric just appears on her doorstep.  She modeled a recent gift – a 4X recycled shirt – lots of fabric – we will have to watch for it in her future quilts!

Bonnie modeling her 4X recycled fabric (in its shirt form!)

 I think Bonnie inspired a lot of us to organize and use every bit of our scraps to produce unexpected masterpieces!  I love how she uses thrift store cotton shirts and some of her own clothing to recycle into her quilts.  And she even makes beautiful and interesting quilt backs by using 10 1/2″ squares….I love this idea!  Bonnie is doing her part to make sure that NO BIT OF FABRIC ends up in the landfill! 

Bonnie's Scrappy Quilt Back

 

And Bonnie always keeps her eyes open for NEW/OLD fabric – here she is picking out some recycled STASH for her ugly fabric quilt challenge!  Bonnie says there are NO RULES in quilting and you can mix fabric styles – 30’s with batiks, civil war with COW PRINTS.  And if your fabric is ugly – cut it into small scrappy pieces or strips – and viola – it becomes beautiful.

Bonnie and some UGLY FABRIC for her stash

Bonnie Colonial Piecemakers

Look at what Bonnie made from the little BONUS triangles cut from the corners when making  Flying Geese blocks…and to think that these could have been trimmed and discarded! 

Left Overs made into a beautiful quilt!

Here are a few of Bonnie’s SHOW AND TELL – but check out her quiltville website (www.quiltville.com) for more!

 

Y-Seam beauty!

Food Chain Quilt

Carolina Crossroads MYSTERY QUILT

Star Struck II

Isn’t it amazing how orphan blocks can turn into a fabulous sampler?  I just have to learn to make these letters and words in the borders……that is one of my NEW GOALS!

Bonnie's Sampler

LOVE QUILT

We all had fun, were inspired, learned a lot – and Bonnie may have even been a bit inspired to get her own HELLO KITTY sewing machine – she sure liked Linda’s with all of the Hello Kitty stickers on it!

 

BONNIE AND HELLO KITTY

As I was leaving I just couldn’t resist taking a picture of Bonnie’s license plate. 

Bonnie Hunter's License Plate

 Thanks to Bonnie and the Colonial Piecemakers Quilt Guild for a GREAT DAY!

 

I am really having fun making these Dear Jane blocks and I love the names that have been given to them.  Here is my A8  Florence Nightingale

- one more done and 50,000 more to go.    Not really, it just seems like it!

First – my red and white A8 practice block -

and then the real block….LOL

This isn’t a great picture – but it is of my FIRST BORDER TRIANGLE BLOCK – BR1 Rosemary’s Window  (the red and white is the practice block.)  I think paper piecing is a lot of fun!

I have learned to scan my blocks and put them into the EQ Dear Jane Project Chart – too much fun!  I now have 8 blocks finished (times 2 so that makes a total of 16 Dear Jane blocks!)

EGG MONEY QUILT

The first EGG MONEY QUILT (Eleanor Burns) class is the 20th (taught by Susan at QUILTER’S CORNER.)  I am really looking forward to it: however, I just realized that I am going to miss the SECOND CLASS because I will be in CALIFORNIA.  So today I went ahead and made block # 3 - TURKEY TRACKS that will be part of the 2nd class.  I love these 30’s fabrics…….and this was a new experience to make Y seams!  I am so happy that I got this made….it wasn’t that difficult…..and my little points all seemed to come together as planned in the middle! 

ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT QUILTED

I picked up my Bonnie Hunter Orange Crush Mystery Quilt from my long arm quilter, Sara Parrish, today!  I love it.  She did a fabulous job and I took her picture – but her eyes were closed – so I am not going to put her picture up here.   Here is my OC on the rack just waiting for me to pick it up!

HERE IS THE BACK OF THE OC – it is ready for the orange binding!  I really am starting to like this scrappy back!

GPS TECHNOLOGY

For years I have been getting lost and for years I have been calling my daughter to FIND ME while I am lost.  NOT ANYMORE.  I got a GPS – a GARMIN NUVI and oh is this ever fun.  I can watch myself driving along the road on the little screen - just like a video game.  When I stop – the little car on the screen stops.  It is just amazing.  When I make a mistake it recalculates and tells me how to get myself out of my “STATE OF LOSTNESS.”  I LOVE IT.  I really do.  It is pretty amazing that his little screen can TALK TO YOU and tell you you have .2 more miles to your next turn, etc.   I will never be lost again…..hopefully!  :) 

THE GPS IS NOW ON MY LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS!

Today was a big day.  Grandangels Leanna (12) and Sarah (8) gave their beautiful long blonde hair to LOCKS OF LOVE.  Some little girl with cancer or some other disease that results in hair loss will get some beautiful locks.  I am proud of the girls – this is their second 11-inch contribution each.

Here is Leanna (Sunday) getting her Second STAR STUDENT AWARD for dance and drama at the Academy for the Performing Arts….followed by a picture of Leanna (Tuesday) after donating her hair.  (Fantastic Sam’s gives FREE CUTS to donators!)

This is Sarah (the short one) getting her 3rd Year STAR STUDENT AWARD at the Academy for Dance (ballet, jazz, and Irish) followed by her picture AFTER donating her hair.

FIELD TRIP TO VA LIVING MUSEUM IN NEWPORT NEWS

Last Friday, my daughter got to go on the Field Trip to the VA LIVING MUSEUM with Sarah’s second grade class!  Here are a couple of great pictures from the trip!  (Sarah is in the front on the dinosaur!)  She is transformed into a TURTLE in the picture below!)

If you are ever in Newport News you can go to the Museum and pet a skunk – or a snake.   My daughter had so much fun being a chaperone that she doesn’t want ME TO MISS ALL THE FUN – I get to do this trip when Cooper is in 2nd grade (providing I win the chaperone lottery process.   They had lots of fun – so much that Sarah wasn’t sure what was better – the field trip or the dance recital!

COOPER’S 5TH BIRTHDAY

Cooper had a great birthday June 9th.  He got to go to CHUCK E CHEESE – a paradise for kids!

One mommy, one poppa, two sisters, one grandma Shirley (the photographer), one friend, and two sisters – now that is what I call a great party!

SCRAPPY HAPPY ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT TOP AND BACK ARE FINISHED

I decided to put only one small 2 inch brown border on the Orange Crush Mystery Quilt.  It will be the perfect size for my grandangel James (age 5 1/2). 

I named it the SCRAPPY HAPPY ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT.  It is 68 x 81.

The binding will be orange.

I made a SCRAPPY HAPPY PIECED BACK too (all 15 1/2″ squares)…….and here it is!

This was a very difficult process to make a totally scrappy quilt.  I enjoyed the challenge but the rest of my scrappy quilts will most likely be PLANNED or SEMI-RANDOM SCRAPPY!

You can’t see it but in the checkboard square I wrote information about the quilt and it will be quilted into the quilt – this is my first quilt label! 

I am such a sap – I cried at tech. rehearsal tonight because I was so overwhelmed with JOY at my grandangels’ dances…..go figure.

Here is Sarah standing at the top of the stairs ready to go on stage and the blonde with the pony tail in the middle doing her CHINA TOWN BALLET….

….and Leanna doing her modern dance to VISTA FROM A CAR WINDOW….Leanna has on white shorts and a dance t-shirt with gold lettering on the front.

Tomorrow I guess I will cry even more when they are in make-up and costumes for dress rehearsal…..and then Saturday it is the REAL DEAL!!!  I am watching the 3 o’clock performance and dressing the dancers at the 7 o’clock performance.  TOO MUCH FUN.

ORANGE CRUSH TOP WITHOUT BORDERS

I finished the Orange Crush Top without borders……

Since I am making TWO of these mystery quilts I decided to put the fancy border on the PINEAPPLE CRUSH and put plain borders on the ORANGE CRUSH……I am thinking of a narrow 2″ BROWN BORDER (the same fabric as in the SPINNING STAR blocks throughout) and then a 3 1/2″ GREEN BORDER (the same green as in the SPINNING STAR blocks throughout) - or maybe the blue check that matches the center of the orange album blocks……I will decide shortly!  Any votes?

 

Sarah (8) was so excited when she saw me making YO YO flowers for my BIRTH OF A SAMPLE QUILT (pictured above)…….that she wanted to make one too…..and so she did (and she wore it in her hair to school today.)  I had a PINK CAT BUTTON that we pinned in the middle of the yo yo flower.  Sarah was so proud! 

I am so proud that I got my vines and leaves on my BIRTH OF A SAMPLER QUILT!

Leanna (12) made a two-story house out of an orange juice container tonight.  She and her friend (and sister too) came in to SHOP for fabric to put on the outside walls of their houses!  Where else does one go on a CRAFTY AFTERNOON to get supplies but to Grandma’s stash!

On the wall of Leanna’s ORANGE JUICE HOUSE is a JONAS BROTHER’S POSTER rendering!  Nanna also sewed a sofa (with a cover that can be changed) and a pillow….and she also sewed a tiny bed and pillow.  She does a great job with my BROTHER DUETTA!  Since I was gone for the dance TECH rehearsal tonight, Leanna’s dad was in charge of standing by in case Leanna sewed her finger to something!  :) This is a fabulous testimony of the FUN that one can have with an square inch of material….or a tiny strip of fabric (note the rugs on the floors of the house!)  The bed, pillows and sofa are STUFFED with bits of leftover quilt batting!

LILIES AND BIRDS

I had to take a picture of our first lily in bloom.  THIS IS AN AMAZING STORY.  A year ago (December) our house burned to the ground.  The house rubble and surrounding ground was BULLDOZED – - and a year later the yard was landscaped. 

These lilies SURVIVED (I bought them at QVC – Roberta’s Farms – and I would say that this is an AMAZING TESTIMONY of the hardiness of these lilies!)  Look at how TALL this one is!!!! (There are 12 more on the side of the yard that will bloom this summer!)

Have I mentioned that QVC is on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS!  I love everything that I have ordered from QVC!  What could be better – you can lie in bed and watch tv – shop – and the UPS GUY delivers presents to your door a few days later!!!!  :)

BIRDS

Now you may be thinking “WHERE ARE THE BIRDS?”  And no wonder because all that is in view is the BIRD HOUSE – our hanging fern.  The birds have built a nest and there are four very cute eggs inside…….and there is another nest under the mailbox!  (You can’t see it - but it is there – and it sure saves us from getting JUNK MAIL FLYERS!)

ORANGE CRUSH AND PINEAPPLE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILTS

I debated

and debated

 and debated

(it was a difficult decision) about whether or not that I should go ahead and put that orange fabric into the ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT….but today I finally decided to go ahead and move forward with the orange – it is an ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT after all.) 

I figured that even if it turned out to be an UGLY quilt that I could use it as a PRACTICE for my first quilt that I machine quilt!  I also rationalized that an ugly quilt could be used for picnics and every quilter HAS to have a picnic quilt!  Right? 

The orange is so BRIGHT that I might even be HAPPY to have it get a little bit dirty (to tone down that color!)  But after seeing Bonnie’s finished quilt (with orange in it) I think that I might end up liking it.

So here are all of my Step 5 ALBUM BLOCKS and HALF ALBUM BLOCKS for the Orange Crush Mystery Quilt – and also I have included a photo of my PINEAPPLE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT blocks for Step 5. 

This afternoon Bonnie K. Hunter of Quiltville.com posted the final step – putting it all together.  THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED.  So……it is onward with these two quilts!

Dancing Fun

Tonight we had TECH REHEARSAL for ACT ONE of the Dance Recital Saturday.  Sarah is in two dances in Act One – they did a good job at rehearsal…..here are a couple of photos of Sarah!  The pictures are fuzzy – not perfect lighting in the theatre.  Sarah is the blonde with the braid in her hair.  We had lots of fun!

Here are some highlights…..

Grandangel Vincent had his 8th birthday in California (we sang to him on the telephone.)  He was SUPER-SIZED excited!

My Great Nephew and Great Niece celebrated their birthdays in Kansas….Preston is now 3 and Tara Lynn is 1.   Birthdays are so much fun!  We should all get this excited over balloons!

Sarah and I went to a yard sale early Saturday morning…..and was that ever TOO MUCH FUN!  We actually made it home on foot – without a wheelbarrow!  Sarah was really excited over her butterfly bulletin board – still in its original wrappings!

The FIND of the day (week? year? century?) was a chenille bedspread in A-1 shape that had belonged to the grandmother of the yard sale hostess….and she sold it for $1.00.  ONE DOLLAR.  Now what am I going to do with it?   I could make little rabbits out of it…..or use it as a back to a quilt?  HM…..I have no clue what I will do with it, I just know that I have always wanted one and that I love it!  Here it is on my bed.

Since Sarah and I found a candy making machine at the yard sale – we just HAD TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CANDY.  whoo hooo!  Leanna looks like a “mad scientist” pumping the chocolate into the molds!

Grandangel, Sarah was SO EXCITED.  We finished her first CAT QUILT over the weekend.  I showed her how to tape the backing down and then add the batting and quilt top.  Here is Sarah pinning the layers together! 

Then she chose decorative stitches for her quilting!  She loves my Brother Duetta sewing machine…..she put a different decorative stitch on each line of quilting!  You can tell by the look on her face that she is totally thrilled with this project!  We cut around the edges with pinking shears (I figured traditional binding might be a stretch.) 

Sarah’s WEBKINZ CAT, “Meredith,” seems to like her new quilt!

Our holiday also included a barbecue with friends.  Oh, did I mention that Spiderman and Darth Vader attended our party?

And going to the opening of the swimming pool is a must on MEMORIAL DAY….hm…..except that everyone else had the same idea……so the pool party ended up in our back yard with a new slip and slide and ring sprinkler.  I think that ended up to be way more fun anyway!

Sliding, hula hoop fun, backyard baseball games, croquette games, popsicles, pizza, and water gun fights……it doesn’t get much better than this!  Now if ONLY I could have had some HOME MADE ICE CREAM…..then I would have thought that I had died and gone to heaven!

This is the view LOOKING UP from our backyard hammock (REALLY!)  I just had to post this – the sky was so pretty and the weather was perfect!

AND WHAT DID I SEW?

Quilting – well – I did get a start on my Step 5 of the ORANGE CRUSH and the PINEAPPLE CRUSH…..and yes, I CHANGED THE ACCENT COLOR AGAIN on the Pineapple Crush – this is the THIRD and final change – because now the blocks are partially completed!  LOL

TA DA….Here is Step 5 – Album Block of my PINEAPPLE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT  (I like this.)

And here is my Step 5 Album Block for the Orange Crush Mystery Quilt  (yikes – I wonder if I will ever in a million years grow to like these colors?)  This may be my FIRST AND LAST time to go scrappy (of  the everything but the kitchen sink variety!)

I am not trying to guess what the MYSTERY QUILTS will look like – but I added the previous blocks in a little arrangement – just to CONVINCE MYSELF that I might like it….::)

Pineapple Crush..Step 4 Spinning Stars with Step 5 Album Blocks……it is pretty calm and subdued and my accent color (the red plaid) is similar to the red check……but…….I really think that  I am going to like this one!

And now for the Orange Crush – Step 4 Spinning Stars Blocks with Step 5 Album Blocks…..oh dear, this sure is BRIGHT…..I may need to wear sunglasses to work on this one!  Do I like this?

THANKS TO THE FOLKS IN THE MILITARY!

It has been a nice holiday …. and I have enjoyed watching some of the special programs on the HISTORY CHANNEL the past few days that have called my attention to the wonderful heroes, past and present, that have and are serving in the military.  I am grateful and am in awe at some of the stories of bravery and valor.  Since I am related somehow to Robert E. Lee, I was especially interested in the special program that featured Lee and Stonewall Jackson!

And now….back to the REAL WORLD…..how many of us will think that Tuesday is Monday all day tomorrow!    Happy 13th Anniversary to Christi and Greg May 27!  Here is a SILLY family picture……and like I always say, “A MERRY HEART DOETH GOOD LIKE MEDICINE.” (Just for the record, this isn’t my original saying!”) 

This is what my step 4 SPINNING STAR for the PINEAPPLE CRUSH MYSTERY  QUILT (my controlled scrappy quilt) looks like.  I went back to my original fabric color choice using the burgundy checked fabric that I really like even though it really doesn’t read solid.  SIGH…..some of us just don’t take direction well.  :)  Right now I am still planning on using the pinepple color fabric and teal for the accent – but WHO KNOWS what I will decide by the time step 5 appears online! 

Here is my SPINNING STAR step 4 for the ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT (my totally scrappy quilt) looks like.  My other colors are orange and teal checks….I think. 

Today was definitely a quilting day – I went to my BIRTH OF A SAMPLER CLASS at the QUILTER’S CORNER this morning and learned to do a bias strip (at least I am HOPING that I learned it well enough to actually make it on the next border….pictures to come in the near future!)

AND the last half of the day I spent with the Virginia Scrappers working on my Grandmother’s Flower Garden.  We had so much fun (and Bonnie’s Mystery Quilt was a topic of conversation that emerged here and there throughout the day.)  I wish I had a picture of Sheddy’s Orange Crush – she is doing it in 30’s fabrics – and I LOVE IT……I want one in 30’s fabrics….but two is probably enough…..:)

Throughout the day I laughed so hard.  I only regret that I didn’t have my camera to capture some of the beautiful works of art in progress!  And because of all of my fun today I am current fighting the urge to buy a little green HELLO KITTY SEWING MACHINE.  Why……it defies explanation.  Linda had one and it was EVER SO CUTE!  Patsy has one and she LOVES HERS.  So is that a GOOD ENOUGH REASON……..probably!

And one more thing…..I just had to play with my split-nine-patch online block swappers exchange blocks……the second session of blocks are due May 30 – and I am going to make some more!

I am seriously cheering because getting all of these triangles sewn on the correct side was not easy for me (I am a bit directionally challenged and hopelessly spatially misguided!)  In fact, I made an entire extra set too many (because I had them ALL facing the same direction instead of half in one and half in the other direction!) 

My CRUMB BLOCK BAG just got fed!  sigh…….:)

I made my 44 CONTROLLED SCRAPPY Step 3 blocks using the E-Z and the Companion Angle rulers….just as Bonnie suggested.    These are for my PINEAPPLE CRUSH Quilt (I am not using any orange in it!) 

AND…….below are my 44  TOTALLY SCRAPPY Step 3 blocks for the Orange Crush Mystery Quilt (it will have orange in it!)  I made these using the method of first making a four patch from 2 1/2″ blocks and then slashing them diagonally twice to make the top part of the block.   

I used the COMPANION ANGLE to cut the bottom triangle for the block.  THAT MADE IT SO EASY.  It was easy because there was no THINKING about what side of the triangle to sew to the next – when you cut the 4-patch two ways diagonally – voila – you have 2 of the TOP triangle pairs going in one direction and 2 going in the other direction – automatically. 

(It is nothing short of a miracle!)  Thanks to Solvi in Norway for figuring that one out!

Weeks ago, while waiting for our Step 1 instructions, many of us (including yours truly) selected our three fabrics plus an accent fabric for our quilts- and it has been very entertaining to see all of the different color choices.

I had decided to make a PINEAPPLE CRUSH instead of an ORANGE CRUSH

(since I was using a PINEAPPLE COLORED FABRIC instead of orange.)

….and my fabrics

were…..(the teal is the accent color)   

But alas, I have now changed my mind…

….I’ve decided on a brighter red fabric to substitute for the burgundy checks.

My STEP 1 BLOCKS for the PINEAPPLE CRUSH are Controlled Scrappy

- two colors – beiges and navy blues…..

Recently I have experienced a bit of unexpected bravery and have decided that I should REALLY TRY to fight against my “CONTROL AND ORGANIZE GENE” and expand my horizons.  I decided to GO TOTALLY SCRAPPY.

AND….since I decided to go SCRAPPY with my four patches (putting in EVERYTHING but the kitchen sink) I said, “SELF, you might as well do the ORANGE CRUSH QUILT in scrappy.”

And  here are my SCRAPPY STEP ONE 150 Four-Patch BLOCKS for the ORANGE CRUSH…

And still on my SCRAPPY ROLL – here are my STEP TWO Scrappy

142 Half-Square Triangle Four-Patches…..

And since I have Steps One and Two completed I needed to make a FABRIC CHOICE. 

Here are my OFFICIAL choices for fabrics for my Scrappy Orange Crush Mystery Quilt.

I don’t know yet which one will be my accent color. 

And now I need to get back to my CONTROLLED SCRAPPY MODE and make my STEP TWO blocks for my PINEAPPLE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT.

Ok – so now I have officially admitted that I am making BOTH an Orange Crush and a Pineapple Crush Mystery Quilt.