Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Bonnie Hunter!

I love Bonnie Hunter.  She has a website, quiltville.com, and a blog.  This gal has more energy in her little finger than I have in my whole body.  She lives in Wallburg, NC which is near my home (Midway), and she travels all over the US (and sometimes Internationally) teaching quilters how to make quilts using tiny pieces of fabric. 

  • Side note... Quilt fabric is now in the $12 a yard range and you don't want to waste any fabric.  Bonnie is the queen of using every little piece of fabric in her quilts.
But, I digress... Bonnie is highly in demand as a teacher.  Her calender bookings are now into 2016.  Sarah, with Silver Comet Stitchers, saved me a place in Bonnie's class.  I felt blessed.  Bonnie was teaching Jamestown Landing from her newest book, String Fling. 



See my little squares made from half square triangles?  Sometimes I think quilters are nuts.  We take fabric, cut it into little pieces, then sew it back together again.  Why?  Because we can. 

This quilt requires that I make 840 squares from 2-1/2 inch half square triangles.  Bonnie teaches us how to cut and sew them efficiently.  I like efficient!

Then you take the triangles and sew them together in blocks called a Churn Dash.  Churn Dash blocks are sewn together to make star blocks.  So, let's lay them out...


Oops... do you see the two blocks in the right corner/side?  Wrong way.  When you sew blocks together like this, there is a handy gadget to use called a seam ripper.  Ask me how I know!  Ripping out quilt blocks is called frog quilting... rip it, rip it. 

Ah... this is better...






My block is on the left.  All sewn together.  My table partner and new friend, Hetty, made the block on the right.  (Hetty is from Moreland, Georgia.  She drove an hour and a half during rush hour yesterday to get to this class.  I loved sewing with her.)  


  • Another side note... I am an avid fan of Harry Chapin's songs.  If you don't know him, his songs told stories.  In one song, he tells of a singer who tried to go professional but didn't make it.  The line in the song that speaks to me goes, "he did not know how well he sang.  it just made him whole."  That's how I feel about quilting.  I don't know how well I quilt, but when I spend time with friends and fabric, it just makes me whole.  


The dark fabrics were gifted to me.  I think they are going to make a lovely quilt.  I completed two blocks yesterday.   For now, it will go in the UFO stack as I have committed to make a quilt for my friend, Beth.  These bright colors will be calling me, though, so I will be next in line. 

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