Bonus Mail Day!!

*disclaimer* This post is written a couple days ahead to post while I am on the road to Connecticut! I just couldn’t let these lovelies go unmentioned until I got home in 2 weeks

Dear Postman--

Today I met you at the top of my driveway! I was going out, you were coming in….

There you were, two big boxes in hand……BOTH FOR ME!! How fortuitous! Of course, I couldn’t imagine what was in these big boxes. Had I ordered anything? Not that I could recall! Was it my birthday? Nope..that passed in January ((Besides, we are not counting them anymore! I’ll forever be 49.95 + shipping and handling! ))

Which to open first? Big Box? Little Box? Big Box? Little Box? EENIE MEENIE MINEY MOE----

A VERY big box!! Whatever could it be?!?

Oh My! oh MY! OH MY!!!! Look at this drunkard’s path variation! I think it’s called “Steeple Chase” or something close to that. But the colors! And the fabrics…what a hoot!

Isn’t this just a Wild Child?! It makes me SO happy!! It’s like laugh-in collided with the partridge family bus! :cD

And THIS beauty!

What is not there NOT to love about a bears paw? This one would be from around 1910-1920 by the print in the sashings…and I am still pinching myself that this box showed up on MY doorstep!

I swear, I’ve never met a gingham that I didn’t like….look at these sweet stripes and the print of the sashing too. I love how the stripes go every-which-direction in the half square triangles…FUN! I also love how the whole quilt is just simply quilted on the diagonal….

There is ONE indigo block amongst all the ginghams and solids….isn’t this one a sweetie?!

This would be my favorite block of all, in all it’s humble way! Run out of dark brown gingham? No problem! Let’s just throw in some lighter brown gingham! Triangles too big?? No problem! Let’s just whack them off to make them fit!

It’s a sweet sweet quilt, and Julie K, you are even sweeter to think of me and to gift me these treasures! Treasure them I WILL!

And as if ONE gift box wasn’t enough today:

Karen over at Quilted-Lizard experienced a moment of conscience and decided that she’d rather send me the box of scraps instead of letting them go to the land fill! WHOOT! I tell you, one person’s trash IS another person’s treasure---Just how much fabric CAN you cram into one box?!? Let’s see---

This pile is HUGE!! And there are lots of good things in here to discover! I’ll sort out all the big pieces and usable strips, and anything that I can’t use can go to Karen’s dog bed project! It WILL be put to good use! There are some lovely batiks in here too…and see that bit of cheddar orange peeking out toward the upper left…AWESOME! It’s a fairly large piece! I already snagged it

All in all I feel like a very blessed Quilter! Thanks girls, you are both treasures in my book!

And One For The Road!

I swear, I can’t resist these!

As I was downloading yesterday’s free book to my kindle, the little ad thing at the bottom showed me “other titles I might like” And this one came up as free as well!

I know I’ve posted a lot of foo foo light stuff lately, but occasionally I do like to get into more intrigue and who-done-it kind of books!

DH has taken to reading books on his iphone, and I thought this would be one he would also like!

A World I Never Made, by James Lepore, is free on Kindle and from Sony.

Book Description

Pat Nolan, an American man, is summoned to Paris to claim the body of his estranged daughter Megan, who has committed suicide. The body, however, is not Megan's and it becomes instantly clear to Pat that Megan staged this, that she is in serious trouble, and that she is calling to him for help.

This sends Pat on an odyssey that stretches across France and into the Czech Republic and that makes him the target of both the French police and a band of international terrorists. Joining Pat on his search is Catherine Laurence, a beautiful but tormented Paris detective who sees in Pat something she never thought she'd find--genuine passion and desperate need. As they look for Megan, they come closer to each other's souls and discover love when both had long given up on it.

Juxtaposed against this story is Megan's story. A freelance journalist, Megan is in Morocco to do research when she meets Abdel Lahani, a Saudi businessman. They begin a torrid affair, a game Megan has played often and well in her adult life. But what she discovers about Lahani puts her in the center of a different kind of game, one with rules she can barely comprehend. Because of her relationship with Lahani, Megan has made some considerable enemies. And she has put the lives of many--maybe even millions--at risk.

A World I Never Made is an atmospheric novel of suspense with brilliantly drawn characters and back-stories as compelling as the plot itself. It is the kind of novel that resonates deeply and leaves its traces long after you turn the final page.
Click HERE to get the free book from Sony.

As you read this….I’m well out the door and on my way up to Connecticut! I could use your thoughts and prayers for safe travel and fair weather!

Free Book Tuesday!

Cottage by the Sea, by Ciji Ware, is free on Kindle and from B&N, Kobo and Sony.

This looks to be a good one, and I’m on my way to go download it right now!

Book Description
One woman, one man, one shared fate…A remote cottage on the wild coast of Cornwall sounded to Blythe Barton Stowe like the perfect escape from the pain and humiliation of recent events in her Hollywood life. But soon she seems to be reliving a centuries-old tragedy, and the handsome owner of the shabby manor house on the hill appears vitally entwined in her destiny.

As they unearth one shocking family secret after another, Blythe is forced to conclude that her intriguing neighbor is more than just an impecunious British gentleman bent on saving his ancestral home. And the impeccably honorable Lucas Teague begins to see Blythe as a lifeline in an otherwise bleak existence.

But is the unbridled attraction they’re experiencing a dangerous distraction, or could it be strong enough to transcend the insurmountable complexities of time and place…?

Click HERE to get the free book from B&N.
Click HERE to get the free book from Kobo.
Click HERE to get the free book from Sony

It’s been a run around Tuesday! I had my workout with Charlee this morning….sheeesh! She had me on this balancing thing, standing there, trying to keep myself from falling over…and at the same time, using weights with my arms and doing all this other stuff! I truly felt like I was rubbing my head with one hand and circling my tummy with the other hand….remember that game? It LOOKED so easy, but it was VERY HARD!

She explained to me that as we age, our sense of balance decreases…and I knew this from my years in massage therapy too….but it is amazing when you THINK you’ve got it all together and made in the shade---just how DIFFICULT it is to simply stand on one foot and lift one leg to the side without falling over. It takes core strength….and then you throw in the arms and the free weights while doing this leg thing…Let’s just say that I’m really glad there were NO webcams present! It wasn’t a pretty picture. But I learned a lot..and it is all stuff that I can do in hotel rooms while on the road.

On my drive….I just HAD to pull over and take pics of these dogwoods!

Just look at this color!! And yes, my friends, that IS a “CAROLINA BLUE” sky in the background! It was just breath taking this morning!

Here is a close up of one of the branches…the wind was pretty gusty….I wasn’t sure this phone would catch it without blur, but happily it did. Isn’t that color just WONDERFUL!??

The white dogwoods are in bloom everywhere as well. I took this shot while walking through my neighborhood yesterday afternoon. I know by the time I am back from CT & NY…..this will all be OVER and everything will be leafed out. I just had to capture it to remind myself that spring really DID happen in NC, even if I was only around for a small part of it!

And Yes, I know….I KNOW it is a bit premature, but the beautiful blue sky, and the blooming trees all told me that it is time for a bit of pampering….to slow down and enjoy this last day home before I hit the road tomorrow…so I treated myself to the first pedicure of the year---and because I’m feeling rather sassy, I went with the cranberry red metallic! Take THIS winter blahs! We are all so DONE with you!

Of course, I’m driving north, which means gorgeous pedicure will be covered up by socks and tennis shoes….but at least *I* will still know it is there!

I’m spending the day catching up on the last bit of mail order, packing, washing, puttering…and I’m hitting the road early, so you’ll probably not hear from me til possibilty tomorrow night….will I hit some antique malls for some antique quilt eye candy? Maybe! There is a place in Richmond, Virginia calling my name, and if all goes well….it’s the perfect stop for a rest and a walkabout!

Over At Moda-Lissa….

I just love keeping up with what my friends are doing out in Blogland…so much inspiration, so much GOODNESS for a cause, so much living and loving!

I had a great time meeting Lissa when I was in Texas in February ((Was that only 6 weeks ago?! It seems like forever already!!)) The funny part is, the first time we met face to face it was like looking in a mirror! First off, we are about the same build, same height, same age. Finding someone I can stand eye to eye with doesn’t happen very often, I’m a tall girl at 5’9” so I’ve always towered just a bit!

But that isn’t where the similarities stop --- We have the same hair! Color and style!Our complexions are the same..If you sat us next to each other and viewed us from behind, you wouldn’t know who’s shoulder to tap first! In fact, at one of the Lectures, Lissa was asked if SHE was ME! Isn’t this fun?

I don’t know about you, but I loved the thought of being a twin and pulling off such shenanigans as I watched “The Parent Trap” when I was a kid.

So what is Lissa up to?

She’s been posting about the JUST ONE STAR project. She had the privilege of sewing some of the stars together. You need to check out her BLOG for pics!

((Yeah, Lissa, I lifted this one just to entice readers to click through!))

And on the blog post about the Just One Star project….you’ll find Lissa talking about re-learning, and a very sweet shout out about learning to incorporate the theory of Leaders & Enders in your quilt making. Yes! Even well experienced old dogs QUILTERS Can learn new tricks! She is using Dresden Plate pieces as her leaders & enders and her plates will be sewn in no time and ready to be appliqued down on the go!

AND! If you hurry over to Moda-Lissa and leave a comment on this post, SHE is giving away two signed copies of my books! One Adventures With Leaders & Enders, and One Scraps & Shirttails II! The winners will be drawn for April 7th, So you have until Thursday to get your comments in---She simply wants to know a sewing TIP or something you have RE-LEARNED that you would like to share!

SO! It’s Monday! What is up for your week? I didn’t get any bindings hand sewn after all yesterday, the day got away from me! However, after one last “blue screen of death” or “Crash Dump” or “checking drive for errors” that happens EVERY TIME I TURN MY LAPTOP ON, it was decided that a trip to Best Buy was in order. This is of course after DH had spent hours on taxes on his laptop that is years and years old and isn’t doing what it should either. And then when it gets to figuring my business expenses….we both came to the conclusion that with business and taxes we NEED to spend the money on things we CAN write off…or it just all goes away in a check to the government anyway.

Do I need to explain this to you? Well, evidently it needs to be explained to ME again and again and again….because I am frugal to a fault and try to get by on as little as possible. Getting by on as little as possible means I don’t have ENOUGH legit expenses and the tax due is too big. Two new laptops are now living at my house, one for my personal-accountant-DH and one for me--and I’m busy transferring everything over from the old laptop before it crash dumps one last time.

I’m thinking this is the year that we re-do the quilting studio too so I can write that off. Do I need it? No….but if the money is going to GO anyway, I’d rather it be on something I enjoy that inspires me to spend my time designing and quilting than just a big check to the IRS when I could be writing things off legitimately. How do you find balance with that? I don’t want a gold plated toilet in my executive wash room….some things are ridiculous…but I need a lesson in what is legit and what is worth it. It is NOT EASY for me to LEARN THIS!

Tonight is a lecture/trunkshow in Kernersville, NC! It’s my last local gig before I head out to CT and NY! I’ll be arriving in CT on Thursday night. I’m planning on driving it in 2 days, a 12 hour car drive is just not something I want to do.

AND!! Exciting dates are being added to the Calendar! I know it’s not until 2014, but I’ve been asked to teach at the Grande Hotel on Mackinac Island Michigan in May, And I just booked a return trip to Germany for October 2014, visiting Dortmund, Essen and Köln ((Cologne)) Germany!

Better get a move on!

Slow Down, Sunday! ((And A Give-Away!))

This weekend is moving TOO fast!

It brings to mind that old Simon & Garfunkel song:

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.
Ba da, Ba da, Ba da, Ba da...Feelin' Groovy.

Hello lamp-post,
What cha knowin'?
I've come to watch your flowers growin'.
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in' doo-doo, Feelin’ Groovy!

I've got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy.

There is nothing on schedule today but just to “BE”. And that’s a good feeling! After my workshop yesterday ((Which was great, it was so fun to spend time with the local girls!)) I was able to come home and take a NAP! Awesome! There might be one of those in my future for today too.

My evening consisted of sitting on the couch, reclined with feet up, stitching on a binding while I watched some sappy movies on the Hallmark channel! This was also much needed!

I’ve finished the quilting on the sampler quilt for Japan….the binding is going on IT today, and there should be more handstitching of binding going on around here through the evening.

SO! That Magazine cover you see in the upper corner? That is the May issue of Quiltmaker Magazine just hitting the news stands and subscribers! I’ve got a QUILT in there, not just a column this time, but an actual quilt!

This is my Lady of the Lake variation, called Lady of Lake Erie! I cleared out a lot of blue fat quarters that had been languishing, and a lot of neutral shirtings and other prints for the white/cream/beige areas. This one fits my KING sized bed….and that triangle border is so easy and looks so fabulous to show off BIG pieces of fabric!

This is the May issue, and it features a GIVE-AWAY! I’ve sent Quiltmaker 5 signed copies of my latest book, Scraps & Shirttails II! Go HERE to the QUILTY PLEASURES blog and find out how you can win one of the copies!

Leave a comment THERE on the Quilty Pleasures blog by June 6th and you will be in the drawing!

Have a wonderful Sunday Everyone…..slow down and enjoy it!

Someone Pinch Me!!

I came home last night after running some evening errands to find a message that I had been voted in as the Golden Quilter Awards “Teacher Of The Year” ((!!!!!))

At first I thought it was an April Fools joke….Hahahahhaa, wouldn’t that be a funny fast one to pull on me! I had to go searching!

And then, wonder of wonders, there was this email from Sew Cal Gal herself!

I wanted to let you know that you are a winner in the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards. Quilters from around the world submitted nominations and all the votes have been counted, making it official. Everyone agrees you are the best of the best and we all appreciate what you have done to make our world of quilting so wonderful.
For more info on all the winners: http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2011/04/winners-of-2011-golden-quilter-awards.html
Best Regards,
Darlene
aka SewCalGal

It’s True! It’s really True!! I ran right over to the link….and this is what I saw!

Drum roll..........
The envelopes are opened and I'm happy to announce the official winners of the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards.
Best DesignerAnne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs
Best Teacher/Instructor Bonnie Hunter, Quiltville
Best AuthorEleanor Burns, of Quilt In A Day
Best Quilt Store (Physical) Mary Jo's in Gastonia NC
Best Quilt Store (online)Fat Quarter Shop
Best Long Arm QuilterJudi Madsen - Green Fairy Quilts
Most Innovative product (physical item)AccuQuilt Go! Fabric Cutter
Most Innovated product (software item)EQ7, by The Electric Quilt Company
Most influential person in the world of quilting to-date, aka "Lifetime Achievement"Eleanor Burns, Quilt in a Day
10) Best Quilt RetreatTwo Wacky Woman (Southern California)

I can’t tell you how honored and humbled I am to be included in this long list! It also made me smile that Mary Jos made Best Quilt Store (Physical) on the list! Oh Yes oh Yes oh Yes! Any time I’m driving down I-85, my car goes into autopilot and has to stop there!

I am floating on cloud 9 right now ((If you felt the earth move—please forgive me at this early hour—that was ME jumping up and down!!)) There have been tears of definite joy flowing over here at my house.

Thank you Sew Cal Gal for doing this, thank you to all the sponsors who donated prizes, thank you to all my students, friends, and readers who took the time to nominate and vote…and mostly for your encouragement to continue to do something that I love so much, even when the going is not easy….sometimes it is down right hard to be gone from home so much and to find balance in it all-- I’m just ever so grateful to all of you!

And now..I need to go do what I was crowned for! LOL! It’s time to go give a Pineapple Blossom Workshop to the Heart of the Triad Quilt Guild, in Kernersville NC!

Have a Quilty Weekend Everyone!

Free Kindle Book–Paper Roses!

Doesn’t this bring to mind the song that Marie Osmond sang way back when? Oh, I loved that song, and I so wanted to be like her, I would practice and practice and practice!! ((Yes, this goes right along with my desire to replace Tracy Partridge on the Partridge Family show too!))

Sometimes when I’m looking at the free books the ones I find are not the first in a series, and then you worry about the fact that you might be missing part of the story, or lots of the story……but Paper Roses, by Amanda Cabot, is the first in her Texas Dreams Trilogy.

Book Description:

The future stretches out in front of Sarah Dobbs like the pure blue Texas sky. Leaving the past behind in Philadelphia, mail-order bride Sarah arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom, Austin Canfield, a man she has never met but whose letters have won her heart from afar. But there is one problem--he has died. And Sarah cannot go back East. As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a future that is drastically changed, Austin's brother, Clay, struggles with his own muddled plans. Though he dislikes working on the family ranch and longs for a different life, Clay is driven to avenge his brother's death. But something between them is growing and neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit it.

It sounds pretty entertaining….and I’ve downloaded it already! I don’t know how long it will be free, but you can click HERE to get it.

I figure if the first one is good…I might want to get the others, but maybe through the library or download them as a digital book to listen in the car as I drive.

I’m busy quilting on the sampler quilt for Japan! It’s not quite half way..but it is looking good. I should finish it today, and while that is going, I’m still piecing together my pineapple-crazy.

I’m also SO grateful for friends who will email and say “Hey…what are you doing tomorrow?” I’ve got a lunch date with Karen, and then a massage scheduled. After that, let the WEEKEND BEGIN!!

Tomorrow? I’ve got a workshop with the Heart of The Triad Quilters in Kernersville, NC! This is a local guild to me, and I’m excited to see the girls because my traveling schedule has kept me from being able to attend their guild meetings…they had to SCHEDULE me as a program ((This coming Monday night!)) to get me in town long enough to come! LOL! It’s going to be fun girls! Can’t wait!

News from the “Horse’s Mouth!”

Wow, yesterday’s post sure brought out a lot of comments and opinions! And I am positively grateful that we have this network of quilter-stranger-friends to bounce things off of.

That grapevine of information can open up worlds of understanding that many of us had never considered before.

Thankfully someone read on the blog about the fabric with the characters, and went searching for more answers for me!

This is the reply I got:

OK, Bonnie, here's the word on that quilt and the writing on the border from someone born in Japan! Even though I lived in Japan for 31 years, I didn't go to school there; however, all four of my daughters went through the Japanese school system and are native speakers.

I sent an appeal to them a few minutes ago to read that kanji on your fabric to see if there's truly as "random" and innocuous as I told you (like seeing some fabric with "horse" or "tree" or numbers scattered willy-nilly on it). Here's the skinny on that fabric straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.... One of my girls answered immediately and wrote,

"Totally random kanji. She shouldn't worry about it and send it. People in Japan wear T-shirts like that with kanji on them."

Hope that settles the question for you, and takes a load off your mind! THANKS for your blog; couldn't start my day without it! (^_^)

PS from Sandy: Japanese characters ARE Chinese in origin; they look the same as the ones the Chinese use, because they ARE! They are just pronounced differently, and Japanese add symbols to them to indicate subject, verb tense, etc., that aren't found in the original Chinese. Since there are no "extra" symbols in your fabric, that's how it's identified as Chinese, or even as ancient classical Japanese writing (which was about the same thing).

Way more of a language lesson than you ever wanted to know when you posted those pics! But just in case you get some posts from readers who want to argue the point of Chinese vs. Japanese, thought I'd throw in another two-cents' worth! :)

~ Sandy Shigeno

THANK YOU SANDY! This is a load off of my mind. I know I could have found another place to donate this quilt, but my heart was in it for Japan while piecing the batting, quilting it, and binding it. I also heard from Tammy, who was the one who donated the top to me for charity purposes in the first place. She said:

I was also saddened to find that you were told not to send it, because of the characters on two of the prints.

I don't know the expertise of the person who told you that these were Chinese characters, but I bought this fabric directly from Lonni Rossi's (she is the fabric designer) website when the fabric first came out. The reason I found it so appealling is that she said on her website that “the fabric was printed with a Japanese poem about nature.”

I am always very careful about any words in ANY language that go on my quilts, so I felt very safe with this print even though I couldn't read it. I hope that you will reconsider sending this little quilt to Japan. I would love to see it go to such a good cause. I'm gathering up some of the quilts that I just recently finished to send as well.

Sincerely, Tammy J. , Belcamp, MD

So there you have it girls! The quilt IS going to Japan!

These two pics show the areas where I removed the skull fabric…The left pic? I replaced them with the green with big random pink dots. In the right pic? It’s the purple-y fabric with the silver stars next to the lime green.

I quilted it with a purple thread about the same color as the border print….the binding is on and just needs to be hand stitched down. I just used random strips of various greens sewn together for a scrappy green binding.

I also chose the border fabrics for the sampler quilt I’m also going to quilt up and send over. I had a piece of brown dot that was great for the inner border…and the outer border? I’ve had this gorgeous green with pink flowers for a long time but a quilt never came around for using it. I used that as the outer border, and I inset 4 orphan “broken dishes” units as the outer border corner stones.

A dig deep into the stash unearthed some pieces of Asian fabrics that had never gone into anything. There was a BIG piece of a beautiful print with cranes on it, a piece of cherry blossoms, and another piece that had japanese fans on it…I’ve incorporated them ALL into a backing:

I know it looks kind of wild from far away, but the detail on the fabrics is really beautiful…

So maybe this evening I’ll get this quilt loaded and can start quilting on it as well.

Thank you so much for all your replies and suggestions. I appreciate each and every one of them! I also loved knowing who else is going through the same things, wanting to donate a quilt to a good cause, but feeling “on pins and needles” about what is politically or culturally correct at the same time.

How are your Japan Quilts coming?

Thinking Twice! ((No, Three Times!))

If you read the last post, you saw what I was planning on using for the Quilts for Japan effort.

I chose THIS backing fabric for the Scrappy Bargello…this has been in my stash for ages, I had some of this when it was originally out ((in the 80s?!?)) And then in the past year, a gift box included MORE of this in the same dye lot, so I had enough to piece for this backing….

I just loved this sweet print with the birds! Two color prints are still a favorite, and I love the subdued pumpkin color, with the flowers and birds left in natural. It’s just sweet, not overdone, not fake-dyed to look age spotted the way I see so many fabrics today trying to give a look of "reproduction aging" that is anything but real looking…This is what it is. I like it simple!

I also found that I could empty a partial box of odd ends of batting scraps & strips by zigzagging them together into a size that was just right for this quilt!

Just right! I just clean up the edges of the pieces, overlap them 1/8” and simply zigzag the edges together using the largest/widest zig zag my machine can offer.

And before I go any farther, YES, I know there is an adhesive tape that you can use to iron pieces of batting together. I don’t want glue in my quilt, and why would I want to spend $$ for that, when I can use it for REAL fabric?! This zig-zag way also stays very soft and supple, and you can’t feel any ridges in the quilt when it is done being quilted.

But to each their own, if you would rather spend money on adhesive tape to make good use of your batting scraps, go for it!

Here is a close up of one seam…..the edges are overlapped and the zig zag holds them secure!

So where am I second guessing?!

I bet you couldn’t tell it from the pic in the last post, but there is a dandy of a fabric that is making me squirm about sending this quilt off to a country that has faced death and disaster:

See the skulls? Normally, I think this would be a quilt that any teenager would love…but I’m just thinking…maybe…for a family that has lost people close to them, that this is not such a good idea.

What do you think? Of course, the easy thing to do would be just to quilt it…There are 12 2” squares of skull fabric in this quilt….will it really be noticed?

But on second thought…..It’s not exactly “Cheerful” is it?

I think I better spend some time with the seam ripper and replace those skulls with something a bit kinder on the heart ---Do you agree?

**Update** While this post was waiting in queue to post, I got an email telling me I might want to hold off on sending THIS quilt for Japan all together. Turns out those symbols in the border ((and the black print near the border in THIS PIC )) are CHINESE, and it would be offensive to the Japanese to send them Chinese symbols. Like "a kick in the teeth".

Well, lord knows I don't want to do that....but what to do now? My time is LIMITED. I worked on this all day. I did remove the skull fabric, I sewed the top back together, I've spent the last several hours quilting it.

I hit the road again next week. This is my one shot. If this is indeed the case, they may only be getting one quilt from me instead of two. Dang human relations anyway! I don't get it ---

I'll just save this for the "NEXT" global disaster ----