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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Oooh Yummy!

I actually slept in this morning.  The past week plus I’ve been waking up to the alarm that blatantly goes off at 6am ----I’ve been feeling kind of worn out!  But last night, I was asleep by 10pm-something and slept all the way to 7am.  NICE!

I’ve got this morning on my own ((Minus Aunt Elsie the featherweight, but we’ll catch up with her later)) until 11 when I’m being taken to see the Michigan State University Museum/Great Lakes Quilt Center Collections!  Whoowhooo!!  I so can’t wait.  The photo to the left is of the quilt storage cabinets ----bring on the white gloves!

In anticipation of much quiltiness today ---I went back through some other folders on my lap top to see if there was anything I missed posting about.  Oh yes!  Take a look:

Tallahassee_2012 045

If you saw this on a chair, would you pass it by?  I didn’t!

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Finding room to lay out a large quilt in small booths of an antique mall is not always easy, but it was worth it!  not only do I love the mourning print used as the wide sashings, I LOVE the colors in the “Princess Crown” blocks!  See how they all play against the dark grey of the mourning print fabric?  It's darker than the grey I chose for Easy Street, but the colors are NOT dulled by the grey.  I love the half blocks all the way around the outside edge!

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Bright poison green, double pink and a great blue polka dot!

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More of the same blue polka dot with a cranberry and a stripe that goes every-which-direction!

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Look how different this block looks just by changing the value placement!

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The backing is a very soft blue chambray, and the front was turned to the back as binding, something I don’t see too often, especially turned back THIS narrowly!

This was just a lovely period piece – I’m thinking 1880 or a bit later but not all sure ----

I am not sure if they will allow me to photograph the quilts today at the museum ---I’m hoping I’ll have something to show you from that visit!  In the mean time, are you gearing up for EASY STREET that starts one week from TOMORROW?!

There have been questions on how small the pieces can be.  It’s safe to say that you won’t need any strips smaller than 2”.  But that’s all I can say for now. 

The thing that amazes me the most is people who say “I don’t like purple, so I won’t do this quilt.”  “I don’t want my quilt to look “dated” so I won’t use these colors”.  LADIES!  ((Isn't it amazing what people let their fingers say in the comment section?!))

The first thing I said was YOU could choose ANY FOUR COLORS that YOU like together in ANY FABRIC STYLE plus a background.  If you want to use one background – fine – but I’m using many.  Purple was popular in the 1800s.  You can use civil war fabrics in these colors and have a very 1800s looking quilt.  Purple was popular in the 1930s.  You can use 1930s fabrics in these colors and have a very 1930s quilt.  These colors are not going to date this quilt to 2012---but even if it does, is that a bad thing?

I want my quilts to be representative of every stage of MY life.  Not just imitate a time period in which I never lived.  I quilt for the need to create, even if in 10 years someone says, “oh yes, that was the 2012 era”.  Some day – even those 2012 quilts will be sought after because they were really from the time period in which they were created.

Those who made their quilts in the 1800s were not just reaching into their scrap bag in an effort to just "sew with civil war fabrics" in hopes that it didn't date their quilt!

Quilt to please yourself.  Don’t worry about your quilts not fitting what you like in 20 years ---what kind of way is that to live!?

1

Case In Point! LOL!

Carry On!

46 comments:

  1. I have been trying to keep up with your travels. Missing your live cam, but your travels are very interesting. I know with that much traveling you must get tired, but I am sure you are having fun at the same time. Looking forward to "Easy Street"

    Gale/Oklahoma

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  2. I love that license plate sign! I always get a kick when on tv shows they show a gallery owner talking with a client, and the twit says "but it doesn't go with the colors in my room...." and the gallery owner just rolls there eyes! HA! Love that!

    And yeah.....I'm ready for Easy Street!!!! Woohoo!

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  3. 20 years from now for the most part peoples color choices will probably change anyway. Some people I suppose can't think outside the box. I wonder if they would like to make an avocado green and chocolate brown quilt from the 70's colors, uck!!!

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  4. Yes... I am ready for easy street! I'm using civil war fabrics, just because I love them and that is what I have in my stash. I have a little bit of your colors, but only about a yard of each color.... maybe I'll get real ambitious and make some pieces in your colorway for a smaller quilt... hmmmmm....thinking!

    hm

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  5. Anonymous9:33 AM EST

    I am not sure what I like and don't like this week but this I KNOW. It is time for me to do a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt... after hemming and hawing about fabric, decided I would just go with the flow as this year it is important to just DO the quilt. Don't have art or a couch but love the license plate pic!

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  6. Bonnie...you always say it soooooooooooo well! I can't wait to start your new mystery quilt! I think this will be my 4th of 5th mystery of yours.

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  7. I love your posts Bonnie! I learn alot from you and enjoy your attitude. Thanks!

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  8. Pulled my fabrics from my stash yesterday Bonnie! We have a little Flickr group going to share photos and discuss the mystery quilt too.

    Almost all the quilting podcasters I know have been talked into participating and I have several other readers/listeners that are joining in too!

    (I'm still working on finishing up my Orca Bay top too but really looking forward to Easy Street!)

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  9. Well said Bonnie. Enjoy the Museum. I cannot wait to start my first mystery quilt with you!!! p.s. I'm not using your colors but that is okay as i am shopping my stash!!!!

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  10. Bonnie I'm sorry some people don't appreciate all you do for this Mystery. It's too bad that you can't just wake up to positive post only. You have a fun fun day! You deserve it!

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  11. Stash has been shopped and I probably need only a little bit of fabric to work in the colors you suggested. Since I have never done one of your mystery quilts, I don't want to venture too far afield in colors until I get the feel of your mystery quilts. then I will be brave and venture differently if I so choose. Safe travels.

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  12. I'm gearing up to do this mystery - my first one! I'll admit all the small pieces the past two years (my blogland existence) intimidated me but recently I've turned a corner. I've been chugging along on a couple of large UFOs and realized that once the cutting is done, it's not hard - duh! So, I shopped my stash and will be using some teals and reds that I inherited from my grandma last year.

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  13. Thank you for the wonderful perspective on time periods and quilt fabric choices. Very good point; and it gave me a new way to think about things.

    Also, I would have never, ever thought of a wide sashing like on that gray quilt you posted. I am amazed how effective that is. It makes the blocks look like they are floating! I loved the colors. Thanks for posting it.

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  14. Today's post reminded me of something:
    Just decided to have the couch match my art works when I moved in here some ten yrs ago. Guess: along came Aunt Lucy, with a NOT matching quilt for the couch! HA! Sew, look at the result: me on top of the quilt, that covers the couch, dressed in black, grey or red, even cheddar, to get things right... What the heck, flowers along the road don't match each other either.
    Lesson to be learned: Thou Shalt Not Whine!
    I am still deboning, washing and ironing shirts to get a nice collection to choose from for the mystery =^}
    Counting 1 shirt equals 1 yrd; from a grey Amsterdam,
    Love, Irene

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  15. Oh, Bonnie, love that sign!

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  16. I've really been on the fence about this mystery. I lack so much motivation after moving, but how could I miss it. It is the one thing I really look forward to each year. I spent a good day trying to pick out colors for this mystery...all from my stash. My background color for this is bright coral/pink. I had to use my white for your gray. I'm very excited to see how this will turn out. The start if the mystery is my Black Friday excitement...no crowds either!

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  17. Anonymous10:25 AM EST

    OK, head down and weeping ;) I did ask Bonnie about the colorway change! Mea Culpa!!! I am sorry as heck, but at times I can be a duh-person, what can I say?

    Can't wait for the Museum tour info or the Easy Street Mystery. Have fun Bonnie, even duh-folks love you and appreicate all you do for us. LOL

    HUGS with smiles, JulieinTN

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  18. I swear many people just look at the pictures and totally ignore the words! I find it amusing that some take fabric selection so, so seriously. Guess they are total control freaks and couldn't possibly let go and enjoy the results of random. It fuels the imagination. Combinations that make a quilt come alive and give it character, making it truly original, a part of you.
    C'mon girls!! Let go and enjoy!!

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    1. not everyone is as color confident as others. I respect that the commenter was asking other opinions and in no way did she say she wasn't going to do it. We should encourage others instead of shake our finger and criticize them. That's what generous quilters do.

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  19. I am still deciding the colors I want to use for my easy street. I am thinking primary (Red, Blue, yellow). Maybe patriotic????? I did find some bright pink, yellow and turquoise fat quarters in my stash....Mmmmmmm decisions, decisions, decisions! LOL!

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  20. Still unpacking from our move and prepping for this mystery quilt has given me impetus to seriously weed through my stash. I have several piles (literally) of various color combinations that I like together ... any one of them would work for the mystery. I've decided that when I wake up on Friday after Thanksgiving I will pick the one that I want to make ... until then I am still searching my way through the boxes. Oh, see you at Sunday's workshop ... a friend and I are driving in to take the session with you. We are both looking forward to it very much! Linda

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  21. I am so in love with that vintage quilt It is calling my name! I would have had a very hard time walking away from that one. Was it pricey?
    Love the sign! : )

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  22. Im using your colors because they aren't my usual palette...it pushes me and helps me grow as a quilter. And surprisingly I had a lot in my stash...must have liked them sometime. Thanks for all the work you do so we can play with fabric and color!

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  23. I can't believe that people can't just take things at face value sometimes - the colors you are using are SUGGESTIONS. Nothing more, nothing less. If someone wants to go scrappy, great, if not, that's great too. Personally, I'm not going scrappy this time. I even went out and purchased fabric and didn't shop my stash. My colors don't match yours, but I'm making MY quilt, not yours! Okay, I'm off my soapbox now! I love your mysteries and look forward to them all year long. You do a fantastic job keeping up your blog, providing entertainment with quiltcam, taking us to places with you in the photos and articles, and all the tips and tricks, not to mention free patterns you offer. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU BONNIE!

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  24. If I saw that sign I would buy it! and display it at every quilt and art function I could find. I love it and it is my mantra! Love the quilt--would love to make one. Looking forward to Easy Street, my first Bonnie mystery quilt. Will be traveling after Thanksgiving from Washington, D. C. to Arkansas and will add to my stash along the way. Will use Bonnie's colors because I love them!!!!

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  25. I have been on the fence about joining in on the mystery quilt, but I think I fell in today. If I am not going to purchase anything for this, I will probably use Civil War/Thimbleberries/a stash from a previous quilt (all 62 fat quarters) for it. This is only beause if I combine all of these they will play well together and I should have plenty.

    I am almost finished with the applique on a quilt that has been in progress for probably three years so it opens up a spot for the Mystery Quilt. It's always a good thing to try something new!

    Can't wait to see the pictures (if you can take them) from the museum. So glad you share your travels with all of us since many of us will never have the opportunity to see the things you do.

    Have fun!!!

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  26. Hey Bonnie, I have been contentedly sleeping under my "Orca Bay" for the past month...done in my colour way...and I love love love it. Every "Orca Bay" that I have seen on the Linky Party was done in whatever colour they chose and they were amazing. Agreeing that your great quilt colours choices are a suggestion, but they suit me just dandy and I will be making my way down "Easy Street". Thanks again for all of your time and talent so graciously shared.

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  27. Bonnie, sometimes we need someone to take us by the hand and lead us every step of the way. BTY, I love your colors for "Easy Street". Hoping to finish finding all I need tomorrow. Can hardly wait. Thanks gal.

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  28. Oi to dando uma passadinha por aqui para ver como tudo anda
    ficaria muito feliz com sua visita também , bom final de semana
    até mais

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  29. Bravo! I know I have plenty of quilts that are aging fast, but I just do whatever feels good to me right now. The styles and colors change so quickly. Glad to hear you are enjoying your trip so far.

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  30. Bonnie,
    Can't wait to meet you "in person" someday, you almost always say what I am thinking. People need to appreciate the work and passion you put into things such as the mysteries and instead be amazed at how unselfish you are with your sharing! Many thanks from this gal.
    Hope you get the camera into the museum but as a former curator, I know some of the "rules". Have fun in either case.
    Looking forward to Easy Street!
    Until then, enjoy your travels.

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  31. I LOVE the colors you picked. Who cares if this quilt won't match any room in this house? We moved in July, and nothing we owns "matches" anyhow (who wants to match the horrible stripe in my bedroom anyhow?)

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  32. Bonnie, I'm almost ready to start Easy Street! I have all my fabrics (I too love the colors you picked and will be doing something similar) and just need to get everything pressed and ready to go.

    Looking forward to the 23rd and to the next QuiltCam session...

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  33. WELL SAID, Bonnie!! And, the more scrappy a quilt is, using fabric from many years, the less likely it is to become 'dated' anyway.

    I'm not going to be able to play along with the mystery - just too many other dragons to slay right now - but I'm so looking forward to following along and wishing. The green/aqua/purple scheme is right up my alley - I use those colors all the time - so maybe someday!

    Thanks for all you do!

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  34. I AM READY FOR EASY STREET!!!! Oh, and BTW, my favorite color has been purple ever since I new what the color purple was and I am 52!!! I was fortunate enough to go to the same school for 12 years and the school colors were...you guessed it...Purple and gold! :) For me, Purple is not just a color, it is a way of life!!! :) LOL~~

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    1. Same here! I love the idea of purple and it's always been my favorite! I can't hardly wait!

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  35. I love what you wrote in this post...very inspiring!
    Haven't picked out my fabric yet, but I'll be ready for Friday...can't wait!

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  36. I am so seeing that block in a Bonnie quilt :o)

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  37. Lovely display of quilts at MSU. Sure wish they had them when I was there a few decades ago. But their Home Economics Dept. was terrific as was their Ag Dept. They sold the best ice cream and other dairy products in the school store. Thanks for the memories. Go Spartans!!

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  38. Great post, Bonnie. Both photos and thoughts.

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  39. yep, i'm taking the plunge! Have never done one of your quilts but have loved all of them. I'm changing up a few of the colors, i'm using flannel for this quilt, and I'm making a twin size rather than a Queen. No more sitting on the sidelines for me; I'm rarin' to go on this one!

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  40. So excited to be participating in this mystery quilt.

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  41. I'm excited about my 1st mystery quilt. My colors are based on a square I made in my 1st felting attempt :royal purple, turquoise, lavender, & dark blue. I'll add the grays & black&white prints probably. My real challenge is finding my cutting table by next week. I also have to find my laundry room, so I better get busy.
    Thank you for the great blog. I found it a few months ago & am really enjoying it.

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  42. Anonymous8:47 AM EST

    I chose your color selection because they look fun! That and because the first wave of grandchildren have informed me that the second wave of grandchildren need their own quilt to share at gramma's house. So, I thought the color combination of this mystery quilt would be perfect!

    I cant wait to get started. This is my first mystery quilt.

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  43. This comment has been removed by the author.

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