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Friday, February 07, 2014

Steppin’ Out with Step Outs!

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 Today is the day I pull it all together.

Everything needs to be ready before I leave for Arizona tomorrow morning ---two weeks worth of travel and teaching winding up with the taping of my episode on The Quilt Show!

I am nervous – oh so nervous!

Here I am digging in really humble scraps, making my “step out” sections for demonstrating how my quilt Jamestown Landing from my book String Fling came to be and how it comes together, and feeling a bit unsure of my fabric choices.

Do I be safe and choose more “current” fabrics?

Do I be myself and throw everything in there?

What would YOU do?  And would you do it with trepidation or apologies?

Nope!  I’m going to be ME – and I just sewed as I always do ----rarely looking at the print, mostly dealing with color and value placement, and most of all VARIETY!

The star blocks are made with four rotated “Broken Dishes” units.

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Chain Pressing!

Do you chain press?  I do!

I know a lot of quilters who will use their little razor-blade-on-a-stand tool to cut apart their units before pressing.  Do you know that means more handling, one at a time, and it actually takes you longer?

Try this first…..Press the chain!  You can move from one unit to another rather quickly – opening one unit after another as you press because they are all easily aligned.  THEN you can go back and cut with your razor thing if you want, but I just tend to use scissors, sliding the blade quickly between the chaining threads and separating the units. Try it!  This way it is also very easy for me to pick these up and stack them all the same direction.

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Chain pressing the broken dishes units:

I pressed these all to one side, then clipped the chaining threads and spun the seams so that the units would nest with each other no matter which way I decided to turn them:

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One unit spun!

They all need to spin the SAME DIRECTION, so when sewing the halves together, make sure they all go through the machine in identical placement.  If they do..you will get this:

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Nested, Baby!

Even if I rotate these block quarters in opposite directions, the seams will automatically nest no matter what!  This makes me a happy quilter.

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Last night during our crazy 2-episode session of Quilt-Cam I made THESE!

What a circus….we were about 45 minutes in to Quilt-Cam when something happened and I lost power to the entire house, so we were Quilt-Camming in the dark!  You just gotta laugh at stuff like this ---it just happens to me all the time, and you know what? Laughter and improvisation is good!  We waited til the power came back on and I started a second session.  You can catch both sessions in last night’s post HERE.

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This morning I have this little Step-Out kit ready to pack into my luggage!

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And Yes – there is EVERYTHING in here..even Millennium Y2K fabric!

The rest of today will be spent with packing the right quilts that I need to go with me for the 5 workshops I’ll be teaching on this trip, as well as quilts for The Quilt Show.  A bit of deskwork needs to be handled ((There is always more computer work than sewing going on around here it seems!)) and I’ll be ready to go in the morning!

Tonight I’ll be drawing our winner of the Give-Away March/April Issue of Quiltmaker Magazine via random number generator!

Have you entered? There is still time!  Click HERE to leave a comment on THAT post ((not this one!)) to be entered.  Good Luck Everyone!


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43 comments:

  1. Amen! Go with what you always do and stay true to who you are. It will be great.

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  2. Anonymous9:33 AM EST

    Bonnie, we all love you for who you are and what you do. So glad you decided to remain true to yourself!

    Safe travels.

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  3. Somehow I just knew you would be yourself, the
    reason why we love you! Don't ever change and
    have a safe and happy trip.

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  4. Always be yourself...it's the only one you can be really really good at! :) and using up the old is a wonderful feeling so never apologize for that! :) I got hung up on the current fabric being new to actual quilting but have sewed alot my entire life so have this ginormas amount of scraps I couldn't part with. The only quilt I got published was straight out of my scrap box! Every inch of it front and back. LOL! It's so colorful and lovely. The mag. had me redo in a current line and although cute I still love the scrappy one which was the intent of the project and the fact that I needed a gift. So then my designs tried to keep up with all the new lines of fabric and I got lost and overwhelmed..is there any way to keep up with them?? I don't think so! I love to pick up a piece here and there but for the most part I'm hanging in there with my oldie's but goodies. Have a safe trip...I hope to take a class and meet you some day. :) Your Stickin' with Scraps friend, Vanessa

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  5. Be yourself Bonnie. I've learned so much from you about how to use what you have to make beautiful quilts. If you went on TQS with all current fabrics all coordinated together, the viewers would be cheated. You have taught us that the final project is more interesting and original even if some of the fabrics in it are downright ugly.
    Barbara

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  6. Bonnie, I am so excited that you will be on the quilt show. I love TQS and I love your blog so what could make me happier than the two together. You will be great. And I am glad you went with who you are. Reading your blog, watching quilt cam, and having you show all the crazy wonderful fabric you use has helped me mix fabric and move out of my comfort zone. Thanks for all you do. You are one terrific inspiration.

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  7. Being yourself is the way to go..that way no mistakes can be made!You know you better than anyone! Have a fun trip and don't be nervous...be you!Think of it as an adventure. Besides you are on TV each night you do quiltcam!

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  8. If you are not yourself, who would you be? That is what I ask myself when making these type of decisions. I do not want to be anyone else so I am just me and it is reflected in my quilting style. Thanks for the shout out during Quilt Cam 2 last night ;). I was up today at 5am cutting strips for spiraling into chevrons fabric for the baby quilt. I will post pics of my progress on your fb page. Have a great trip!!!

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  9. Anonymous10:11 AM EST

    You have to be you Bonnie. Any other method from you would be fake. You are famous BECAUSE of your methods. I'm sorry you doubted yourself even for 1 second. Yea you! Ellen in Boise

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  10. Hi Bonnie.......Was a great quilt cam last night even the darkness he he he. Go with what your heart says & you'll do fine. Do you ever square your blocks up as you go along? I sew, set seam, open seams,& then clip sqrs apart & then square the blocks up & ready for the next part. I just got done with a CRABAPPLE HILL design "Walking in a Winterwonderland" hand embroidered in the middle & 6, 9, & 12" finished up sqrs all around it, if I would of noticed that in the 6" sqr had 34 pieces & some of them finished up 3/4" x 3/4" I would of changed things. Chris, Medford, WIS.

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  11. There are plenty of quilters that only use new matchy matchy fabric, and they have there audience. You have your audience and we are better for it.

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  12. Yep, always be yourself! That's why you are so successful. You will be great on the show! Have fun. :)

    I missed Quilt Cam last night, but I will watch it later. Thanks so much for sharing your quilting time with us!

    Have a fabulous trip!

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  13. Oh definitely be yourself! Your style of quilting is what made you stand out to me and so many others. You are very knowledgeable and that is what people will take away from your segment. Just think how many more followers you will have after that airs!!

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  14. Well the string fling looks amazing. As always you just inspired me to save strings. This morning while trimming for my Leaders and Enders I started to trim the ends and place them into a drawer.

    So hoping my Leaders and Enders book arrives soon. And when it does, I"m going to order the String book.

    Your scrap system really helps those of us that are short on cash, but still need to create. Thanks Bonnie.

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  15. Will see you in Pigeon Forge, TN at the Smokey Mountain Quilt Fest. A friend and I are taking your "Jared Takes a Bride" class. Can't wait! Safe traveling!!

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  16. I agree, always be you, that's why they asked you in the first place!

    About snipping the chain pieces apart, I have that purple thing with the razor blade and the reason I got it is because I have a six year old assistant who needed it! I also have a 12 year old assistant who presses, and it makes for great fun in the sewing room.

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  17. You will be close to Phoenix but probably no time to see the AQS Quilt show there. I wish you safe travels with all your Bags. Hopefully some of the workshop quilts are ones you need for more than one event. You are KNOWN for Scrapiness- don't change for the Quilt Show. Grab that ZIPLOCK and Squish all the scraps that will fit and show them how real quilters use fabrics to the very end. I love going to shops that will sell a bag of scraps that you get to paw through and stuff your own grab bag with.

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  18. Definitely be yourself, that is why you were asked to be on the show. Anything else wouldn't be you. Have fun!

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  19. I agree with everyone else, be yourself. Your quilt cam was great last night. I always enjoy it and it encourages me to finish projects. I am saving more scraps because of you. I do a lot of charity quilting and you've given me ideas about how to use my scraps to make those. Thanks for all that you do for us and have a safe trip.
    Debbie in KS.

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  20. Alex Anderson and Ricky TIms are very down to earth people. You will love them. I know from experience. I have had a class with Ricky long ago and a class with Alex on a cruise. Be yourself girl!!!! Hugs

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  21. I never thought about chain pressing until I saw you do it on quilt cam some time ago and it is the only way I do it now. Thank you for all you share with us!

    And yes, be yourself and ENJOY the moment! I knew you would have Y2K fabric in there!!

    Wishing you a safe and happy trails!

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  22. Doing what you always do is what makes you great, and what we look forward to seeing!

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  23. Be yourself with no apologies. You have inspired me with your practical techniques and patterns that encourage my creativity. You have put the fun back in quilting for me. Thanks for all you do.

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  24. If you are putting your name on something it had best be your choices. any time I do something the way I think "they" might like it, it isn't as successful as I would like. No one is really happy.

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  25. You are a one of a kind. Be true to yourself and you'll never go wrong.

    We are all wondering what you bought to wear on the show..boa? 6" heels?

    I'm betting a new t-shirt and black jeans. Shoes? Optional...

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  26. I always used to tell my students (did it for 32 years) that there is no one who can be a better you than you! We all love you for who you are so just keep it real and you'll be great!

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  27. Good luck with the workshops and of course, recording the Quilt Show. You come across so well on Quiltcams so you will be great on the Alex Anderson Show. Your quilt blocks are lovely. Good to see how the string blocks looked after their trimming. Enjoy yourself!

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  29. So glad that you decided to be yourself and throw everything into the mix. Viewers on TQS will love hearing that it's OKAY to do it, and the quilt police won't be coming after them. Your quilts are always lively and interesting because of the choices you make.

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  30. Bonnie Hunter on TQS!!! Life isn't going to get any better! My 2 favorite online go to's for quilting. You so need to do exactly that which you have been doing! I was able to be at a seminar where Alex Anderson spoke and the last spring was able to attend a class she was teaching at Alden Lane in Livermore, Ca. I was never more embarrassed, as I arrived at her class almost an hour late as I got lost getting there!
    Alex is the most gracious, down to earth person you will ever meet, Bonnie. So understanding, she told me just what to do to get set up and then had me and another woman come to her table for a catch up lesson. Not every instructor I have been to would have done that. She was continually telling us throughout her classes of recent tips and lessons that she has learned from others that she feels fortunate to learn from. We are all just people and quilters, as you so very well know. So just relax! You will be in good hands!

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  31. Bonnie you do know your Hunter-ite quilters!!! I am one who tends to look at the print. NOW I will try to not do that.

    I really like what I see on this Jamestown Landing. Can't wait to see it done.

    Keep smiling
    JulieinTN

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  32. First off love your latest piecing, especially the string neutrals. The Quilt Show - hope you have a great time and as I subscribe I will be watching out for your episode in the future. Good Luck!

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  33. I was going to tell you to be yourself and it will all be good, but I see you came to that conclusion! Also, imagine me (your number one fan) and all the Bonniacs are watching and it will all be fine! It really is no different that what you do every QuiltCam--and you always rock it! :)

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  34. the old and new must mix together; otherwise we'd be sending lots of older fabric to the landfill and that would NOT be a good thing

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  35. You know we love you for who you are - don't ever try to be anyone else!

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  36. We all love what you do just the way you do it!
    Looking forward to the Quilt Show with you on.

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  37. So glad you stopped over thinking this & more importantly, stayed true to who you are and what you do! Don't let the nerves get to you - just think of it as an expanded Quilt Cam session with in studio guests. Can;t wait til this episode airs.

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  38. I am so happy to hear you are going to be on The Quilt Show. And I say be yourself! I love what you do.

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  39. Bonnie, we love what you do. Stay true to yourself and you can't go wrong. Enjoy!

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  40. Go west young girl!!!!

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  41. Bonnie, do you use an acrylic extension table with your 301? Any vendor making extension tables will make one large enough to fit 301s? Curious as I LOVE, love, love that machine. It sews an amazing stitch, simple to operate and reliable! thanks, darlynn

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  42. Your creativity makes you you! Be yourself!

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  43. What you do has gotten you this far....please just keep on doing it :0). Remember how nervous Tonya was? She just kept stitching while she talked and it kept her focused, I think she did a great job and I know you will. All those years of teaching! You are natural, knock'em dead with your knowledge and charm.

    Happy Sewing and safe travels

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