It's MS-150 Time! Your Pledges Are Needed!

Every year my husband Dave cycles with a group of over 2,200 riders in South Carolina in the 150 mile 2 day ride called the "MS-150" for Multiple Sclerosis. This year's ride will be held on September 15-16, 2007.

Each mile he will ride, each dollar we will raise will be used in the fight to prevent and cure Multiple Sclerosis and to improve the lives of all people affected by MS.

No matter how small or large, your generous gift will help improve the lives of millions who suffer from MS, in the hope that future generations can live in a world without this disease. Together, we can all make a difference!

For nearly 11 years I have provided quilt patterns on the Quiltville.com website free of charge. If you find this site to be beneficial to you as a quilt maker, I ask that you please consider making a pledge to help fight Multiple Sclerosis as a way to say "Thanks!" for all you find here.

If you can spare even $10 to $20, please think of someone you know who is living with MS daily and all that they go through and all that your donation can do to help. If you know someone with MS, PLEASE donate and forward this on to those who have family members with MS. Your continued support is necessary to help find a cure for this disease.


WHY WE RIDE:

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms may be mild such as numbness in the limbs or severe--paralysis or loss of vision. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50 but the unpredictable effects can be life-long. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted. A person with MS does not know when it will strike, what symptoms they will have, when it will get worse or better, or if they will become permanently disabled. But there is one thing people with MS can count on . . . the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The National MS Society is the largest private sponsor of MS research in the world and proudly provides local programs designed to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by MS. By choosing sponsor the MS 150 Bike Tour, you are joining thousands of people across the country united in the mission: to end the devastating effects of MS.

Click here to Sponsor Dave!

Thank you so much for all your support over the years! It's great to have you on Team Quiltville! :c)

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In A Hurry....

I don't have a lot of time to report this morning...I've got a dentist appt this afternoon as well as 3 massage clients lined up!

I have uploaded the directions to "Playing With Jacks" to my website! I hope you enjoy it.

I still have to finish the binding, and will post a better picture of the finished quilt when it is done, but in the mean time....you are encouraged to dig through your 2.5" strips and get started!

Bonnie

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Oh Wonderful Cable Connection!!

We have internet! Whoooowhoooo!

If you really want to appreciate what you have, try for a few days of just being able to read email on an itsy bitsy screen on your phone..and having to type with your bumbling thumbs! It's fun having that capability, but there is NOTHING like a full sized keyboard to make me happy! :cD

I used some of my down time to get this little quilt quilted. The binding is all scrappy reds pulled out of the 2.5" strip bin. I love the look. Sorry the pics are blurry, but taking pics without flash means no jiggling...and I'm just sometimes not capable :c)













The binding is on. I'm hoping to get it sewn down tonight. It was great to quilt a SMALL project. This one is the "jacks on six" block (title in blockbase) and I think I'll just call it "Playing Jacks". This was a fun one for a more color controlled scrap quilt using various shirtings, reds and grey/blacks. It has a very subdued feeling to it, and I like the asymetrical setting and how the chains appear and disappear depending on how dark the grey/blacks are.

I used all 2.5" strips for this quilt, using that wonderful easy angle to do the 1/2 square triangles. I'll put the directions on my website here in a bit. I'm due for something new on there, and I think I could work up a few different layouts in EQ to give people ideas on different ways to set this, different color schemes etc.

I've got two clients so far for massage today, so I'm heading out in a bit to do that.

I'm also in the midst of arranging flight plans for a trunkshow/workshop in Houma, Louisiana in January. If anyone is interested within proximity of Houma, feel free to have your guilds see if they would like to have me piggy back that trip with a trip to your guild since I'll be in the area. Have them contact me!

Keep on Quilting on!
Bonnie

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Misadventures With A Shovel......

So.....

If you are wondering where I have been the past couple days....We had an accident involving a shovel and the internet cable. The cable lost! And I now have ZERO access at home. I also have no home phone since vonage runs off the cable. :c(

Of course trying to get Time Warner out in any kind of speedy manner just doesn't happen either. I go through the voicemail web of hell and get to a message that says "please call during regular business hours" which is monday to friday. Pfftt.

I need to be connected! So I went to Sam's Club and bought a Black Jack by Samsung. It has internet/email/IM...lots of bells and whistles but I need to learn to use them, and so far I'm having trouble just figuring out how to dial a call..*LOL* It will be nice for travelling I think, and it is only $20.00 a month more than I was already paying for the service.

I tried connecting with the laptop at Panera Bread with Jason this morning before he went to work and I went to church. He was giving me tutoring lessons on my new blackjack at the time....We couldn't get the puter connected there.

This afternoon I had a client house call....not far from the down town library in columbia which is open from 2 to 6 on sunday afternoon and has WI FI upstairs..so that's where I am.

It's very weird not having phone or internet at home. So many things we take for granted to log on and send a mail, answer a client, look up a reference, see what movies are playing, check the weather...good grief. I guess this is why I also got the black jack.

The other day on the way home from MD I stopped in Charlotte to hit Mary Jo's fabric outlet and the thread outlet and I got lost when trying to find the thread place. Tomtom didn't have the resources I needed to just look up the place by name...I had to have an address. So that meant that I had to go pull over somewhere, ask to see a yellow pages, and then get the address and put it in the tomtom. Now that I have net access on my phone I can just look up the address on the phone and put it in tomtom. It's a step up anyway.

Email is a pain on the phone, but at least I can get the word out when I can't get to the library to use the internet wifi!

I suppose this should give me more time to QUILT?!?

Unconnected In Irmo, SC
Bonnie

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Fabric Aquisition Road Trip!

The first time I heard this acronym I burst out laughing. But since I have faced the facts and realized that I majorly fell off the wagon this past week, no matter how I try to rationalize it....it was a definite F.A.R.T!! :cD

Yes, I bought backgrounds..backgrounds are legal, right? You need them to put with all the darks in your stash...so I told myself. Wooooooowhooo..look at these beauties! You know I can't resist shirtings...

These are the amish solids. I don't know if you can tell the price by the tag, but the remnant prices are so inexpensive for really nice kona cottons.

The bigger pieces are for setting squares, sashings, setting triangles and borders. I found I really didn't have a lot of yardage in my stash over 1 yard....some have 2 yard, but when it comes to borders and sashings etc....I needed SOME to work with, so of course,I rationalized my way again! Most of these were on sale at 30% off at Material Girls in MD anyway (Another rationalization!) so???? Oh BTW, it's a darling shop. Instead of shopping carts, you pull your stuff around in a little red wagon!

This next pic....was a surprise for me! When I got home there was an envelope from Pam Thomas in Calif with these funny smiling mouths! She said:

"Bonnie, when I saw this fabric, I thought of you. I figured a Quilt Maverick could use this fabric. Hope you like it. Pam Thomas."

Aren't they funny mouths?! It's going to be fun to use these in something. I love the light print she sent too, it's great with the little black squares. Thanks Pam!

Here is a selection of FQ's I bought. Who can resist 99 cent FQ's? Most of them are from Mary Jos..a few from Joanns. We stopped there to pick up the latest Quiltmaker mag. It's got a blurb in it about my blog, and I was so tickled I had to pick up a copy! I tried to get my scanner to work but nada. Maybe I can get DH to work on it later. If you have the latest Quiltmaker, it's on page 32 in the bottom left hand corner. It says Quilt Blogs: Staying current.

The text reads:

quiltville.blogspot.com: Bonnie Hunter, self described fabric addict (YOU THINK!?) is a prolific scrap user and amazes us with the quantity of beautiful scrappy quilts she creates.

Is that cool or what?

Bonnie

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Get the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative on Oprah!

I've been hearing information about the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative for some time and now --- the 52-quilt nationally touring quilts about Alzheimer's and the Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt project with donated quilts auctioned and sold to raise money for research. In just a little over a year and a half quilters across this country (and overseas) have used their talents to raise over $82,000 for research!

Now, there is a movement afoot to get these quilts, big and little, on the Oprah Winfrey show! Wouldn't that be terrific? I've written my email in support of this effort because I think the exposure would be fantastic for raising awareness and for raising even more money for Alzheimer's research. Click HERE to help get the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative on Oprah.

We need lots of emails...don't leave this to someone else, you can make a difference with just one email. (OK, maybe two or three...) Oprah's people track every single email they get, and each of us needs to let them know that we want to see the Alzheimer's quilts on Oprah's show. We want to celebrate the efforts of quilters making a difference. We want people with Alzheimer's and their loved ones know that we care and we're doing what we can to help.

I know many of you are making Priority: Alzheimer's quilts for Ami Simms to auction or sell. Tell the producers why this is important to you. If you've attended the "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece" quilt exhibit, share with them how moving it was. If you've purchased the book or CD, let them know that you are supporting research because all the profits for these items are donated to research. Tell them to visit the website at www.AlzQuilts.org, and tell them to call Ami Simms at 1-800-278-4824 to arrange for the quilts to be on Oprah.

Another thought: If you haven't comsidered of making a quilt for this worth while project, maybe now is the time to do it!

Bonnie

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Home Again!!

I'm home, I'm home!! No ruby slippers to click heels together, but none-the-less, I'm home!

I had the BEST time in MD.....

On the way home I drove a different route than I-95, the way I went up. I think I learned that I don't LIKE going I-85...bleeechh! It added more time to the drive, the whole thing was at 10mph or more slower than I-95 and there was construction zones.

BUT! It did get me to Mary Jos and the Longcreek Mills thread outlet! :cD

I didn't do too much damage. I bought some shirtings for backgrounds and fat quarters to round out some color areas where I am falling short in variety. I really had to restrain myself though, because they had the whole collection of Charleston IV by Judy Rothermel, as well as the PA Dutch chrome yellows, poison greens and turkey reds that I love so much. I kept thinking of what I already have in these colors waiting for me at home and need to plan a quilt to USE what I have, and THEN go buy more. I really did restrain myself well.

I bought some Amish solids in various colors....they have a remnant bin and the prices for solids are always so cheap. I love how quilting shows up on these and I want to do some more Amish type quilts.


Everything is STILL in my car...I just grabbed my duffel bag with my clothes and toiletries and figure the rest can wait for tomorrow. I will post some workshop pics here so you can get an idea of what went on! These were sent to me by Linda Harvan who was instrumental in setting up the whole trip. Thank you Linda!

Also special thanks to Kathie for the terrific lodging and great meals! The bed in her guestroom is like sleeping on a cloud....it was WONDERFUL!

I'm sure I'll think of other things to post when I am not so bleary eyed!

A tired but happy,
Bonnie

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Hello From MD!

Just a quick hi from me!

We've made it through two days of workshops....had wonderful fun, good munchies, great conversation, lots of laughter, sewing machines pedal to the metal, lots of progress made on scrappy quilts....

New friendships made, old ones strengthened....

It has been so fun to meet people face to face that I have known through the wonders of the internet for years and years!

We have had people from other guilds travel great distances to take the workshops! I will be visiting their guilds in 2008 and it will be so fun now to know at least a few people in person there when I go. I'm looking forward to it!

I didn't bring my own machine because I wanted to go student to student and help where needed, but when people were happily power-sewing away I was able to get out all those gadzillion bonus 1/2 square triangles I have been saving over the last several projects and start pressing them and trimming them. MAN!! There are a TON of these! I've been looking through kathy's quilt books trying to find patterns that would be perfect to use these in. I think we found one. Time will tell. There are still a bazillion left to press trim. You know how tedious that can be? Well it goes really well in the midst of a workshop when I'm not needed...so I think for the next little while the press and square up routine will follow me to my workshops :c)

Today we are going to hit some quilt shops and do some touristy things. I have never seen the chesapeake bay, and there is a lookout about 20 minutes drive from here. I hope to get some good pics. I love to explore new places. I also saw on my way from Virgina "The birthplace of George Washington". I think tomorrow I'll take a little side jaunt and see that historical site. I love visiting those. My family hates it! So it is great when I am out on my own and can take the time to see new things.

Wednesday I'll be heading home, and I think I'm going to route myself through Charlotte, NC....I'm feeling a need to make a stop at Mary Jos. It's been over a yaer since I've been and since tomtom can route me without getting lost....I'll just take a different route home! :cD

Bonnie

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All Packed & Ready to Roll!

I'm heading to MD in the morning! The car is loaded with quilts, my bag is packed...

It's about a gazillion degrees outside right now with killer humidity. I'm going to be leaving here about 5am so I am headed to bed now even though it is only 9:30 as I type this!

I'll be back next wednesday evening. I hope to get lots of pictures of the fun that I have with the Pax River Quilter's Guild!!

I'm on my way!
Bonnie

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Quilting the houses....

My 4pm client canceled today. Wonder of wonders, I was able to quilt the happy houses quilt. I'll get the binding on,but I probably won't sew it down....I'll save it for evening work while up in MD...something to do!

The colors are WAY off on these pics because I took them with no flash and side lit. But I'm happy with the quilting texture.

Quilting scrappy quilts like this with one color of thread is sometimes a challenge for me. I don't usually like thread that is too dark over light areas, nor thread that is too light over dark areas, and with a quilt like this? Well, something in between usually works both ways. I chose a medium gray. It hides pretty well against most of the quilt. I'm not too thrilled with how light it looks on the blue border fabric, but tough beans. It looks better than it would have if I had quilted everything in that royal blue.


So that's it for today. I'm off to bed. As of now I won't be leaving for MD until friday morning. Plans I had to meet up with a friend on my way up have not panned out, so that gives me a bit more time here to get things ready.

Tomorrow I'm working on hand outs for the workshops.... :cD

Bonnie

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Welsh Quilting Tutorial....

Many eons ago I ran across Cassie on the net somewhere....we were on fly lady or some list on simple living,etc...we hit it off great. Through many moves and changes in our lives we temporarily lost touch with each other, but due to her referring a quilting client my way, we are back in touch.

She has been BUSY! She left quilting alone for a while and got heavily into knitting and spinning...

She is back to teaching classes in NYC, and back to her amazing ability to quilt whole cloth quilts with gorgeous detail in the welsh tradition.

Check out her blog, TOO MUCH WOOL and watch the progress!

Bonnie

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Leader Ender Trees & Ebay find..

I found this cutter piece on ebay a couple of weeks ago. I love the pattern, the setting, the colors, the fabrics! I couldn't stand the thought of someone else buying it and cutting it up farther!

I've trimmed it, and added a binding. I'll hand stitch that while on my trip to MD next week. I'm planning on just using it as a table-topper or other display piece. It is DIRTY. I'll probably gently soak it to see what I can get out of it after it is bound..

And because I love cheddar/gold so much I was drawn to the same color for my leader/ender trees blocks. However...I'm not sure if I like the effect? Maybe I should do them in a "zig zag" layout like the cutter piece I just bought? Maybe the color isn't deep enough as far as setting squares go? Light fabrics make it look washed out...just as in the pic of the blocks laid out on the carpet. I thought the gold was a good choice..but now I'm not so sure.

I only have 25 blocks. I don't want to make more, I'd rather start on a different leader/ender project!

Let me know what you think....

Bonnie

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Antique of the week!

So, I'm dreaming that I'll actually get to create either one of these, but these finds were so wonky and fun I have to post them!

The first one is 9 patches and strings....look at the half row of blocks at the bottom! And don't some of the green strings look like stems/leaves to the 9 patch flowers? I thought this one was really fun.

The second one has pink sashing...and I think it is really funny how the sashings don't line up. I remember how when I first tried to do sashings without cornerstones that I was mortified when they didn't line up EXACTLY...now I think it looks so fun in this quilt with the pink.

Of course both of these quilts claim to be african/american made. They very well MIGHT be? But there is no proof that they are. That kind of provenance wasn't always documented, and many white southern housewives during the 1930's 1940's and 1950's made utility quilts like these. But on ebay it's as if just putting the name "african/american" quilter makes the price go up? Things that make you go hmmmmmm!

P.S. After Patricia's comment I realized she may have missed the point. Of course these quilts COULD have been made by anyone in that era. Depression times were hard on many and women of ALL backgrounds quilted (just as we do now) I just believe if someone is going to give a quilt more credence because it was made by African/Americans they ought to have proof to back it up. I think there is an increase in this type of utility quilt showing up on ebay because they can get more money for them if they are listed as African/American than just "old scrap quilt". It seems to have more folk art appeal if it was not made by a white woman (or hispanic or whatever) I believe the quilt should stand on it's own no matter the maker. Of course I love the stories behind the quilts, but we don't have anything other than what the seller says.

Bonnie

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