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Monday, December 23, 2019

A Frolicking Grand Kick-Off!


Oh my goodness!  Our Folic logo is on a CAKE!

Each year a special group of Quiltvillians hosts a Quiltville Mystery Kick-Off Party in the beautiful town of Chandler, Arizona.  So close to where my dad lives!

One of these years I AM going to crash this party by surprise, just wait and see!

My fabulous Quiltville’s Open Studio moderator Andee and her cohort in Quilt Crime Kathy pull together a wonderful event where the group not only dives into the current newly released clue ONE together (This happens Black Friday weekend just as clue 1 is going live – ) and they not only share the excitement of starting in on the first clue together, but enjoy the laughter and chatter and comradery that comes with sewing with a group.  Oh the mounting expectation of what is to come!

The highlight of the day? (Besides the cake!) is sharing the completed mystery finishes from the previous year.

Andee was kind enough to share with me her story in her own words, so – take it away, Andee!

The 7th Annual Quiltville Mystery Kickoff Party happened on Saturday in Chandler, Arizona! Our group has grown from the original five who met on Black Friday eight years ago and brainstormed the idea of having an official party each year to inviting close to 50 people!  This year 24 were able to come and some were new so more quilty friends were made and plans to get together and find each other on facebook took place.  SEW much fun!  As always, there was cake (and this year things are spelled right!) and plenty of food too.



Kathy has mad selfie skills!

Kathy is taking the selfie this year so we can get everyone in the picture--24 all together this year, one had to come super late and missed the picture. 

You may notice one man in our picture this year--this is Limbania's husband Mark.  We invited him to come on down around noon for pictures and a special something.  His wife Limbania was part of our group from the very first party and lost her battle with breast cancer a few months ago.  She was a sweet spirit and loved all things Bonnie!  She had several unfinished mysteries and several ladies are now finishing them. 

I was the lucky one who wound up with Good Fortune (by accident it was mislabeled "On Ringo Lake") and decided to finish it up in time for the party!  My friend Andi Williams saw I was finishing it on Facebook and graciously volunteered to quilt it for me before the party!  We then gifted this quilt back to Mark for his oldest daughter who is fourteen.  Limbania had hand dyed the fabric in this and it was precious to her so I knew it was meant to be for her daughter to have a one day wedding quilt just as my daughter got one this year.  Good Fortune is the perfect name for a wedding quilt!


Andee (me), Mark and Andi with Limbania Quiltz' Good Fortune

Bonnie always says she does this mystery quilt during the busy holiday season to help keep those who may be alone or sad due to loss or whatever.  The clues give us something else to look forward to and new friends to share our love of quilting with.  I love how our quilting community came to Mark's aid to organize and sell Limbania's things, finish them off etc.  I know she is looking down on us all.  She has forever touched us and made us better for it.


As always, the party favors were labels for the back of the quilt.  I try to get my signed by Bonnie each year to make it even more special. Victoria brought door prizes this year three lucky winners (the oldest, the one who came from the farthest away, and the one with the closest birthday) won!  Turns out it was Victoria's actual birthday and she brought the gifts!  It was nice celebrating it with her!


Marguerite, Laura, Andee (me), Deone, Kathy, Sheila, Mark in for Limbania, Kathy, Jill, Celeste, Betsy and Tina


Becky arrived after pictures but hers is a flimsy too!

That makes thirteen Good Fortune tops/quilts to show off this year!  Beats our previous record of twelve.  We had everything from traditional Bonnie colors to Halloween!    Sew much fun to see all the variations of this one.  If somehow you missed doing the mystery with us you can still purchase the pattern here!  Of course people brought other Bonnie quilts and we shared them too!


Andee’s Part 1 COMPLETE!

Pretty sure this is the first time I have completed the clue while at the party!  I normally cannot get it done and host at the same time.  Since this was an easy clue and I pulled the right size strips from my scrap savers system (thanks SEW much Bonnie for sharing yours--it works so well) that I was half way there before I started! 

The card in the middle was a thank you from everyone to Kathy and I for hosting every year (we got chocolate too) and I was astonished to see that BJ found a card that has my color choices on it!  Love it!


Me with my Good Fortune--my daughter is already asking if she can have her wedding gift back yet!


Hannah and Jeremy with their wedding quilt last summer!


If you want to see the entire parade of mystery quilts click here! and you can see them all!  I have made every  one and several of them more than once. I love Bonnie's mystery quilts and have become a much better quilter from all her tips and tricks and clear directions with lots of pictures!  Thank you Bonnie for sharing your life and love of quilting with us!
~ Andee.

First off – just WOW!  Angela, you put on a phenomenal event.  I am so sorry about Limbania.  She will be so missed by all of us who knew her. I will remember the times I spent with her so fondly.  What a lovely lady.  Thank you for including her hubby Mark in your doings.  I am sure he felt her spirit there with you as well.

I LOVE seeing all of the Good Fortune finishes in such a terrific photo.  THANK YOU for sending the photos each year.

And one of these days – ONE OF THESE DAYS – I am going to be there!

All of my love to the Chandler ladies and friends this holiday season.  Thank you!

You can still share photos of your Good Fortune quilt finishes and other Quiltville Mysteries by using the hashtag #quiltvillemystery and #goodfortunequilt  on instagram

Or click the above highlighted hashtags to be taken to the gallery pages for these tags, including our current #frolicquilt and see what others are doing!  

Remember NOT to put a year on your posts, because they aren’t connected to future posts that way.  NO YEARS on your tags – let’s keep this going!  Please remember when sharing - no unit sizes, no piece counts, and please keep pieces away from obvious ruler and cutting mat measurements.


I have been shipping out my Quiltville Quilter's Date Keepers as fast as I can - left, right and sideways! Empty yet another case, put the box on the floor, turn around and it's housing a cat! So typical but still cracks me up! Dresden is king of the box!

If you don't have a Quiltville Quilter’s Date Keeper yet, they are on sale in the Quiltville Store through December while supplies last for $9.99, regularly priced at $16.95. They feature more than 70 of my quilts, and the pages are peppered with my favorite quotes, tips, tricks, hints and helps. Cat not included! Lol!



Other December Things to Remember:

Our
Hunter’s String Star PDF pattern is 1/2 price through the month of December at only $4.00!  No coupon code needed.



My newly released Bavaria/Austria project, Warm Hands, Warm Heart is available for download, in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store where you will also find the Hemming Chenille needles, size 24.  We are out of the Sulky Stick ‘n Stitch, but more is on the way!

I also have all of the rulers on hand that we are using in our Frolic Mystery, as well as many different styles of Karen Kay Buckley Scissors in the Rulers, Notions & Tools category if you are wanting to treat yourself (Or someone else!) to something special.



Quiltville Quote of the Day -

And amidst the hustle and bustle of the coming week, don't forget to appreciate each one around you.

All the other stuff doesn't matter.

But family, people and relationships do!

Happy Monday-Before-Christmas, everyone!
(And happy Hanukah too!)



11 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for this post. It touched my heart to see Mark with Labania's quilt. She was am member of our little online group (Crazy Quilting Gals) that came from Quiltville's Open Studio where we met and organized a swap. She is sorely missed and is wonderful that some quilters can complete the mystery quilts she started.

Susie H said...

What a beautiful post. Love seeing & hearing about that special group in AZ. Brought me to tears reading about losing their friend and then sharing so much with her husband. I'll bet there were plenty of happy/sad tears that day.

Merry Christmas, Bonnie!

Evelyn 522 said...

What a wonderful story today! Thank you

Anne Hayward said...

Wow the Chandler girlies did a great job with good fortune they all looked amazing, and love that they finishe Limbania’s quilt for her husband. It never ceases to amaze me how generous and kind hearted quilters are, and thes ladies should feel proud of themselves.
Haven’t had a lot of time to get on with my frolic yet but I did get a few of clue one done and after Christmas I’m sure I’ll have more time to get sewing
Love how Dresden and Lola are settling in with you at QPO, Dresden looks very content.
Have a wonderful Christmas
Love and quilty hugs
Anne xxx

celkalee said...

I do thank you on this eve of Christmas Eve! Your hard work, dedication to craft and kindness is felt every day. Merry Christmas Bonnie!

Cindy said...

Wow, just wow. What an inspiration the Chandler. AZ group is. It was a wonderful way to start Monday morning, reading first your blog then clicking the different links to see so many of Bonnie's quilt patterns done so wonderfully in so many color combinations. It has given me a much needed boost to get sewing on this year's mystery. After losing my dear hubby earlier thg his year, it's been difficult to get back to my quilting. He was always there, helping pick fabrics, placement, etc. I also need to finish quilts that were to be his so I can pass thg them on to our children and grandson. Thank you for such an inspiring, uplifting start to Christmas week.

lynn said...

This post touches pieces of the heart for all I think. What a grand idea to share the highs and lows of life with others who care about creating and sharing. Thanks Bonnie for all of your kindnesses and your calm approach to life
Best wishes to all for a Christmas filled with joy and love

Dalina said...

What a wonderful group of quilters to host this event and to share with Mark and finish the quilt for their daughter. I hope all the rest of you wonderful quilters have a very Merry Christmas. And each of you feel the peace of the season and enjoy your family, friends and quilting if you get the opportunity in the next few busy days.

Margo said...

Seeing Mark with Labania's quilt brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful group of ladies to finish these quilts. Thank you for sharing your story with Bonnie and the rest of the Quiltvillians! God Bless.

Jan Hebert said...

This was a wonderful post Bonnie! I'm positive that you will, indeed, get to visit this group in Arizona one of these years! They are an amazing group of people. I am collecting fabric and can't wait to begin on this year's Frolic, it is my first mystery! Happy Holidays to everyone, thank you Bonnie for your inspiration. I'm so glad that Mary at Country Threads mentioned you in her blog. Been following you ever since. Jan from MA

Jen said...

Such a lovely bunch of quilters :)

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