A trip to Quiltville. Sort of ...

By now, if you're a quilter, you've probably heard of Bonnie Hunter and her dot come site: Quiltville. It's worth a trip from anywhere. KP and I are researching ideas for our local guild's upcoming program schedule, discovered Bonnie was planning to bring a piece of Quiltville to PA and we quickly made plans to meet her. She's a self-described "scrapaholic," and shares her ideas for putting those scraps to good use making quilts. FINISHED quilts. Gotta love THAT idea.

We saw a slew of her quilts during her lecture/trunk show, and as if that were not enough, we were able to take part in a workshop to get a good start on her quilt design, "My Blue Heaven."

I intended to use blues and tans like Bonnie's quilt because I think it is so pretty. However, I have few blue scraps because I just about NEVER use blue in my quilts, I've discovered. There are two exceptions that come to mind, after decades of collecting scraps for "someday." The first, we'll not speak about ever again, except to say it was my first quilt, made when I was a very young woman, which had a gigantic hole chewed in the center of it by DH's puppy. We mustn't blame a puppy for doing what puppies do, right? That's all I am going to say about that.

My second blue quilt is still in progress -- the Hunter's Star begun in a class with the genius Deb Tucker months ago. I love it, and am currently working on it to try to finish it up. I had put it away unfinished, like so many things I've started, and had to sit down and re-read the directions carefully. Deb is very thorough, and provides instructions for both right- and left-handed folks. I'm a lefty who will do as I'm told. Because her workshop demo was given for righties; I started to follow that path. Then, during one-on-one time with Deb, she suggested I should use the leftie version. That was fine during the classtime while it was fresh in my mind. By the time I got home, I was confusing myself and decided I'd have to set it aside until I had more time to think it through. Many months later, I have made time for it. (Yes, I DO have a knack for making a short story long!) So, all of that to say I don't dare claim the scraps from that blue quilt yet, for fear I may need them to finish the project.

So I went with reds. I guess I have a real attraction to red -- there doesn't seem to be a shortage of those on hand. Here's a sample of what I came away with (I should have pressed them before taking photos; forgive me):

(Actually, it's pretty much ALL I came away with besides a head full of great ideas that I must find time for ... ... the story of my life.)

Kelly, who says she had trouble being "random," came away with a whole bunch of finished blocks. She may have trouble forcing herself not to dither over which fabric can go next to which, but she's a power piecer. Don't get in her way! I spent more time outpicking stitches than putting them in. I amaze myself at how many mistakes I can make, even when I pay close attention to the directions given. Ugh! I guess I spend too much time listening to the chatter and being nosey about what everyone else is doing. If I'd stay still and focus, I'd get more accomplished.

Oh ... and here's Peg C who came to quilt this one for charity.

I just love pink! And now I know Bonnie Hunter does, too. If you're a pink quilt fan, go to her blog and look at all the pretties there!