I don't know what it is about Bonnie at Quiltville that draws me so, but I must admit, she does. I follow what she is doing, what she is working on, where she is teaching next, etc.
I sound like a stalker or something, don't I?! Oh, well, So be it. I'm not a stalker, but I AM a huge fan.
There are several reasons this might be true:
- Bonnie's blog was the first quilting blog I ever read. A Google search landed me on her blog somewhat randomly due to her "Scraps and Shirt Tails" book. (I was searching for how to make a quilt out of old t-shirts.)
- The first "Blogging Give Away" I ever won was a book from Bonnie's blog.
- Bonnie's tutorials are extremely well written.
- Bonnie writes from her heart. She shares who she is. Her blog is part of her business but it is also part of her life. And she is not ashamed to share her life with the thousands of people who read her blog.
Bonnie's approach is quite different. She is a scrappy quilter. "Don't Worry about the print, if it's BLUE, it's BLUE, just USE IT!!" would be something you could find in one of her tutorials. Someday I will have bins of scraps and I will be able to more easily embrace that sentiment. Maybe.
Until then, I'll do her mystery quilts by purchasing fabric needed to do the quilt. I was going to use old shirts this year, as I did last year, but I couldn't find enough black shirts at the Thrift Shop... So, I purchased a bunch of FQs and I am now ready to begin "catching up". I'm already a week behind!
If you are doing Bonnie's Orca Bay, please leave a comment with a link to your photos or blog if you can. I would love to see what you all are working on.
Give Away Notice... Lily Pad Quilting is holding a giveaway of a Go! Baby... Click on the link below to go to Lily Pad Quilting and enter the giveaway...
Until Next Time,
Paul
The mystery quilt looks like fun! I just checked out her blog and she is too funny! I liked the part about cleaning out everyone's trash bin at the end of a retreat. I've never used paper foundation, but her instructions were really great.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing yours.
I'm working on Bonnie's mystery quilt...using green in place of the blue mainly because that is the pile of scraps I have out at the moment! You'll catch up fast...the second step is very quick.
ReplyDeleteWell, I would be joining in on Orca Bay if I weren't already swamped with projects! Have fun with it. :)
ReplyDeleteBonnie's blog was the first I found, as well. I love scrap quilts, but I have a hard time just using any shade. I am currently working on her "Smokey Mountain Stars" and I am making it from red and green plaid shirts. I, too, have spent many days combing through thrift store shirts to find the "right" shades. Con't bring myself to start "Orca Bay", though it looks intriguing. Too many Christmas projects in the works!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you...Bonnie is one of a kind...I am printing and saving her mystery quilt instructions in case I ever have several months of idle time..I am still in the "my stash is everywhere!" mode....
ReplyDeleteHi Paul. I'm doing Bonnie's mystery again. My colours are greens, rusts , blacks and neutrals. I'll be doing regular posts on my blog. Oh and I will try to keep my fingers intact this year!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Paul! I found your blog through one of your comments on Bonnie's blog and as I was reading a bit here and there I found this post. Funny thing to read since I kept all the instructions for Orca Bay as well and just today I started to dig through my stash (after having stocked up on 3 bold colors before, of course...) and tonight I'll be prewashing farbics (or not? I haven't decided yet - always a bit tricky to decide when sewing black and white directly together...) anyway: I'll keep reading your blog and see what version of Orca Bay you will come up with. (And I always like to find a guy who's that much into quilting...) Greetings from Germany! Jane
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