Quiltmakers Block Party Part 1

I am back from Williamburg, Virginia having had a wonderful time at the Quiltmakers Block Party. The ladies at Quiltmaker Magazine and the many sponsors really out did themselves.  I have lots of pictures to show from this trip and will post them in groups over the next several days as I have time to edit.


Beginning with a meet and greet on Wednesday night, we were each handed a tote bag full of goodies and a schedule of classes and given an opportunity to meet all the teachers.

Part of the reason for this trip for me was also a Sloanie Meet-Up.  I belong to an online blog... Pat Sloan's Quilt Mashup .  I've been chatting away and sharing quilting experiences with ladies from across the country (and some around the world!).  As things worked out... fellow Sloanie, Laurie, was also able to attend this Quiltmakers event and so we shared a room and signed up for Bonnie's classes together.

And of course, we had to have Bonnie sign some of her  books for our fellow Sloanies!

 
Thursday morning started with a breakfast buffet of coffee, juice, fruits and sweets before classes began.   My first class was Bonnie's Talkin' Turkey.  Step 1 was making string blocks, then  cutting them in half diagonally.  Next came 9-patch blocks and finally Flying Geese to make the star points.  It was a fun filled day with lots of chatter and laughter.  There were some frustrating moments for me when I discovered that all the fabric I had precut for all my classes was off just enough to make it difficult to fit components together properly. They were only off by a fraction of an inch, but with the multitude of pieces in each block all those fractions added up! I discovered, with Bonnie's help, that the ruler I was using was inaccurate!  It doesn't always pay to be the first to receive a new product fresh off the assembly line! After returning home and several emails later I discovered that there was a problem with measurements and markings on the rulers during the earliest production runs.  The problem has been corrected during subsequent runs and I will be gifted with a correct replacement ruler in the near future, but it really made for some difficult moments. I did manage to piece together two blocks by staying after class and working until dinner to fix the problem.

Talkin' Turkey

Thursday night dinner and a presentation by Bonnie on her Scrap Users's System complete with a quilt depicting her system....
1.5, 2, 2.5 and 4 in strips that can be cut into squares or bricks and made into a variety of blocks.  What a great idea!

A showing and discussion on several of her quilts... all made from scraps pulled from her system!  Believe me when I tell you, these pictures do not do justice to the quilts... they are all awesome!

Holy Toledo

Hawks Nest

Pineapple Crazy

Bow-Dacious

 Bonnie showed quite a few more quilts, but my picture taking abilities need improvement.

Winston Ways, Talkin' Turkey, Midnight Flight

 After dinner and Bonnie's presentation we did the Block Exchange.  If you wanted to participate, you signed up when you registered for the event and made 9 blocks of any pattern from the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks series in a certain colorway.  My group had 10 and we sat around the table identifying ourselves, the block we made and why we chose that block.  It was interesting hearing the various reasons for choices and seeing individual interpretations of the original designers block.

My 9 swap blocks #174 Bonnie Hunter's  "Birthday Girl"

Swapped Blocks  I think these will make a nice quilt once I find the right sashing and border fabric.