OBW Challenge

OBW = On-track with Bonnie Wednesday.

There are many Bonnie followers (including me) who have started but not yet finished some (many) of the patterns Bonnie shares with us, both on her blog as free mysteries and in her books.
  
With the start of Bonnie's new mystery looming on the horizon (November 29) a challenge has been issued to make a list and finish up at least one current Bonnie project before the new start.

So here is my list of Bonnie Projects:

• Cheddar Challenge

This was Bonnies leader/ender challenge that I believe she issued summer 2011.  I first had to search for the cheddar fabrics and once found I started it as a take-along hand sewn project as I headed to California in November with Mom for a last visit with Uncle Tom. I carried it around with me and worked on it all through 2012 completing only this first quarter of the planned quilt.  I think I've sewn only 6 blocks this year.  I really need to start taking it along with me again and make some progress.

• Talkin Turkey

I started this in class with Bonnie august, 2012  Qultmakers Block Party in Williamsburg.  I love these French General fabrics that I pulled from my stash.  I'm not sure what project I had in mind when I bought these, but I think they are perfect for these blocks and look forward to getting it done!

•  Winston Ways

This is the second of the three classes I took with Bonnie in Williamsburg 2012.  They are made mostly from Goodwill shirts with only those white triangles coming from yardage pulled from my stash!

• Midnight Flight

This was the third class I had with Bonnie that weekend in Williamburg 2012!  These fabrics were also yardage and Goodwill shirts pulled from my stash.

I think I was nuts to start all three the same weekend.  I was a bit overwhelmed and exhausted by the time I got home...but it was so much fun!  All the fabrics and pieces just sit in their crates waiting their turn.

• Orca Bay

This was Bonnies 2011 Mystery Quilt.  At the time, both my daughters were going to TN Tech here in town so I chose the school colors purple/gold instead of the black and white.... and the blue/red were the colors of their high school so I thought it was a perfect match.  Unfortunately, they both decided college wasn't for them and I lost my motivation to get this done.  I have used it as a leader/ender as I worked on Easy Street and Florabunda.  I have all the Ohio Star blocks and several of the Flying Geese string blocks completed. 

This is what I hope to finish up for the challenge before the new 2013 mystery, Celtic Solstice begins. 
 

 

Just so you don't think I'm a total slacker and never finish anything Bonnie, here are some Bonnie projects that are complete!

• Oklahoma Backroads

This was begun March 10, 2011... I remember this one specifically because it was my birthday present to myself... an early morning drive over to Pidgeon Forge and my first class with Bonnie.  I made this into a small wall hanging as a Mother's Day gift for my Mom.  Completed May 2011

• Roll Roll Cotton Bole

This was Bonnie's 2010 Mystery... I watched as the mystery progressed, but because I was busy with other things, I didn't start until January 2011, after the reveal, when my niece announced her May wedding and I needed a pattern.  She told me she wanted something blue, green, purple and I could choose the pattern. I figured if so many could get it done in the 8 week mystery time-frame, I could get it done in time for the wedding.  HA!   this was my first controlled scrappy quilt.  I used yardage for the colors and Goodwill shirts for the neutral strings.  I really loved the finish and almost hated to give it away!  I tried to finish it in time for the wedding, but too many of life's challenges got in the way.  I completed it in July.. and with my nieces permission since she wouldn't need it til the cold weather hit, I entered it into competition at the fair and FCE cultural arts and came home with a couple ribbons! Completed July 2011

• Florabunda

This is one of Bonnie's free patterns listed on her blog.  I was gifted the floral material, the yellow fabric was left-over from a quilt I made my SIL and the red was from my stash.  With Bonnie's permission I cut up some block kits to teach at an FCE craft day July 2012... but I cut way more blocks than needed and this quilt was the result.  Completed September 2012

• Easy Street

This was Bonnie's 2012 mystery... and I kept up and followed along until the last two steps were revealed back-to-back just before the New Year when I had to travel.   Bonnie made hers in tropical blue, pink, purple and greens... I used my Civil War reproductions.  This quilt was for me and my queen size bed so I took some extra time to add an extra square-in-square border and it finished at 108x108!  It's a bit bigger than I expected, but I absolutely love it!

Completed July 2013

Bonnie's Quilt's I've Made, Easy Street Progress

Over on the quiltville chat group someone asked how many Bonnie quilts have others made?  I am definitely not as prolific as ShirleyAnne is, but I am enjoying learning and creating.

http://www.shirleyannesheart.com/2012/12/02/my-bonnie-hunter-quiltville-quilts-as-of-2012/

I found Bonnie in 2010 and joined her Oklahoma Backgroads class in Pidgeon Forge.  I completed only 9 blocks and turned it into a wall hanging for my Mom.  I just didn't have enough scraps cut and ready to make this bigger... and I didn't have time to cut more.

I joined the chat group and learned more and my interest was peaked by the talk of using men's shirts in a quilt.  When the 2010 mystery... Roll Roll Cotton Boll came along I ran to Goodwill (and sent my SIL to her Goodwill store in MD) for neutral color shirts to make the string blocks and used yardage to complete the quilt.  I didn't actually begin work until almost March because I wanted to make sure I had all the necessary fabrics.   I finally completed it in September but had a difficult time sending it to my niece as a late wedding gift because I loved it so much!  But I had promised it to her and had kept her updated on my progress.  She was wonderfully patient, saying she wouldn't need it until the cold weather arrived so I should take my time! She also allowed me to keep it a bit longer and enter into the FCE quilt competiton (blue ribbon winner!) I was happy to hear how much she loved the results!  I do have extra yardage and shirts and have thought about making a second one for me!... maybe!  I have so many more I want to make.

Next up was Bonnie's Cheddar Challenge summer/fall 2011.  It took me some time to run around to several quilt shops in the area and a road trip to PA and I even had a friend pick some up for me on her road trip to find just the right cheddar to satisfy me.  By the time I got all the fabric together it was October and we were flying to CA to visit my sick uncle.  So, this became a take-along hand-sewing project.  I take it wherever I go and stitch on it a bit at a time.  Mine is much more planned than Bonnie's, and I'm only 1/4 done, but I love the progress I have made so far.

UPDATE:  7-16-2013  This project got put on hold when Easy Street came along.  

Next the 2011 mystery arrived....Orca Bay.  But once again I was very busy with family stuff last year at this time and didn't think about starting until mid January.  I changed the colors to purple and gold  (TN Tech colors) because both my girls were attending classes at the time.  They both dropped out by Spring and with no push to stay on task, I kept getting distracted with other stuff and have ended up relegating this project to Leader/Ender status. I'm about 1/4 way through step 4... the aqua string blocks.

August 2011 found me attending the Quiltmakers Block Party in Williamsburg, VA and taking all three of Bonnie's day-long classes!  These were fun-filled busy days and I have completed many parts and just a few blocks for each of these patterns. 

Winston Ways

Talkin' Turkey

Midnight Flight

 And as if I didn't have enough UFOs, when the local FCE club I belong to decided to host a Craft Day this summer, I volunteered to teach a quilt block class using Bonnie's Floribunda!  I kitted up 20 blocks, but had only one student.  So I have pieced all the four-patches and HSTs for 20 blocks and will put this quilt together soon.

Floribunda

And now, the 2012 Mystery... Easy Street has begun and I am working very hard to stay on target with these steps so as not to have yet another UFO.  With Step 1 complete and Step 2 well underway, I should be ready for Step 3 on Friday.

Step1four patches

Step 2.. flying geese

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.