BONNIE HUNTER
www.quiltville.com
[email protected] Bonnie K. Hunter is passionate about quilting, focusing mainly on scrap quilts with the simple feeling of “making do.” She started her love affair with quilting in a home economics class her senior year of high school in 1980 and has never looked back. Before quilting became her full time career, Bonnie was the owner and designer of “Needle In A Haystack!!” creating over 70 patterns for dolls and stuffed animals with a country primitive feel. Many of her designs were licensed through the Butterick Pattern Company, translated into seven languages, and sold around the globe through fabric stores. Bonnie is also a licensed massage therapist, nationally certified in therapeutic massage and body work. But quilting has always been Bonnie’s first love. She has been machine quilting for 19 years and professionally longarm machine quilting for the public for 13 years. She has been featured in magazines both for her quilt patterns and articles she has written on scrap management and using that stash to its full potential. Bonnie is dedicated to continuing the traditions of quilting. She enjoys meeting with quilters, teaching workshops and lecturing to quilt guilds all over the USA, challenging quilters to break the rules, think outside the box, and find what brings them joy. Catch up with Bonnie’s doings through her extensive website at Quiltville.com. You will find Quiltville’s calendar for lectures and workshops, tips and tricks, technique tutorials
and a long list of free quilt patterns to help you dig into your scraps. From there, head over to Quiltville.blogspot.com for Bonnie’s (almost) daily blog, Quiltville’s Quips & Snips. Her email list,
[email protected] has become a hot spot for mystery quilters with focus on using scraps and stash. When not traveling and teaching, she spends her time piecing scrap quilts, enjoying the peaceful reward of hand quilting as much as machine quilting, and loving life in her wooded surroundings in beautiful rural Wallburg, North Carolina. She and her husband, Dave, are the proud parents of two grown sons, Jason and Jeffrey. They round out their household with two dogs, Buddy and Sadie. Three studio cats, Oscar, Emmy and Chloe, keep Bonnie company while she designs, quilts and plays happily with her fabric.
CLASSES AND SUPPLIES
#104 - MY BLUE HEAVEN All Levels.
This is a two-block quilt! A modified “Puss-in-the-Corner” block, and an “Hourglass Star” block, both in 8" finished size. You can make this quilt as big or small as you would like depending on the number of blocks you make. This quilt uses 45 Star blocks and 45 Puss blocks. The 90 blocks are set 9 across by 10 down. Of course, you can make the quilt smaller depending on the number of blocks you make This quilt is perfect to learn how to use the specialty rulers I love and use so much in my scrap quilting! This is an exceptionally good class for beginning quilters.
Supply List Fabric supplies: This is a two-color quilt, but could be worked up in multiple scraps with a neutral background if desired! It could also work up nice as a 3-color quilt with the “Puss-in-theCorner” blocks being one color (i.e. red) the stars being another color (i.e. blue) and the backgrounds being scrappy neutrals. The sky is the limit! You will need approx 3 yards worth of dark scraps and 3 yards of light scraps cut into 2.5" strips. The object here is to use STASH for this quilt! Challenge yourself! See how far you can go without buying anything, and then if you need to, buy to compliment what you already have.
Pre-cutting the strips before class means we can get started sewing right away! Short strips or long strips doesn't matter. We will use them! Class instruction will begin with using the specialty rulers to match pairs and cut sets for the blocks. This quilt is perfect to learn how to use the specialty rulers I love and use so much in my scrap quilting!
Additional Supplies: • • • •
Sewing machine in working order (including power cords and extension cords) Thread, scissors, seam ripper, pins and any other notions you usually sew with. Rotary cutter, mat and ruler. Also you will use the rulers shown below: Companion Angle and Easy Angle.
NOTE: You will need to print the instructions for this pattern off Bonnie Hunter’s website: www.quiltville.com and bring this to class with you. She will not provide the pattern in class.
#204 – PINEAPPLE BLOSSOMS All Levels.
Students will bring pre-cut 2" strips ready to power sew into courthouse step type blocks, and altering them into pineapple blossom blocks by adding on quick corners. This method produces bonus corners and discussion includes various layouts for the blocks (with or without sashing) as well as alternate ideas for using the bonus corners! Students can also have fun swapping strips with each other for more variety in their quilts. Focus on USING YOUR STASH encouraged:
Supply List: The block logs are cut from 2" scrap strips, and the pineapple corners are cut from 3.5" light strips. Please keep in mind that this is a "scrap quilt" workshop and you are meant to use your stash! Since our scraps are all different shapes, lengths and sizes, fabric amounts are guestimates, no exact yardage is given.
General Supplies needed: • • •
Sewing machine in working order (including power cords and extension cords) Thread, scissors, seam ripper, pins and any other notions you usually sew with. Rotary cutter, mat and ruler.
Fabric supplies:
Approximately 3 yards of dark/medium scraps cut into 2" strips. For this workshop, we will start with 20 blocks. You can make the quilt as big as you want, but we will start with 20 blocks! From your 2" strips please have ready the following: Forty - 2" X 3.5" rectangles Eighty - 2" X 6.5" rectangles Forty - 2" X 9.5" rectangles From 3.5" light strips cut: 100 - 3½” squares light (block center and pineapple corners) These may be the same through out the whole quilt, scrappy through the whole quilt, or you can match them in each block. All five squares in each block are the same, but differ from block to block.
NOTE: You will need to print the instructions for this pattern off Bonnie Hunter’s website: www.quiltville.com and bring this to class with you. She will not provide the pattern in class.
#304 - NINE PATCH SPLIT All Levels.
How many of us are still enamored with the simple 9 patch? I know that I am! I love to take out my precut scrap squares, triangles, and bricks and lay them out just as if I were playing with building blocks and see what strikes my fancy. These blocks use 2.5" strips, squares and bricks. You can do many different layouts with these blocks. Try any log cabin setting! For the border, we are switching strip size! For the braid you will need about a gazillion (just a guestimate!!) 2" X 5" rectangles, and a whole lot of 2" cornerstone squares!
Supply List: Please keep in mind that this is a "scrap quilt" workshop and you are meant to use your stash! Since our scraps are all different shapes, lengths and sizes, fabric amounts are guestimates, no exact yardage is given. This quilt is made using 2" and 2 1/2" strips. I love my Easy Angle ruler! This ruler eliminates that whole "add 7/8" to the finished size thing...the seam allowance is added to the ruler! This works great with my scrap quilting because I can cut the triangles I need from the strips I have already cut. You will layer your dark fabric and light triangle fabric with right sides together. Each block takes three triangle squares. If you are making the baby sized quilt, you will need 108 triangle squares to make the 36 blocks needed for this quilt. Once sewn and pressed, you can start playing with blocks! Each block takes three 2.5" triangle squares, two 2.5" squares, and two 2.5" X 4.5" bricks! So bring your stash to create this scrappy quilt. Remember you will be using 2” and 2 ½” strips.
General Supplies needed: • • •
Sewing machine in working order (including power cords and extension cords) Thread, scissors, seam ripper, pins and any other notions you usually sew with. Rotary cutter, mat and rule; including the Easy Angle Ruler (see information under #104 “My Blue Heaven”).
NOTE: You will need to print the instructions for this pattern off Bonnie Hunter’s website: www.quiltville.com and bring this to class with you. She will not provide the pattern in class.
#404 - SCRAPPY SISTER’S Or what to do with an over flowing bin of 2 ½” scrap strips! All Levels.
Everyone loves star blocks! And this one is a favorite with its 9 patch center and easy star points. This is also a great scrap buster as the whole quilt center is made from 2.5" strips! Great for Jelly Rolls too. Block size: 10". Queen size Quilt: Quilt can be made any size you want it, just make more blocks! The objective in this workshop is for students to learn the basics, and the fun and freedom of scrap piecing! Students will bring scraps and 2.5" strips to share with others in the class so that everyone has a variety of fabrics to play with. Please come with a variety of lights (backgrounds) and darks to play with! You may choose one accent color for the star points. In the quilt above, I chose many greens for the star points, with each block having the same fabric in all 8 points. Star points may be whatever color you wish, even a scrappy mix! If you have time before the class, please come with scraps or FQ's already cut into 2.5" strips. The directions for the quilt are found at http://quiltville.com/sisterschoicepf.html and it is helpful if you take the time to read them before class starts. Please print out your own set of instructions to help us keep printing costs to the guild at a minimum! Be aware of anyone in the class who does not have a printer or internet access, and maybe think about an extra copy just in case.
In addition to your fabric, you will need the basics: • Sewing machine in working order (including power cords and extension cords) • Thread, scissors, seam ripper, pins and any other notions you usually sew with. • Rotary cutter, mat and ruler. • Wooden seam presser, unless individual irons are approved for your venue. Please do not overload the breakers and blow the fuses! • 1 fine point pencil • Please wear your guild nametag so I know who you are! I am really looking forward to spending this time with your guild digging into our scraps! Of course, goodies (ie: chocolate!) are always welcome as snacks if your venue allows them!
NOTE: You will need to print the instructions for this pattern off of Bonnie Hunters website: www.quiltville.com and bring this to class with you. She will not provide the pattern in class.
FRIDAY EVENING LECTURE Scrap User's System This lecture takes you through my years of scrap quilting and how I have organized my scraps and leftovers to be easily accessible and workable into my quilt making. Also includes discussion of tools of the trade that I find helpful in my scrap using. I am a scrap USER, not just a scrap saver! There is a difference....this lecture will inspire quilters to organize their scraps and start turning them into beautiful quilts.
