Bonnie Hunter in the ATL!

This week Bonnie Hunter was the speaker at Georgia Friendship Quilters Guild.  They were generous enough to allow visitors to join them, so I headed south to the Mable House Arts Center for a visit.  Bonnie was so gracious about signing books, taking photos, and chatting with us all about her techniques and tips.

"A perfect color for the border is one that is NOT used in the quilt.  

It's unexpected and draws your eye." 

- Bonnie Hunter

Actually Bonnie is the reason I started blogging in the first place.  She was the speaker at our guild in March, 2008 - the night they closed the Senior Center (our normal meeting place) due to the massive snowstorm that was supposed to move through.  We were all very concerned that Bonnie wouldn't make it, or that the turnout would be so low as to be embarrassing.   As it happened, the only people who needed to be embarrassed were the weather forecasters, as the average temperature that day was 60 degrees, with a low of 46, and the precipitation amount?  0.00"!  It was a lovely evening and we had a great turnout!

There I learned about Bonnie's Fabric Food Chain and her scrap users system.  (I have condensed this down to a 1-page cheat sheet that I leave in a plastic sleeve on my cutting table.  If you would like me to email it to you, just let me know.)   

The basic premise is that we all have tons of fabric.  Usually it is shoved in a plastic bin or bag or box and looks like this:

And it looks like a lot of work to sort it out and iron it and make it into something useful, so we just say "the heck with it!" and go back to the fabric store.  BUT...we paid the same price per yard/inch for this:

...as for this.  Or this.  Or this.

We have the fabric - yards and yards of beautiful fabric - and so Bonnie asks us:

• "How much more fabric do you need before you can make a quilt?"
• "Is it the shopping that makes you a quilter?"
• "Why is the fabric in the shop better than the one you have at home?"

And although I had seen several of these quilts before and had heard Bonnie speak before, I find that her blog and her lectures and her quilts remind me of a well-loved book that inspires me all over again every time I read it, and from which I notice or learn something new with each visit.

If your guild is looking for a great program or class, Bonnie answers the call!  She brought three huge bags of quilts for us to enjoy, and keeps the information and laughs coming.  (No, I am not paid to say that; just a crazy fan!)

Thank you to the Georgia Friendship Quilters Guild for opening your doors to us.  Thank you Bonnie for the inspiration and your warm smile.

I hope you are inspired today!