Cotton Way

Happy 2012 and Congrats to the winner!

2012-01-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all your comments and good luck on your New Years resolutions!

Our winner for the Vintage Modern scrap bag is Nicole!

She said: "One of my New Year's resolutions is to write in my journal at least once a week and to specifically write about each one of my three boys, so I don't forget these days when they were little.
I love your new patterns and your new fabric line. They are all just lovely. A quilting cruise sounds like heaven this time of year...maybe one day. "

Congratulations Nicole, e-mail me your address and I will send your package right out!

I wish the best to all of you for a wonderful 2012. Don't forget to take some time for yourself and a minute here and there to stitch something!
It can be great therapy,
Bonnie

New Year, New Patterns, New Experiences

2012-01-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

First let me say,

Happy New Year!

It is always fun to begin a new year.

It's like a fresh new start.

If you are like me, I have great intentions to be more organized, get in better shape and have more balance in the crazy schedule I keep. I am never sure just how to make that happen. I had a brand new fabric line land on my doorstep a week before Christmas (which is so much fun to sew with), my entire family came for Christmas (so great) and I am teaching on the Moda/ Stitchin Heaven Cruise (can't wait to meet all of you) at the end of January. It's a little overwhelming, crazy and very exciting all at the same time.

Oh... and I also designed, wrote and stitched 5 new patterns!

So introducing

Sweet Pea

This is a 6 Month, Row of the Month Quilt. It is written so shops can use it as a class for 6 months, but the pattern includes the instructions for all 6 months!

No buying 6 different patterns. It includes instructions for the

traditional fusible applique method and the soft raw edge method.

Wish

This pattern takes 20 Layer Cakes and also has the instructions for either

soft raw edge or fusible web method.

Ziggy Petals

There are two sizes in this Table Topper pattern.

The large one uses Charm Squares...

... and the small one uses tiny scraps.

Scrumptious

The perfect project for a jelly roll.

You can either do the scallops or the zig-zags, both quilts with one jelly roll.

Baby size or throw size. So fast and easy!

Peppermint Pizzaz

A 43" x 43" Table Topper for Christmas.

(this was a picture before it was quilted)

So, hope you like my new patterns and our new fabric line.

Even though it has been a crazy sewing marathon couple of weeks, it has been so fun to sew with fresh new fabric that rememinds me of SPRING!

And as for my new experience...

In two weeks I am teaching on the Moda 2012/ Stitchin Heaven Cruise.

Hey any of you ladies out there that are joining us, you are in for a great week!

The perfect week, sandy beaches and quilting.

I also want to let you know that Fat Quarter Shop has chosen

Vintage Modern for their 2012 Designer Mystery Block of the Month.

Thanks Kimberly and crew!

Camille and I have a block in the quilt as well.
You won't want to miss out on this project!

And last but not least...

I am sending one lucky winner a box of scraps from Vintage Modern.

Leave a comment with one of your New Years Resolutions, then come back on

Tuesday the 17th to see who the winner is.

Wishing you a

Happy 2012!

Bonnie

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

From our house ...

to yours.

Joy

2011-12-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

Look what just landed on my doorstep.

Santa came early and brought me one of my favorite gifts of all,

FABRIC!

Our new fabric line is called Vintage Modern.

I can't wait to start cutting and stitching.

It wouldn't be Christmas without an overdose of sewing going on around here.

As I mentioned in my last post, JOY is my favorite Christmas word this year. We will have all of our children and grandchildren home for Christmas Eve this year.

We haven't all been together for Christmas for 8 years.

That will be pure joy! Crazy with all 23 of us, but the joyful kind of crazy.

It was so heartwarming to read your favorite Christmas words, expressions of love and gratitude you have for the Savior and for your family and friends. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, it really got me into the Christmas spirit.

I wish I could send each of you your very own Christmas gift, but unfortunately I have to pick one winner for the Spring Fling Bed Runner kit.

The winner is:

thedodds: "My word is LOVE: hoping everyone feels loved this Christmas.

And a very happy Christmas to you and your loved ones, Bonnie x".

Congratulations, e-mail me your address and I will send your kit right out.

I hope you all enjoyed the Moda Blog Hop and got lots of fun quilting ideas and yummy recipes to make for the Holiday Festivities.

Merry Christmas.

May this be a season of JOY for all of you,

Bonnie

Welcome Moda Blog Hoppers!

2011-12-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

Today is my day to share my quilt block and recipe for the Moda Blog Hop, but before I do, I want to show you a picture of my new Bed Runner that is appearing in Quilt Magazine this month!

I wasn't going to blog about it until next week, because the magazine won't be available until then, but I got permission to give you a sneek peek. (This is only part of the article) They did a fabulous job on the feature and I just couldn't resist sharing.

The Bed Runner is called Spring Fling and is made with RUBY charm squares.

I rarely do kits, but we do have the kit for Spring Fling available now on our web site. We have also just added Ruby Charm Squares!

Now down to business, this Moda Blog Hop is our way of saying "Thank you" to all of you and to give each of you a gift from each of us.

Just let me say, from the bottom of my heart, I so APPRECIATE the wonderful words of encouragement and kindness you give. They really mean a lot!

My block is called Raspberry Jelly and is very simple. You can download the instructions and the recipe here. It would be quick and easy to stitch a few blocks together to make a hand made gift for someone you love this Christmas.

My recipe is one of my favorite cakes. It is called Very Fat Fudge Cake and is worth every calorie, besides we don't count calories at our house in December. It's just not allowed.

I love it with pecans, but if you would rather, you can sprinkle it with mini choclate chips, coconut or toffee bits. They are ALL good!

And last of all, one more gift for a lucky winner.

A kit for the Spring Fling Bed Runner!

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite Christmas word is this year.

Mine is Joy.

I will announce the winner on December 13th.

Don't forget to hop on over and visit these lovely ladies today...

French General Oliver + S Sweetwater Ellen Luckett Baker

I hope each of you enjoy this special time of year with family and friends and take a minute to celebrate the real reason for the season.

Find Joy in your lives,

Bonnie

Cyber Sale!

2011-11-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

Even though you are laying on the couch in a semi-coma, digesting all that turkey and pie leftovers, trying to catch up on the sleep you missed on Black Friday, it's time to celebrate Cyber Monday! Don't worry about getting dressed, you can shop in your Pajamas!

Hop on over to our website for 40% off PATTERNS with code CYBERSALE! Perfect gift for all your quilting friends! Also available are RUBY charm packs.

You can never have enough RUBY!

Happy Shopping,

Bonnie

Thankful

2011-11-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

I have a plate hanging on my kitchen that says " We are Blessed beyond measure". As I think about how blessed I am, there are many things on my list, but somewhere near the very top are my precious grand children.

Last Sunday we were blessed again with a new grand daughter, Lyla. She is so small and so sweet. As my family will tell you, newborn babies are my very favorite! We are so grateful to have this new little one in our family. She is our 11th grandchild, born in the 11th month of 2011. She is so much fun to snuggle!

Britton, our oldest grandchild, turns 10 this December. Wow, time sure flies!

Then comes Bailey

and then Aiden,

Canon,

Sydney,

Kai,

Anni,

Livvy,

Cal,

Nicholas,

and now

Lyla!

Her very talented Mom made her this beautiful quilt!

Being a Grandma is the best!

We found out a few weeks ago that we are having our 12th grandchild, a boy, in March of 2012.

So, as you can see, WE are BLESSED beyond measure!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all,
Bonnie

PS - Family photos by Camille, thanks Camille!

It's Ruby Tuesday!

2011-11-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Spread the word... It's RUBY Tuesday!

Hop on over to the Create blog and check out the fun celebration on the arrival of RUBY fabric.
You won't want to miss it!

I have been stitching up a little RUBY myself and I have to say, it is definitely my favorite fabric line so far. (sneak peek of our new line VM coming soon!)

Have you checked your mail for your new Quilt Festival magazine?

I just got mine and was happy to find my new Bed Runner...

What have you been making out of Ruby? If you haven't started a project yet, you will want to check out the amazing deal on Ruby Fat Quarters over at Create.
Hurry quick before it's gone!
Bonnie

Check this out

2011-10-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ruby and her friend Betty

Hop on over to the Jolly Jabber. They are having a great give a way for a RUBY Designer Select Fat Quarter bundle!
Ruby is in stores now. Don't forget we have new patterns using our RUBY fabric on our web site.

They are all available as a PDF dowloadable pattern as well.
Have a great day,
Bonnie

Winners & More Celebrating

2011-09-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks around here. Last week we went to Las Vegas to visit Camille and her family. The boys are growing up way to fast.

It was a whirlwind 2 days. So much fun,so much work and not much sleeping. And did I mention, we worked on our new fabric proposal (that was the working and not much sleeping part). Monday our proposal was submitted and we are pretty excited!

As you all know, Tuesday was my day for the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop...

...and then on Saturday we had my Mom's 85th Birthday Party in my yard. Thank goodness the weather was good because there were 79 of us to cook burgers for and we got to enjoy a wonderful BBQ outside!

My Mom is an amazing woman and I hope to be like her someday!
She has aged with such grace and is a great example to all of us.

THANKS to all of you for your kind and creative comments!

And THANKS for taking the time to stop in for the Moda Blog Hop.

I am not sure what color was the winner for favorite, but

For the Ruby Fabric and Moda goodies...

...Our Winners are...

Erma Reed who said "I really love gray lately, mixes well with so many colors! Especially the red and aqua in Ruby, which happens to be one of my favorite lines!"

and Tamara who said " I loved all of your fair pictures, especially when you were a little girl on the cow, it was great. Next time I'm at the fair I'll have to try the funnel cake, they looked yummy. The colors of fabric I'm usually looking for lately are the fall colors, orange, greens, and browns, but I love all the bright fun colors that look so happy. I especially loved your christmas quilts. The colors were fantastic and the quilts turned out beautiful. I loved seeing all your pictures, thanks for sharing them with everyone. I also loved your ruby slippers, cute idea.

I am also giving three more winners my 4 new patterns and some RUBY mini charm packs!

They go to:

Sharon, who said: "I love your push pin tutorial! I'll have to make some of these! Thank you, also, for a chance to win Ruby! Red is one of my favorites that I like to have on hand and is what my eyes tend to search for. Red is such a happy and cheerful color! Although, I love all colors."

lesliequilt who said: "RED!!!! I have been wanting to do a red quilt for my bed and just haven't found the collection that makes my heart beat faster - RUBY is it! I can't wait to get me some... "

GWEN who said : "Usually, the color that I tend to buy is blue-- but I also LOVE crimson red! And I would LOVE to be the winner of your Ruby prize!! My Grandmother's name was Ruby, so that would make winning even MORE special! :-) Thanks for sharing-- those slippers are adorable and would make the perfect Christmas "extra"! :-) "

Congratulations to the winners! Please e-mail me your addresses so I can send out your goodies.

Make sure you check out Julie from Cosmo Crickets blog today and keep on hoppin.

Bonnie

Moda Country Fair Blog Hop 2011

2011-09-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

(photo shamelessly stolen from my daughter Camille)

Welcome to my day on the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop!

This is totally giving my age away, but oh well. When Lissa told us we were doing a blog hop with a Country Fair theme, this is the first picture I thought of.

I grew up on a farm and my two older brothers always had 4-H cows they entered in the fair.

This was my lucky day, I got to be in the newspaper AND it was actually published on my birthday!

NO, I don't have cows now!

Milking cows growing up was not all that fun, although I do appreciate learning the value of hard work.

Yes, we do have two horses we ride occasionally.

My husband also grew up on a farm and they raise horses. They have big draft horses. So once a year I dress up in my cowgirl duds and go to our State Fair to help his family show their horses.

My job is to take pictures.

Sunny and Sam

My niece got a blue ribbon for competing in the wagon driving.

Another niece and nephew also got ribbons for driving the horses.

We had a great day looking at all the animals and displays, but the best part is always the food.

That brings me to the first question Lissa asked us to answer...

What is your favorite fair food?

Mine is Funnel Cake. Sooooo gooood! Wish I had one right now.

Next question: What is your guilty pleasure?

Chocolate!

M and M's, fudge, chocolate cream pie, brownies, chocolate pecan carmel apples...

...anything CHOCOLATE!

I could have had a Caramel Apple at the fair too, it was a tough choice,

but the funnel cake was plenty of sugar for one day.

Next question: What is on your bucket list?

I have never been on a cruise before, so when I was asked to teach a class on the Moda Cruise, of course I had to say yes! I wasn't sure a cruise would ever be crossed off my bucket list.

Come join us, it's not to late!

I have two Country Fair projects. This is the project that I talked about on the video. It is a pattern you can purchase on our website.

These rice bags are what every quilter needs. You can heat them in the microwave or put them in the freezer to sooth all those aching neck muscles you get from sitting at the sewing machine to long.

Great gift for all your quilting friends.

For my free project, I made Yo-Yo Push Pins.

They are so fast and easy.

You will need:

3 1/4" fabric circle

1 1/4" circle of cardboard

thumb tack - large or small

needle and thread

button for center

hot glue

Mark center of fabric circle with a pen.

Fold raw edge of circle under 1/4" to wrong side. Hand gather around the edge.

Hot glue thumb tack to center of cardboard as photo shows above. Poke tack point into wrong side of fabric at center dot. Pull gathering thread tight pulling fabric over cardboard circle. Knot.

Hot glue a button in the center of your yo-yo.

Make some yo-yo push pins for all your friends!

You could also use them on hand bags, on hair bows, as magnets, on gift tags,

on handmade cards, as a pin on your sweater or even glued on a frame (minus the tack in some instances).

The possibilities are endless.

You might even want to use them to embellish some

Ruby Red Slippers.

This is one of our new patterns hot off the press!

Check out all of our NEW Patterns here or on our website. We also have them as PDF downloads here.

They are all available as of today.

Oh, and I have some RUBY fabric and Moda goodies to give a way!

(Thank you Moda)

Ruby will be coming to a store near you any day now.

To enter, leave a comment telling me what color of fabric you can't leave the store without.

As you might already know, I am a little partial to RED, Ruby Red.

I will announce the winners on September 26th.

Hope you are having a great time on the MODA Cowwwnty Fair Blog Hop!

(Cheesy I know, but I couldn't resist using this picture)

This is my husband at the Fair - now that is a big cow, I'll bet her name is Princess.

Don't forget to hop on over to Cabagges and Roses tomorrow to see what goodies they have in store!

Happy Country Fair to you all.
Bonnie

Celebrating Ruby and New Patterns!

2011-09-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

It's just about that time again...

our new Fabric Line, RUBY, will be in the stores soon!

I just couldn't resist making a few more things from this line to celebrate it's arrival.

It is so much fun to sew with! So cheerful and fresh.

As I promised last week, I would share the rest of my summer projects I have been working on.

I have 4 new patterns...

If you love making flying geese, this is the pattern for you!

It can be made with Charm Squares or scraps from your stash.

Our new Vintage Pot Holders are all based on traditional blocks, some pieced and some appliqued. The binding is pre-made bias tape for a quick finish. I hand quilted each one for a more retro look.

Great for Christmas gifts.

Speaking of Christmas,

I have always wanted to make a red and green quilt, so for this Christmas quilt I used Fat Eights from both the Bliss and Ruby fabric collections. They work great together.

Now that the kids are back in school and the days are getting cooler, in Idaho anyway, it's the perfect time to start a Christmas project and have it finished just in time for the Holidays.

And last but not least, Ruby Red Slippers. I couldn't resist making these cozy toddler slippers from our Ruby line and Snuggles. Of course, they all had to be red. You might be wondering if Livvy from my last post was our little model, and yes she is.

These would be the perfect gift for those kissable little toes for Christmas.

Our New Patterns will be on our web site available for shipment on Tuesday, September 20. Don't forget, they will also be available as PDF downloadable patterns as well.

Edit: All patterns are now available!

Hope you get to meet Ruby real soon!

Bonnie

PS - Hope you are all enjoying the Moda Blog Hop, see you on September 20 (my day).

Projects

2011-09-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Summer time is not usually the time when I do many indoor sewing projects, but my daughter, Emily, and her family stayed with us for a few weeks this summer and we worked on lots and lots of projects.
Some of the projects were for my grand daughter Livvy's room.

The first project was ...

... a little childs chair and ottoman Emily's in laws had and were ready to get rid of. She stripped off all the old fabric and recovered the whole thing in new batting ... at this point we were both wondering if we were a little crazy...

... then we started the process of stapling the cute black and white houndstooth fabric we found at the Home Decorator store to the bottom and sides.

We used black piping for the arms and covered buttons to cover the screws that held the arm covers in place.

After lots and lots and lots of staples...

I think it turned out amazing! What a transformation. Livvy loves it and it's just her size.

(look at those cute little feet!)

Emily also made this cute mini pillow from an Amy Butler pattern...
(I love the large houndstooth covered button in the center!)

... and these cute owls to go in her room.

And last but not least we made this duvet cover for her new big girl bed.

It also has black and white houndstooth covered buttons stitched between the squares.

And as you can tell, Livvy loves it too!

We had so much fun working on projects together.

It's always fun to see the creativeness that comes out of my girls. They amaze and inspire me!

As a mom, it really is sweet.

I made a few other projects this summer too, which I can't quite show you yet,

but next week, I promise!

And did you know, Tuesday, Sept 6th is the first day of the Moda Blog Hop?

You won't want to miss it.

Lots of fun projects and give a ways,

fun stories and questions we have to answer (oh those questions)!

September 6th Sandy Gervais of Pieces from My Heart

September 7th Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs

September 8th Barb and Mary from Me and My Sister Designs

September 9th Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms
September 10th Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts

September 11th Basic Grey

September 12th Polly and Laurie from Minick and Simpson

September 13th Sandy Klop from American Jane (Post will be featured on Moda's blog)

September 14th Liesl from Oliver + S

September 15th Joanna from Fig Tree and Co.

September 16th Lynne from Kansas Troubles

September 17th Barb and Alma from Blackbird Designs

September 18th Aneela Hoey from Comfortstitching.com

September 19th Barbara Brackman from Barbara Brackman

September 20th Bonnie from Cotton Way

September 21st Christina from Cabbages and Roses

September 22nd Deb Strain

September 23rd Jan Patek of Brannock and Patek

September 24th Lauren and Jessi Jung

September 25th Stephanie from Lily Ashbury

September 26th Julie from Cosmo Cricket

September 27th Kate Spain

September 28th Karla, Susan and Lisa from Sweetwater

September 29th Kaari from French General

September 30th Lisa from Primitive Gatherings

and the fun continues into October

October 1st Kathy from Kathy Schmitz Studio

October 2nd Liz from Liz Scott Designs

As you can see, my day is Sept. 20th and you won't want to miss the picture I pulled out of the vault. A little incriminating, by non the less, the things Lissa makes us do.

...as for Livvy, she had to go back home and we were both a little sad.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and enjoy the last bit of the summer.

See you next week,

Bonnie

Christmas in July

2011-07-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

Last October my friend Danette and I got an over ambitious idea to make quilts for all of our kids (we each have 5) and husbands for Christmas... We decided it would be fun to make the Fat Quarter Shop Christmas Mystery Block of the Month. Kimberly was great with the idea and let me test all the patterns as we made the quilts. We started in October and each made 72 blocks = 6 quilts, sashed them, put borders on them, had them quilted and we bound them. Half way through I was not sure it was really going to happen and I was not, however, ambitious enough to do all the stars in my borders, sorry family...

but we finished them 3 days before Christmas.

It was soooooooooooo much fun!

I had the amazing ladies at Sweetwater make a label for the house that said the last name of each of my children (They are all married. This quilt is my husbands)

I had them make another label with Merry Christmas, the year and that it was made with love by me...just for them!

I put the aqua Snuggles on the back to make them exta soft and cozy.

My quilter Wendy from The Quilt Parade did a fabulous job!

The Santa hat is the block Camille and I designed for the Mystery BOM.

They all seemed very surprised and excited when they opened them.

Camille and her family got to open their quilt a couple of weeks before Christmas. We went to Las Vegas to visit little Nicholas a week after he was born, so we celebrated Christmas with them a little early.

Camille promised to keep the secret.

I couldn't really show you all at Christmas because the Mystery Block of the Month was still a mystery, so now that everyone has their blocks, here they are. Hope all of you that joined are enjoying making them as much as I did!

There is nothing better than quilting with your best friend and making gifts for your family, to feel the Christmas Spirit!

Bonnie

FAMILY and the 4th

2011-07-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

In addition to the traditional 4th of July celebration of Picnics...

Parades...

and

Fireworks

which always include

popcorn and Jeremie's famous No Bake cookies...MMMMM

see the evidence on Anni's face...

...we also had our offical

Olaveson Reunion 2011.

We went swimming at a new local pool...

watched a movie outside on a projector ... yes it was a bit chilly that night... and some of us camped out in the back yard.

We played in (or watched) a basketball tournament, which included one black eye and one sprained ankle...

ran races...

which included quarters and candy for the winners...

some were running for the first time

some took their time...

others ran as fast as their little legs would let them...

We spent all day Saturday at the lake...

so much fun and sun...

and we ate

and ate

and ate...

the funnel cake was sooooo delicious!

It was such a great weekend!!!

I took lots and lots of pictures, which I'm only showing you a small sampling of (I am a very proud mom and grandma)... but this picture (thanks to Camille) was our official photo of the fam ...

Wow, I can't believe how much our family is growing

(notice the baby bump on Breanna - due in November).

It seems like yesterday it was just us and our 5 kids. I never imaged our family this big.

I am so grateful and so blessed to have such a great family. We love them all so much!

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!

Bonnie

Summer

2011-06-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

It finally feels like summer here in Idaho!

We have been waiting a long time.

My flowers are blooming, they are so happy to see the sun.

My strawberries are especially happy.

We picked 2 gallons of strawberries and I spent the day making jam.

I made 17 pints. There is nothing like homemade strawberry jam.

With summer comes Family Reunions and we are having ours this weekend.

It will be so much fun camping, boating, roasting hot dogs and watching fireworks.

Can't wait to see everyone!

Happy Summer and Happy 4th of July,

Bonnie

Instant gratification

2011-06-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have times when maybe your husband is out of town and you don't have to cook dinner, or the kids are all at Grandmas for a few hours, or maybe everyone is finally in bed, the house is quiet and you want some ME time, you know, some sewing therapy, well this is where the instant gratification comes in...

Our 7 New patterns are now in PDF format and you can download them instantly!

Just thought you might like to know, just in case you might just have such an occasion and need some instant gratification.

Bonnie

Life is Good!

2011-06-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to all of you that sent Birthday Wishes my way! It was sweet of Camille to let you know. I hope you all noticed she gave my blog a facelift for my Birthday as well. Thanks Camille! I had a great week with some of my family (wish the rest of you could have been here) and thought I would share a few pictures.

I had some of my grandchildren a couple of days the week of my birthday. We did all kinds of fun things. Later in the week we got together to celebrate a little more.

We made butterflies. They were stitched with embroidery thread, stuffed and had pipecleaner antanaes and sequins hot glued to their wings. That was Bailey's design. These two were quite the little stitchers.

We planted flowers.

Put up the new trampoline. After 15 years, my 5 kids and an entire neighborhood wearing the old one out, it was time for a new one.

Grandpa took the girls for a horse ride.

We had a Hot Dog roast.

Made Smores, mmmmm!

And really, really enjoyed playing outside in the sunshine. FINALLY!

Gotta love that gooey Cheeto smile!

I also had lunch with my mom, some of my sisters and sister-in laws. (Sorry, no pic for that). My mom made me an angle food cake with fresh strawberries and real whipping cream. It was so yummy!

Even though I am not crazy about getting another year older, I guess having more Birthdays can be a good thing!

Thanks everyone,
Bonnie

Happy, Happy birthday, mother, dear

2011-06-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

(Mom and me at Quilt Market a few weeks ago)

So it's my mom's birthday this week, Friday actually. I thought it would be really fun for her to get birthday wishes from all of you throughout the week. Yes? Just tell her how awesome she is, how tall and young she looks, what pattern of hers is your favorite, a funny joke, how much you loved dowel legged dolls back in the day, anything!

Happy birthday mom!! Sure love you.

(Please don't kill me for this. Also, maybe you should change your password ;-)

Love, Camille

Edit: Someone hacked into my blog and wrote this post. That someone happened to be born ON my Birthday! Happy Birthday to you too Camille!

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes everyone, what a nice surprise!
Bonnie

My New Obsession

2011-06-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

In our small 2 stop-light town we have a cute little candy store called the Caramel Tree.

They have the best Caramel Apples!

Snickers, Apple Pie,

Oreo, Reese's, Butterfinger, Toffee..... you get the point.

My personal favorite is the Chocolate Caramel Pecan. So crunch-y, nut-ty, caramel-y, chocolate-ty, good!

They have lots of other goodies like cake bites on a stick, covered marshmallows, pretzel stitcks and fudge.

It's on my way to the post office, the bank and the grocery store. Sometimes my car just pulls right in front so I have to get out and go in. I have to help the economy and I certainly want them to stay in business.

I really didn't need another thing to tempt me, but they are so yummy!

What's your latest obsession?

Bonnie

Salt Lake City Spring Quilt Market 2011

2011-05-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Moda Designers - the traditional pic - love these ladies!

Our new fabric line, Ruby. So much fun the design with!

My very favorite collection so far. (In stores this October)

My side of the booth...

so nice to live close so we can bring booth props!

Partner in Crime

Camille's side of the booth. Check out her market blog post for more great pictures of Market.

I could just re-post them all,

but she does such a great job with her photography and blog, I will let you go there.

Me, My Mom, and Camille.

So grateful for my Mom, she is such an amazing woman.

Someday I hope to be just like her and look as great as she does.

She will be 85 this year and

I am so glad she got to come spend the day with us!

Thanks to everyone at Market that came by the booth to say Hi.

It's like a big quilt reunion!

Everyone is so kind and we love seeing you!

In case you stopped by my blog to see who the winners are....
....I picked 2 winners for the Ruby scraps -

Donna Baird and Susan Cryderman.

Ladies, your packages are on their way!

Thanks to everyone for your Ruby Love.

ALL of you will receive a little extra surprise in your package!

Thanks so much!

Bonnie

Ruby Love

2011-05-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Ruby finally arrived and I have been in love since! I can't say enough about how fun is was to create using the Ruby collection. Every piece is my favorite and the colors are so fresh (it was just what I needed in this depressing Idaho weather).

It was a crazy marathon couple of weeks before Market and now that I am back, I am exhausted, but it is a good kind of exhausted, you know the kind where you think you can't do another thing, then you do it and you have a sense of added strength that you didn't know you had inside you. When I stop for 5 seconds to think about it, it just feels good. 7 New patterns designed, written and printed (check), Market (check), orders shipped (check). I still have a dozen things to do to wrap up all the market business, but that's a good start. That's how this whirlwind of a month has been for me.

Let me know what you think... do you have Ruby Love?

This pattern has two options,

the traditional pieced method (72" x 72").

and the raw edge version (43" x 48"). Both made with charm squares. Really easy and fun to make!

This quilt looks difficult, but it is not! It is made with a jelly roll and anyone can do it. It is a great traditional quilt for a queen sized bed. The border was so fun to piece.

The quilting was done by Susan Hansen and is amazing!

Thanks Susan!

I had so much fun designing the bed runners for the next two patterns. The concept is great because with a solid bed spread you can change a couple of pillows and the bed runner and you instantly have a whole new look in your bedroom. If you are like me, it's fun to switch things up often. This pattern includes both pillows and the bed runner all made with charm squares.

The pillows on this pattern were super fast to make.

This fluffy one is made with one Charm Pack.

The bed runner is perfect for a beginner. The raw edge applique makes it fast. The perfect project to do with your teenager or daughter heading off to college.

I couldn't decide which blocks to make for my bed runner patterns, so I did another pattern called More Bed Runners...

Try one, you will love making them. I have more on the drawing board I can't wait to make!

They can be made with Layer Cakes or scraps from left over projects.

Love this pinwheel. Susan quilted this one as well.

This quilt is just like the name says, stitch the jelly roll together, cut and twist, stitch it back together and you have a quick and easy project.

I added the Snuggles to the back because I love how cozy it makes this throw quilt. It is 56" x 66".

Now after all those hours of quilting who couldn't use a nice toasty rice bag on your shoulders or a cool ice pack on your elbow. This pattern includes four designs for different sizes and places.

The Star Bag is 6" x 6", perfect for a small area.

The Flower Bag has ties so you can put it around your waist to sooth those lower back muscles or maybe an ankle, knee, or arm.

This is a 9" square rice bag made with charm squares and takes about 15 minutes to make. When your bed sheets are cold in the winter, snuggle this in the bottom to warm things up, or when those hot flashes hit, pull it out of the freezer for instant relief!

The Neck soother is great for times when your shoulders are almost up to your ears after a long day. Heat one of these in the microwave or throw one in the freezer on a hot day, relax and pour yourself something warm or refreshing. Take a minute to pamper yourself. You deserve it! I am using one right now as I write this post (sorry it is so long).

It is the perfect gift for all of your quilting friends.

These receiving blankets are made with our Ruby Flannel and it is amazing! So soft it's irresistable!

This pattern includes the 4-patch, the Striped and the X style. There are also 3 different trim options as well.

Jumbo rick-rack, my favorite.

The Snugggles edge,

and the very simple no trim, turned and top stitched edge.

As the title of the pattern says...Super Simple Receiving Blankets.

Check out our new patterns on our website under New Products.

If you have Ruby Love, place an order for a pattern and you will be included in a drawing for some Ruby scraps. That's right, I want to share the Ruby love...

Bonnie

Signs of Spring?

2011-04-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for Ruby to arrive!

She will be so refreshing.

This is what I woke up to this morning...

More Snow! and gloomy weather.

Will this winter ever end?

No sign of Spring here. Hurry Ruby, I can't wait to see you!

Bonnie

High Fashion

2011-03-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is the new high fashion boot I am sporting as of yesterday. I smashed my toe into the corner of my desk two weeks ago. I limped around until yesterday and couldn't stand it any more. I went for an X-ray and sure enough, it was broken. I have to wear this lovey boot for several weeks to keep it stable so it can heal. What a pain, literally. I guess it's a good time to put my foot up and write my new patterns.

Bonnie

Renovation Reality and Kitchen Reveal!

2011-02-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

If you have been following my blog at all, you know that on Dec. 28th we demolished our kitchen and started our remodel. It certainly has been a process. We tore out a closet, which ment walls and sheetrock, electrical work and water pipes had to be moved. (only one small mishap there)

Lights had to be re-done and outlets added. Ceiling in the basement torn out for new water pipes to be added and some re-routed. (Thank goodness it was in our storage room)

More sheet rock was installed. Then there was the taping and texturing.

(This process is sounding way easier than living through it! - What a mess!!)

and finally PAINT. It starts to feel like we are making progress...until...

we start on the wood floor. You see, we had to find flooring to match our old floor, which they no longer make (of course, that would be to easy) and then we had to patch it and re-finish the whole wood floor from our front door to the back, dining room and kitchen, so it would all look the same. So that led to taping plastic up to block off all the rooms in the house so they could sand the floor all down without getting sawdust everywhere (it still ended up in every crack in the house). This is the dining room with a lovely sheet covering the drapery valance to try to keep some of the saw dust off.

The worst part of that was we were banned to the basement to live for a week. I hesitated to show this next picture because we look a little like the people that you see on the hoarder shows, but we had to put all the food and dishes from the kitchen somewhere!!! I promise, every single thing is now put away in that room and it no longer looks like this. So you are seeing reality.

We barely had a path to the couch so we could sit for a minute.

The day the floor was done and the plastic came down was a happy day!

The floor is so beautiful! Totally worth all the mess and wait.

(Yep, that's my studio on the left where you see the Cotton Way sign. Part of the remodel and post for another day.)

But an even happier day was when they started to install the cabinets!!!!!

and the day they installed the granite was another good day!

and finally the plumbers came and hooked up the water and the appliances. We had to install the backsplash and light fixtures. Clean, clean, and clean some more. Here it is...

Before...

and after... two months later...

My new kitchen!

It was so much work to design every inch and plan out every detail,

but I am really happy with the way it turned out! It is so light and cheery!

I am still looking for fun things to add in the windows.

I love my hutch!

In the bottom part is a baking center with my Kitchen Aid mixer, measure cups and spoons and all the things I need to bake something yummy.

The candy jars...those are to spoil my grandchildren with and will be filled regularly.

The bunn feet... so pretty. By the way in case anyone locally is wondering, my kitchen was built by Merrill Woodworking and they were amazing! Thanks Kent!

I love the detail in the posts on the island,

and the posts on each side of my oven pull out for spice racks!

So there you have it! I feel so blessed and love how new and clean everything is. No, it doesn't make me want to cook, I don't want to get anything dirty. I just want to sit and look at it.

My family room is opposite my kitchen. The walls got re-textured and painted and I changed some of the pictures around. Still have more details to add but there is to much to do to go shopping.

I added pictures of all my grandchildren.

Britton, Bailey, Sydney, Anni, Aiden, Canon, Nicholas, Kai, Cal and Livvy.

We initiated the kitchen the other night with an impromptu pizza party. Wish all the family could have been here. I hope it will still feel like home to everyone even though the kitchen is new. Old memories are still here. It will always be home to me! Our Gathering Place!

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

I thought today would be the perfect day to announce our winner for the Moda Pillow Talk Blog Hop.

It is going to be an extra Sweet Day for : Wilma NC

she said she has been quilting: "Since 1978...33 years!!! Wow. Love your patterns".

Wilma, I need to apologize, but your goodie bag isn't really going to have anything in it, you can blame Moda for that. You see, this "Bliss" fat quarter bundle just would not fit! Along with the sewing bag this fat quarter bundle is also headed your way. Thanks Moda! and Congratulations to Wilma!

It was so much fun to read all of your comments about how long you have been quilting, the quilts you have made and who you have made them with. It was great to hear from lots of long time quilters and you new ones as well. I was going to add up all the years collectively, but it turned out to be a little overwhelming!

Have a Happy Valentines Day,
Bonnie

Pillow Talk

2011-02-04T22:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog and the Moda Pillow Talk Blog Hop. For those who may not know, I am the mother of 5 and a grandmother to 10. I live in a very small town in the country and am a 4th generation quilter. I like to go boating in the summer and stay indoors in the winter (I hate the cold). I love to spend time with my family. I have had my pattern company Cotton Way for 21 years this month. I feel very blessed!

We were each asked by Lissa to design a pillow that tells something about us and then answer some questions.

My pillow has 21 dots, one for each year I have been in business. I love the color red, so the dots are some of my favorite red fabrics I have used over the years. The last dot is a sneek peek of our new fabric line coming out later this year. I chose the border from our "Bliss" line because it is my current favorite piece of fabric that I want to use in everything. During the past 4 years I have had the opporturnity to design fabric with my daughter, Camille, for Moda. It has been like the frosting on the cake to be part of the Moda team. They are all such amazing people!

What is a little known fact about yourself?
One thing most people don't know, aside from my close friends and family, is that when my husband and I got married, he had casts on both arms. He had surgery on his wrists because of some old basketball injuries and was supposed to get one of them off before the wedding. It wasn't healing right, so we polished his casts with white shoe polish the night before. When people came to congratulate us, my husband told everyone that I twisted his arms so hard to get him to marry him that I broke both his wrists.
How do you relax?

When I am at home I can't relax! There is always to much to do. I have to be busy or have a hand sewing project in my hands especially when I am riding in the car or watching a movie at home. Just sitting around drives me nuts. The only time I can really relax is when we are on vacation and I am laying on a sandy beach soaking up some sun!

What do you sleep in - PJ's or NightGown?

PJ's for sure, I hate waking up and being all twisted up in a night gown. Camille gave me these red poka dot PJ's for Christmas last year and they are my very favorite. They are warm and soooooo soft! And for those who haven't heard, this week, here in Idaho, it was -20 degrees! Yes, minus 20 degrees.

What kind of pillow do you like, Hard or soft, foam or feather? And why?
I like my memory foam pillow that shapes to my face when I sleep, but when I am watching TV or reading in bed I like a big fluffy pillow to sink into. In the winter I can't live without my electric blanket.

Do you sew in bed? Read? Watch TV? eat?
Sometimes I bind quilts in bed when I am really on a time crunch and to tired to think. I try to read every night for a few minutes and I love to watch the news before I go to sleep. I rarely eat in bed because my husband has this thing about crumbs in the bed. If I had my way, I would eat Doritos in bed.

How many nights have you or your spouse spent on the couch?
We have had a few, but not to many for being married 31 years. Sometimes he snores and I can't sleep so I end up on the couch.

Nighttime toddy?
Do peanut butter M and M's count as a toddy?

Early to bed or all-nighter?
I used to stay up late most nights when I had teenagers at home that I was waiting up for. I have had many all nighters, especially at Quilt Market time. For the last year I have tried to have a more balanced schedule and am ususally in bed around 11:00.

Who would you most like to have a pillow fight with?
Probably my grandkids. They are so much fun!

Now, if you made it through all that, you deserve a chance to win something!

I would love to send someone this little sewing bag filled with goodies, including my 3 new patterns!

To enter the give a way, tell me how many years you have been quilting.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to hop on over to Fig Tree Quilts tomorrow for more Pillow Talk!

Bonnie

Is it Spring Yet?

2011-02-03T21:50:00.000-08:00

I don't know about most of you, but I am really, really ready for Spring. The winters are waaaay to cold and waaaaaay to long here in Idaho. The only way I can get through it is have lots of projects to keep me busy.

As I said before, we tore out our kitchen December 28 and are in the process of putting it back together. Well some of you may know how that goes. "Since we are re-doing the kitchen, lets tear out that carpet and paint that wall and since we are painting that, we might as well paint that...". Well, that's what happened at our house. We decided to also re-do my studio, which is right off my kitchen and re-texture and paint the family room too, which is on the other side of the kitchen. We re-finished the wood floors, got new light fixtures and painted the hall...... I have been painting, cleaning and organizing half the house and the other half has all the stuff in it that had to be put somewhere so we could paint. Can anyone relate? It's pretty crazy around here!

It's almost finished, (next week is what they keep telling me-6 weeks without a kitchen is getting a little old). Check back for the AFTER pictures. I can't wait to show you! My 1989 kitchen looks SO much different and I finally have my Studio back together. On Saturday, on my Pillow Talk post, if you pay really close attention, you will see part of my updated Studio. Hint - Aqua! It's been so fun to sew again.

Well, back to hoping for Spring and sewing projects to get us through winter. I have designed 3 new patterns that will certainly give you something to chase those winter blues away.

Hearts Content is a great pattern for Valentines Day. It is filled with a sweet table topper, apron and two Valentine pouches to put your favorite treats in for your favorite people.

Reversible Charm ~ Spring and Summer is a fun Table Topper that is two-sided. It will brighten any table. You can use it for Spring and then turn it over a few months later for Summer.

Jack and Jill is my new baby or toddler quilt. So fun and easy. Both quilts have a 9-patch block and the Jill quilt has a rick rack edged dot in the alternating block. The Jack quilt has a soft edge dot in the alternating block. The perfect quilt for that special one to snuggle in.

Check these out on our website. When you order any two new patterns, you can get the third one for free!

I hope you can all find a project that will brighten your winter.
Think Spring !
Bonnie

Moda Pillow Talk Blog Hop starts today!

2011-02-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

Happy February! What could be more fun than starting off the month with a blog hop from some of the Moda Designers. It starts today:

1-Feb   Comfortstitching
2-Feb   Blackbird Designs
3-Feb   Jan Patek Quilts
4-Feb   Bunny Hill Blog
5-Feb   Cotton Way
6-Feb   Fig Tree Quilts
7-Feb   Kansas Troubles Quilters
8-Feb   Kate Spain Designs
9-Feb   Kathy Schmitz Studio
10-Feb Simplify
11-Feb Me And My Sister Designs
12-Feb Minick And Simpson
13-Feb Oliver And S
14-Feb Pieces Of My Heart
15-Feb L & J Blog
16-Feb Sweetwater
17-Feb Barbara Brackman
18-Feb Deb Strain
19-Feb American Jane
20-Feb Primitive Gatherings

My day is Saturday. I will be giving away something that will make your life more blissful, so don't miss out on the fun!

Bonnie

Happy Fresh and Fancy New Year

2011-01-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

With the New Year comes resolutions, organization, dieting (we won't be talking about that!) and lots of other things, as we look forward to 2011. I live in Idaho and we still have about 4 more months of winter. In January, after all the Christmas decorations are down, the gifts are put away and bills paid, I am ready for a new project. This year my project is remodeling my kitchen, which by the way, is coming along quite nicely. For those of you that want a little smaller project, in fact a much smaller project, if you haven't already, check out our

Fresh and Fancy Table Runners.

I have decided to have each Fresh and Fancy Table Runner of the month that we are in, $5.00 for that month. For example in January the January pattern is $5.00, in February, the February pattern is $5.00 and so on.

You can have a new project every month!

Happy Fresh and Fancy New Year,

Bonnie

PS - Check back next week for 3 NEW Patterns!

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T15:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all of your comments on what you are looking forward to in 2011. Personally, I am looking forward to having my kitchen back some time this year. My 1987 kitchen needed a face lift. My sons that were 1 and 2 when our kitchen was built (and a few sons-in-law we added along the way, and my 9-year-old grandson) helped tear down the kitchen they were raised in. Lots of great memories there, but looking forward to many more. Any of you who have remodeled know what a giant mess it is! Sheet rock dust everywhere---need I say more?

But sheet rock dust or not, there were new patterns to write (coming soon) and quilt kits to ship. While I'm at the post office, I think I will ship a "Blissful Day" kit to our giveaway winner:

L. Johnson who said: "Beautiful quilt and fabric! I am looking forward to a year of snuggling and watching my first grandson grow! Merry Christmas to you and your family!"

Congratulations! E-mail your address to bonnie (at) cottonway (dot) com so I can send your kit right out!

Happy New Year!
Bonnie

Time for Celebration

2010-12-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year, a special time to spend with

family and friends.

A time to look back on the year and reflect on the events of

2010 and count our blessings.

This has been an especially great year for me.

So many amazing things have happened in our family.

We are SO blessed!

As many of you know, I have been celebrating

Cotton Way's 20 year Anniversay all year long as well.

And to top it off, this magazine just hit the stands.

My "Blissful Day" quilt made the cover!

It was fun to read the article about our family and how

Cotton Way all started.

What an amazing journey it has been.

Quilt Magazine did an amazing job!

Thank you to everyone involved!

If you are interested in a quilt kit, hop on over to our website.

It's a super easy quilt to make and it's made with my

favoite fabric line so far, Bliss.

So, to finish the year and my 20 year Celebration off right...

I am doing a give a way for the quilt kit for my

"Blissful Day" quilt!

To enter, leave a comment telling me what you are

looking forward to in 2011.

If you blog about it, or link to it, you will get two entries in the

give a way.

The winner will be announced on December 31st.

I hope your holidays are filled with joy, peace and laughter!

Merry Christmas,

Bonnie

The Best Christmas Present

2010-12-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I love newborn babies. My last baby was born on Dec. 26. It really made Christmas a special time for our family.

Now little Nicholas is here and he is such a sweet baby. I finally got to snuggle the little guy and snuggle we did. All weekend. Camille could barely pry him from me to get a few snuggles in herself.

Don't you just love the way they lay on your chest and breathe on your neck and squeek now and then... oh I just love that.

It's a Snow Day!

2010-11-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about living in Idaho is the change of seasons! All weekend it has been snowing and blowing like crazy!

When we got up this morning all the schools around were closed for a

Snow Day...

What's better on a snow day than some hot Potato/Bacon Soup (We grow the best potatoes in Idaho) to eat after playing outside on the snowmachines and sleds!

My neighbor Danette gave me this recipe and it's one of our favorites.

Potato/Bacon Soup
2 cans Swansons Chicken Broth - regular
1 can Swansons Chicken Broth with garlic
8 cups chopped potatoes
1 medium onion chopped
1 can cream of Chicken soup

Put in your crock pot and cook until potatoes are soft, mine cooks in about 4 hours, my neighbor says 6.

Then add 1 - 8 oz. cream cheese which has been softened in the microwave
3 oz. of Homel Real bacon bits.

Stir and continue heating until cheese is melted.

Serve with grated cheese and parsley flakes on top.

MMM good!
Have a great day snow or shine,
Bonnie

THANKS!

2010-11-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is just around the corner from Thanksgiving. I thought it would be fun to have a 25% off sale on my website to say "THANKS" to all of you for the great support this year and maybe help you out on your giftgiving this year! Head on over to cottonway.com and place your order before December 20th and you will also receive a little extra surprise with your order.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Bonnie

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2010-11-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

The snow is falling and the fire is roaring. I made some hot chocolate and Breanna bars and spent the day making pillowcases for Christmas for my grandkids. I used Bliss flannel and Snuggles. Ohhh so soft and snuggly! It's not Christmas until I start making gifts for family and friends, and now that it's snowing, it starting to look alot like Christmas.

What a great day!

Bonnie

APQ Thank You!

2010-10-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

Just got my issue of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine and I am pinching myself!

You see, for the last several years I have been meaning to take the time to submit a quilt to the magazine. It is something I have always wanted to do!

Well, it finally happened and here it is! In all it's Bliss. Thanks APQ! What a fun way to celebrate my 20th year!

Kits are available at Fat Quarter Shop, one for Camille's quilt and one for mine. Thanks to Kimberly too!

Have a great weekend everyone,

Bonnie

So Proud!

2010-09-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

Just got my copy of "Simplify" by Camille Roskelley and I got it from the author herself! What a beautiful book, I am so proud!

She even signed it for me... so sweet, I had to show you. Mom's love to get these kind of notes! When Camille was little, she used to draw pictures and wrote notes and leave them all over the house. Never imagined she would be writing this one!

I happen to know she worked really, really hard to make every page perfect and I would have to say, she really out did herself. Great Job Camille!

Thanks to everyone for your comments on all the family pics and for entering the give a way.
The winner of the "Bliss" Charm pack....Julianne from Joe and Julianne. Congratulations!

Have a Blissful day!
Bonnie,

#9 is here on 9-9

2010-09-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little grandson is here! Mom and baby are both healthy and well.

I love newborn babies, they are the best!!!

Summer re-visited

2010-09-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

I don't know about all of you, but I can't believe summer is officially over. Here in Idaho it hardly seems like we had a summer. There were not near enough warm, lazy days. For instance on our annual Jefferson County Stampede Days in June we were all wearing our winter coats and snow hats to keep warm. I have turned on the heated seats in my Jeep every month so far this year and am sure I will be using it every month for the rest of the year. Who ever invented those, Thank you!

Never the less, we did have a few warm days. I LOVE SUMMER!!! It is my favorite time of year.
So I thought I would share a few pics of our summer fun.

We went to a few parades...

My husbands father with his Belgium horses in the 4th of July Parade.

Mr. K enjoying the day.

We had lots of fun at Grandma's (me) house climbing...

and swinging...

throwing rocks in grandpa's pond...with only one small slip...

cooking out...

and playing games.

We rode horses,

celebrated several birthdays...

picked and ate lots and lots of raspberries...MMMM

We had our daughter, Emily and her husband Jordan's Open House in our back yard.

What a great day!

We had a wonderful family Reunion in Island Park.

with camping...

and boating

wakeboarding,

and lots and lots of waterskiing...

little guys...

and big guys.

Yes, that's my husband at 53 showin' em how it's done!

On the way home we stopped at Big Juds for a BIG, BIG burger,

and some ice cream.

We haven't all been together at our home for 6 years!

It was so fun to get together!

Don't we have the cutest kids and grand children ever!!!

PS - One Olaveson baby due any day and a little Olaveson/Roskelley baby due in December.

That makes 10 grand children for those of you who are counting...we are so blessed!

My husband and I took one last overnight get a way to Yellowstone Park last week. It was so beautiful!

Old Faithful is amazing!

...and did I mention I LOVE SUMMER! I hate to see it end.

Wow, that was a lot of pictures to wade through, but I think all of you that did deserve a prize! Make a comment and you will be entered into a drawing for a "Bliss" charm pack!

"Bliss" In stores now!

Hope you all had a great summer!

Bonnie

My second family

2010-07-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

How great is this? Moda,my second family!

Hope you are all having a great summer,

Bonnie

6 New Patterns

2010-06-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I have been so slow in posting about my new patterns. I have been working really hard since I arrived home from Quilt Market, and it just didn't happen until now.

I have 6 new patterns designed with our "Bliss" fabric collection by Moda. The patterns are available now on our web site and the fabric will be arriving in stores in September.

The quilt above and below is Cuddle Me Cozy. The pattern is value packed! It includes a throw size quilt, a baby size quilt and a table topper. The quilt above and below is the throw size made with Snuggles, Moda Snuggles, and our Flannel which I absolutely love!

My quilter, Wendy of The Quilt Parade, really out did herself on this one!

I put the Snuggles on the back for an exta cozy cuddler.

The table runner is on the pattern cover and is made with charm squares.

This is the baby quilt, which I made with just the reds and the inks in the line. I added the Snuggles in the piecing on the front and put in on the back as well.

I also added this fabric flower, which is on the pillowcase pattern (below). I just wanted to pin them on everything!

Next is our new Patchwork Ironing Board Covers. All three different designs are included in the pattern. So fast and easy. Who wouldn't want to iron on a board that looks so cheery!

Our Sew Easy Bags got alot of attention at Market. They are sew easy to make and great for gifts for all your sewing friends. There are four different shapes and they can also be used for many other things.

Polka-dot Parfait is fun and fast to make with a Layer Cake.

The rick rack added into the squares adds a little extra punch of red.

Start planning ahead, our new Snuggle Up Pillowcase pattern is a must for your Christmas gift giving list. They are made with the Snuggles and Flannel for an exta cozy pillowcase. Who wouldn't want to dream of Santa coming while laying on one of these!

The pattern includes instructions for all four designs.

And last, but not least, Forget Me Not. This is a throw size quilt that also uses a Layer Cake.

The flower blocks are pieced, the leaves appliqued and the red scallop border finishes it nicely.

Well, there you have it... 6 new patterns. Which one is your favorite?

Happy Stitching,

Bonnie

Spring Quilt Market 2010

2010-05-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

The International Spring Quilt Market was in Minneapolis, MN last week. As many of you know, I am celebrating my 20th Year! It was a great show and I got to hang out with so many great people.

My daughter, Camille, and I also introduced our third fabric line for Moda called "Bliss".

The theme for my booth was...

"Flowers,

Chocolates, (Florences Milk, Nut and Caramel are my favorite!)

and fabric...

Now that's Bliss!"

The sewing bags and ironing board covers were a hit!

(my 6 new patterns will be available on my web site next week)

My favorite quilt, "Cuddle Up Cozy" was a mix of our flannels (yes, we have 9 yummy flannels) and the Snuggles to make a super cozy throw quilt and pillowcases.

This is a picture of Camille's side of the Booth. Her quilts are so beautiful! I think she should give me one for my Birthday coming up soon! (hint, hint)

>We shared this yummy dessert at dinner one night. Many of you may not know this, but rumor has it Camille is afraid of large spoons.

She has a book coming out in the fall called, of course, "Simplify". Can't wait to see it!

This is a picture of me with two of my beautiful and very talented girls, Tracy and Camille. (next year in SLC, Emily) My oldest daughter Tracy also had a booth at Market for her business The Paisley Polka-dot that she does with her sister-in-law Christy. They were so sweet to make all the Moda designers badge holders with each of our fabric lines. They added a lot of "Bling" to our show with their watchbands and clusters.

Market wouldn't be the same without some time to catch up with Nancy from Art to Heart,

or laughing with Sheri Howard (she cut her hair in the hotel room with my Gingher scissors, doesn't she look cute)

And last, but not least, the wonderful Moda Design Team. They are the most amazing and talented people and I feel very honored and privileged to be associated with them.

Thanks to all of you out there for making the last 20 years a most memorable and wonderful journey!

Bonnie

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Bliss is... like Bless

2010-04-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Betty is the winner of a Bliss Jelly Roll!
Her comment was:

"Bliss is much like Bless - so interconnected."

Betty, I couldn't agree more. When I stop long enough to really think about how blessed I am, it brings such a blissful feeling of peace to my heart.

Congratulations! Please send me your address so I can pass along some Bliss.
Better get back to the sewing machine, so much to do!!!
Bonnie

"Bliss"- ful day...give a way!

2010-04-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Any time fabric arrives on your doorstep it's a good day, but when it is your own fabric line that you have been dying to sew with, it's a fabulous day!

"Bliss" is here!!! Such a great day, I think it's time for a give away!

To enter, tell me what "Bliss" is to you?

Check back on Monday, April 26 to see the winner.

I promise it will be"Bliss"-ful,

Bonnie

Paradise

2010-04-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's where I was last week, in paradise! (I wasn't sure if I should tell.)

My husband surprised me with a trip to Hawaii to celebrate. Celebrate what? Well, Valentines Day, his birthday, 30 years of Marriage, and the fact that we are now empty nesters. Any excuse will do when you want to get away to somewhere warm. (We live in Idaho - need I say more?)

I spent every minute I could on the warm sunny beach, with the moist ocean breezes blowing, listening to the swaying palm trees and crashing waves, eating yummy sea food. It was so relaxing and beautiful!

Even with Quilt Market only 28 days away and sooo much sewing left to do... (there are going to be lots of late nights)... it was totally worth it.

I am so glad I didn't miss that week in paradise!

Aloha,

Bonnie

Taking a little break

2010-04-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

With all the craziness in my schedule, last night was a welcome break. My daughter-in-law Breanna asked me several weeks ago if there was a time we could get together and spend some time sewing. It just happened to be the night of the BIG basketball game and the boys had plans, so it was the perfect night to sew.

When Breanna got engaged to our son Ryan, someone asked her if she knew how to sew. Evidently, this person thought it was a pre-requisite to joining our family. It's really not, but Breanna wanted to learn a little more about quilting. We had a lot of fun making this table topper, this was her first official quilt.

We didn't quite finish, it still needs the borders and to be quilted, but we are saving that for another fun quilting day. Great job Breanna, you are a natural. Cecily, care to join us next time?

Back to work,

Bonnie

PS There was a loud shout for joy from the boys at the end of the game!

Crazy

2010-03-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year...

You know...

When there is no sleeping, either because I am up working, or laying there thinking of all there is to do...

or because there are so many ideas spinning around in my head...

new patterns to create...

a booth to design...

eeekkk... Quilt Market is just around the corner!

Not to mention I just finished the Fresh and Fancy Table Runners July through December. What do you think?

better get back to my craziness,

Bonnie

Deliciousness should be shared!

2010-02-24T16:54:00.001-08:00

On Christmas Eve my daughter-in-law Breanna brought these yummy bars to our family party. We have now renamed them Breanna Bars and have offically nominated her to bring them to every family get together. Warning: They can be hightly addictive!

Breanna Bars

2 cups butter (yes, that is what makes them soooo good)

2 1/4 cups brown sugar

3 cups flour

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 jar caramel topping (I buy the Smuckers 20 oz. squeeze bottle)

16 oz. milk chocolate chips (or more...yummy!)

1 cup chopped walnuts

Soften butter in microwave. In a large bowl mix butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, salt and soda together. Take 3/4 of mixture and press on cookie sheet (press up the sides). Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Let cool, then pour on caramel, spread evenly. Sprinkle on chocolate chips and walnuts. Sprinkle remaining cookie mixture on the top. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350.

They are really gooey and yummy when they are warm, but they are even better when they are cool and crunchy and even better for breakfast the next day, or lunch and/or dinner.

As Breanna would say "Deliciousness should be shared". Here's to sharing.

Thanks Breanna!

Bonnie

The perfect winter day

2010-02-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

When we woke up Saturday morning, it was a beautiful sunny day here in Idaho. My husband suggested we take a little snowmobile ride up into Island Park, about an hour from where we live. As my family knows, I am a pretty fair weather girl, but since it was so sunny I agreed.

This is me in all my gear, trying to stay warm. It was sunny and a bit chilly at only 15 degrees, but so beautiful!

We stopped after an hour or so by a clump of pine trees to have a picnic lunch. This is my husband. He was such a good sport to take me and not to zoom 80 miles an hour down the trail.

He knows I like to take it a little slower and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

And did I mention, it was so beautiful!

It's days like this, that I don't mind the winter in Idaho!

Hope you are having a great day wherever you live!

Bonnie

Snow Day = Sew Day

2010-02-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

This morning when I looked out my front window this is what I saw...

out my back window this is what I saw...

my pond is frozen, it's snowing, the roads are icy, the horse is even shivering. It's just not a good day to be out and about...

...so I decided if it was going to be a snowy day, I needed a sewing day. Not that I needed an excuse, but some days I don't get to sew. I pulled out my cheery Hunky Dory with its fresh pinks and aquas, great greens and yummy yellows and started cutting.

It's going to be a good day. What do you do on snowy winter days?

Bonnie

Life is Sweet...

2010-01-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a little sneek peek of some of the new Fresh and Fancy Table Runners I have been working on. I hope to show you July through December soon!

It was fun to hear all the things that you LOVE and hands down it was Family, Faith and Fabric! Thanks for all the comments!

Congratulations to the winner ...... Life is Sweet! She loves, quiet, color and family.

Please e-mail me your address so this topper can be on your table for Valentines Day!

There is also a little something for those of you that didn't win. If you place an order on our website at http://www.cottonway.com/ from now until Valentines Day and put the word valentine in the comments section you will get 25% off your order!

Have a great weekend!

Bonnie

All you need is LOVE...and fabric, of course!

2010-01-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone for the 20 year Anniversary LOVE. Your comments were so sweet! Thanks for letting me reminisce. It was fun to hear some of your memories as well. It is definitely something I never imagined I would celebrate, but as I mentioned earlier on my blog, this is going to be a year long CELEBRATION! I promised more give a ways, so here we go again.

I have decided to give away this Valentines Day table topper from my Cherry Chocolate Valentine pattern. To enter all you have to do is tell me what you LOVE in three words or less. The winner will be announced this thursday, January 28th.

What do you LOVE?

I'll start it off...

Grandchildren, Chocolate, MODA

20 years

2010-01-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

It's very hard for me to believe Cotton Way is celebrating it's 20th year. Way, way back (before some of you were even in grade school) in January of 1990 I started Cotton Way. I never imagined it would be such an amazing journey. Looking back so much in the industry has changed.

This is a picture of me at my very first Quilt Market in Houston Fall of 1990. Yes, I did start my company designing dolls and I looked alot younger then. I shared a booth with a friend who designed quilts, so the quilts are hers and the dolls are mine. I have the deer in the headlights look I know, but thats because I had no idea what I was doing. It was pretty overwhelming to say the least. Dolls were in high demand in 1990 and I loved making them.

These are some of the dolls I took to market, my two little boys wanted to pose with them. These boys are now 23 and 24. (They felt a little left out a few weeks ago when I posted about our crazy creative family and didn't include them... this is for you boys!)

Cotton Way really grew my second year in business when I came up with the Long Leggins Series. (Tall dolls with dowel legs and egg heads) Many of you may have some of the Long Leggins patterns that you made for friends and family or even the craft show circut. I know I can't even count how many I made. Folkart Friends was my best selling pattern back then and still stands after all these years. Yes, girls, they really were the hot pattern back then (hard to believe, I know!)
In 1993 my local newpaper did a feature article on my company with the headline reading "Rigby entrepreneur expands home doll pattern business". I was invited to design some patterns for Simplicity Pattern Company that year and that was big news in our small one stop light town, so I made the paper. Interestingly enough they quoted me saying "The biggest challenge for me is balancing family and business and my family always comes first" and thats still how I feel to this day.

This was my booth in 1996 and yes, I am wearing a Kuin Felt vest with a garden theme in this lovely picture, (felt was all the rage and everyone was wearing embellished vests, everyone!) my pants are pegged and my hair is really big and I look pretty chubby. Go ahead and laugh, I did, I look ridiculous, but remember it was the 90's. I have many other embarrassing pictures, but I don't have room to show them all.

On my 10 year Anniversary at Quilt Market in Minneapolis, MN I introduced my first quilts. The doll phase was slowing down and I was ready for a change after 10 years of crafting. I loved making quilts, my mom and grandmother were avid quilters and so I decided to give designing quilts a try. I also designed some chenille jackets that year and I am happy to say, I am still selling patterns for some of them. At that point I remember thinking "I can't believe I have been doing this for 10 years! Wow! I wonder how much longer I can come up with ideas."

Leisure Arts approached me in 2002 and asked if I would do a baby book, I ended up doing two. In 2005 I designed some quilts for the Leisure Arts Quilt Along with Emily Richards books. Last year I did another book for Leisure Arts called "Lots of Dots".
One of the hightlights of my Cotton Way journey was when I received an exciting phone call in December of 2007 from Cheryl Freydburg from Moda. She left a message on my machine saying she wondered if I would be intersted in designing a line of fabric with my daughter Camille. Wow! Designing fabric was something I had not done at that point and designing for Moda, well, a woman can only dream such things! The answer to that question was a definite "Yes"! Flying to Dallas and meeting with Cheryl, Lissa and the Moda crew was amazing. Can't say enough about how fun that was. Fabric line #3 should be coming out this spring!

While I was looking through pictures and trying to decide what to include in this post I started wondering just how many patterns I have actually designed. At the moment I have 335 printed patterns and 7 books. That is alot of designing, shopping, measuring, cutting, sewing, gluing, writing instructions, photographing, printing, marketing, taking orders and shipping. Wow, that makes me tired to think about!

This is me at last Quilt Market, in Pittsburgh. I have learned so much and have reason to celebrate! I will make sure to take a picture at spring Quilt Market in Minneappolis to add to my scrapbook for my 20 Year Anniversary!

I must say "Thanks" to my husband for all the support, juggling the kids and endless hours of help with wood cutting, computer issues, and last minute market errands and so many more things. (We have 5 kids, so he had to help alot) Thanks to my amazing kids for folding all those patterns, putting kits together, drilling buttons, helping with lots of chores and answering the question "how do you think this looks" honestly. It has definitely been a family business and everyone has had to sacrafice. Thanks to my Mom and Grandmother for their inspiration. The quilting blood runs deep in my veins. Thanks to all of you fellow designers! We have spent many markets having dinner, laughing until all hours of the night, sharing business ideas and asking the big question "What do you think the next hot trend will be"? It's like a family reunion going to Quilt Market each year. Thanks to all of you Quilt Shop owners and loyal customers who have shared the wonderful journey with me! Thanks for buying my patterns all these years. I love your kind phone calls, e-mails and blog comments, thats what keeps me going and makes this experience so sweet. I feel so blessed to be in such a wonderful industry with such talented and amazing friends.

Wow! I can't believe it has been 20 years!

Thanks to all of you and here's to many years to come!

Bonnie

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

Hope your day was as wonderful as mine!

Bonnie

One big crazy creative family

2009-12-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

Many of you may have read the blog I wrote a couple of months ago about my amazing Mother. She taught me everything I know. Many of you also know that I have a very creative daughter Camille. The quilting gene was definitely passed down. The picture above is me with my oldest daughter Tracy who just happens to be very talented as well. She just started her own company called The Paisley Polka Dot and now has an etsy shop with some very beatiful handmade quilts.

Tracy has been sewing for years, but has recently caught the entrepreneurial bug. She reminds me so much of myself laying awake nights thinking up ideas and fun things to create.

Make sure you hop on over to her etsy shop and take a look at some of her beautiful work. She is just getting started and will be adding more new things soon, so check back often.

I loved this quilt she made from the Simple Abundance fabric line, of course I may be a little bit biased when it comes to this fabric.

My girls grew up folding patterns and helping me in the family business, so it is almost second nature for them to develop their creative persuits and jump into the wonderful quilting world. I couldn't be prouder. Now if we can just convince my youngest daughter, Emily, to join us, that would be great. She has been sewing for several years and has been making all kinds of fun things lately, so it may be just a matter of time. I will keep you posted on that.

I feel so blessed to have that creative connection with my beautiful girls!

Oh, and now down to business, you are probably here to see the winner of the Fresh and Fancy Table Runner Club and January Fabric Kit, well the winner is....

Sherri from A Quilting Life! Congrats to Sherri!

And since it is the giving season, I have decided to give three more Fresh and Fancy Table Runner pattern memberships to ...

Kaye Prince

Slow Poke

Carolyn in Kentucky

Ladies please e-mail me your addresses and congratulations!

Thanks for all the sweet comments on my little grand daughter and for telling me about all the sewing projects you have planned for 2010. I am so excited to celebrate my 20th year with all of you!

Happy Stitching Ladies,

Bonnie

New Patterns, New Babies and a New Year!

2009-12-09T15:31:00.001-08:00

First of all, I am a grandma again! My newest granddaughter came almost a month early and surprised us all. She was just over 5 pounds and so much fun to snuggle! I just had to share a picture along with my new patterns. (It's a grandmas prerogative to brag a little bit right?)

Second of all, We are so very excited to announce our new

Fresh and Fancy Table Runner Club for 2010!

A fresh and fancy table runner for each and every month of the year. It is our fourth series (and of course our favorite so far). Each pattern has a Fancy side with more piecing and/or applique, and a Fresh side, simple and fast using the left over fabric from the front. It's like two table toppers in one pattern. Each runner is approximately 21" x 42". The perfect size for almost any table.

I have used some of my very favorite Moda fabrics for each of the runners. (I may a little biased, but Moda is the best!) January - June are available now and July - December will be available in March.

May

You can join a Fresh and Fancy Club at your local quilt store, or if there is not one in your area and you want to join online, head on over to Fat Quarter Shop to sign up. Kimberly and the gals have all the fabric kits and patterns to get you started.

To celebrate our 20th Anniversary (yes 20 years!) we are giving away an exclusive Fresh and Fancy Club Membership to a blog reader. The winner will receive the entire years worth of Table Runner patterns as well as a bonus prize, a January fabric kit to get started. To enter, make a comment and tell me what project you are going to start the new year off with. The giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday Dec. 13th, so check back on Monday morning to see who the winner is.

Stop back by for more 20 year Anniversary Celebrations throughout the year. You won't want to miss out, it is going to be alot of fun!

Bonnie

Popping my head in

2009-11-23T17:16:00.000-08:00

I had big plans for this week! However, things aren't going quite as smoothly as I hoped! I'm up to my neck in finishing up and shipping out the first half of my new Fresh and Fancy table runner patterns. Some of you may have seen them in the Fat Quarter Shop email today. (Thank you Kimberly!) But more about that next week, when my hands aren't quite as full. I've got patterns to ship, a turkey to cook, and family to see. Did I mention patterns to ship? Better get back to work.

See you soon!

Congratulations to the Winner!

2009-11-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments and for entering our give away!

Congratulations to the winner!!! Nanabarb!

She said:
"I love the whimsical nature of your block using the aqua and red. I can just imagine the fun a quilt made of Bloom Around blocks with red sashing!"

What a great idea! Make sure you check our blog next week.
You won't want to miss what's coming next!

Bonnie