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

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

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!

Hope your day was as wonderful as mine!

Bonnie

One big crazy creative family

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!

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.

January

February

March

April

May

June

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

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!

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