UnBelizable!

Just returned from the Stitchin'Heaven, Moda 2012 Quilting Cruise to Honduras, Belize and Cozumel Mexico in the Western Caribbean.  As they would say in Belize,

It was Unbelizable!

I had such an amazing time with all the quilting ladies, Deb, Clay and Rachael,

and my new friend and roommate, Sandra.  She was so much fun!

and very hepful (that's helpful in Texan).

The first two days at sea we had class and the ladies stitched their little hearts out on the Blissful Day quilt. (We still have a couple left on our web site)

I taught one class,

Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister taught another

and Debbie Maddie taught another class.

The quilters stayed in the same place and we rotated class rooms.

The ladies could sew until midnight and some of them did!

The quilt blocks on my quilt could  be arranged different ways to make the quilt unique to each quilter.

They were very creative.

We had fun prizes for some lucky winners.

In the evenings we dined in style with fabulous food and enjoyed great entertainment!

On day three we docked in Honduras.

We had a little beach time after it rained. 

 It was cloudy, but the air was warm and it felt so good to dig our toes into the sand!

The next day we docked in Belize.  We went to the Belize Zoo, yes that is a Boa snake that we could hold... if we wanted to... and no, I did not want to... 

 ...and then we had an amazing boat ride down the Belize River. 

It was like being in the middle of the jungle. 

We saw monkeys, crocodiles, iguana, and many more exotic animals.

The food off the ship was a little less gourmet, but none the less authentic and yummy.  Beans, rice, chicken and orange Fanta in a glass bottle.  It tasted good to me!

Back on the ship we indulged in lots of ice cream, pizza and late night snacks. No dieting this week!

Our third stop was in Cozumel mexico.  Kayaking in a glass bottom kayak and snorkeling were our activities there.

We saw colorful fish and lots of sea creatures.  It was amazing!

As you can see, not much sun, but much warmer than the weather I left in Idaho, that's for sure.

Back on the boat for our last day of sewing and a farewell party.

There were prizes for everyone and some ladies even won quilts. 

Robin won my quilt!

Thanks ladies!  I have a whole new bunch of quilting friends. 
And a special thanks to Deb at Stitchin' Heaven for the opportunity of a lifetime!


Get your quilting friends together and take a quilting cruise, you will love it!

Check out the cruise slide show. 

The yummy chocolate dessert is mine... wish I had some right now!
Bonnie

Happy 2012 and Congrats to the winner!

                  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

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!

From our house ...

to yours.

Joy

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!

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