Be sure to check out my Blog:
You'll find my latest news there...and lots of photos too.
June 16, 2013: Today is our 50th anniversary. The years just fly by when you are having fun! Who would have thought 50 years ago that we would travel around the world, or that Bonnie would write 11 books on quilting (and is working on #12 and #13). We have now lived in Paducah for 19 years - that's the longest time we have lived anywhere.
Today we had a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse, did a little shopping (for Bonnie's Zentangle book), and came home to take some photos in front of our beautiful hydrangea bushes. Here are a couple of the photos.
Just had my hair cut so this is my new straight hair-do. Easy to care for.
Tuffy really didn't want his photo taken - this was the best shot I got, and he is digging into Wayne for all he is worth. LOL
April 30, 2013:
It has been very busy here lately. We just finished the 29th AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah, and what a show it was. The crowds were unbelievable and even a little rain didn't dampen their spirits. Two of the Tentmakers attended the Paducah show. Here I am with Hosam and Tarek, holding a new piece just completed by Hosam. Notice that I am also holding Hosam's scissors - they are much larger than what we use for our handwork.
Just prior to the Paducah show, AQS announced three new shows in 2014: Phoenix, AZ, in February; Charlotte, NC, in July; and Chattanooga, TN, in September. That means we will be doing seven AQS QuiltWeek events in 2014. Now that will keep us hopping, for sure!
I just finished previewing several new videos for the AQS channel on YouTube. You'll find the interviews with the Paducah winners and lots more if you just search for quilttv on YouTube. We just passed more than 500,000 minutes of viewing of our videos. You can subscribe to our channel and receive a notice when a new video is posted. See you... on the 'Tube.
Have a great day!
February 23, 2013:
It is nearly spring quilt show time. The AQS QuiltWeek in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will be held March 13 - 16 at the Lancaster County Convention Center.
We will have lots of quilts to view, the AQS contest quilts are in Freedom Hall.
Beneath the Southern Sky - quilts from four continents, curated by Brenda Gael Smith from Australia; New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Baskets - semifinalists from the National Quilt Museum's annual contest; and the AQS Authors' Quilt Exhibit - these are in the Commonwealth Ballroom on Level 2.
In the Heritage Ballroom on Level 3, you will find Stitch Like an Egyptian, applique art by the Tentmakers of Cairo. Two of the Tentmakers will be at the show to demonstrate their applique technique - you really do need to see how fast they can stitch. And you might even run into Kim Beamish, the Australian film maker, who is producing a documentary about the history of the Tentmakers and what they are doing today to survive since the Egyptian Revolution. Kim will be doing some filming for the documentary at the show. Tarek and Hosam enjoy visiting with the quilters so be sure to stop and say Hi and have your photo taken with them.
For more information about the show in Lancaster, go to www.aqsshows.com .
October 2011: I have just returned from the Zentangle Teacher Seminar and now I am a Certified Zentangle Teacher. Check out my Zentangle Art tab for new classes using Zentangle designs. You won't believe how easy it is to do and it is SO relaxing. And best of all, you don't have to know how to draw to do it!
Episode 609 – Freeform feathers & Happy endings (Bonnie Browning / Judy Woodworth)
This super show brings you two outstanding teachers for “the price of one!” First, professional machine- and award-winning quilter Judy Woodworth uses a Gammill Longarm Quilting Machine to create freeform, out-of-the-box feathers, and encourages Alex to try her hand as well. Then: Who doesn’t love a happy ending? Bonnie Browning, author of nine books, including Borders & Finishing Touches 2, involves our enthusiastic studio audience as she demonstrates a variety of innovative techniques, tips, and notions for giving our quilts the best endings ever! You’ll be learning something every moment of this jam-packed episode.
March 27, 2009: After the big ice storm in January, we are still picking up sticks in our yard. My sister Karen and her son Mike came down to help - what a blessing. Wayne and I would have been picking up sticks all summer to clean up the mess we had. We ended up with 25 huges piles of sticks in the backyard alone. We are burning those piles. More piles in the front yard will be picked up by the county contractors. We had way too much to haul it all to the front. If we had moved it all there, you would not be able to see our house for all of the debris.
October 27:
There never seem to be enough hours in the day. I spent this past weekend working on the classes for the Paducah show. We will be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Annual AQS Quilt Show & Contest in Paducah in 2009...so we are preparing some special events for the quilters who come from all over the world to this show.
And, in between working on the shows, I am working on another book - this will be my 10th book on quilting. I hope to get some quilt tops made this fall and through the holidays when I have some vacation planned.
We just visited our families in Iowa on our way home from the Des Moines AQS Quilt Expo in October, so plan to spend the holidays here at home. After such a busy year - the first year that AQS has done three shows - it will be nice to spend some time off here at home...and in my jammies if I want.
June 29: The Latest News....
AQS announced on Friday that the 25th Annual AQS Quilt Show & Contest will again be held in Paducah, Kentucky. The issue of the facilities has taken a step in the right direction with the complete remodeling of the Executive Inn by the new owners and management firm, Space Coast Hospitality Management. They have contracted with A & K Construction of Paducah as the construction firm to handle the remodel. In addition, the City of Paducah has agreed to remodel the Julian M. Carroll Convention Center to the same level as the hotel. All of the hotel rooms and the remodeling of the convention center will be completed in time for the 2009 AQS Quilt Show. There will be more outside construction and the new check-in area for the hotel that will begin as soon as the show is over in 2009 with a 2010 completion date.
The hotel has started distributing the furnishings in the rooms to local charity groups. The section of the hotel closest to the convention center has been shut down so they can systematically tear apart and renovate the rooms in an orderly manner.
Won't it be fun to see this hotel (soon to be a Crowne Plaza) completely remodeled?! And I know we are all saying - it's about time.
2009 will be an exciting year as AQS celebrates its 25th anniversary. All of the past Best of Show winners have been invited to be guests at the show. Many of them will be teaching so you can all learn those techniques that have helped make them some of the best quilters in the world!
The process for requesting rooms at the Executive Inn will be placed on the AQS Web site, as soon as it is available to us. The new owners are in the process of revamping the reservation system and are not yet ready to handle reservations for the show.
March 22:
We are just one month away from opening day of the 24th AQS Quilt Show here in Paducah...so you know that my days are just crazy. Right now we are working hard on all of the materials that need to go to the printer.
Check out my Blog:
to see how high the Ohio River is. I've been posting my photos on my Blog so be sure to bookmark it and check back often. If you haven't seen my photos from Bali, click on January in the right column to see how much fun Wayne and I had there.
I'm starting on my next book...have just been doing background gathering so far. It should be a 2009 release. More on the book later.
Bonnie B
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
from Bonnie & Wayne Browning
I don't make New Year's resolutions...but if I did it would be to get more quilting done. I'm working on a new book, so will be doing some new projects for that, but also hope to sew some quilts that I just want to make. Do you ever get like that? I really want to make a quilt that uses some of those large floral prints, and I'm inspired from our trip to Bali to make a quilt combining batiks and other fabrics - maybe I should be making a commemorative quilt of our trip and include some of the great photos that we took while we were there.
Whatever you sew, I hope that you enjoy doing it. Make it fun, not work. Try some of those new techniques and don't be discouraged if they don't turn out. That's just part of trying new things. Some of them work beautifully and others - well, you can say you tried it.
If it is cold and snowy where you are, sit down and sew something to keep you and your family warm -- Make a Quilt!
Happy New Year!
Bonnie
Go to Bonnie's Blog to see many more photos of Bali and some descriptions of each one.
Be sure to vote in Bonnie's poll on the Blog too. 01.12.08
Click here to see photographs from our trip to Bali, November 2007.
Tokyo, Japan
One of the highlights of my trip to the 2002 Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival was participating in the Opening Ceremony and afterward getting to show Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishinonomiya through the show.
Can you imagine a quilt show with 245,000 attendees? That's the number of people that came to the Tokyo Dome for this show.
Also in the photo: Mrs. Baker, wife of U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker, visits with some of the featured Japanese quilt artists. Mrs. Baker invited 25 of the Americans who were attending the show to the Ambassador's residence for wine & cheese one evening. Ambassador Baker gave us a brief history of the residence. They were most gracious hosts -- it was like a touch of home for all of us.
And more trips to Japan...
Bonnie was invited back to Tokyo in November 2002 to judge the 2003 Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival. Hubby Wayne went along -- what a wonderful trip it was. Then Bonnie went back to Tokyo in January 2003 for the Quilt Festival, where she participated in the Opening and Awards Ceremonies.