BONNIE HUNTER

Bonnie K Hunter is passionate about quilt quilting, focusing mainly on scrap quilts with the simple feeling of “making do”. She started her love affair with quilting in a home economics class her senior year of high school in 1980 and has never looked back. Before quilting became her full time career, Bonnie was the owner and designer of ""Needle in a Haystack!", creating more than 70 patterns for dolls and stuffed animals with a country primitive feel.

Many of her designs were licensed through the Butterick Pattern Company, translated into 7 languages and sold around the globe through fabric stores. But quilting has always been Bonnie’s first love. She has been machine quilting since 1989 and professionally long arm quilting for the public since 1995, retiring in 2009 when she no longer had the time due to her teaching, traveling and writing schedule. She has been featured in magazines both for her quilt patterns and articles she has written on scrap management and using that stash to its full potential.

Bonnie received the 2012 “Teacher of the Year” award through a global internet poll hosted via Sew Cal Gal, and was completely flabbergasted, not to mention honored and humbled at the same time.

Dedicated to continuing the traditions of quilting, Bonnie enjoys meeting with quilters, teaching workshops and lecturing to quilt guilds all over the world, challenging quilters to break the rules, think outside the box, and find what brings them joy.

When not traveling and teaching, she spends her time piecing scrap quilts, enjoying the peaceful reward of English paper piecing and hand quilting as much as machine work, and loving life in her wooded surroundings in beautiful rural Wallburg, North Carolina, a suburb of Winston-Salem. She and her husband, Dave are the proud parents of two grown sons, Jason, and Jeffrey. They round out their household with Sadie the dog and two cats –Emmy Lou, who loves life inside only, and Chloe who only loves life on the outside—keeping Bonnie company while she designs, quilts and plays happily with her fabric.

Bonnie also writes a regular column for Quiltmaker Magazine entitled "Addicted to Scraps" with the main intention to help you to put various aspects of your own Scrap Users System to good use!

Bonnie’s favorite motto? “The Best Things in Life are Quilted!!” of course!

Linda , - Very beautiful country.

Dan Carley , Grand Rapids, MI - The tour was terrific overall. We very much enjoyed combining the sights of Vietnam with the one of a kind craft experiences we had on the tour.

Pat Spencer , Longview, WA - While Viet Nam was never on my bucket list of places I wanted to visit, I am so happy that I did. VietNam is a beautiful country and the people are very welcoming. This tour was well organized and offered a variety of local sights and experiences.

Roxanne Bijold , Duluth, MN - This was my first tour with Craftours, and we had a lovely visit to Vietnam. From embroidery and batik classes with the local ethnic ladies, to kayaking Halong Bay, to the interesting museums, and the visually and tastefully stimulating city of Hanoi, we had a great time. Hotels were top-notch, and the local people were very kind to us. Scenery was spectacular!

Maura Hannon , Lords Valley, PA - Vietnam was a wonderful experience. The tour included so much of the country and history via bus and boat tours. The Mekong Delta boat tour and Halong Bay Cruise were very special. Our tour escort was exceptional and the tour guides were informative and each offered an insightful perspective of Vietnam.

Ann McDevitt , Burlington, MA - The tour was very interesting and I learned a lot.

Mark Chandler , San Diego, CA - I had a good time. I am not very crafty and I enjoyed the tourists we visited.

Donna Chandler , San Diego, CA - I had a wonderful time meeting the other participants in the trip. I enjoyed having new experiences such as the tuk-tuk ride that our local guide arranged in Hanoi.

Jill Van Zant , Panama City, FL - I enjoyed this tour so much! We saw some of the most beautiful things and were able to sample local foods. The local artists we visited were so nice and their work was phenomenal. I wanted to bring it all home! Everyone we met was very welcoming either in their homes or shops. It was very interesting to see how all the items were made and how they still use the same natural materials from many years ago. I would go back again and again!

Karen Uridel, Mentor, OH - "I was very surprised by the people and the country. I’m old enough that when I think of Vietnam, I think of a war torn country. Boy was I mistaken. The country was beautiful, the people were smiling and friendly. This seems to be a country moving into the future."

Marlys Wiens, Edina, MN - "The people of Vietnam were very hospitable and talked and lived "Peace". Many in the tourism business did not experience the "Vietnam/American War" and have moved on with their lives. The food was so fresh tasting and all the vegetable and meat (Fish) dishes were so healthy. Cruising in the 1,969 islands near Hanoi was so beautiful and having morning exercise classes in the morning mist on the top level of the boat was special. In the delta, loved the cruise and also to learn that the Vietnamese are still trying to educate the locals on how to handle the bombs they continue to find in their landscape. The question in my mind: Shouldn’t Americans want to help fund and/or assist in the cleanup of the war 50 years ago in Vietnam?"