Bonnie Davidson began quilting in the early 2000s, when her mother came to visit and brought along a quilted placemat project. Well, the blocks for those placemats turned into Bonnie’s first quilt – a bed quilt with those blocks on point. Bonnie’s interest took off from there and by 2006, she was living in Minnesota amid lots of quilters and quilt shops. A job offer in Dubai for her husband, however, saw the Davidsons move from cool Minnesota to the United Arab Emirates, where the climate and the quilting community were completely different.
As any quilter would, Bonnie set about finding a quilt shop in her new home. Classic Quilts and Quilting, owned by an Indian couple, was the only one, but from there she found the Dubai Quilters Guild. Meeting up with other quilters from literally around the world was a great experience, and soon Bonnie found herself volunteering to be part of a small group preparing to put on the 1st International Quilt Show in Dubai in 2008. Bonnie was officially the secretary of the group, but she was also in charge of physically holding the quilts after they were delivered and before they were hung at the show. 110 quilts were on display that first year, with over 1,000 attendees. Instructors at the show were Karin Hallaby, Barbara Chaney, and Christine Porter. Libby Lehman and Ricky Tims taught at the 2009 and 2010 shows respectively, and in 2010, Bonnie won a first place award for her quilt “Fans and Flowers.”
Not long after the 2010 show, Bonnie and her husband returned to the US, and lucky for us, Bonnie joined the East Cobb Quilters’ Guild. Bonnie has held the office of Guild Secretary several times and volunteered in other capacities as well. She especially appreciates the Guild’s focus on community service and enjoys making quilts for donation to the Department of Family and Childrens Services. Her advice to new members? Just talk to someone! Chances are they are looking for a conversation too. And don’t stop there – when there’s a need for help at the meeting or a committee is looking for more members, get involved. Working together makes friends of strangers – whether on an inaugural quilt show in another country or helping hold quilts at Show and Tell.
This is one installment of Who We Are, a monthly series in this newsletter and on our blog spotlighting ECQG members and giving them a chance to tell their quilting stories.