Pick a little, stitch a little ­– 80 years of Bonnie Meyers’ quilting

by Janet Wilcox
Contributing Writer
Bonnie Guymon Meyers started sewing when she was in high school and she hasn’t stopped since. She, along with Evelyn Perkins and Joleen Holt, have been charter members of Grayson Country Quilters since 1995 when they and other quilters organized the Blanding club.
Bonnie loves home economics and as a high school senior she took two classes – one with the seniors and one with freshmen. Bonnie’s mother, Beth Guymon was a great example of frugality and made all of her children’s clothes as they were growing up. Bonnie never had a store-bought dress until she was in junior high school.
When she married Steve Meyer at age 18, she started making all of her daughters’ clothing. This includes Easter dresses, Christmas and Fourth of July outfits.
Bonnie remembers her mother, grandmother, and Gladys Lyman (Albert R. Lyman’s wife) tying quilts in their home on Third West. In that era quilters would cut each piece of yarn individually and tie each knot separately. Bonnie remembers sitting under the quilts and listening to the ladies gossip.
Bonnie grew up helping her mother and grandmother tie quilts. But her own first quilt was a baby barn. She first embroidered all of the blocks then sewed them together in the shape of a barn.
Her definition of “quilting” in those days was “tied quilts”. For decades, Bonnie made quilts for the nursing home to sell. She worked at the nursing home in the laundry and they contracted with her to make quilts that families could purchase for the residents.
The nursing home paid her for the fabric plus a specific amount for each quilt. Bonnie made more than 800 quilts during this time.
Her first hand-quilting experience came when her son, Steven Meyers and his fiancé, Emily Riggs were to be married.
Emily’s mother and Adell Lovell put on a tricot quilt and invited Bonnie to come over and help. Bonnie never looked back. This door opened a new passion and hobby which has never ended.
She began the tradition of quilting tricot quilts for her children when they married and then expanded it to include 47 grandchildren when they married.
At age 87, she continues quilting today and there is always a quilt on at her home. Her quilts usually have some type of a floral design, but her son Scott insisted that his quilt be a cowboy. Bonnie has made at least 40 tricot quilts thus far.
“Have a thimble, will quilt!” might well be Bonnie’s motto. She has often quilted with friends in town, sometimes quilting until two in the morning.
Different people came to help and it was a wonderful way to socialize. In her younger years Helen Palmer needed help with a quilt and called Bonnie, asking for help.
Helen was an excellent quilter and Bonnie felt when Helen asked for her help, “I was finally good enough to quilt for others.” Helen’s approval made Bonnie feel like she had “really made it.”
Bonnie has made pieced quilts for her boys and three or four for each of her girls with either embroidered blocks or pieced ones. 
About seven years ago Bonnie began sewing pillowcases for Christmas gifts for each of her 94 great-grandchildren and her sister Kathleen Lyman’s 18 grandchildren.
Each great-grandchild receives a new pillowcase each year with their name embroidered on the case. This is a legacy that she gives to her posterity.
For the past five years she has given her children and 47 grandchildren a holiday-themed table runner (Christmas, fall, Fourth of July, etc). In addition, she crochets a dish cloth to include with the gift.
Bonnie has several grandsons who have yet to marry, but they will eventually have their quilt. In fact, her grandsons enjoy going fabric shopping with her.
She recalls once sending them in to find the type of fabric she needed and they came back with ten different bolts. “They were having the time of their life!” she recalled.
One of the grandsons is color blind, so he would always say, “It looks good to me.” They can’t wait to see what fabric Bonnie buys.
Her talents have rubbed off on all her posterity and one of her grandsons has even invested in an embroidery machine.
Stash! All quilters have lots of stash and Bonnie is no exception. When she goes to Spanish Fork to visit her daughters she always goes to fabric stores to buy more fabric.
She usually spends around $700. But once she walked out with $2,000 worth. Bonnie says she has 40 years’ worth of fabric.
“If you make something for one, you have to make one for everyone,” she notes.
Often, both Bonnie and her sister Kathleen have said that they can’t die until they’ve cleared out their stash. If that’s the case, Bonnie will likely outlive us all.
Gayle Shumway observes, “Bonnie has made pillowcases for all her grandchildren every year for Christmas for years. She taught me how to make them for Christmas gifts.
“I visited her three times before I got it right! I had so much fun visiting her and seeing her plants and crafts. And the pillowcases were a hit with my grandkids! Thanks for sharing, Bonnie!”
“Bonnie has been a friend since I moved to Blanding years ago,” recalls Nancy Kimmerle. “She has a plethora of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Bonnie remembers each one with pictures on her refrigerator, kitchen, and flowing into other areas of her house. She makes each one a Christmas gift.
“Bonnie is a professional pillowcase maker with all sorts of fun fabrics, many years adding their name with her embroidery machine. She also hand quilts intricate tricot quilts for each marriage.”
“Bonnie is fun to visit with, enjoys card and board games, and loves gardening. Her yard is full of flowers of all varieties.
In fact, if you go for a visit and she doesn’t answer the door right away, she’s probably in her garden. If you have to wait, she only asks, (via a sign) that you pull a few weeds.