Bono grew up in the south of Spain enveloped in a very large and active family. And she was a street kid—but in a good way. 

“My childhood was all about playing games in the street. I had 40 cousins and 12 lived nearby, and when we came back from school we played all day with dolls and bolles,” she remembers on a Zoom video interview from her home in Spain.

“And there was an extended family. Family is very important in Spain, so my uncles, aunts, and grandparents were always there at gatherings. If you look at my quilts, they reflect my childhood and sense of community.”

As a teenager, Bono did some cross stitching and knitting as a hobby, but that interest faded until she picked up cross stitching again in her mid-twenties. She still was not involved with quilting yet—though her aunt and grandmother were active sewists.

That all changed in 1996 when, while living in London, she went to the theater to see the 1995 film How to Make an American Quilt. It starred Winona Ryder as a graduate student weighing a proposal from her boyfriend while visiting her older relatives and their friends. 

As the group works to make their wedding quilt together, they relayed stories of their own lives and pasts, which help Ryder’s character make an important life decision.

“I liked Winona Ryder and wanted to see the movie, and I hadn’t been exposed to patchwork before. When I came out of the cinema, I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she says, still with enthusiasm more than a quarter century later.

“I loved the sense of community it showed with the women who had been quilting for years and years. They had a lot of feelings and emotions. And doing something for someone else in a group meant something to me.”

Of course, this was the late 1990s. And not only was there a dearth of quilt shops near Bono, there was no YouTube or social media to watch videos and learn how to quilt and use tips, tricks, and techniques. So, she’d have to wait until a teacher came to her town.

“We had only one quilt shop in Seville, but there was a teacher who came from North Spain, twice a year, for a week. And that’s how I learned,” she says.

Bono soon found she had an extra affinity for wholecoth quilts, but wanted to put her own twist on it with colors and whimsical designs. And while she does love piecing, it was the machine quilting process of making wholecloths that really appealed to her.

She furthered her education in 2015 after watching a segment on QNNTV with host Jodie Davis and guest Ebony Love about collaborative quilting. They also discussed coloring books for adults, which inspired Bono to incorporate whimsy into her works.

At this year’s International Quilt Festival, Bono will be a busy woman, teaching classes (three of which are new) and giving two lectures. One of those lectures tackles the topic of extreme current interest in the art world and otherwise: The use and misuse of Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

Cristina’s teaching schedule at Houston Festival:

“That subject is a little bit tricky,” Bono admits. “We have ChatGPT and other tools to use for their work. I will tell people how to make the most of that [technology] with their quilting.”

Finally, Bono says she’s always excited to be at International Quilt Festival in Houston—which she likes to “Disneyland for Quilters.” That’s appropriate, as on this day she’s sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with the image of Minnie Mouse.

However, there might be one kink in her plans.

“The quilt exhibits are always wonderful!” she says. “I wish I had more time to see them! And attend classes on my own!”

For more on Cristina and her work visit www.crisarcbono.com