Sunday, August 31, 2014

A Little More Rug Love!

I've been working on another punched rug with the Oxford Punch (available HERE) for the Hook In I will be vending at next weekend, Sept. 6th in Warsaw, MO. This one will go along with Pennies In My Garden wool and cotton quilt! The Hook In is sponsored by Saltbox Primitives and sounds like it will be a blast! I'm really excited!

 

I've had a few questions about what type of frame I use when doing rug punching. This is an antique Edmund's Rug Frame that my husband clamped some legs to, so the frame is held up off the table. It is working great! One important thing to remember when punching vs. hooking rugs is that you can not use a hooking frame for punching. The sharp needles on the hooking frame will snag the loops. When hooking, you work from the front and the needles grab ahold of the back of the rug. When punching, you work from the back, so the needles grab ahold of the loops and you don't want that! This is why I use a different frame when punching.

You can see that we also added some nails to 2 sides of the frame to hold the munks cloth in place. These old frames were made to use thumbtacks to hold the backing fabric in place. But that's too much work for me. These nails are working great to pull the backing fabric nice and tight while I punch.

This picture shows the nails much better! Plus, you can see the rug a bit better too! So far, I have not been able to hang my quilt, Pennies In My Garden ( available HERE), in my home but a few weeks. Once it finishes traveling the country to hang in stores and my vending booth, I will really enjoy hanging the quilt and displaying the matching rug together! It has been such fun creating these rugs with elements of my quilt designs!

The picture above shows my quilting hoop with fabric wrapped around the inner hoop. This is what I used for the smaller designs. Worked great!

Rug Punching is so easy and quick. I am thrilled to have finally jumped in and accomplished something that's been on my bucket list for quite a while!

I will be selling the monks cloth with the designs drawn for rug hooking and rug punching. If you are interested, please leave a reply or send an email and I will custom draw one for YOU! If any of you live near Warsaw, MO, I would love to meet you next Saturday, the 6th...come see me at the Hook In!

 

Take Care,

Missie

 

 

Saturday, August 23, 2014

A Little Rug Love!

 

I've been busy preparing for a rug hooking Hook In that I am vending at with Saltbox Primitives in Warsaw, MO on Sept. 6th...I'm pretty excited about it! These rugs were ALL made from last weekend to Thursday using the Amy Oxford Punch Tool. It is a fast way to "hook" a rug for sure! The larger design took about 2 days to punch and the two smaller chair pads took about a half day each. The Oxford Punch is used pretty much just like a Punchneedle, only it is much easier because you can punch in any direction and of course the wool covers the design quicker. Using a punch instead of a hook gives a bit less organized look to the loops. But I like the look as an option to the more organized rug hooking. And you know me...I love to find quick ways to do the more traditional arts!

 

I have the oxford punch listed on the website if you are interested. They come with instructions and a stitch gauge. You can find them HERE at Traditional Primitives.com at the bottom of the page. This punch works well with a #7 or #8 wool strip, or of course bulky yarn for rugs. It's another great tool! If you are interested in buying the patterns, send me a quick note and I'll list prices for you. They are not added to the site yet..

I am loving this art...just what I needed ...another passion I can't seem to put down ! Has anyone used their new starch brush yet? I'd love to hear how you like it!

One more thing...I am now on Instagram! I finally joined so I could see some fun pics of my kids and that made me realize it's time to make an account for my business. Follow me for quick updates of what I'm up to! Search for Traditional.Primitives to find me!

Take care,

Missie

 

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

We have a Winner!

Ok Ladies, as you made comments to win the drawing, I made a list in order and numbered the entries. Some folks reply by email and some leave comments on the blog. Looks like number 12 has won and that Happens to be Kathy O! I'll be emailing you Kathy to make sure I get your address! Congratulations!

Your little treasures will be on their way soon Kathy! Thanks for playing along everyone! I promised a little goodie for everyone who played and I will follow through. I have been so busy recently, so I don't have the little freebie done just yet, but I promise to send you another pincushion pattern for all who played. It will be a little sewing machine and will be just as cute as this one! Look for that in your mailboxes soon.

Thanks for your purchases of the new Starch Brush, Stiletto and Patterns over the last few days! I am excited for you all to try the tools! Let me know how you like them. I'm sure you will...

Since so many of you have purchased these tools, I'll do a refresher course post so you don't have to look for it in the blog. Look for that to come very soon as I know you'll want to get started as soon as you recieve them in the mail.

Thanks again for entering the drawing everyone!

Take care,

Missie

 

Monday, August 4, 2014

New Notions! The Starch Brush and Premium Quilting Starch~ Drawing, and a Special Request!

I have a new tool I'd like to share with you! For now, I'm calling it Missie's Favorite Starch Brush...never again do I need to dip my brush into the starch, paint a few inches, dip again, and so on. This brush has a reservoir that holds the starch right in the handle!! I am so excited to offer this to you so that your starch prep for English Paper Piecing and Appliqué will be easier than ever!
It has a cap to keep the brush protected and sealed.
And here is what it looks like. Pretty cool!
I've created a special starch product that comes in a bottle so it is very easy to fill the brush!  It's called Premium Quilting Starch.  To fill the handle with starch simply squirt it into the handle!


I hold it just like a pen, give it a gently squeeze now and then to release the starch... You can see above that the brush is wet with starch. I barely squeeze at all and a little bit of starch starts to come. It is very controlled and works really well!
Prep all the seams, nice and quick by painting the starch onto the seam allowance!
Iron the seam allowance over onto the freezer paper template (double layer remember) with a dry iron.
For the smallest pieces, use My Favorite Finger Stilleto so your skin does not feel ANY heat from the iron.

The area that's pressed nice and flat is laying on the solid white paper pointing towards the upper right corner of the picture...see how nice that curved edge is pressed?
When using this technique to prep Appliqué or English Paper Pieces, your pieces will be as perfect as your shapes. This is how I am able to piece blocks I could never do on the sewing machine!
And here is an example of what YOU can do using this simple technique and a few great tools you can find on my website if you are interested... Traditional Primitives from Missie Carpenter. You will find some EPP Pincushion Patterns on the Quilt Page and these handy tools on the Notions Page. Our tools make the job at hand so much easier and pleasant to do! Give them a try today! ( This new pattern will be coming soon!)
Now, I know those of you who have signed up for the drawing are anxiously waiting for the winner... I will give it one more day and draw the name tomorrow morning. If you have not entered, look back a few posts and you will find the details. I am sweetening the pot by adding in one of my new Starch Brushes, my favorite EPP thread and Needles, along with a thimble, a few EPPs ready to prep, some Roxanne's Glue and that Darling little Sewing Machine Case!! Get signed up today for a chance to win!
Now, for a special request... are there any rug hookers out there who would be willing to make a sample for me? I have been asked to offer elements of my designs as hooked rug patterns and I can't seem to find time to get any done! Please let me know if you are interested in helping me out! Thanks so much!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you are inspired to try English Paper Piecing the way I love to prep it...with starch!

Take care,
Missie
Traditional Primitives.com