Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Many Adventures!

Since I last posted so much has happened...so much that I can't remember it all! Spring Quilt Market was in Salt Lake City, a beautiful town indeed. I was so impressed with the kind people, beautiful scenery and clean downtown. We stayed in an apartment near the convention center and had a lovely view of the mountains.

Spring Market was successful and it was so fun to see new friends I've made in the past few years. I was next door to Robin of Briar Root Primitives and Norma of Timeless Treasures. Across the aisle was Cindy from Quilt Doodle and Barbara from Vanilla House. Such nice gals...each one of them! We all learn from each other and I'm so impressed with how differently they each run their businesses. So cool that this industry is filled with such wonderfully creative women.

My youngest daughter Katie and my Dear Hubs came along and we had a great time. I am so thankful for my wonderful family!

I did introduce some new designs that I have not shown you yet. First up is Castle Windows, inspired by...guess...a Castle Window that I saw online a while back. It is a very simple and quick Applique quilt that looks much more detailed than it actually is! I whipped it up in just a few days and most of the stitching was done in the car on our various travels this spring.

Next is Vintage Buddies- Two Old Crows and A Pair Of Hares. This one was super quick to make and has the unique binding I'm enjoying when I do an English Paper Pieced quilt. It intrigues people so much to see the Hexies on the fron and back of the quilt. An interesting "binding" for sure. To add interest there is a bit of stitchery on these designs. I used wool thread which looks soft and a bit fluffy and adds to the vintage feel of these table runners.

Royal Babies is also quick and simple to make. These baby quilts have pieced blocks that are inspired by one of the Blocks in Gardens Of A King. The full block is made once and then other sections of it were added in as the other blocks. They are all applique'd onto the pieced background and make a cute quilt for a boy or girl. Very simple and a breeze to stitch up!

The name of these quilts have a little story. I mentioned the block inspiration is from The Gardens Of A King, which you all know was inspired by the King George III Coverlet. King George III was married to Charlotte. The current Prince William now has two children, George and Charlotte. SO... I decided to make a boy version and a girl version in honor of the connection between the past and present Royals, George and Charlotte. Someday I do hope to have some grandchildren who can love on these quilts!

Of course, you can find these patterns and more on my website, Traditional Primitives, if you are interested!

While driving to Utah we saw a Tiny House! Very cute, but I need my space!

Since we got back from Market, we've done 2 shows. One in Tulsa and one in Minnesota. Both were great shows and it's always so nice to meet folks that I know from blogging or FB! Of course it's always fun to share my Starch Basting technique for English Paper Piecing with the show attendee's and watch them get so excited to learn an easy shortcut for basting. So many times I hear the statement "Why didn't I know that before I made a queen sized Hexie quilt!?" I am glad it gets them excited to get busy on more Hexies! In case you wonder what it looks like in my booth during a busy show, here's a snapshot!

This young mother wanted to find some sort of sewing to do with her four year old. She asked if they could try Rug Punching and they worked together to see if they would like it. The answer was yes! The little girl was so calm and patient and couldn't wait to get started at home! So wonderful to want to pass down the "sewing bug" to her young daughter! We need more young folks to keep these arts alive.

Jeff took a panoramic shot of the booth. It was funny because it took about 5 tries for us to get a half decent picture! A little blurry but you get the idea!

Next up is the Omaha Quilt Show this weekend. I'd love to meet some of you if you'll be there! Click on the link to see the info it begins at 5 pm June 23 and ends on The 25th at 4pm. This one goes until 8pm on the 24th! Wow, that will be a big shopping day! Hope to see you there!

That's a little summary of what's been happening recently. I've got another few quilts in the works and will post about them soon. Thanks so much for stopping by and as always, Take Care!

Missie