Showing posts with label Oxford Punch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oxford Punch. Show all posts

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

 

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Back Home!

The trip to Garland was wonderful! The Garland Guild has a great thing going with a full room of quilt loving women chatting, laughing and enjoying the fellowship that comes with a guild. If you are a resident of North Dallas, be sure to check out this guild. They really have a good time together. The workshops went well at the two stores I visited, Sew Let's Quilt It and Happiness Is Quilting. Such sweet ladies all around!

 

Patty at Sew Let's Quilt It gave me a demo of her computerized quilting machine. Wow! Are those nice! It was very cool to see how it works and how they get each block measured and quilted. She has some beautiful samples hanging in her store and has custom quilted them using her fancy machine. I was a bit jealous! The workshop for the Zebra Wallhanging was great. So fun to see students squeal with delight as they sew those first two blocks together and they discover the process really is worry free!

Happiness Is Quilting had me for two days and I so enjoyed watching them work and interact with customers. The store is beautiful with lots of samples and a little bit of something for everyone from modern to reproduction, Dutch florals, Punchneedle, machines And just about any notion you could want!

 

Darling pink walls with beautiful samples!

One of my hostesses for an evening showed me her lovely seeing studio! Oh, to have a place as beautiful as this room would be so wonderful...maybe some day....

First of all...it was Clean and Organized, secondly it was a perfect size, and lastly it was decorated perfectly with many of her favorite things! This is just one corner of this great space.

And here' s a nice close up of some of her lovely trinkets!

Now that I'm home, I'm doing my best to get my room organized. No space for many trinkets and pretties, but at least I do have my own space to be creative in and that I'm grateful for.

Once I got my sewing room a bit cleaned up, I had to mess it up again with a little wool. Can't stay clean for long, I must admit! Since about half way through making "George"...the Gardens Of A King, I wanted to try it in wool. Well...it worked just great! Below you can see my first block with wool appliqué on cottons...went together in an afternoon full of visiting and stitching! Very quick and easy!

I also did a little rug punching...so relaxing and rewarding because it's so quick to do! I'm in search of a new background color. This one isn't quite right....uh oh! Another reason to buy wool! Recently, I made a purchase of a new blade for my rusty old cutter. It should cut like butter the next time I need to cut strips. Should be exciting!! ( Why is it so exciting to cut wool strips? Am I crazy?!? LOL!).

Have a wonderful week!

Take care,

Missie

 

Friday, September 26, 2014

Thanks To My Hometown!

My hometown is Springfield, MO...the Ozark Piecemakers Guild did a wonderful job at their quilt show and welcomed all of the vendors with a helping hand. It was great fun meeting all the ladies who enjoyed shopping at the vendor mall...so fun to chat with others who love quilting! I also enjoy sharing my passion for English Paper Piecing, Applique, Wool and the tricks I use when making a quilt.

I had to set up most of the booth by myself this time and it took every minute to get thing organized. My mom was my wonderful helper the first day of the show and she did an awesome job for me! It was great fun to have a girls day together, even though we were super busy and didn't have too much time for relaxing. Thanks Mom! Love you! My husband joined me for the weekend days of the show and was also a great help! Thanks Jeff! Love you too! I couldn't do it alone, that's for sure...

Above, you can see my new "department", wool rug punching or rug hooking. Thanks to one of my followers from the blog, Colleen, who helped me out and made two of the rugs you see there! She made the one with the pineapple, "Little Bird Welcome" and the circular chair pad on the bottom right, "Wooly Blossum". She will get them back after my fall shows and I will hate to give them up! I am working on my own to have, but she really helped me get these done in time to show at the hook in a few weeks ago. Thank you Colleen! I still have not had time to add these to the website...if you are interested, please let me know and I'll get you the info!

The booth was a little different size and it was nice to have room to show all the quilts well. Usually things are quite scrunched as I design new projects...things get more crowded!

 

This is the Punchneedle department...crowded and packed, empty towards the end of the show!

 

Here's a small group watching my EPP Demo. My table gets so filled and messy, but I love to be able to grab a project and help people lean something new, so it's all right there within arms length. (Just like at home! Lol, I'm a messy gal!)

 

I'm finished with my (first) Reproduction of the King George III Coverlet, Gardens Of a King! It is quilted and delivered to hang in the Des Moines Quilt Guild Show next week. The pattern will be available soon. I'll show you the entire quilt at that time. If you might be interested in purchasing this pattern, please let me know and I'll make sure you get the info in your inbox. It was so rewarding to finish this one! I may have to make another to hang in my home full time! Most of my quilts are not hanging in my home...they are off at a shop trunk show or packed for a vending trip. I have started making duplicates of my faves so I can enjoy them too! I have a long way to go until I get to enjoy all of them at home!

The AQS/Des Moines Quilt show is next week. Another fun week of beautiful quilts and shopping! Can't wait! Then I'll be headed to Kearney, NE for Threads Nebraska October 9-11! Is anyone headed to this fun event?

Thanks for stopping by today,

Take care,

Missie

 

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