It's Good To Be Home!

Wow! Time flies when you are having fun! Since the last post here on the blog, we've traveled through 8 states and spent many a night away. It's so good to be home!
Some exciting news... A new Punchneedle Mini Quilt is published in the current issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects!

I do believe this little quilt, Pomegranates and Pennies, is my favorite Punchneedle Mini Quilt yet. The rich colors are just what I love and say "home" to me. It's a super easy design to punch and works up very quickly due to the large smooth shapes. The finished size is 12" and will be a great addition to my mini quilt wall. I have the magazines and full kits, including that beautiful wool and Valdani Threads, for this little quilt on my website HERE at Traditional Primitives. This would make a great Holiday present for someone special! After all, it is time to be thinking about shopping for Holiday Season.

Do you see something familiar below in the photo of Frond Studio's booth in Sample Spree at Quilt Market?

The light colored quilt is my pattern French Diamonds! What a difference color makes. See more pictures HERE.

Stephanie Brandenburg is the designer of Frond Fabrics. She's an amazing artist with exceptional talent! I have used several of her fabrics for my backgrounds in some of my primitive quilts. French Diamonds above uses her Plaster Of Paris fabric and has the look of leather in my quilt. The background of the original Pennies In My Garden is also her fabric called Brushstrokes.

It's a challenge for us to think outside the box when we see a quilt we love. You can see their light artsy version below on the back wall as well. Look closely at the table and you'll see Brookshire Star!

Wow! Such a different look with different colors and fabric styles! Frond has used their new Barnboard fabric for the background of Brookshire Star. It keeps that rustic look but adds the modern touch with the Frond fabrics they've used. It's that industrial meets rustic that's so popular today! See more pictures HERE.

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And my version below...

Take a look at Frond fabrics HERE to see if you can find a unique fabric for one of your upcoming quilts to add the rustic feel you are looking for! Sometimes we need to open our minds to create the "look" we're after when making quilts. I search for primitive fabrics in all types of fabric design styles... Try it! You may find it's easier to open the box than you think!
That's my lesson for today!
I'll share a few pictures from Quilt Market and Festival. We found it challenging to squeeze 40 feet of quilts into 18 feet of wall space at Market, but we managed to make it work out, thank goodness!

We enjoyed bringing our Dear Daughter and Son In Law to help handle the crowds! It was a great time! I was so hoping the World Series would finish up before they had to fly south to join us. Unfortunately the last game was played while they were on the flight to Houston. On the good side, the flight was delayed so they got to see most of the game at the airport...it's a good Son In Law who gets on a plane to join his Mother In Law at a quilt event...especially when the most important inning was just beginning as he entered the plane! He's a Cubs Fan so thankfully the reruns of the end of the game were pleasant for him to see the next day! I love him dearly! Thanks to both he and our daughter for their hard work at Festival!

We saw some friends from the past and met lots of new friends! I love it when you bring your quilts made from my patterns. Thanks for sharing ladies! Enjoy these collages of Fun from Festival! We see A Warm Welcome and Gardens Of A King in the photos below.

Teaching, translating by way of the internet and enjoying the rush! English Paper Piecing basting with Starch, rug punch and punchneedle! My favorite pastimes!

The exhibit was stunning. Unfortunately my camera did a reset and lost all of the photos I took. The exhibit at Festival is always stunning. Absolutely takes your breath away when you see these extraordinary quilt from all eras.

It's such a great time to go to Market and Festival. We are rested and caught up and are ready to take on the upcoming Holidays. It's hard to believe this year has moved by so quickly! Before we know it, we'll be writing 2017. Yowza!
Thanks for taking time to check in on the blog today!
Take care,
Missie

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Big News, Exciting News, Lots of News! New Products!

Howdy Ho Everyone! It's been a busy summer with lots of happenings. We have a daughter who is newly engaged so there will be a wedding to plan for next summer! Yay! We are so happy for the couple and look forward to gaining our second son-in-law to join the family.

We also have the oldest and her husband moving back to Iowa, so they will be 2.5 hours away rather than 18! We are thrilled for that! They listed their home and it sold in a week, the very day they found a house to purchase in Iowa. It's a bit of a fixer upper, so we'll have some fun with paint and new furniture and they will plan on a new kitchen. Should be fun to see what they come up with, and we'll be happy to help in any way we can. Of course, both of these couples may need a new quilt or two! Fun, fun, fun!

 

I have a few new products to share with you...first, I have decided to offer my own brand of needles. I offer them in a Magnetic Box Set for both Wool and EPP/Applique and also in a more plain form in a tiny envelope or a small tube once the envelopes are gone. You can read more about them on my website HERE if you so desire...

We are also offering Premium Freezer Paper from Traditional Primitives these days. That's righ, my own brand. It has great qualities for my Starch Basting for English Paper Piecing. It can be used many times over and it does not shrink like other papers! That means we can make more than we think from only a few papers. I counted to about 20 times reusing one Hexie and then came back to it a few days later and found that the dampened edges from my starch basting technique had dried and I could use it even more. I'm loving this new paper! You can read more about it on my website by clicking the same link above. Let me know if you have any questions!

We are also offering the wool thread that I love using for wool Applique, Genziana. It is a pretty good bargain for the large amount on each spool and the colors are so rich and lovely...it sews wonderfully using the wool needles above!

And we are also offering Mettler 60 weight cotton threads for English Paper Piecing without the paper and for Applique. It is so much more invisible than 50 weight...I couldn't believe how effortless it was to make a good invisible stitch. I'm loving it! Again it's on the same notion page on my website. Use the link above to take you there! Look for more goodies soon...

Since posting about Spring Market Adventures, we've been to KY for a family reunion, Tulsa for a great little quilt show, MN Quilt Show, MO for a quick visit with my folks, The Omaha Quilt Show, a family meet up for July 4th, KC to move a daughter, Ankeny Iowa Show, teaching at Quilt NE and I've been home (what's that?!?) for almost two weeks now! WHEW!

Merrie was sure to bring a photo of her pincushion she made from a pattern she purchased last year. I love to see projects, finished or even just started! Thank you Merrie!

In the photos above, I'm showing some young ladies all about Punchneedle. I learned when I was about 13. We really need to teach the younger generation about fiber arts to keep it alive. Share it with someone younger whenever you can!

I made it on the local news while doing a demo on Rug Punching during the Ankeny Show! How embarrassing! Tee Hee!

Do you remember the books 'Where's Waldo?' That's what this picture made us think of...Where's Missie?

Had a quick visit from Renee, an Iowa friend all the way up at the MN show! She brought some blocks to show me from Gardens Of A King! Isn't she doing great!?

We tried a new set up for the Punchneedle Kits. It worked well and they weren't falling all over the table this time! Yay!

Did I say WHEW earlier? Yes! It's good to be home!

I'm working on a new quilt that will be both Pieced and Applique. Can't wait to give you a sneak peak very soon!

In between trips I caught a few moments to sew a few more blocks for my second Gardens Of A King quilt. This one as you see, is a bit bolder in color. I have not decided about the background yet, so I'm holding off on stitching that on the blocks for now.

Look for some of my goodies in the Autum Issue of Simply Vintage coming soon and in the Winter Issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects Magazines.

Take care and Happy Stitching!

Missie

 

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Get Me To The Church (Or Guild Meeting!) On Time!!

This post is not really related to Quilting directly, but it IS related to getting to our fun Monthly or weekly events like guild and small groups on time and on the right day! It seems that most everyone has an Apple Product of some sort these days whether it be a phone or an iPad or a computer or notebook. I have an iPad tablet and an Android phone so these are run differently in the guts of the computers and are not comparable with each other when it comes to using the same apps. I think everyone probably knows this, right? If you have an Apple product of some sort, perhaps this post will help you!

So many people I know struggle with the calendars on these devices and easily putting our events on our calendars. So many of the calendars on these devices come only with the option to repeat the event on the same DATE of the month and my friends and I have talked about that complaint so often! This would be handy to put in guild and small group meetings that occur on the 1st Tuesday of each month vs. the same DATE of each month which would be a different day of the month each month...got it?

Well, with the newest IOS update to my old iPad I guess the calendar had an update too! ***Please read the starred paragraph below before you do the IOS 8 update!*** Anyway, I just discovered the option to create a custom repeat In the calendar app so that my entries have now become so EASY! I am THRILLED! For so long I have chosen the option for an event repeated monthly and then I move the event by sliding the entry on the calendar. WHEN I remember to do the slide that is... BUT I have such a hard time remembering which week of the month each event falls on, it's still not easy for me. I am constantly referring to past calendars to find out exactly which week the repeating event falls in. This new update has solved that problem for me and I know it will help some of you too! The solution is a bit buried in the app.

So here is the new solution I've just discovered. Using the iPad Calendar (I assume the iPhone calendar will work the same) create your event as you normally would. Click on the date and start filling in the form. After you've entered the title of the event, go down and click Repeat.

Then choose the frequency of the repeat...could be daily, weekly, etc. I've chosen Monthly.

Then click "on the..." And the schedule option will show up that coordinates with the option you chose above. This is the new part! You can now choose the same day of the week each month vs the same DATE. Yeah!!

Then click the repeat arrow to go back a page and you will see a custom repeat! Yeah Again!!!

I've chosen to never stop this repeat so I won't ever need to remember to make an entry for this event again!! And you can also see that the custom repeat is saved.

Then click ADD and it will be saved on your calendar on the same day of the same week forever!!!! I'm so excited! Can you tell? I will never be disappointed to miss another fun meeting because I will know it's coming without having to think about it! And an added bonus is that it will be on the correct day! LOL

There were several different options and it should fit to most any schedule that you need to put on your calendar. It's a GREAT addition!

Now the second part that is very cool is that I can download the Android calendar app on my iPad and sync this calendar with the iPad calendar. Then the Android calendar on my phone will sync with this calendar as long as I am signed in so I have all my calendar events with me where ever I go. This is nothing new, but just in case you didn't know, the option is there for you!

*****A word of warning...when I did the IOS update for my iPad 2, which is only a few years old, Apple considers this old. The new IOS update is not very compatable with these "old" models and did require that I adjust some settings and do a restore to make it work as good as it used to. I was very upset for a while but am now used to the changes that occurred due to the update. For a while I wanted to throw the iPad across the room!! But all is well now. The big thing I've noticed is that I can not have lots of browser windows open at once or the iPad freezes. And sometimes FB has trouble with the browser open at the same time. So I close a few now and then to keep the open windows to about 5 or less. Otherwise it works well now. If you have not done the update yet, do the research first to decide if you want it!!!

I hope this has helped some of you! Hopefully you don't think this is a stupid post. So many I know don't know about this option, so I just thought I'd share! It made my day once I discovered this one little option to do a custom repeat that works with my schedule!

I'm getting ready for "It's A Gatherin' " in Stover, MO this week. It's a fun shopping event in central MO at the Community Center in Stover on April 10 & 11 and opens at 9am. The shoppers are so excited and get there early to come visit us vendors. This was the first show I ever did and now here it is the third time I'm going there! Time flies when you are having fun!! If you are in the area please come see me and say hello!! I am hoping I can make the adjustment from a 20' booth to an 8' booth! Something has to give and it's always so hard to decide!! LOL

I've also started a new project for Primitive Quilts and Projects Magazine. Thanks to all of you who have ordered the kit for the little quilt in the spring issue. Look for another next spring! One other New project will be published soon in the new magazine Punch Needle and Primitive Stitchery. Kits will be available for the new magazine project also. I'll show a picture when I can!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great week!!

Take care,

Missie

 

Visit my web store www.TraditionalPrimitives.com

Hexies Are EVERYWHERE!

Have you noticed that Hexies are found everywhere these days?!? We bought a new (to us) car last spring and believe it or not, the seats have a Hexie texture to them! I drive a Nissan Juke if any of you want a Hexie car too! Haha! it is not the reason we bought the car, but it sure was a fun little perk for me!

And here is a close up view!

Since then, I've started noticing Hexies EVERYWHERE !!! Here are a few pictures I've collected. These are from TV- weather reports, auto commercials, news reports, TV shows, football; Product Packaging- toothpaste, TVs, advertising, clothing, non quilting magazines, Auto grills, shopping carts and MORE!! That snowflake is a photo of a real snowflake! Look at that Hexie in the middle!

 

As I'm typing this post in the living room, a news story has come on the TV and I just had to pause it and snap a nice picture of a few more Hexies! This is a 3D food printer...WOW! And see the beautiful Hexie shapes it's using to build sugar decorations?! WOW! Wouldn't we love to build candy Hexies in our own kitchen to serve our quilty friends a special treat!

 

As you are out and about, start looking...Hexies are EVERYWHERE!! So fun! We Quilter's are not the only ones Hooked On Hexies!! Have these shapes always been used in marketing and TV or am I just now noticing??

I'm sewing on some Hexies today trying to finish up the little Candy Stripes small quilt I started a while back. (Like a YEAR ago!) This little quilt keeps getting pushed to the back of the line when it comes to stitching order. But it's so cute, I thought I'd bring it front and center in stitching order to get this little gem done.

I have made up kits for the Dallas Show in a few weeks. Some are red and ivory and some a blue and ivory. If you happen to fall in love with this little gem, send me a note and I'll give you pricing info. This little Candy Stripes Quilt is about 12" Square. Just big enough for a little mini quilt or table topper! Of course, you could always add more to it and make it any size you want.

This little quilt pattern explains my starch basting process and is a good starter if you want to learn my way using the Finger Stiletto and Starch Brush found on my website. It's just another little addition to my starter kits to learn the method. Quick and simple, not counting all the time it sat in my "to do" pile! Haha!

Notice I don't keep the papers in while sewing Hexies together. I keep my finger nail very close to the edges and this helps me to take tiny bites in the fabric, keeping the stitches hidden from the front.

This picture shows how I "bind" the edges, which really isn't a binding, but just a pretty old fashioned finish. After the top is completed, I lay more Hexies around the edges, right sides together and sew all around the edges, attaching the new pieces together at their side seams so they will lay flat. When they are sewn all around the edges, I'll just flip them to the back side. You can see those pieces lifted slightly in the picture below. While looking at the backside, see how wonderful those seams look? That Starch keeps things nice and neat!

 

When all of the "binding" pieces are sewn in and flipped to the back, I'll slip in the batting and backing, appliqué the edges of that binding down and quilt a simple design!

I wanted to say a quick thank you to all of you who have been purchasing the kits for Colors Of Coxcomb which is in the current Spring 2015 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects Magazine. It's been overwhelming and I'm so grateful that so many of you like this little wool or punched design! Thank you, thank you!

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Take Care,

Missie, PS- I've added a new tip to the Gardens Of A King Tab

 

 

Visit my web store www.TraditionalPrimitives.com

More Pennies Please!

Yep, you are seeing right! I'm making more pennies for a new Table Runner. As mentioned in an earlier post, I will be traveling to teach for the Garland Quilt Guild in Texas. While there, I will also be teaching at a few local quilt stores. One is called Happiness Is...Quilting! And the name of the store just makes you want to go right on in to check it out doesn't it! They've requested that one of the workshops will be a Table Runner based on the larger quilt, Pennies In My Garden. This one is going much quicker due to its size. The reward of a finished quilt will come pretty quickly due to it's smaller size. The other workshop will be all about Punchneedle. I'll provide tips and show how I make my mini Punchneedle Quilts! Both will be lots of fun and very educational for the students. If you are in the Dallas area, come and see me!!
Don't forget to look for my new Mini Punchneedle Quilt in the Spring 2015 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects! Mine has still not arrived...I can't wait!!

Something else exciting is that I have started a FaceBook group for the makers of  my quilts and The Gardens of a King.  Like my business page on FB by clicking HERE and then scroll down to find the Traditional Primitives Group and request to join, then ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED INTO THE GROUP!  Then you will be accepted, if you've purchased the pattern and can join in on the fun!  You can post pictures of your progress on my designs. I hope to see pictures of many of my designs that you've made, but mostly I hope to see lots of blocks from The Gardens Of A King. I want you to find inspiration and praise from the blocks, quilts and punchneedle you've all made! You can compare colors, get ideas, see fussy cutting, etc to inspire you! We can have conversations and keep each other motivated! I'm so excited and I hope you will join me soon!! Click the link above, request to join and we'll see you there! This reminds me, I'm also now on Instagram for those of you who enjoy that. Please search for me as traditional.primitives and start following. 

See you soon in one or all of these fun places listed above!!
Take Care,
Missie

Visit my web store www.TraditionalPrimitives.com

Lookie Lookie! Primitive Quilts and Projects Spring Issue!

Look for a new Mini Punchneedle Quilt from me in the newest edition of Primitive Quilts and Projects Spring 2015 Issue...being mailed this week!

 

 

 

Kits will be available on my website very soon!

 

Thanks for stopping by and Take Care,

Missie

 

Visit my web store www.TraditionalPrimitives.com

Aging Fabrics

 

There have been some questions on how I age my fabric with coffee, so I would love to share my process with you.  It's pretty easy! 

 

Preheat the oven to 250*.  Boil about 8-12 cups of water in a large soup pot on the stovetop.  While that is getting hot, heat about1 cup of water in the microwave and add 2-3 spoonfulls of instant caffeinated coffee.  Mix well until the crystals are dissolved.  This solution will be milky brown colored. 

 

After the crystals are dissolved, pour the thick coffee into the boiling water and stir.  Then add your fabric and cook it on low to medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  Use tongs to rearrange or stir occasionally.  The largest cut of fabric I use is about 1/2 yard.  You can "cook" several pieces at a time, but keep the cuts small so they will fit in the cookie sheet for baking.

 

Next set aside a cooking sheet that has about 3/4" raised sides.  I believe the official term is a rolled cake pan?  I am not much of a cook, so I am not sure exactly!  Anyway, use tongs to remove your fabric from the hot coffee and hold it in the air over the pan to drain most of the liquid out.  Then use a strainer in the sink.  Do not squeeze out the coffee.  Reorganize the fabric a few times to let more coffee drain out.  When most of the dripping has stopped, put the fabric into the cookie sheet pan.  Let the fabric cool until you can touch it without getting burned.  Drain any water that has pooled.  Try to lay it out sort of flat.  Then begin to wrinkle up the fabric creating dips and peaks.  I try not to make the wrinkles all even.  Instead I try to wrinkle it all mixed up so the aged marks will not have any organization to them. 

 

When you have the wrinkles like you want them, put the pan into the oven and bake until the fabric is mostly dry.  I must INSIST that you stay in the kitchen while it is cooking for safety!  Please check it every 15 minutes to make sure it s not burning a hole into the peaks of the fabric.  Set your timer!  As the fabric begins to get drier, check more often.  Once the spots get to a look you like and the fabric is still damp in the valleys, take it out and lay it flat on a towel or hang it over a drying rack until dry.  After the fabric is completely dry, iron it flat with firm pressure to get most of the wrinkles out.  (some may be baked in!)

 

That's about all there is to it ladies!!  It's pretty easy to age your fabric for the prim look!  Here's a few more tips below...

 

You will smell the coffee in the dried fabric.  If the smell bothers you, you can rinse the fabric with water.  Some of the coffee stain will wash away, so rinse quickly!  If you use soap, most of the stain will wash away.  The picture below shows how much coffee stain washed out with soapy water.  The staining is much softer and barely there, which might be perfect for some projects!

 

 

When I first did this aging, I thought the aged marks were created from the dips or valleys of the fabric where it sits on the pan.  After watching it bake in the oven, I realized the aged marks come from the peaks created when wrinkling and they are from the burning of the fabric!  As you arrange the wrinkles, keep this in mind.  Peaks that are shorter and spaced closer together will have aged marks that are closer together.  A large area of fabric that is flat on the cookie sheet will be an area without much coloring. 

 

The picture above shows the right side of the fabric that was facing up as it cooked.  You can see the streaky look of the dark tones going from very dark at the top of the wrinkle and fading as it gets further from the peak of the wrinkle.

The picture above shows the other side of the fabric which was facing down toward the cookie sheet.  The aged marks are not blended out from the peaks as much on this side.  It's just as pretty...just a different look!  Most often, I use the side that has more color...the side that was facing up while baking.

 

In this particular fabric, the darkest spots are burned stiff!  So much so that I needed to use a #10 or #11 Milliner needle to sew through it by hand.  This is a brushed flannel fabric.  I don't mind that the dark spots are so burned because I know I use these fabrics for small projects that are not necessarily heirlooms.  I'd never use an aged fabric for something with lots of hard work!  I have no idea what will happen to these burned spots over the years.  This is just for fun!

 

The project you see above will be called My Granny's Flowers and the pattern will be ready in a few weeks.  Check back for updates as I add wool flowers around the Grandmothers Flower Garden blocks in the center of the runner. 

 



 

I have another pattern using aged fabric.  The design above is called Aged Glory.  You can find it HERE on my website if you are interested!  It is a small wool applique wall hanging that is very simple to make...also very quick!

 

A few more notes for today's post...Be sure to look for a new Punchneedle and Wool Applique Mini Quilt from me in the next issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects Magazine!  You can buy these magazines at your local quilt store or subscribe from their website HERE.  I'll post more about it as soon as I am allowed to show pictures!  Yay!  So exciting!

 

Do you think one of your local stores would like to offer my patterns?  If so, please share my information with them and ask that they contact me.  My goal as a designer is to be able to sell my patterns to stores, but it is so difficult to find the right stores with a similar look as I try to grow my business.  If a store you recommend purchases patterns from me, I may give you a little surprise so be sure to email me if you recommend my designs to a quilt shop! 

 

Be sure to follow my blog from gadgets on the right sidebar to get updates as I make posts.  You can also find me on Pinterest as Traditional Primitives from Missie Carpenter.  I have also just started a Facebook Page and Instagram under the name Traditional Primitives if you'd like to follow me there! 

 

Thank you So much for stopping by today!

As always, Take Care,

Missie