Happy New Year!

It's that time when we ring out the old and ring in the new year! It has been a whirlwind of a year for me and I sort of hate to see 2013 go, but I know exciting things are coming for 2014 so I will go with the flow!

As I think about my goals for next year, I have pondered on my goals for this past year and all that I got accomplished. The year was filled with teaching and vending...two things I have not done for quite a while, nor had I done in the quilting industry. I have learned that I do enjoy these activities very much as I get to share the fun things I love about quilting, stitching and punching! These activities have taken me to Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and in between a few places. I plan on spreading my wings a bit more this year to build my little business. It is such fun to spread the Joy of Quilting to others! Once again, I thank all of you who inspire me to continue with this journey!

Winter 2013 brought a change in our lives as we moved our oldest DD and SIL far away from home to Augusta, GA. We had a great week together painting and decorating their new home so they would feel right at home quickly! It involved a modern touch, which was new for me to help with, but I really enjoyed making their new quilt in that style for them.

 

Winter also brought lots of work designing small sized projects for my pattern business. I tend to love working on large quilts and the plan to make small quilts was a nice challenge. They were made of Cottons and Wools, along with a few Punchneedle Mini Quilts! I made patterns for a total of 15 smaller projects in 2013! There are a few of them pictured below. You can see all of my patterns on my website at TraditionalPrimitives.com.

 

Spring 2013 brought work on Josie's Petals, a design for Blackberry Primitives Wool Company. Cindi and Tanja took her to Market in Portland to hang in their booth. It will be in a French Magazine this coming year!

Spring also brought work on the English Paper Piecing Workshops and Pincushions. It was exciting to get these ready so that I could begin teaching and sharing about English Paper Piecing in my unique method as well as the traditional method.

The weekend in Nebraska with The Quilted Crow Girls was in the Spring as well...Leonie, Deardre, Julie (Me and My Stitches), Lynn ( More Sew For You) and I shared many giggles and fun along with learning the Crow Girls way of doing wool appliqué.

Summer 2013 brought work on Pennies In My Garden wool appliqué quilt. It was so fun to find out how quickly this quilt goes when sewing it. Even though it is made by hand, the buttonhole stitching on the circles in 12" blocks went super fast!

 

Summer also brought the interview with Pat Sloan Radio! It was a great experience to be part of! You can listen to it if you wish...just find my name in June's listings on her radio website.

Much of my spare time was spent helping hand quilt the DMAQG Show Quilt!

Summer was the time that I decided to change my company name from Hallbrook Designs to Traditional Primitives and when I got the new website and blog switched over and running. (Take notice, my old email will be going away in a few days! Be sure to save my new contact info if you have not done so already! I look forward to making the new blog just as informative as the old blog. You can still access any old posts by the way...just click on the right sidebar for the link.)

Fall 2014 brought teaching and road trips for Vending and Trunk Shows in a few stores:

Eastern Iowa at Inspirations, a great little quilt store in Hills, IA; The Rabbit's Lair, a great store in Rogers, AR; Pierre, SD for teaching at a wonderful weekend retreat; Lees Summit, MO for a great quilt show and more. I hope to add more pinpoints to this map in 2014! It will begin in only a few days with my trip to Oklahoma City to vend in the Winter Quilt Show...let the adventure Begin!

Winter 2013 brought some catch up time and basic sewing I needed to complete. I have been working on my own Josie's Petals since Blackberry Primitives owns the original.

And I've also begun work on the next big quilt I plan on making! It has been a challenge so far...can't wait to show you more!

My sewing room is just about in order...the wall of little quilts is up, the new quilting machine is up and running well and my sewing space is slowly coming together. It sure has taken me a while to get things in order, but I am working on it when I can. Only a few more days and I can show you... I know it's taking forever! Perhaps the organization of my sewing room will be the last sewing related thing I complete in 2013!

It was a great year of blogging fun and pattern designing fun for me. I certainly hope your 2013 was as much fun as my year. Cheers to a wonderful 2014!!! Let's make it great!

Take Care,

Missie

 

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A Great Time Teaching in South Dakota!

 

 

This was the view outside the classroom for the weekend in Ft. Pierre, looking over at Pierre.

My former home was just on the other side of the bridges near that house you can see in the trees to the left! It was such fun seeing a few friends from the past and also meeting many new friends. When you spend several days with quilters we all feel like we are buddies at the end of the weekend class!

Driving over it was raining on the right...

And partly sunny on the left!

One thing about South Dakota is that you can see for miles and miles. We used to watch the storms roll in a good half hour before they would reach us! By the time I stopped for gas, the weather had changed and the wind was blowing so hard I could hardly stand up. At least it was not the huge snow storm they had the week before! I was glad to arrive safe and sound for the beginning of the weekend!

I stayed with my friend Liz. She loves to decorate for the seasons! Their home is a craftsman style...so charming! Look at that Frand Loyd Write window treatment she made. If you look closely in the end table to the left, she has other seasonal quilts stashed for easy access when it's time to change the decor. There is another one out of view on the right side of the room. I thought that was very smart! Makes it very easy to change quickly!

This is another pretty fall quilt on the other side of the room... and yes, the only thing out of place in the room is my makeup bag and shoes you see! Haha! I love that she is using a treadle table as decor in her living room...I need one of those to go with my Memaw's old sewing machine! This may sound dumb, but I never thought to use one of these tables as a table near chairs... I always imagined a machine table as a stand alone fixture and I've never had room for one. With this way of thinking perhaps I do have room!

This small quilt hangs over the dining table area.

Here is the beautiful quilt on their bed. Such soft and subtle colors and beautiful quilting! The basket quilt at the foot of the bed is very charming and she came up with that basket herself! She's also dabbled with the Japanese fabrics as you can see from the other small quilt on the bed. They are ready for cold temps on their way!

This cute little witch hanging is one that I remember from when I lived in Pierre. It's hanging in their bedroom for this Halloween season! She loves fall and Halloween!

The spare bedroom was so cute! As you can see, she has a wide range of style! She is not stuck in one box! How wonderful to have such a wide range of style!

 

 

 

Wish I had time to have gotten into that cabinet full of quilts! How beautiful this room is! I had a wonderful time seeing her and her husband again...so fun to catch up with old friends!

The class went great. Everyone learned a little something and went home with a new take on English Paper Piecing. The way I teach it, I hope that everyone will find a way they like to work with the fabric and paper. My way is not always what someone else likes to use and that's great as long as we can find a method for them to enjoy EPP! I've gotten several notes from students who are telling me they are hooked! Even the quilter who has used her method for years and years was excited that she did in fact learn a few new tricks! That was wonderful! I am learning that it is so rewarding to teach others and I'm looking forward to sharing what I know with others in the future! If your guild needs a teacher please think of me. I am really enjoying sharing what I have learned!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Take care,

Missie

 

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