A Special Roadtrip!

It was Memorial Day yesterday...thanks to all of those who have given their lives for our freedoms...And thanks to the families who have also sacrificed...God Bless.

This weekend is usually the beginning of summer for us here in the Midwest. Our family camped on the lake nearby and we started our summer of weekends full of camping. For years we did this and finally Mom said she was done with camping! Unloading from Sunday night to Wednesday and loading back up from Wednesday to Friday! Eventually they bought a little cabin with a tree growing through the porch and we spent many years on the lakefront enjoying summers and falls. Now they are retired about 3 miles away from the cabin and have been here about 25 years now, loving life on Tablerock Lake. My kids enjoy it as much as my brother and I did, and we've had a great weekend! One last wave runner ride and we are back to the real world later today.

Since we had an extra day away this weekend, I took a short drive to Rogers, AK to visit The Rabbit's Lair Quilt Shop! It was wonderful! Check out all of that wonderful fabric from the front door to the back of the store on both sides...

 

Notice the good use of the old store cabinets...lots of drawers full of fat quarters behind them. So charming. I loved that when you walked in the store, the owner was sitting and working at her desk right there, ready to greet you! So friendly and happy to be there!

Upstairs, they had the wool and plaids...nice displays! They had lots and lots of Need'l Love books. Renee Nannamen will be there in a few weeks for a trunk show. That would be awesome to be able to attend!

And look at that wall of wool! Yummo!

 

It was a great little Roadtrip! Now that I have done it, you can bet I'll be back again! The Rabbit's Lair is one of the stores in the current issue of The Quilt Sampler. Check out the magazine and you,ll get a little taste of the store!

Well, I better start packing to see if we squeeze everything back in the car. Why is it always fuller going home than coming? Perhaps it has something to do with shopping at wonderful quilt stores!!! LOL

Have a great week!

Take Care,

Missie

 

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Josie's Petals...

Here's the dark version! This is the smaller version of Josie's Petals and antique ball. presented at Quilt Market in Oregon this week. Patterns available soon for this design made for Blackberry Primitives.

Take care,
Missie

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Josie's Petals at Quilt Market Spring 2013

 

Gotta love those hand dyed velvets and wools! Blackberry Primitives is revealing this at Spring Quilt Market today in Portland...

This design is based on the antique block Joseph's Coat or Joseph's coat of many colors. The antique ball resembles balls that were made long ago, made today with a modern twist. There is no difficult piecing on this quilt or ball...it's simple to make!

You can purchase this pattern soon from Blackberry Primitives website or from me shortly after!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Take care,

Missie

 

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Great Weekend With the Crow Girls!

The Crow Girls were so sweet! We all had a wonderful weekend in Omaha thanks to Lyn of More Sew For You who opened her home for all of us to stay in. All of the class attendees learned so much from the lovely ladies from "Tazzie"( as they called their homeland). We learned about using the clever tool...a stapler, to hold our wool in place. Works great! They have a great way of stabilizing the fabric also. If you ever have a chance to take a class from them be sure to do so! They are a hoot!

That's Deirdre on the left, me, Julie (of Me and My Stitches), and Leonie on the right. You can see a hint of their lovelies behind us...their quilts were sooooo beautiful. Their tiny hand stitches looked so perfect they could have been done by machine, but they were done by hand!

The pic below was my set up in the store. Who knows what I was looking at right at picture time! LOL. Julie and I did our best to pose before my camera batteries went dead! Julie sold her jewelry in the back section of the store and the girls took the class in the lower level. This was the third day of our gathering. The other two days were at a hotel conference room.

 

You can see what a nice store Lyn has as my stuff nestles in around all her goodies.

Several people came in the store and saw Life In The Midwest, excited to see it in person as they have signed up for the BOM happening at Homestead Hearth. It is fun to see them so excited about something I made and that they too are excited to be making!

We had such a fun time! There were many giggles and laughs all weekend! I told the Crow Girls I'd make a fun post about all the funny sayings they have! Here are a few that really made us all laugh!!

"Get it on the google!"

"It's goin straight to the pool room!"

"Tazzie talk"

"Cheease cheease"

"Crow calls!"

"Day dot!"

"Have a go!"

"Dream ya dreams"

"Koala eas"

"On the knocka"

"Yeaaa"

"Debaaale"

"Far out"

And last but not least..."Smash it out Babes!"

What Sweethearts! I wish them much success in the future!! It was also so nice to meet so many lovely ladies who attended the classes. What a nice bunch of gals! I look forward to seeing them sometime in the future!!

Take care,

Missie

 

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Mother Nature...I Think You Are Confused!!!

We woke up to about an inch of wet slushy sleet and snow this morning! Mother Nature, don't you realize that it is May 2nd today?!?!? You can see my iris are well up. The hosta just poked their heads out about 3" in the last few days. The strawberries are growing, along with the flax and many other perennials. I think they will be a bit confused with this cold day in the mix today! I hope my crabapple tree blooms will not be stung!
My projects for market are complete and on their way to those who will be showing them in Portland. Pattern Peddlers will be showing a few of my patterns that they carry in stock and I've designed another quilt for Blackberry Primitives Wool. I can't wait to show you this new one! It will have to stay a secret until market begins... You can see my design from last year, Charmed Beginnings by clicking on the company name above. They are such sweet gals and they are so fun to work with!
Since the new design is complete now, I am safe to proceed onto other things that need to be done. As you know if you read my last post or so, I am headed to Omaha next weekend to vend and show my quilts during the Quilted Crow Girls Retreat that More Sew For You is hosting! It recently dawned on me that two of my most favorite quilts will be away at market during this time so I decided I'd try to whip up some duplicates to show in Omaha. Click on the store name above to find out information about joining the workshop. I understand classes are just about filled! If you are nearby, don't miss this opportunity to experience these fun ladies in person!! The quilts I will be making this week are Brookshire Star and A Warm Welcome, which you can purchase HERE on my wesite if you are interested. Work along with me! :-)

It was fun to dig into my plaids and traditional fabrics for a change! I've worked with Civil War Fabrics and wool so often recently , I felt like I had all new fabrics as I was looking for a selection that will work! Some of these you see are new, some are Civil War and some are my old favorites!

Isn't it great to have a STASH to go to when you need it! I hope I make a little dent in my stash with this project, but between you and me...I doubt that I will !! Let's just keep that between ourselves ok!!

Many of you have asked about the stitch I learned in the Pat Sloan Workshop last week. We worked on a good shape for appliqué class, the heart. She uses the running stitch for her appliqué stitch. It is a great stitch for a change of pace compared to the needleturn that I normally use.

The shapes in her patterns are large and simple which makes this stitch a great one to use! You can see above that the shapes keep their shape with this stitch.

I hope you can zoom in and see the little running stitch in this picture. It looked especially nice in her samples with a contrasting thread! It was a great class and as I said before, she has such a fun, sweet personality! I was so excited when she contacted me a few days after the class and asked if I would be a guest on her radio show!!

June 10, 2013!

I am thrilled and honored to get to experience this interview with her! If you have not listened to these interviews yet, it's time to give it a try! It's great to have them on while you are doing things around the house. Makes the time pass quickly when doing chores and it's very good to have it turned on while you are sewing. It's very interesting to hear how designers and other folks in the industry get those great items out there for us quilters. Give it a try! You will like it! Put June 10th on your calendar for my interview please!
Below are the links to get access to the radio shows...
All the American Patchwork & Quilting shows are at http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/radio/index.html where you can listen live, or get the podcasts
First 2 season of Podcasts at - http://toginet.com/shows/creativetalkradio
Show website - http://www.creativetalknetwork.com/
Thanks for stopping by today!
Take care,
Missie

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