2013 Des Moines Area Quilter's Guild Show Quilt!

 

As our guild is celebrating 30 years, it was thought appropriate to have the theme Legacy of Quilting for the show quilt. We started the center of the medallion with the very first quilts made and worked our way out to the present. Included is Broiderie Perse, English Paper Piecing, Red Work, Pieced, Needle Turn Appliqué , Trapunto, and Paper Piecing. To finish the quilt properly for history it was hand quilted.

If you would like a chance to win this quilt, please email me for information. Tickets will be sold at the Des Moines Quilt Show in October. This is the AQS Show in Des Moines and the Des Moines Guild has our show within their show. It's wonderful if you happen to love quilts and shopping! Between the two shows there are about 800-900 quilts to see and lots of vendors! If you are in the area, please let me know if you are coming to the show. I'd love to meet you! Bloggers, feel free to share this info about our show October 2-5 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines!

 

My stack of wool appliqué shapes is getting smaller! As soon as I am finished stitching the inner layers, I'll be adding them to the background fabric and stitching around the outer edges. It's been a relaxing project so far!

Have a great day!

Missie

 

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Hey Hey! A new Quilt Ladder!

Take a look at what my Dad made us... A custom quilt ladder! It looked awfully big and tall as we were bringing it inside, but...it's a perfect fit!

 

We have plans of rearranging the big furniture in the picture so there will be more room for the quilts soon. I was so excited, I just had to show you all. I still have to stain the ladder also, so look for another picture in the future! Like I said, I just couldn't wait to show it off!

 

I got a good bit of stitching done in the last few days! More than I thought once I laid them all out on the table. Yippee!

 

Wow, that picture is way blurry! That will give me an excuse to show you more after I stitch a bit more soon! The pile is getting smaller and that's a good thing!

Have a great day!

Missie

 

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I got some work done!!

Yes indeed! I worked all afternoon yesterday and prepped all the pieces for my next quilt with the pennies that I showed you yesterday!! Now I am excited to stitch!

Here's another sneak peak of what will be in the borders! I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait to stitch! This quilt is inspired by some rugs in my bedroom area. I will put this on the bed as a topper. A topper is a good way to have a new bed quilt without so much work. I'll explain more about this later. Look for this to come soon! I have 4 new designs that will be focused around this idea.

A few have commented about my use of cottons and wools. I love to mix the two together. It adds lots of contrast and interest to the lovely wools.

I'm going to send you to a few other blogs to read about the road trip a few of us bloggers took together recently! First, a Big Shout Out of Thanks to Kathy who gave us each a darling little quilt for a mug rug, a chalk pencil and some thread.

The rest of us exchanged goodies in February when we met for the first time! Blogging friend are so great!! Which makes me just want to call them and get together again!! Not for the gift, but because we just had so much fun together!

This time, We went to The Woolen Needle in Williamsburg, IA first. I was overwhelmed with the beautiful goods in this store! I could have stayed all day...I snatched the next two pictures from Kathy's blog, Kindred Quilts

That's Julie and I studying some beautiful wools...mmm...such beautiful wools! I didn't even get to the other half of the store!! Haha

Then we went to Hills, IA to visit the store Inspirations. It is inspiring indeed!!

So many samples and beautiful fabrics! The owner of this store offers wonder plaids along with many reproduction fabrics. You know how I love plaids mixed with repros and wools!

We had some great show and tell and lots of laughs. You can read more about our Roadtrip together on the other gal's blogs! Carolyn of Lee Prairie Designs, Julie of Me and My Stitches, and Kathy of Kindred Quilts. They've all posted some wonderful pictures, so check them out!! I know we all look forward to getting together again very soon!! Thanks girls for a wonderful time!

Take care,

Missie

 

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Pennies Pennies!

I've been working more on my pennies today! The buttonhole stitch is so relaxing and easy stitching...don't you agree?!

 

There will be 3 large pennies on each block. I've layed them out in groups to keep the colors mixed up a bit. I guessed at the amount of circles I'd need and would you believe I only had one extra set? I'll have to put that one on the label on the back and make good use of it!

I'll work real hard tomorrow to get the border ready so I'll have lots ready to stitch in the next few days! I'm ready to start with the freezer templates to cut out the flowers and leaves from cottons and wools. It's quite a fun time to choose just the right fabrics for each section!

I don't think I've mentioned it to you all, but I've added a few new things to the website. One thing I've added is my own collections of Valdani 3 Strand Floss. I enjoy the same colors used in different combinations for my designs.

This collection is called Hallbrook Designs Prisms. It's a grouping of some of the brighter colors I like to use in my designs. You might notice that the yellow is quite a bit brighter than you see in my work. I like to adjust this one by mixing strong instant coffee (about 2 tsp of instant coffee in about a half to three quarters of a cup of hot water.) Then I drop the ball of floss right in the coffee and let it soak about 10-20 minutes. When I take it out I squeeze out the coffee and let it dry very well. The coffee will be heavier in some spots than others and give the yellow a nice dirty hue! Nothing like dirty yellow when you are punching or stitching traditional primitive style! Haha! You can also choose to paint the coffee on after you've punched with it, but I prefer the method described above. Here's an example of how it turns out! These colors are so nice...I love 'em!

Here's the other collection from Hallbrook Designs called Basics. These are the more primitive colors that I use. I love these colors too! Cant do without the basics! With these two collections you can make about any of my Punchneedle designs. Go take a look if you are interested by clicking HERE.

Mmmm...Scrumpdillyumptious colors, don't you think!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Take care,

Missie

 

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Scrump-Dilly-Umptious!

There was no other way to describe the day yesterday than Scrumpdillyumtious! And Yes, we quilters sometimes describe our fabrics in terms usually used for food or loved ones! Haha! A few blogging friends and I got together yesterday for a little roadtrip to have some fun and see some new stores! As I said, it was a Scrumdillyumptious Day with friends and fabrics! Blogging buddies Kathy from Kindred Quilts , Carolyn of Lee Prairie Designs , Julie of Me And My Stitches and I had a great day together! It's pretty amazing when you meet with people and it feels like you have been friends for a long time. The world of blogging brings all of us together as often as we want through our computers, but it sure is fun to meet up in person! We all bought some new goodies for our stashes of course!

When I laid out my new stash this morning, the first thing that came to mind was Scrumpdillyumptious! (That's what my mom used to call yummy foods! ) At first I had one quilt in mind when I purchased this stack, but then my mind started going in a different direction... I've had a thought in mind for a new quilt design, so I think I will finally put it on paper and try to get started!! The inspiration fabric that got this color scheme started is only about 9x12" so I sure hope I can make something worthwhile with it to show it off well. That would be the plaid closest to you in the picture above. I love plaids with lots of colors in them, and they are so hard to find! The fabrics above are a mixture of wools, plaids and reproductions...as you know by now, these are my favorite combinations! I will take them to my sewing room and look to see if I have any fabrics that will match. This quilt will be softer colors than I usually choose, so it will be fun to dig deep in my "oldies but goodies" stash!

The greens and rusts in the back left corner of the picture are unrelated to the new quilt. They were just such pretty wools, I had to have them! And the printed quilt fabric will be great for a back. The stack on top is the beginning to my Little Lucy Boston I'll be starting in small scale soon! I'll show you when I get started!!

Last, here is a quick pic of my pennies I am working on for a new design. No matter what lights I use today, the pics are turning out dull...it's a mystery! I'll tak another pic in a few days when I get a few more done. This will be a bed topper or wall hanging...wool, reproductions and plaids... What's the word of the day??? Scrumdillyumptious!!

Take care,

Missie

 

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Quilt Show Fun!

I just had a wonderful time at the NQA Quilt Show in Columbus, Ohio this Past weekend! The town that I used to call home was a great place to visit! It was so fun to see a few friends, and also great to meet a few blog followers. Wish there had been some free time to have visited longer...maybe next time!

 

I rearranged the booth a bit this time, added a few more things to show quilters what I love to use while I am Stitching and Punching, and really enjoyed showing lots of ladies some hints for English Paper Piecing. It was so fun to see those reactions when they got interested in a new technique that they never thought would interest them. You've seen those techniques on this blog in the past as well. I'd love to hear if any of you have used the hints for EPP. Sometimes just a little something makes all the difference in making the process easier and makes it much more fun as well as easier for us!

I can't thank my Sister-in-Law Karen enough for her help manning the booth! She was such a great help and we had such fun together! She was the business manager while I did the demo.

 

Our Aunt Jane and Uncle Don hosted us while we were in town and it was wonderful to see them as well. Jane came to see the show and snapped this picture at the end of the day before we started packing up. While we were visiting and working in Columbus, the cousins were hanging out with their grandparents an hour north. We enjoyed our time together...quilting and sweet family...how much better can it get!

Now I am so excited to have time to begin the next few quilts! It has been a while since I could design and my fingers are itching to get started! Yippee!

I have seen where several bloggers are claiming their blog on Blog Lovin', so I will do the same and get that bit of business out of the way. I have never used the Google Reader, which has gone away as of today as I understand. If you have never looked at the dashboard on your google account give that a try as well to see if you like keeping track of your blog list that way. The dashboard is my preferred method to keep track of blogs. You get a short paragraph and a picture to entice you into reading the rest of the post. I have the dashboard saved as a bookmark on my ipad, and a desktop link on my PC for quick access at any time! It's a nice way to keep track! I will be adding the Feedly button as soon as I can figure it out as well in case you like that method. If there are any other readers I need to add to make it easy on you, please let me know! Of course you can always follow by email, but an organized list is much easier for me.

Take care,

Missie

 

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