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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Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig!

I've been on another whirlwind vending and teaching trip and it's so fun to do those things, but so nice to get back home as well. It has been so enjoyable to meet so many women and teach them a few tips and tricks in the workshops. I love sharing those tips and tricks as well as turn the light on for something new to someone. We all enjoy getting excited about doing something new and it's so fun to share that joy! Now it's time to finalize preparation and plans for Market and Festival! Will you be attending? I'm in row 7 so be sure to come see me!

One of the things that gets ladies so excited when they see it for the first time is Punchneedle! It's exciting to see many interested in this old art because I feel like it is a dying art. Not many shops carry Punchneedle and I fear it may be gone if we don't start getting new folks to enjoy the art. It is super easy to learn and so quick to finish the project. As many of you know, I have a different way of presenting the final product and love to make mini quilts from my Punchneedle projects. Here is a new version of one of my first Punchneedle projects as an adult.

A few years ago I sold my sample for the Punchneedle project titled My Primitive Baltimore. I should have never done so...I miss that special project because it was finished so uniquely. I've found time to make another one and decided to add it to my collection of mini Punchneedle Quilts. It's simple in its finish with big stitch quilting all around the design and a simple binding. Can't wait to have my mini quilt wall up in the house once the year of shows is over for a few months until they begin again! This will be a nice addition! The pattern is available for purchase on my website if you are interested HERE. (Look at the bottom of the page)

"I'm working on a Woolie version now and it's turning out nicely! It's been a while since I have been able to hand stitch and once again it's so nice to enjoy that peaceful time. It's football season so I'd better get some more stitching ready! (I stitch while my hubs is watching EVERY game! Haha! ). The fabric in this project looks like wool, right? Well it's not! It's a new Moda Line from Minick and Simpson called Cotton Works. It's thick and so nice to handle. Everyone I've shown this little project to thinks it's wool and then they get close and have to do a double take to see what the fabric is! For those of you who are allergic to wool, try to find this line at your local quilt shop and check it out! I am using Genziana wool thread and I'm taking very small stitches to cover the raw edges of the cotton Applique. I do love working with the Genziana wool thread because it is so nice to stitch with as well as it looks so nice. This wool thread also lets the beauty of the fabric show through and be the highlight of the project. Most of the time I prefer to use the whip stitch when stitching Wool Applique, but for this project I'm using a very small blanket stitch. Remember this specific project is made from cotton, so I want those edges covered well. This thread does the trick! You can find it on my website on the Notions Page HERE.

See how beautiful this fabric is up close and personal?!

This is another new pattern called Spool Candle Holder Quilt Cozy. Talk about a fast little project! It can be done in no time and the kit comes with the spool candle holder. It's about 5" tall and let me tell you these spools were hard to find. I have a limited number available while they last! You can find them HERE if interested. They would be darling in wool as well.

 

I was thrilled to see my quilt Pennies In My Garden on the cover of Simply Vintage! I never dreamed that would happen! We have a few more of these lovely magazines left if you'd like one for yourself. Inside you will find many lovely projects including one of my other small quilts, A Warm Welcome. The way the designers of this magazine present the projects is so lovely. A joy to look through again and again. You can find the order button on my home page at TraditionalPrimitives.com

New on the website along with the needles and patterns above are kits for various quilts. We are asked so often if we have kits, I've started making a few here and there when I have a moment. You will find them in the choices on the shopping buttons when they are available.

 

 

The next big project I'll be attempting is to organize my sewing room again. Remember that photo from about two years ago when we had a graduation party? We had to literally shove things back into a part of the room so we could use the basement for the party. I promised to show a photo when the room was all fixed up. If you read my blog often, you may have noticed I've not shown a photo of my nice organized room. This would be because it has NOT happened yet! I don't even know where to begin... So November is set aside for organizing my room. It will probably never be a pretty studio like I see in magazines, but my hopes are that it will be well organized. I plan to label things at least for a while so I don't have to spend a lot of time searching for specific things. Is there anyone else out there who needs a reorganization of your sewing space? Would you like to join me for a Sewing Room Oganizing Challenge to show our spaces and be inspired by organizing ideas from others? Let me know and we can link up on a certain date in November. I need some inspiration! Want to join me?

As a beginning to this Dear Hubs has taken the old ping pong table and attached it to a big long table frame we had on hand. So now I do have a large table to work on and hopefully I can figure out a way to keep the projects and piles below and break the habit of a multi project filled table. Recently I purchased a few plastic storage drawers to put under the table. I had visions of it looking beautiful, but for now I'll just use plastic drawers. Perhaps once I get organized I can transport the projects to something prettier. That's the first step in my reorganization plan...having space on my table to work from! Yay! It's a small thing to be excited about, but it's a beginning.

Well, back to work I go! Sorry if the blog seems to be a sales pitch today, but with so many new items on the site, I want to make sure you know where to find them! Don't forget to let me know if you want to join me in the Sewing Room Organizing Challenge! Thanks so much for stopping by today and as always,

Take Care,

Missie

#showmethemoda

 

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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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Starch Basting Technique Video

I've got a funny look on my face below, but I have some good stuff to share!  HAHA!  It's been on my list to make a better video of my Starch Basting Technique for a while now.  Finally had some time to get it done!  You can also find it on YouTube when searching for Traditional Primitives or English Paper Piecing.  I hope you enjoy hearing all about it in video form vs. seeing photos and reading the descriptions.  Hopefully seeing this done in real time will help those of you who have been trying to imagine how it works so well.  

My Hubs has joined me as my full time Right Hand Man and we have had more time to grow the business and make some big decisions.  We are expanding the Traditional Primitives Brand and now offer the Premium Freezer Paper shown in the video along with the Fingertip Stiletto and the Starch Brush to go along with the patterns that involve English Paper Piecing or Applique.  More new goodies coming soon!  You can find the new Premium Freezer Paper on my website at www.traditionalprimitives.com on the Notions Page.  It's great for this technique!

For any of you who live nearby, I'll be vending at the Ankeny Area Quilter's Guild Show in Ankeny, Iowa.  It's a small show but a good one with pretty quilts and good shopping from nearby quilty companies.  HERE is a link to the show info if you'd like to come!  Hope to see you there!!

Take care and stay cool,
Missie

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

 

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Binding Tip!

How many of you pin your whole binding before sewing it down? I used to do that many, many years ago. I was stuck by a pin with almost every stitch! Then I started using binding clips and clipped the whole binding before I sewed it. These fell off or got messed up as I stitched. Now? I use ONE binding clip and move it a few inches in front of my stitches. When I stitch up to it, I move it on down the binding. SUPER SIMPLE and a Great Time Saver! Give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by and take care,

Missie

 

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Short Threads...

This morning I found myself falling back into an old habit and decided to whip my thoughts back into shape quickly! I found myself trying to start a new piece of Applique with a 5" thread. I would have to thread that needle again because 5" wasn't enough to finish the stitching on the pieces I have left to Applique.

How many of you sew to the last inch of thread and then struggle to tie that necessary knot?! It's a hard habit to break! But after a year of doing my best to move onto another piece of thread it's coming naturally now! What is it about threading a needle that makes us try to use every last bit of our thread? Or, is it the fear that we may run out of this particular thread? I rarely run out of a thread that I can't replace if it does run out. How about you? It is kind of fun to be able to buy a new spool after so long isn't it?! Haha!

I challenge you to make stitching a bit more pleasant and go ahead and waste those last few inches of thread! It's so much less stressful to work with a piece that's long enough: easy to hang onto a longer thread, easier to tie the knot. Go for it Ladies!

I have four more pieces left on this new design and then on to the quilting! The fabrics are a mix of several lovely collections from Moda. They blend so well together to give a perfectly scrappy look!

Two weeks until Quilt Market so the focus is on finishing prep THIS week so I am not so stressed. Wish me luck!!

Thanks for stopping in today and take care,

Missie

 

#showmethemoda

 

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Springtime Adventures

I have more adventures to share... My last post stopped at the quilt show in Ballwin, MO. I didn't mention that we stopped at my parent's home on the way from Dallas to Ballwin for a quick visit. So great to see both doing so well after some health issues recently! The weather was great and we even spent a little time on the porch. Much different weather than Iowa was experiencing had we been home.

We've spent some time with our daughter and my hubs' family in KC and had a good time at Top Golf (fun!) and shopping at the Plaza. Brought back lots of memories from when we lived in the area way back when.

Doesn't this beautiful tile make you think of William Moris fabric? So pretty!

We were home a few days and then made our way to Augusta, GA for a visit with our kids there. They managed snagging some Masters tickets so we had the pleasure of visiting this lovely event.

 

 

We also took a kayak ride down the Savannah River canal and that was lots of fun. I was surprised I enjoyed both events so much. Two things I'd never done before!

Our daughter and husband were great hosts for us! Here they are just before he had a Volunteer Firefighter meeting. Aren't they a cute couple?! We had a wonderful time visiting them.

All through the traveling I've been stitching on new designs whenever possible. Quilt Market is around the corner and will be here in a matter of days! Lots of stitching was done in the car while driving across the country. This little project is made from Old Cambridge Pike fabrics. The colors are so pretty...just my style with a bit of old mixed in with the traditional. The background is one from the line called Concrete. I don't think it's meant to be a Primitive fabric but I love it for a Primitive look!

And this started out very plain, but when I added some stitchery look how much it improved! Sometimes we have to go with the flow. I thought this little quilt was all done, but turned out it wasn't until I added the stitchery. This would be just as pretty and much quicker if the branch and leaves were wool. Hmmm, I think I need to do that on the next one!

The FB group I mentioned a few months ago for Gardens Of A King is rolling along and I promised I'd show you my blocks I make alon the way. Here are the blocks I've stitched so far. I'm not keeping up with the group but I'm doing my best to prepare and make at least one before each post. It's going much quicker than the first time around for sure. Just as much fun to stitch together the second time around! The picture below shows my progress so far. I've chosen bolder colors for the second quilt. It will have more of a latter 1800's look vs the early 1800's look of the first quilt.

And of course I left the blocks on the floor, so look who promptly found the blocks to lay on! She does this every time...

Here's a tease for another new design I'm working on. It is all Applique except for sewing the background blocks together. Very quick Applique on this quilt. It's been fun to do needleturn again...it's been so long Since I've done Needleturn Applique! These look like men's ties laid out like this but that's not what they are! These are all Moda fabrics and blend together so well. Fabrics from several collections all mixed up together!

And now I'm stitching up the borders for the last step. At least I think it's the last step. Like I mentioned earlier I never know until I'm finished when the end of the quilt is. Sometimes I keep adding parts as I design.

I made a short road trip to teach at a wonderful shop in Pella, IA called The Quilted Windmill. We worked on this little wool Applique pattern called Tulip Time and the group seemed to enjoy it. This is a beginner project with the option of very simple or a bit less simple, but still simple style to stitch.

If you ever pass through central Iowa be sure to stop by this shop. They have a bit of everything and have so many cute samples hanging in the shop! Here's a bit of eye candy for you!

This cute quilt is at their check out counter! The town is Dutch and they have windmill themed attractions all over town. The spring Tulip Festival is in a few days. I hope to find time to run back over for the festival. Full of Dutch clothed folks and tulips galore!

Recently a relative and her friends from NE came through town on a bus trip from the Chicago Show. They stopped at a local shop and I met them up there for a quick visit. Her frien Lynette pulled out a little notebook with some fabric to match up with while shopping. I thought this was a great idea! Small enough to have in her purse. Very organized! Thanks for the tip Lynette!

I'll be speaking and teaching in Keller, TX this week with the Bear Creek Guild. The class will be all about English Paper Piecing and of course the main focus will be the unique method of basting English Paper Piecing with Starch. Is so rewarding to teach my method to ladies who struggle with English Paper Piecing because it makes it so very quick and easy! Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Leave a comment below and visit my online shop if you'd like-

Traditional Primitives

Take care,

Missie

#showmethemoda

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