Minnesota Quilters Show! And, A Give Away!

As you know, I did a little vending in Minnesota in the last few weeks! It was a great experience for me. I love sharing tidbits of Appliqué, English Paper Piecing and Punchneedle with others! It is so rewarding to see faces and eyes light up when they see that yes, they can do these wonderful arts! I think we need to lure in as many quilters as possible to keep these arts alive for the generations to come. Thanks to my friend Marcia for helping me once again at a show. She is a great help! I couldn't do it with out my wonderful helpers, Geri and Marcia! (And occasionally, my dear hubs, Jeff!). Ginger helps me too as you see below! She keeps me company as I am packing up for the trips to vend. Here, she KNOWS something is up and that her "mom" will be leaving again. She guarded and watched me the entire time I was bringing things upstairs. After a while she parked her caboose in the middle as she got tired of following me up and down, up and down. She stayed there like that for over an hour! Haha! Most of the time her head was laying on the step as comfy as could be. Ah, the life of a dog!

The show was filled with beautiful quilts from all over the country. Very many were absolutely stunning! Two quilting friends asked me to look for their judged quilts and let them know if they won a ribbon...low and behold, they both won ribbons! The first I came across in the aisles belonged to Karen Woten. She won a ribbon for 2nd place in the Large Appliqué category! Congratulations Karen!

Her quilt is the Emily Monroe Quilt, which she drew from a picture seen in a museum book. She is very talented, don't you think! She used wool on cotton for this quilt and quilted it with an old fashioned spider web design. It was stunning! Wool appliqué has become one of her favorite hobbies, along with hand appliqué and hand quilting.

Then, around the corner was the other friend's quilt! This one is Julee Prose's Civil War Bride Quilt. She also won a ribbon! Well, actually TWO ribbons! She won 1st Place in the Large Appliqué Category along with Best Hand Quilting! Congratulations Julee!

She used interesting cotton shirting a as her backgrounds to give her own spin on this quilt made by many. It's lovely! Her hand appliqué is stunning, and so are her hand quilting stitches!

I am so proud to know both of these ladies who continually win ribbons in large shows. The talent in the Des Moines area is so great and inspiring! There is always a reason to attend sewing groups because the inspiration is overflowing! I am blessed to have so many talented women in my life.

While I travel, I do love to stop at McDonalds for coffee or a large diet coke while I drive. I have not paid attention to the happy meal toys for quite some time, but the current toy caught my eye...the theme for the girls is American Girl and the toy that caught my eye? A darling sewing machine box! We have made a few trips lately and my dear husband so nicely stopped at McDonalds for every meal as we traveled across the country, so that I could see if they were giving away this special toy yet! FINNALLY, we found a resturant that was giving this as the Happy Meal toy! I was so excited!

I thought it was so cute, I got a few of them! I will be doing a give away for this cute little sewing box. How cute will this be with small sized sewing supplies inside! A thimble, a few bobbins full of thread, some paper pieces ready to use, hand sewn pieced blocks ready to sew and some small embroidery scissors... What fun!

I will fill this little sewing machine box with goodies and mail it to one lucky winner. I would like to put out a request for you to share my blog with someone. If you have a blog, please consider adding me to your blog roll on your sidebar. All you need to do to be entered in the drawing is please make a comment to let me know that you've followed my request to add me to your blog roll on your side bar or that you have shared my blog with someone. If you are not a follower, I'd love to see some new faces in my "following" gadget! I will keep posting pictures of what will be added to this little box in the coming weeks. Maybe it will even overflow with goodies! Help me grow my blog by joining in the fun.

I always try to include everyone in a giveaway here at Traditional Primitives. So, everyone who participates will get a little something by email. Be sure I have access to your email address when you post so I can send you a little freebie! I'll be showing that in future posts as well.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week ahead!

Take care,

Missie

 

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THIS Is What It's All About!!

Do you ever get a little Ho Hum about sewing the same quilt a few times over? When I WANT to make the same quilt over and over, it's all good, but when I NEED to make a repeat, sometimes I do procrastinate a bit...

In the past few months, I have sold a few samples to stores and needed to make my own sample once again. I'm afraid I fibbed a bit when I posted that I have not been doing any sewing. I realized today, the truth is, I have not been able to make anything NEW lately. I have, however, been working on the samples mentioned...Punchneedle Mini Quilts. The one I needed to replace in my own stash is Little Brookshire Star. My goodness...when I started sewing these little squares together this morning, I did get so excited about it! And....THAT'S what it's all about!!! Getting excited about quilting, punching, stitching, etc! I'm so excited to finish this little quilt up...LOL, the day before I needed it done!

Little Brookshire Star...here she is...

12.5" in all of her glory...

Two afternoons to punch and stitch, an hour to cut strips for squares, and an hour to sew the squares together! Voila'...a sweet little mini for me to enjoy once again! I love the colors and the work that looks difficult. We all know the secret that Punchneedle, lazy daisy stitch and squares are so easy to do! If you are interested, you can have one too by clicking HERE to purchase the pattern at my store! I would LOVE to hear what YOU are excited about stitching on today! Thanks for stopping by!

Take care,

Missie

 

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Getting Back to Normal !! And...Some Big News!

Well, I have two new graduates as of a few weeks ago! The Middle Daughter has graduated from Iowa State and has already started work. The Youngest Daughter has graduated from high school and is off to volunteer at a YL camp for a month. They are both so happy well adjusted kids and I am so proud!

We are empty nesters for a while. Hubs is traveling for work and I am vending, so we'll miss each other for one of our empty nest weeks! LOL! After such a busy spring, we have vowed to do something fun together, so we'll work on that when we both get home next week!

Since we had the graduation parties in our home, the above picture shows my sewing room...a mess once again, all squished to one end of the room and hidden by a partition during the party. I was happy to rearrange last year for so many good reasons, but I sooooo look forward to putting it together and leaving it that way! I have a good start on the process, but it's all a mess again as I start to pack for my vending trip to The Minnesota Quilters Show in St. Cloud, MN. Will anyone be there? Let me know if you are coming and look me up if so! I hear it's a wonderful show and I can't wait to see it in person! If you are up for a road trip the dates of the event are June 12-14. Please introduce yourself to me if you make it to the show!

I have had to throw another iron away. This will be the third one in about 6 months. They don't make them like they used to! Of course, part of my problem may be that I am using old irons. I am one who likes an iron to stay on while I am doing my thing in the sewing room. I have not been able to find a new one that works as well as my old Rowenta...which was so old, it smelled like an electrical fire waiting to happen. Recently, I was at my local designer big box store and found a $17 iron with no auto shut off picture on the box! I couldn't believe it! It is very small compared to my old faithful, but it gets hot...and does not turn off!!!! I love it! It's the Black and Decker F210 model. It appears there are some with the auto shut off feature, so maybe they only carry this one in the store. I better go get another one to have on hand! That feature is important to me, and I have been looking for months and months. I'm so happy I found one! To make sure it is off as I leave the room, I always use a stip extension cord with a switch. I also leave a light on and plugged into the same strip cord. When I flip the switch off to turn off the light, I am assured the iron is off also. That's my safety system I have used for over 20 years. So far so good!

So, you are probably wondering what the big news is? If you've read my blog for a while, you know I love English Paper Piecing, but you also know that I have a unique way of doing this! I use EPP for hexies and diamonds, traditional shapes, but also for blocks that are not traditionally EPP patterns. I have figured out a way that works for me to shortcut the basting with thread method. I have learned that I love to use starch and thick freezer paper (double layer of special freezer paper) to baste my shapes. One issue with some customers has been that some don't have interest in making the freezer paper shapes. (It's VERY easy though!).
SO, SOME of my big news is that I can now offer my customers my EPP patterns WITH the shapes cut out and ready to go! My patterns are not traditional EPP blocks and they are blocks that I would not want to attempt by machine because they are not easy blocks by machine, and I love handwork. Using the EPP method for these blocks makes them very easy and ENJOYABLE!! These papers can be used over and over when using my method for basting. I have used them up to 20 times or more before. ( It depends on how much lint your fabric has that sticks to the waxy side of the freezer paper.) I offer pin cushion patterns and a few quilt patterns using EPP. You could easily make a bunch of pin cushions, or, make a quilt using these same papers. I'm so excited to be able to offer these to you so that you can get started right away on your EPP projects!

These papers are available in the Pincushion Patterns and the Hexie Candy Mini Quilt currently and I will have them available in the near future for Life In The Midwest and A Warm Welcome. You can also choose to make your own as in the past. You can purchase HERE at my Website, www.TraditionalPrimitives.com if you are interested.
The OTHER big news is that I will now offer ALL of my Punchneedle Patterns WITH the printed weaver's cloth. This has been a work in progress for quite a while. I am so excited to have all of them ready and available for you with the stamped weaver's cloth included in the pattern. Now, when you receive your pattern you can start punching right away! The picture below shows an example of one of the printed designs, Primitive Pineapple Welcome.

You can find these HERE at www.TraditionalPrimitives.com if you are interested! Thanks for looking! (I do have a correction here...all but ONE design is available with the printed cloth temporarily)
With these tasks finalized I am so excited to get back to stitching! I promise I won't be missing in action any longer. My life is my own once again and I'll post more often once again!
Thanks so much for stopping by! I've missed chatting with you all. Please leave a comment to say hello! If your guild or store would like a workshop on my starch method of English Paper Piecing, along with all other methods of EPP, or another class, please write to me. I would be happy to send the information!
Take care,
Missie

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7 Feet of Shoes!

Hi Gang!

Still not much happening around here as far as quilting goes...life has been very busy in this household! From my last post, you know we have our two German students here. We are getting along wonderfully and they are so sweet! They communicate wonderfully in English and it's really fun to hear them speak German and very funny to hear my daughter try to understand them and translate what they say! They are having a great time together. Monday, one of them had to go to the doctor with strep throat and Tuesday my Katie was home sick with a cold as well. We have cool rainy weather and that always brings a cold to this household!

Katie was selected to participate in the Drake Relays this year. She ran last Saturday morning. It was an awesome experience! Her team of four took second place in the Shuttle Hurdle relays! Yeah Girls! The Drake Relays are a big deal around here...professional athletes as well as top track performers from colleges all over the country, as well as a few Iowa high school track members compete. We watched pole jumping, high jumping (7’10” by a high school boy!), shuttle hurdles, long jump, steeple chase, medley relays, and more! It was a great time! If you find me on FaceBook, you can watch Katie run the hurdles. She is the first leg of the relay. (Missie Mayo Carpenter on FB). As I was waiting to meet up with Katie, I snapped this pick of the famous (in Des Moines) Drake Bulldog, Lucy...she is quite a queen!

 

So Katie woke at 5am to get down to the meet on time Saturday morning and Jeff took the other girls to Garage Sales! They had a blast! As soon as Katie returned home, she and the other two started getting ready for prom...only two hours to get three girls' hair done for prom was quite exciting! They were only a few minutes late and they all looked so pretty! Here's Katie and her boyfriend, Brennen.

 

And the crew of 4 off to get a few pictures taken before dinner. These are the best pictures because the wind was so strong...so much for nice, neat hair! Haha!

Then came after prom after the dance...they rolled in about 6:30 am... The high school has a big event to keep them all there to stay safe and out of trouble until morning. Of course, we parents are up all night as well, wondering if they are having fun! So we have sleep to catch up on also!

Last night was Katie's Young Life group here at our house! Nothing like keeping busy around here! We had about 70 kids come for YL Club Night! Worship is not like it used to be for teens! They really have a wonderful time together with fellowship, music, food, and worship. It is an awesome thing that SO Many Kids make it every week to worship. Young Life is a way to introduce God to those who have not been to church.

This is what our 7' wide entry looked like last night! And the pile kept growing and growing! LOL. The picture below is how the basement looked as they all tried to fit. The screen you see shows videos while they socialize and also projects the words for them when they sing popular music with a good message. You can't really see in the dark, but there is 15'x18' of kids in there, packed like sardines!

 

I snuck away for Bees on Tuesday night. It was fun to see a gift I made for my Secret Pal a few years ago, hanging on her wall. This little quilt has a punched Bee in the center, with embroidery and a patchwork border. I have lost this Bee Pattern in all my 'stuff' in the sewing room! Did I say "stuff" ? I meant "JUNK"!!

The only thing "quilty" I have been able to do is work on a store sample of Punchneedle. This one is called Primitive Pineapple Welcome. I am doing it in a little bit different color way than the pattern. I do think I like the blue in the sashing for a little change! When punching a larger design, it always helps to sew scrap fabric around the edge of the weaver's cloth, so it will fit easily inside a larger hoop. Makes for Much Less Hastle keeping the cloth in the hoop as you work! You can see, I am just about finished punching and then will get on to the wool and cotton borders. You can buy the pattern on my website, HERE, if you are interested.

That's about it for now! I have plans next week for a road trip to KC to help my Melanie get to a job interview during finals week, a college graduation, a high school graduation open house for about 120, and lastly, the college graduation dinner with her roomies and their families! Not much! LOL! Then...I will have time for quilting the next week...IF I am awake, that is!

Take Care,

Missie

 

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Busy Days...

We have been pretty busy in this household recently! Seems as the years go by, I have gotten a bit more unorganized. Instead of more time for keeping things in order as the kids grow up, life is busier for us. We have two foriegn exchange students who joined us last night, so I have been cleaning and redecorating the guest bedrooms! It's been fun to get it done!

This room below belongs to my middle daughter who will be graduating from college in a few weeks. She had a bright orange wall to coordinate with the hot pink and orange quilt I made for her on her 16th Birthday. She also had her name painted above the bed in the same bright color palet! So, this room went from these colors....

To this theme! I love it... Peaceful, with a smidge of bright to pep it up... She was the one who decided it was time for the orange to be painted over, and bless her heart, she did the painting for the most part! If she ends up living at home for a while until her job situation works out, she will have a nice, neat room to come home to! In more grown up colors for sure! No time to make a king sized quilt so we used a duvet cover.

The second room used to be my oldest daughters room. She's married and took most of the decorations and the zebra quilt I made for this king size bed, so for the last few months it has been a mess with the door closed. I had no time to make a king sized quilt, so I decided to use a purchased bedspread and add a throw size quilt to the chair in the room in the near future. I like this look...a bit shabby chic! The Welcome Home above the bed will welcome our daughter and husband when they visit in the future.

There is one thing for sure that I know I miss in these rooms as I look at the pictures!!!! Quilts!!!!! I will have to get to work on that soon!

The German Students arrived last night and all the kids hosting the group awaited their arrival at the airport. My youngest is the one peaking above the left side of that bright pink poster! She's looking pretty excited!

And here are our two German girls we'll have for 10 days. Gully and Jana...very sweet girls! With Katie in the middle! (She's sweet too!)

Katie participates in track and has qualified to enter the Drake Relays, which is a big deal around here! She will run in the Shuttle Hurdle Relay Saturday morning. The three girls are off school today to watch today's events. It's a beautiful day and I'm sure they will enjoy!

On the list for me today? Hem this years prom dress...I'm scared so I have put it off till today, the day before prom! LOL

Wish me luck!

Take care,

Missie

 

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It Has Been Too Long!

Well, Hello Strangers! It has been too long since I last posted for sure! Life has been way too busy and unfortunately, I have not had much time for stitching! I did redo my pattern covers though, which was a huge job. I learned very much about several publishing programs, and also learned I hardly know anything about the tech world! I am thankful for Sonia, the employee at the printer who was so kind and helpful! Now, the covers look more professional and the pictures are much better. I hope my customers will notice the difference! I went for a bit of a rustic look. This is an iPad picture, so it's not the best, but you get the idea!

We have been busy preparing for two foreign exchange students and two graduations in our household. The exchange students will be here for ten days. Shortly after, my middle daughter will graduate from college and the youngest will graduate from high school. We'll have two celebrations on the same day! Since I am such a poor housekeeper, we are having a work day today to get prepped for these occasions...I am not a housekeeper, but a creative person. My excuse is that it is a known fact that those two parts of the brain work in that way...creative people are not usually organized. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Hahaha!

Last weekend I set up my shop in Stover, MO at "It's A Gatherin' ". It was a great shopping stop! So busy we couldn't stop to breath until 2:30 both days. It's so much fun when the ladies and gents attending a show are excited to be there! The town is very tiny and the quilters really flock in to attend. Fun fun. I took my friend Marcia along this time to help me in the booth. She was a great assistant! You saw her beautiful condo decorated with quilts and wool a while back. We had a great time getting to know each other better and I look forward to taking her along to vend at the MN State Guild Show in St. Cloud in June. I hope to see some of you there! Please come say hi if you are there!

Since re turning from Stover, I have finally had a bit of time to get started on my next quilt! It has been WAY TOO LONG! Felt so good to do a bit of stitching. Here's the fabrics and the first block. That stack of Needl' Love fabric on top was just what it needed to finish my pile I've been collecting.

Yes, you can sort of tell that this in another English Paper Piecing quilt. My favorite relaxed way of piecing blocks together! It's so exciting to finally get on with this quilt as it has been burning my brain for a year now!

We've loved the wonderful weather this week and welcome spring, even though during unloading the van at the above shopping venue, the rain was pouring down! Rain is much better than snow at this point! It has been a long winter! Have a wonderful week and I hope to post a bit more often now that my busy work is done! Back to what I crave, stitching and quilting!

Take care,

Missie

 

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Small Group Show and Tell!

Table Talk Stitchers got together this week at my house. We meet once a month and have really gotten to know each other well in the year we have been stitching together. This week we had some fun projects at the table!

Mary has been diligently working on Yoko Saoto's mystery quilt from Quilt Mania Magazine! It is all quilted and ready to sew the binding down. Isn't it stunning! Here are a few detailed shots. I know she will be a ribbon winner again with this one! She is one of the finest quilters I know! It has been so great to get to know her better while stitching together in various groups.

The quilter she had work on it did some wonderfully creative stitching!

Such cute detail in this quilt...see the bluebird and pup?

And two little kitties...

Faux leather for some of the roof tops,

Cute little peacock couple...sittin' in the tree, K I S S I N G, first comes love, then comes marriage, then come the peacocks with a baby carriage!

We had a great time oooohing and aaahing over this quilt!

Char and Marcia bring wool appliqué to stitch on when they come! They both choose such darling projects to work on! It has been so fun to get to know these two ladies as well. Such sweethearts and so inspirational!

Char brought her cute chartruse purse used as a tote to carry her goodies. She also wore a chartruce colored sweater and happened to coordinate with her lovely stitching and supplies. Her Easter Matt is coming along nicely and will be ready to display in her home soon. See her cute little green box over on the right side that she carries her scissors and such in? Darling! And of course the little tote she stitched for her threads is Oh So Cute too!

 

And Marcia had a cute tote she made also. Her little mat is telling us spring will be here very soon. Such a cute little bumble bees! I am always impress with quilters who work ahead of the season! I am one who works on the past season...after Christmas, I make Christmas quilts, after Easter, I start an Easter project! Then I have to wait the whole year to enjoy it! LOL. Marcia will have this one done by the next time I see her! These girls are organized and I need it to rub off on me! :-D

 

I stitched on another pincushion. I need a few extras in different color ways. This one is poison green and lavender, with brown and creamy yellow accents. It's looking nice, I think, and will be a good addition to my collection! I love to make these...seems I never get tired of them! (You can see the rest of the designs available in my web store HERE). These are made using my English Paper Piecing technique with starch. So simple!

Next time we get together for some table Talk, I'll take a few more pictures to share from the other girls' projects to share with you. All of them are so talented.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Take care,

Missie

 

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