Monday, April 11, 2016

Busy Days! And a book review!

Hello Hello! Time has been filled to the max since the new year has begun. In January I had a speaking and workshop engagement in Nebraska City, NE and met some awsome quilters. Very nice ladies and we had a great time at the workshop!

We made a quick trip to Florida to visit some family and let the Boys in my life golf a bit. The ladies had a good time shopping and my aunt planned a day with a friend in the area so we could tour her Studio. She sells jewelry on Etsy and her Studio is to Die for! Here's a few pictures of her super cute, super organized room. Every nook is organized and neat and tidy. Wish some of that would have rubbed off on me!

You can see her unique jewelry in her Etsy shop. Charming! Thanks to Aunt Jane for planning this fun day for us! And thanks to Dee for having us over for the day.

The first show was the Dallas Quilters Guild Show. Let me tell you this is a fun show! If you ever need a road trip I think it's a safe bet that this would be a great show to attend. Beautiful quilts of all styles to see and lots of unique vendors selling their goodies. Here's a quick pic of the booth. We were worn out by the time this picture was taken, but you can get a good idea of what the booth looks like! Thanks to my husband and oldest daughter for their help!

We sold out of several key products and had back to back shows so desperately needed to replenish. Guess where we went to find more "stuff" to sell!

Good thing The Moda Warehouse is in the Dallas area. It was great fun to pop in (1st time!) and pick up some supplies. (Yes, that's our tacky little trailer in the door reflection... Hey, it works!) Now back to the shopping experience! The entry is stunning with antique quilts hanging all around.

 

This is only part of the facility...filled with fabrics and so many other goodies! As you can see I did find some goodies and what fun it was to see how a fabric company warehouse looks. Fun fun!

I felt just like those ladies in the drawing above as I left with the goods! Good thing we had that trailer shown in the door above! Haha!

The two days after the show I taught the basics for The Gardens Of A King at Happiness Is Quilting in McKinney, TX. A wonderful shop! And Wonderful class attendees who were excited to learn a new technique and have a good time. Here we are below discussing some fabric options for the quilt. (If you are new to the blog and don't know, I have a web store where you can purchase the pattern and other supplies if interested - Traditional Primitives.com) The ladies attending the workshop wished it was a week long class and we decided to start a FB page dedicated to it for those who own the pattern or have taken a workshop from me and want to have some company while stitching on it. I'll be available to answer questions and you can feel free to post photos of your blocks and meet others working on the quilt. The group is called Stitch Along with Missie - Gardens Of A King. As interest arises I will be adding other groups for other quilts for ladies to stitch along together via FB. If you are making one of my quilts and want me to start a group dedicated to that specific quilt, let me know and I'll set it up. We'll do our best to grow the groups and make it fun! I realize not everyone does FB but you should know by now I'm always eager to help if you contact me by email. Each of my patterns has my email address on the back cover so feel free to join the FB group listed above or email me with questions!

After the workshop at Happiness Is Quilting, we headed for a very quick visit with my folks on our way to the next show in Ballwin, MO near St. Louis. Another great show from the Bit's and Pieces Quilt Guild. This is a biannual show and there were some stunning quilts on display! Here's a few highlights...

It was great fun to be at this small but spectacular show. One nice lady was told by her friend who took my workshop in TX that she needed to come see me at this show. She drove a few hours from Illinois to come visit! As she walked in the door to the show, she happened to win a door prize. Guess who's booth it was from?! Mine! It was so great to meet Linda who had a very lucky day!

I've recently read a pretty good book about machine quilting called

The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting: Long-arm and Sit-down - Learn When, Where, Why, and How to Finish Your Quilts Paperback – written by Angela Walters and Christa Watson.

This book has so much great basic information. If you would like to try quilting by machine and think maybe someday you'd like to know more about a Longarm, this is the book for you! Great examples and info! Check out more details here! These ladies have covered all the details we need to know when quilting!

I'll fill you in on more adventures in the near future! Have a wonderful quilty day!

Take care,

Missie

 

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Lots To Share!

Well, life's been keeping me very busy these days! I can't believe I have not posted since the new year! Where has the time gone?

Ginger has had her paws busy too, helping me guard new quilts until I finish them. Here she is keeping one of my new quilts, Gems & Jewels safe and sound!

And here is the finished quilt! I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's made of my favorite colors! These 1/2" Hexies are samples I made during shows last year to demonstrate my Starch Basting Technique for English Paper Piecing. I had a 5"x 9" x 3" box full of Hexies and decided to mix them with some wool and this is what they became. A fun little quilt!

The Gardens Of A King Stitch Along has begun on FB and this is my first block. I'm still deciding on backgrounds... I'll keep showing my blocks as I make them. This time around the colors will be bold and strong, so I need a strong background also! There are about 150 members and they are beginning to start sewing the blocks together and it's so exciting to see them done in other fabrics. So many different color themes and styles!

The latest issue of Quilmania arrived on my birthday so that was nice. It became a nicer b'day when I opened the magazine and found Pennies In My Garden featured in the Quilt Festival section! The quilt hung in the Special Exhibit at the show in Houston and it was such an honor. A perfect Birthday!

Moda has sent me some lovely new fabrics to work with. A happy surprise to be able to see and enjoy new fabrics before they are in shops. This is a Laundry Basket Quilts line called Southern Exposure. I'll be making two baby quilts from two Layer Cakes plus a little extra for the borders. So far so good and it's been a fun challenge!

This is the Baby Boy Quilt. The pattern is called Royal Babies and will feature both the boy version and the girl version in the pattern. The Baby Girl Quilt is almost finished so I'll show it soon! The name Royal Babies was chosen because the block shape in the quilt is one from the original King George III quilt and King George was married to Charlotte. Now the latest Prince and Princess' names are George and Charlotte so I thought the name fit well.

I sold my quilting machine and decided to get a bigger model. The A1 is what I chose and I'm so happy with it! The feathers on Gems & Jewels turned out so nice! It was so fun to quilt with the new machine!

I've prepared a new project for wool workshops and finished it in two evenings, so quick and fun! It's called Tulip Time. The 13" size was so easy to handle while stitching!

My husband is now my full time Marketing Manager and we are having fun working together. He was caught in corporate cuts recently and we'll give this a try for a while to see if he is challenged enough. I need help desperately so I am thrilled. Since we are empty nesters he will also travel with me to shows, which will be really nice.

We are headed to Dallas for the Dallas Quilt Show next week and my daughter will join us to help. It's a great show! If you haven't been before it's well worth it to go! Lots of beautiful quilts and unique vendors! March 11-13 at the Dallas Market Hall Convention Center. Hope to see some of you there!!

The 14th and 15th I'll be teaching a two day workshop on the basics for The Gardens Of A King at Happiness Is Quilting in McKinney, TX. The class has outgrown their shop space and we are letting more ladies in if you care to join us! Contact them through their website at Happiness Is Quilting to signup! It will be great fun to get you started!


The new patterns are on the site if you are interested. CLICK HERE to see details! Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Follow along on FB by liking my business page- Traditional Primitives; and Intagram- traditional.primitives.
Take care,
Missie
#showmethemoda

 

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Happy New Year!

May your 2016 be the Best Year Ever! Thanks for following along on my adventures!

Take care,

Missie

 

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

A Good Morning...

A good morning starts with coffee, then Needle and Thread and of course beautiful fabric! Don't you love this Kansas Troubles color? It may not be available in the same print now, but I love knowing I can always find this wonderful color year after year! It's blending wonderfully with all my English Paper Piecing Hexies!

Have a great stitching day!

Take care,

Missie

#showmethemoda, #englishpaperpiecing, #traditionalprimitives

 

Friday, December 11, 2015

This The Season!

It's just about Christmas but it sure doesn't feel like it! My goodness, today was another 60* day here in Iowa! Hardly feels like winter, but we are expecting about 2" of snow this weekend, so that should help us get in the mood for the Holiday. Our tree is a bit sad this year. We got rid of our old one because we had more fake needles on the floor than were left on the tree. I really loved that tree and had it for many years. This year we are using the poinsettia tree we usually put by the front door because I have not found one I like just yet. My kids will have a fit when they see this poor little tree! Maybe they will help me find one. That would be a great "together" activity!

I've been working on a new quilt using the Hexies that I've made during my demo at quilt shows this year. I had about 50 Hexies cut from a double layer of C.Jenkins Freezer Paper and made a whole box full of multi colored Hexies during the year. I'd guess I have close to 500 ready to be sewn together. I'm excited about combining two of my favorite quilty things...English Paper Piecing and Wool Applique!

That's a half inch Hexie there! Looks a bit giant since I zoomed in so far! Tomorrow will be an afternoon sewing with a few friends and I'm happy to be seeing them! We'll have a great time and I'll be starting on another new Applique quilt. It's been quite a while since I've done needleturn and I'm getting excited about that too. So fun to have new things in the works!

If any of you need a nice little gift for someone who loves quilts, I have a few of the 2016 Agenda Books from Quiltmania left. They are such a nice size for putting in your purse or on your desk! Only $10 and its full of lovely quilts! I was surprised to learn my little Hexie quilt and pincushion is on the first page! Pretty exciting!! They are available on the website on the Notions Page if you are interested!! I also have a few of the Autumn Simply Vinage Magazines left if you happen to need one of those too!

Be sure to find me on FB, Pinterest and Instagram! I'm posting there more often there these days as its so much quicker and I'm finding time a bit harder to come by these days. I'll be starting another Gardens Of A King and posting about it on FB soon if you'd like to join the fun there. (I'm sure I'll show the pictures here too so you won't miss out!) you can also find others who are making some of my quilts at yahoogroups.com and search for Traditional Primitives.

 

Ginger is ready for Christmas and wishes you the best!

Have a wonderful winter weekend and

Take care,

Missie

 

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Small Business Saturday Sale Today Only!

Today only take 20% off entire purchase at www.traditionalprimitives.com!

I thank you for your business! Happy Holidays to you all!

And, I am selling my longarm quilting machine if anyone is interested in a 17" Affordable longarm! Works like new and I've only quilted a few quilts! See my listing on Craigslist for details by clicking HERE! It's a great machine and makes a perfect stitch!

Take care,

Missie

Monday, November 16, 2015

Sharp Points using Starch Basting for English Paper Piecing

Recently I've had a few people ask me about making sharp points when basting with Starch for English Paper Piecing. I use a simple process of holding the sharp points with the Fingertip Stiletto while I fold over the next seam. The pictures below wil hopefully help you understand. The color is a bit odd but I'm posting this while I have a chance!
The first picture shows how I start a shape, any shape, by drying the seam that is directly over the paper. Don't let the iron get out into the seam allowance so that it will stay damp and flexible.
For the second side of a sharp point, hold the first seam in place with the Fingertip Stiletto while you start to fold over the next seam with the iron.
Continue holding firmly while the seam allowance is folded all the way over the paper shape, pulling out the Fingertip Stiletto as you fold and iron dry.
And the last photo show how I've pulled out the Fingertip Stiletto and pressed the seam allowance flat, again, leaving the next seam to be folded over damp until it is folded over.
I hope that answers your questions! Let me know if you need more clarification. I'll be posting this to the tabs above for easy access.
Take care,
Missie
Www.traditionalprimitives.com
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