Where Has The Time Gone?!?

Posted by Missie Carpenter on Jul 24th 2020

Wow!  Is it possible that 2020 is more than half over already?!?  I can’t believe what a year it has been.  We started off with a bang at the Road to California Show, then The Rusty Barn Show in Phoenix, a quick stop at home and out to Virginia for the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival and the Academy of Appliqué.  And then the pandemic got ahold of our country, we has a grand baby born in the midst of it and we've been working from home since March.  Wow, what a year with many ups and downs, cancellations, sadness and joy.  
After returning from VA we were able to self quarantine for 2 weeks to make sure we were clean and healthy in order to meet our new granddaughter Kenzie.  She is now 4 months old and brings so much joy!  Here she is with her Mama- such a happy baby- and I could say the same about her Mama!  We are so blessed and thankful to be well.                                                       

With our time spent at home so much now, I’ve enjoyed the slower pace we've had due to no shows.  (Even though we have missed the shows terribly!).  Slow stitching has returned and I’ve been working on a few projects I will be able to share with you very soon.  I was able to use some of my previous 3 lines of fabrics with Blank Quilting- Ginger & Spice, Rustic Homestead and Barn Dance along with some strike off's of my 4th and next line Abby's Treasures!  Barn Dance should be in your local quilt shop now and they may have a bit of Rustic Homestead left to sell as well!  If they are sold out at your local shop, I do have some left.  I have plans of adding what I have on hand to my website soon, but if you can’t find it in a shop, please contact me through my website and we can figure out what you need.    ( TraditionalPrimitives.com )

Barn Dance is so fun and festive.  Available in fat quarter bundles!  

Abby's Treasures will be shipped to stores in December.  It's my favorite collection to date!  Please share this news with your local shop to make sure they have it on order.  

We must do our best to focus on the good things in life and stay as healthy as we can.  I hope you are all well!  Stay well and thank you so much for stopping by today!

Missie

TraditionalPrimitives.com

• #TraditionalPrimitives
 
• #quilting fabric
 
• #Blank Quilting
 
• #Barn Dance
 
• #Rustic Homestead
• #Ginger &Spice

Woolen Oak Stitch-A-Long

Join me for a wonderful Stitch -A-Long with 11 other designer teams!  I am so blessed to be a part of The Woolen Oak Stitch-A-Long.  It is a FB group and we are giving a way free patterns each week through August.  Each Monday a new pattern is released for you to make a beautiful festive fall quilt.  It's not too late to join so find the group on Facebook and get busy downloading all the free patterns.  We are each offering Fabric and thread kits if you wish to purchase those so that yours looks just like ours.  With so many issues shopping in person these days, this is a great option.  They are So Cute!  This Is the block that was released last Monday from Woolen Needle.  A new block is coming Monday so join now so you can get all the patterns free through the end of August!  If you click on the Woolen Oak Tab on my website you will find a link to the FB group to join.  You can also see my kit info if your interested! 

Thanks for stopping by today!  Take care, 

Missie

TraditionalPrimitives.com

News from the Past Few Months!

Hi Gang!
It's been a while since I've had time to post, but I have been very busy indeed.  Since my last post about teaching in my hometown of Springfield, MO, we had a great time in class!  I was so thrilled that all the students loved the techniques taught, and they did an Awesome job!  Merrily We Quilt Along has an exceptional classroom and knows how to put on a good show for sure!!  If you are ever in the area be sure to stop in and so some shopping.  They have a great selection of fabrics and notions of all styles- a little something for everyone!  They are right off Sunshine and 65 so they are very easy to get to.  Last I checked they had a little Rustic Homestead, my second fabric line, left in stock, so be sure to check it out!!  They made the nicest display...💕

Speaking of fabric lines by yours truly, I do have another line called Barn Dance which is being sold to stores now.  Click HERE to see the fabrics up close and personal and be sure to let your local shop know it's time to order now so you can purchase it next May!  Your local shop can call Blank Quilting direct or reach out to their sales rep to place the order.

The colors are rich and will make a great quilt, or two or more! I love these rich tones for mixing up in a scrappy quilt, how about you??

I can't wait to get it in my hands...gotta make something pretty pretty!

Other exciting news is I will be returning to teach at The Academy of Applique' in Williamsburg, VA in early March!  You can check out the classes I'm offering by clicking HERE.   Then click on 2020 classes.  Wait for it to load, as it can take a while.  My classes are shown a few pages into the document.  I only have a few spots left and the sign up deadline is Jan 15, so Hurry Hurry and decide to join me!  I will teach you some advanced applique techniques as well as get you started on my EPP techniques.  The projects are a block for a new quilt, Coeur d'Alene shown below...

I am so thrilled in the look of this beautiful block as I make more blocks to have it down perfect for you when you take the workshop.  The block shown above will be for the workshop and I'll reveal the full sized quilt with 9 blocks at the Academy.  I can't wait to show you!  Won't you come and join so you can see it in person?  

And several blocks and advanced techniques for The Gardens Of A King, which you should already know about if you have followed me for a while!  If you are new here, take a peek on my website at TraditionalPrimitives.com in the English Paper Piecing section.  This quilt is still very popular and I love teaching these difficult looking blocks in a way that makes them go together like magic.  You will learn a lot if you attend!  

The experience of going to the Academy of Applique is so wonderful!  You'll be surrounded by those who love applique' as much as you do!!  The location is stunning and there is so much history all around to explore and learn from.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  I would love to have you join me so I can help you become better at Applique'!  I have tips and tricks to make difficult projects easier-I promise!!  Don't forget, the deadline is approaching fast so act quick to save your spot!!

More exciting news is that Jeff and I are expecting our first granddaughter in March!  Paxton is such a joy and makes our hearts so full, but we are so very excited to welcome another into our world.  I've been told for so long the love of a grandparent is special and we know how special it actually is now!  Here's a little collage of the afternoon they found out we will be loving on a "SHE" this time around!

In October the Winter issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects was released and I happen to have a quilt in this issue called Winter Blooms!  This magazine is one of my favorites and this issue is quite stunning!  My quilt is inspired by the first blooms we see popping up through the winter snow in late winter... a little old snow with bursts of color greeting us with a smile for Spring!  We have kits and the magazine available on the WEBSITE on the Books and Magazines tab!  They won't last long so grab one while you can. 

Recently, I was quite surprised to learn that my quilt, English Wedding was put on the cover of  the winter issue #134 of Quiltmania!  I was so thrilled and quite honored!  A dream come true...

We have just restocked kits for this and we do have the magazine in stock if you are interested.  You will find it on the English Paper Piecing tab as well as the Books and Magazines tab on the website at TraditionalPrimitives.com .

My last bit of excitement is that we have finally launched our new website!  It has the same web address at TraditionalPrimitives.com  but it looks so much better than my old site.  It works well for mobile devices or computers and we are so happy about that!  Take some time to look around and please let me know what you think!!  I hope you like it!

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Take Care,

Missie

Traditional Primitives

Teaching soon!

Guess what I found while in Merrily We Quilt Along Quilt Shop in Springfield, MO?!?  A beautiful box and shelf of my Rustic Homestead fabric line!  They displayed it so nicely.  I'll be teaching there August 16 & 17!  The topics are English Paper Piecing using my unique way of basting EPP and Machine Applique using my unique way of applying the Applique shapes.  Join us if you can!  Click HERE for information.  .  #merrilywequiltalong #blankquiltingcorp #englishpaperpiecing #applique

The Quilt Show!

Recently I was honored to be interviewed by Ricki Tims and Alex Anderson on The Quilt Show!  If you are not yet a member of The Quilt Show, you can watch my episode this week from June 16th - 30th by clicking HERE!  It was a great experience and I was so flattered to speak with them about my work.

It was such fun, first of all to talk with them about my work, but also to see how professional videos and shows at present made as well as the hard work that goes into them!  There are so many aspects that we as watchers don’t realize or even think about.  So interesting!

Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims bring you the friendliest interactive online community for quilters worldwide!  Join today to learn, share, create, connect and watch Alex and Ricky in brand new episodes of  "The Quilt Show"!

Thanks for visiting and as always, Take Care!

Missie

#TheQuiltShow #TraditionalPrimitives

OLFA 40th Anniversary Quilt Along!

Hey Quilters!  This week I'll be sharing a post from OLFA Rotary Cutters.  Can you believe it's been 40 years of having these awesome tools called Rotary Cutters around for those of us who quilt?  This great cutting tool has been around since I started quilting in 1989.  I can't imagine how cutting for a quilt went previous to the rotary cutter except for using templates and sewing on the line.    We are so blessed to have all the tools we have today at our fingertips to make quilts so much easier than the stitchers of the past.

The OLFA 40th Anniversary Quilt has been made of blocks from multiple designers and this week is my block debut.  I chose a very simple pattern...The Grandmother's Flower block to highlight my favorite way of basting for English Paper Piecing (EPP).  I struggled with traditional basting and one day I was preparing some applique using the starch method.  This triggered that after trying so many ways to baste EPP and having no success, I might like using starch to baste the EPP shapes.  Wow!  It was life changing for me!  I loved using the starch to baste the shapes.  You can see my block and instructions by clicking HERE and HERE.   Keep reading to learn how I use the OLFA Rotary Cutters to make my blocks!

Back to my journey of figuring out basting EPP shapes with starch...A problem became very obvious after a while...my shapes were not turning out the same size and the shapes would distort very quickly using all the freezer papers I could find on the market.  I never realized that freezer paper will shrink when the iron is used!  Some papers would shrink up to 1/8" if I used them only a few times.  That is a huge amount to have to ease in on each shape!  The result was a wavy quilt that did not lay flat.  To solve this problem I had to make a fresh paper for each piece in the quilt...lots of work, but I loved the results I got from using starch.

Eventually we have had Premium Freezer Paper made so that it does not shrink and distort with the use of heat and starch.  It holds up so well, it will last about 20 uses!  That really gets you on to making the quilt, rather than making the paper shapes.  The result is quick and precise.  I have also created several other notions to help this process work easier.  The Fingertip Stiletto is flat like your fingertip so it is very easy to hold onto the hot paper shapes when using the iron.  The Starch Brush is a notion that spoils us quilters.  The starch is held in the handle and there is no clean up!  You can see videos on my website showing how I use these tools by clicking HERE.  The first video is in the top right corner of the home page.  They will also be near each product I've designed for this technique.

When preparing many blocks, I love using the OLFA Rotary Cutters and Rulers.  First, I cut a strip as wide as needed for each hexie.  It depends on the size you make, but add at least a half inch to the size of the shape.  Then lay the template onto that strip and cut a square a half inch larger in that direction.  Then, take the rotary ruler and lay it along the paper edge and cut off the points on each end.  The OLFA blades are so sharp it allows me to cut 8 layers at a time to get these hexies cut quickly and accurately!  Give it a try...you'll love them!!

For this small project, make your templates according to the pattern and use your OLFA Cutter to cut the shapes accurately.  Then iron each piece onto the wrong side of the fabric.  Use your OLFA Ruler and Rotary Cutter to trim 1/4" around each shape.  It is a great way to get them cut quickly!

If you are new to my blog, please subscribe using email in the slot to the right.  Thanks for stopping by!  Take a look around my blog as well as my website!  I hope you enjoy making my block for the OLFA Quiltalong!
Take care,
Missie

A Blustery Day at the Lake House...An Upcoming Teaching Engagements

Wow!  I would sure say that winter has arrived.  We have not gotten snow here at the Lake House like they have back in Des Moines and other parts of the midwest, but it's still cold and windy.  Why is it we always feel shocked when winter sets in? The forecast for today was 6" of snow but now has reduced to 1".  That's moving in the right direction for me!  It's pretty mild most of the time here at the lake, so it will be gone quickly. 1" will be just enough to enjoy for a day or so.  ❄❄❅❅  Maybe this view will be white tomorrow!  It will put me in the mood for Christmas...🎄

I have been busy going through the items of my parents lifetime.  It's taking me down memory lane for sure.  There are so many memories, it makes me both happy and sad, but comforted as well.  My parents talked about wanting to update the house but never could decide what to do.  We decided to redo the kitchen, remove wallpaper and paint.  Thank goodness the painters have a product that will eliminate having to remove the wallpaper and will be able to paint the walls easily.  The kitchen is in the middle of its' remodel and I will post some before and after pictures when it is completed.  What an experience!

I plan on taking a few minutes from going through items today to do some sewing while football is on.  It used to be that I would prepare a lot of Applique or English Paper Piecing ahead and bring my stack upstairs to sew while Dear Hubs was watching football.  But so far this year I have not had time to prep much ahead of time.  I do have a stack of triangles that I have been sewing together for a while now so I will get them out and try to get some piecing done.  It seems I have been carrying this box of triangles around with me for over a year!!  Time to get it finished!

What will it be??  I'm not quite sure yet!  HAHA!  I am pretty sure I do know, but I'll be keeping that a secret for now!

I've used the Triangle Punch to make my Premium Freezer Paper shapes very quick and easy.  You can find them on the notions page with the Hexie Punches by clicking HERE.  

I have two teaching engagements coming up if you want an excuse for a road trip!  The first is at the Road to California show in Ontario, California.  I will be teaching English Paper Piecing using my technique of basting with starch.  It's a great class!  Click HERE for info.  My workshop is the 3rd one on the page.  Join me for great tips, a new technique for basting and fun!

The second teaching engagement is at the Academy of Applique' in Williamsburg, VA.  I am so honored to be teaching at this event.  It looks like a wonderful location in the heart of history of the beginning of the USA.  I will be teaching two sessions and the topic is The Gardens Of A King quilt.  We will work on 3 blocks in each session and lessons will be full of great tips for excellent results.  I love teaching this quilt to show people it is not as hard as they think it will be!  Click HERE for information.  My workshop information is on page 12.  Click the arrows in the bottom left corner of the picture that comes up on the page and all the information will be there for you to see.  I can't wait!

Wish me luck for actually getting to sit and stitch today!  

Have a wonderful day yourself!

Take care,

Missie

TraditionalPrimitives.com

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#EnglishPaperPiecing

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