Tell us about yourself.

I live in the Des Moines, Iowa area but we spend quite a bit of time in southwest Missouri on Tablerock Lake.  My husband and I, our daughters and their families love spending time at the home on the lake where I grew up.  We’ve updated the old family home recently, and I’ve really enjoyed filling the walls with quilts! (My full-time home doesn’t have good walls for hanging quilts.)  The picture below shows an antique quilt on the left, and a quilt I made on the right, hanging at the lake house.  Pops of color along with the neutral tones lend way to a modern farmhouse style.

We keep the lake house very neat and tidy so it’s a nice retreat, but my home is filled with “work”- meaning lots of lovely fabrics, threads, and other supplies we quilters need for creating!  Both places are equally my happy place.  When I learned to quilt back in the 90’s, a few friends and I had a weekly small group for stitching in the evenings.  I learned to hand stitch during this time and to this day, it’s a rare day that I don’t pick up my needle and thread to do a little stitching.  I love handwork and it helps me relax before a busy workday and helps me wind down in the evenings.  A project is always nearby in my “nest” - my spot in the living room.  If you do handwork, you totally understand what I mean by my “nest”!  I have everything I need right next to me in an antique spool cabinet as my side table.  It’s definitely my happy place!

What inspires you?

I love antique quilts!  They are my greatest inspiration for designing fabrics as well as quilts.  Sewing window treatments in the ‘90s gave me access to many historical homes and many of the fabrics chosen were similarly styled like the fine fabrics used in the 1800’s in high end homes of the day.  It gave me the desire to study fabrics, collect scraps and begin my little antique quilt collection.  I strive to find well-loved antiques that have many fabrics in them and lots of age to the overall condition of the quilts. This aged condition fed my desire for rustic, primitive design found in the mid-western states I’ve lived in.  I love the texture found in old fabrics whether it comes from a design element or the wear that time creates.  The quilts shown here are the typical style of most of the quilts in my collection; not too fancy, but beautiful in their own way!

Tell us about your fabric.

As I began creating my own quilt designs around 2001, the business name Traditional Primitives came to mind as it described my style perfectly.  I struggled to find fabrics that fit this description and it’s a dream come true to design my version of traditional fabrics with a touch of primitive style for Blank Quilting now!  The result is traditional prints with a good bit of texture added.  For me, it’s all about color… I love saturated, rich, earthy, jewel tones – shades of reds, browns, blues, teals, golds, greens and purples.  This quilt, Delightful Garden, was a very exciting quilt to make.  It was the first quilt made entirely of my own fabric collections.  I was thrilled at how the collections blended so well.   My collections can be collected, treasured and used in the future together!

My last line which can most likely still be found in shops is called The Ashton Collection.  It also has been a great collection for me to work with!  I’ve loved the border print and the colorful flowers and birds have been such fun.  You’ll find several free patterns on the BlankQuilting.net website using these fabrics, and several patterns on my website as well. 

I teach applique at events throughout the country.  The techniques I use for starch basting the shapes and then sewing them on the background makes it easy to sew by hand or machine.  I realize making fancy quilts is not for everyone and my next collection, Garden Club, includes a panel giving those who don’t do applique like the quilt above, a chance to make a quilt like this!  The free download patterns for the quilts shown below are available on the Blank Quilting website.  The only construction in the first quilt is the 16 simple blocks that surround the center panel.  The corner blocks are part of the panel, and the fancy border print finishes off the quilt easily!  It’s very easy construction!  So much can be done with the border print, using the elements of the print in different ways.  I love offering projects that any level of quilter can make whether the quilter is a beginner or advanced.

This next quilt made from the Garden Club collection is also an easy project without using the panel or border print and works well in a traditional styled home or a more modern home.   I strive to design fabrics that will warm a home and pull folks in to enjoy the rich colors. 

Courtney, my first 108” collection has just been released also.  I am thrilled to have these fabrics to back my quilts with! 

Full pictures of the free quilts can be seen at BlankQuilting.net.

What advice do you have for the new maker? 

Don’t ever get discouraged!  We are all beginners when we start a new craft like quilting.  So often I hear from new quilters that they could never make this or that quilt they see.  I’m here to tell you that you can do it!  I teach many beginners who are thrilled to find out that they can make detailed quilts very easily!   It just takes the right information to learn what you need to know.  Reach out to other quilters for advice when needed.  Most are happy to help!

Enjoy the process.  It’s not always about getting a quilt done in a weekend but enjoying the process!

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Readers can contact Missie at TPQuilts@gmail.com

Her website is www.traditionalprimitives.com  and has informative videos and an interesting blog along with many pretty things.  Missie is the creator of unique notions used for English Paper Piecing and Applique’.  She loves English Paper Piecing, Applique’, Wool Applique’ and Punchneedle projects.