Monday, August 1, 2016

A Prairie Journal fabric arrival!

This summer I did something I've never done before - drive across the country - and by myself, no less! I had a very exciting destination. I was going to see my new (and first) grandson who was born in June! He was just about to turn 3 weeks old when I finally arrived. Of course, I could have flown to Virginia, but I wanted to see my sister in Oklahoma and my mother in the Kansas City area, so I thought driving would be in some ways easier. It was a great trip (except for the torrential rain on 3 of my driving days).

I left in June, and a month later was back home in July. While I was away, my Henry Glass Fabric collection, A Prairie Journal fabric arrived, so it was here when I got back. It's just beautiful to see on the bolts!

A Prairie Journal
Last week, I was finally unpacked, and ready to cut into the fabric and make my first quilt from the collection. I chose to make the panel quilt first, which is a free project to download you can find on both the Henry Glass Fabrics website and my website. This quilt is made using the panel from the collection, cutting out the large center portion, and the four small floral blocks for the corner sections. It's surrounded by plain borders and broken dishes blocks made from the red and blue coordinates. I'm just in love with the dark teal blue fabric!

Here are the pieces ready to put together:

And the top finished!

A Prairie Journal quilt

I have more quilts to make with the collection, so I'll post more pictures as I get them done.

Back to my trip - while I was in Kansas City, I did a trunk show at Quilter's Station in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Here are a few pictures that I borrowed from the many that their wonderful photographer took, and posted on the Quilter's Station Facebook page.

"Basket Quartet" quilt made from my Studio e Fabric line Elementary
"1776" from Betsy's Scrapbag
"Autumn Stars" from Betsy's Scrapbag
 
"Bricks and Boughs" table runner from my book Be Merry 


And a few pictures from my drive cross country:


One of my overnight stays both ways was Paducah, Kentucky.
Downtown Clinton, Tennessee
I had heard that Clinton, Tennessee had some good antique shops, so I made a short side trip to do some shopping. I came home with some fantastic goodies from Corner Antiques.

And visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Oklahoma always takes me through the beautiful Cimarron country of Oklahoma:

Gloss (Glass) Mountains

We live in a beautiful country, and I loved seeing familiar places again, and places I've never been to before. It was a great trip, and I miss my new grandson already! But East or West, home is best, and I'm happy to be home and making quilts again!

Until next time,

Martha

8 comments:

  1. I love that your new fabric line is bright. The patterns are fun, too. Nice work. So glad you enjoyed your trip. I am always amazed at all there is to see in America. How wonderful that you were able to see your little one, too.

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  2. The new fabrics are wonderful--love the colors! I'll be on the look out for them to show up in the shops!

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    1. Thank you, Karen! I hope you see them in your local shop(s). If not, you can always put in a request :)

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  3. Congrats Martha! On both your cross-country drive and your new fabric run.
    Lots of great journeys in this post:)

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  4. Love your new fabric, and I loved seeing the photos of your quilts that you showed on your trunk show. (I loved seeing the quilts and that you said what books they are from: I'm in love with your Autumn Stars: that pumpkin border is gorgeous!!) And I loved the pics of your trip: I've never been in that area of the country, so it's fun to see places like Gloss hills. So pretty! You're like me: take off to see things and people and enjoy the scenery and stop at some fun stores while I'm at it. And congrats on the cause of the trip: your new grandbaby!!! I'll bet you just had the most wonderful time with him!! Thanks for sharing your trip! Hugs, H

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  5. Thank you, Helen! It was really a great trip! Another plus of driving cross country, is you get away from all of the bad news in the media, and realize how friendly and nice most people are ... I just met some wonderful, interesting people everywhere I went!

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