A New Cross Stitch Pattern

Rejoice Sampler is my newest cross stitch pattern! I used both Valdani 6 strand embroidery floss, and DMC embroidery floss to stitch the sampler onto Weeks Dye Works 36 count Mocha linen, using 2 strands of floss over 2 linen threads.

 

Rejoice Sampler

It's now available on my website as either a paper pattern mailed to you, or as a PDF instant download. I also have it listed in my new Etsy shop as a PDF instant download.

I finished all of the block and fabric replacements on my "Economy Patch" turn of the century quilt I blogged about last time, and now I'm on to the hand quilting phase. It should be interesting, as the border is very "ruffly", a feature I've never dealt with before, as I've always hand quilted my own quilts, which I make sure are perfectly flat. So, we'll see, LOL!

I've also taken on another quilt restoration project, this time on a quilt top I purchased online. I have an affinity for one patch quilts, made of many different prints, and this is such a one - made entirely of diamonds, with a 5" border. The quilt looks to be pieced in the 1870-1890 period, and is very well pieced, although all of the seams are very narrow - 1/8" wide. I read in Eileen Trestain's book, "Dating Fabrics", that quilters during this time period were encouraged to use narrow seams in their piecing to lessen the weight of the quilt. Very interesting! And this quilt top is certainly very light.

The quilt was tied some time later than the piecing, with a cotton batt, and a backing fabric that looks to be a 1930-40 fabric. I washed the quilt before removing the ties, and many of the fabrics fell apart after washing, principally the fabrics with brown in them. So, I'm replacing those patches with reproduction fabrics. Luckily, I have a good collection of reproduction fabrics, which I started buying when they first came on the market.

Here's an example of some of the patches that needed to be replaced, and then what I replaced them with:

 

"Before" replacing the patches

 

 

 

 And the replacements:

 

I auditioned the fabrics first by laying the reproductions close to the damaged patches to try to find fabrics that most closely resembled the originals, in color and tone. I hand pieced them together, but I'm using a 1/4" seam allowance, haha!

That's all for now! Until next time,

Martha

Basket of Blooms Punch Needle - Two Colorways, Two Sizes

Just released, my newest punch needle pattern, Basket of Blooms, has two colorways included, as well as two sizes for each colorway. When I designed the pattern, I couldn't decide which colorway, so I decided to just make both. I made the larger sized version (9" x 12") with red and green on a black background:

Basket of Blooms Punch Needle

I made the smaller version, with a size of 6" x 7 3/4", in the lighter colorway, with the shades of red and green to emulate the colors of a faded antique hooked rug:

Basket of Blooms Punch Needle

Both of the Basket of Blooms tapestries are punched entirely using the beautifully variegated Valdani threads.

For the larger Basket of Blooms, I needed a frame instead of a hoop. At first I purchased carding strips and made my own, but I wasn't happy with it. After using it for awhile, I decided to purchase this beautifully handcrafted 18" x 18" frame on Etsy, from the shop Beecreekltd:

I added the handle so that I could turn the frame with ease, as well as pick it up to move it around. Those carding strips can be sharp! A second handle on an adjacent side would have been even better, but at the time, I was anxious to get my tapestry completed.

When punching the design, I place the frame on a low, plastic top table. I can turn the frame around easily, as it just slides on the plastic, and I don't have to worry about harming a different surface, such as wood.

The pattern is available as a paper pattern mailed to you, or as a PDF download.

 

Until next time!

Martha

So Far in 2022

Time flies when you move cross country, after packing up everything you've accumulated from living in the same place for 23 years. The quilts are finally unpacked, folded and put away or displayed, and in the past month I've even been able to do some stitching, which is a great feeling!

 

Last month Martingale Publishing released The Big Book of  Favorite Scrap Quilts:

 

And in it you'll find the pattern for my quilt, "Hill Country" 

 

"Hill Country" by Martha Walker

. . . along with a ton of other great scrap quilt designs to choose from. Here is just a sample of one of the quilts that caught my eye from the book:

"Halloween-ish" by Susan Ache

The new Simply Vintage magazine, Spring 2022, is also just out

. . . and I'm excited to have a punchneedle embroidery project included in this issue:

"1841 Pencil Box" by Martha Walker

 

I used beautiful Valdani 3 strand embroidery floss to punch the 1841 Pencil Box design. 

Spring is finally close at hand, birds are feathering their nests, and I will continue feathering my own nest!

Until next time,

Martha
 

Simply Vintage No. 39 - My pattern!

 BLOOMING HEARTS

You'll find my new punchneedle pattern, "Blooming Hearts" featured in this summer's Simply Vintage magazine No. 39.

 

Blooming Hearts by Martha Walker

Simply Vintage magazine No. 39

I used beautiful Valdani 3 strand embroidery floss for the entirety of the piece and I will be selling thread kits for "Blooming Hearts" on my website in just a few days, once they arrive. 

The "Blooming Hearts" punched piece is mounted on black wool. The year 1860 is the birth year of one of my great great grandmothers, but feel free to personalize "Blooming Hearts" with a year that may have meaning to you!

Until next time,

Martha
 

Snow Themed Quilts for Snowy Days!

Happy New Year!

It's that time of year, in half of the world anyway, when many of us are enjoying the beautiful, quiet serenity of softly falling snow. Or, maybe you have young children who enjoy building snowmen! One of my favorite photos is the one I took with the first camera of my own, when I was 10 years old. I got the camera with box tops from a cereal box! Remember when you could get fun things like that? I only took one roll of film, black and white, and my brothers and sister were a favorite subject.

Here is the photo of my little brother and sister proudly standing beside their creation!

I have a fun new pattern, Winter Wishes, with a chubby snowman visiting with some little red birds. I used Aurifil Lana Wool Thread and Valdani Perle cotton for the wool applique. The background is a simple beige pieced quilt, that is pre-quilted before the wool is applied. I'm offering it as a paper pattern, mailed to you, or as a pattern download, perfect for my friends from outside the United States. And, both the paper pattern and the pattern download include a full size applique diagram.

Winter Wishes

And the second new pattern is Snowbird - mostly applique with a center block surrounded by simple piecing. And, like Winter Wishes, you can purchase it as a paper pattern, mailed to you, or as a pattern download (E Pattern). And it includes full scale applique diagrams for all of the applique portions. I give you detailed instructions on how to cut and fold the dogtooth portion of the center block for needle turn applique.

 

Snowbird

I'm working on a fun new mystery quilt sew along associated with my new book, Prairie Patchwork, which I will be rolling out soon. I will be posting the patterns on this blog, I'm hoping in February. We are getting new flooring on the second level of our home, which has created a lot of moving, packing, and a general disruption of our typical routine!

Happy Winter Stitching!

Until next time,

Martha

Prairie Patchwork; Treasured Quilts and Tales of Time

Prairie Patchwork: Treasured Quilts and Tales of Time is my newest book, published by Martingale Publishing, and just released last week! First of all, it was such a pleasure to work with all of the staff at Martingale. It is a very professional bunch, and my book was put together all along the way with the utmost care!

That being said, I'm extremely proud of the result!

 

Prairie Patchwork

You'll find patterns using a variety of techniques for making the quilts in Prairie Patchwork, from hand piecing to machine piecing, foundation piecing to strip piecing. You'll also find a variety of sizes as well: bed quilts, wall quilts and doll size quilts. A pattern for a sweet little wool applique needlebook is also included.

Punch Needle for Spring

Spring is finally here, and I was definitely thinking spring when I stitched my new punchneedle pattern, Faded Blooms. I'll use the pattern for teaching punchneedle embroidery, so I designed it to be rather simple, but using beautiful Valdani threads can make a simple design something special.

Faded Blooms Punch Needle

I'm often asked where I get the frames I use for framing my stitchery. A beautiful frame can enhance any work, and I'm always on the lookout for nice frames when I'm out and about. I've found many beautiful frames at cross stitch/needlework shops, and if I fall in love with a frame, I'll buy it then, even if I don't have a project in mind. Another good place to find frames is antique shops. I've found frames that have already been "upgraded" with a fresh coat of paint. Just a few weeks ago I purchased a very nice frame that I will be painting myself.

The frame I used for "Faded Blooms" is one that I put together myself. I had some leftover wood rope molding and glued it to a purchased frame from a hobby shop. I needed a little bit of caulk in a few spots where the pieces of molding joined, so I mixed together a small amount of white glue and baking soda for a do-it-yourself caulk. I then chalk painted the frame and added a coat of dark wax.

One thing to look for when purchasing a frame, is the depth of the opening. I like to use a frame that has a depth of at least 3/8" so that it can accommodate foam core board as a surface to attach my stitchery. Refer to my previous post to see how I frame my needlework archivally:

https://wagonswestdesigns.blogspot.com/2014/03/new-punchneedle-patterns-and-how-i.html

Even though my frame for Faded Blooms has a rectangular opening, and the punchneedle itself is square, I was able to fill in the space with some vintage buttons stitched to a scrap of beautiful hand dyed Weeks Dye Works parchment linen, and cross stitched to the fabric background. You can always fill in a not quite perfect space with some creative layering of wool, and fabric. So many options!

Until next time!

Martha

Happy New Year! The Year in Review

Happy New Year! I've been an absentee blogger the past few months - maybe my New Year's resolution should be "I will be a better blogger in 2017". LOL!

When I look back on this past year, I'm amazed at all of the things that have happened, or changed, all in one year. Some of those happenings have been personally challenging, but I'll skip those, and just stick to quilty happenings!

First, in 2016, I published my book, Betsy's Scrapbag, the second in the Scrapbag Girl® series in March of 2016. Betsy's Scrapbag is near and dear to my heart, and if you've read the introduction to the book, you'll know why! 2016 marks the 240th anniversary of the year of this country's independence, and I'm so happy that I was able to contribute to the celebration of that very important year, in cloth and thread.

And, to go along with the publication, my registered trademark, Scrapbag Girl® was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Yippee!

A collage of projects from Betsy's Scrapbag by Martha Walker

Next in 2016, my fabric line for Henry Glass Fabrics,  
A Prairie Journal, was delivered to quilt shops in June. When I returned from my big cross country trip in July, I was finally able to start making a bunch of quilts with the beautiful fabric. Some of those projects I've yet to show, and I'll be talking more about those after the first of year.

I have just recently added a free pattern for one of the projects, Prairie Flowers Table Runner, to the website to download. And, I have kits for the table runner, just listed as well:

http://www.wagonswestdesigns.com/shop/Kits/p/Kit-Prairie-Flowers-Table-Runner-x23145638.htm

Prairie Flowers Table Runner

Next up in 2016 came another big happening - --Wagons West Quilt Shop & Studio in Wickenburg, Arizona. I had been wanting to move most of my business out of the house and into a small space where I could teach classes, and house a small shop to carry some of my favorite materials for creating beautiful, quality works of art, in cloth and thread. The opportunity arose, when we stumbled upon a building that had formerly housed another quilt shop, M's Quilting Inspirations, in Wickenburg, Arizona.

If you've never been to (or heard of) Wickenburg, it's just a short drive northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Here's a link to the Google map:

https://goo.gl/maps/jsrJpAX2sQT2

My husband and I were busy most of the summer getting the building ready to open the shop by November. We're open Fridays and Saturdays, and if you're in the area, please stop by!

Yes, we're small, but we have a very good selection of the hard to find Aurifil Lana wool thread, which I love for wool applique, and I just received a big shipment of beautiful Valdani hand dyed 3 strand floss and Perle cottons. Love! We also have the entire line of Mettler 60/2 cotton thread, which I use for both hand and machine applique, and many times machine quilting. We have wool fabric on the bolt, hand dyed wool fat quarters, and of course, quilt shop only cotton fabric!

I just added the classes that I'll be teaching in January and February of 2017 to my website, and you can register and pay for the classes online. Classes will be small, so please register early if you want to take a class! Click Here for classes.

Check back again to see if I made that New Year's resolution haha!

Until next time,
Martha