A Peak at Our New Collection - Mackinac Island

It's been too long, folks.  I'm sorry for being tardy.  Things have happened and I'll show you all the news.  

First of all, my pal Leigh Ann and I collaborated on making a purse.  I was admiring boro bags online and thought (with the help of Leigh Ann) we could make one.  We did!  Don't ask about a pattern - since we completely WINGED IT.  Like I said - I made the 2 panels and they are sewn to an oval bottom and Leigh Ann added the lining, pockets and hardware.  The bag construction part is all above my pay grade :)  I'm sure there are many bag patterns that could be adapted to this technique.

The outside panels were hand quilted by me (basically mini quilts) and then handed over to Leigh Ann to turn into a purse.  I used antique fabric scraps and Minick and Simpson scraps.

She does beautiful work and I'm over the moon with it.  It is my summer purse and I love it!

In other WHOO-HOO news..... our next fabric collection has started to be shown to shop owners.  I received some sample yardage to make ALL the quilts.  I am over the moon with this too. This group is called Mackinac Island.

 Here are the actual fabrics...........

 You will notice it is the usual Red, White, and Blue of Minick and Simpson with some added pink.  Do you like it as much as I do?

As for the quilts........ I have designed a quilt that fits all the requirements for a Quilt of Valor. I was so happy to participate in this project.  This will be a boxed kit offered through Moda Fabrics and it - and all the yardage will be in your favorite quilt shops in January 2020.

 Last, but not least is a new BOM.  This is Derby House.  Derby House has 5 applique blocks and the rest is easy piecing.  Yes, easy.  It looks complicated, but it isn't.  The piecing is all 4 patches, 9 patches, HST's, log cabin blocks, and such. Easy peasy.  Granted, it is a lot of piecing - but it's simple.  Once you get all the blocks made - they are then sewn together in 9 vertical rows.  SIMPLE.

This will be a 10 month Block Of The Month and I hope to start it in December/January.  There will be lots of warning for the sign ups.  I will be able to do a few here in my Etsy shop.  Many other shops will offer it also. 

Whew!  I think that's it for now.....

Laters,

Laurie

Charm Swap - Me and My Sister

Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister designed this great little quilt using Northport!  I love it!  Thanks, gals.

Make sure to head on over to their blog for the free download pattern


What other things are happening over here........... a small vacation is planned (very small - 3 days).  Beach towels and sunscreen has been obtained!

Oh....... just to get your attention....... A new Minick and Simpson Block Of The Month has been finalized!  I will post pictures next month and we will get the process going for subscriptions.  You can expect this quilt to start around the end of the year - so get your quilting schedules in order !

Laters,

Laurie

Charm Swap Day

Today is Charm Swap Day here at Minick and Simpson.  A while ago a few Moda Fabric designers swapped Charm Packs™ and made a mini quilt.  The challenge was to use fabric that is a bit different than we usually use - and add up to 1 1/2 yards to complete a quilt.  I used a Charm Pack™ from Sherri and Chelsi - a Walkabout charm.  Here is the quilt.....

You can get the pattern HERE

Remember to visit all the other Charm Swap quilts....

Kansas Troubles

Me and My Sister 

Sherri McConnell

Primitive Gatherings

Lella Boutique

Laters,

Laurie

4th of July Celebration

Hope you all have a great summer spectacular celebration.  We will be laying low as I travel the next day.  I'm going to celebrate by showing my gratitude.

This quilt is quilted now - by Maggi Honeyman.  I have offered this quilt for auction on my Instagram page. (if you cannot get there by the link - go to the instagram icon over on the left to get you there),  

If you want to bid on the quilt just comment and "@" the previous high bidder to let them know they have been outbid.

In celebration of this American holiday - ALL proceeds of this auction will go to 2 charities.  Our long time charity - Semper Fi - and The International Rescue Committee.  Semper Fi benefits wounded veterans and the International Rescue Committee helps family seeking safety. Both of these charities have the highest ratings from Charitynavigator.org.

The auction is open until noon on July 4th.  The winner will get an invoice from me and receipts from the charities for their records.   

The quilt...... it has been English paper pieced by me using Northport prints and wovens.  It is beautifully quilted by Maggi.

Thank you

Laters,

Laurie

Charm Swap

There has been a plan brewing between myself and 5 other Moda Designers.

We have some fun planned.  Every wednesday for the next 6 weeks.  What is it, you ask?  Well, we all swapped charm packs and made quilts using each others fabrics. 

Today, we start it off with Lynne at Kansas Troubles 

Here is her quilt and go to her website to get the free pattern.

Isn't it adorable?  

Here is the schedule for the blog hop.......

Here’s the Schedule …
June 26 ~ Kansas Troubles  http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/
July 3 ~ Sherri McConnell  https://www.aquiltinglife.com/   
July 10 ~ Laurie Simpson  http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/
July 17 ~ Me and My Sister Designs  https://www.meandmysisterdesigns.com/blog/
July 24 ~ Primitive Gatherings  https://lisabongean.com/
July 31 ~ Lella Boutique  https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/

Laters,

Laurie

Sewline

In my last post I showed you the top I pieced in the English Paper Pieced style.  EPP, as it is commonly known, is made easier with a few handy tools.

Sewline makes quite a few of them......... this is an item available from them - The Quilter's Starter Kit.  

Included in the Quilter's Starter Kit are:  : 5-1/2" Snippet scissors, Fabric Glue Pen, Duo Fine Fabric Marker & Eraser, Styla Fabric Marker with water erasable ink, Aqua Eraser, Stayer permanent marker, Sewline Fabric Pencil in white, and Fabric Eraser.

I used the glue pen (and a couple glue refills) glue basting every piece of this quilt.

Sewline Glue pen is fast and easy.  Once every paper shape was glue basted with fabric - then I could sew at my leisure to make all the blocks.  

The papers stay in place until you lift the fabric edge and peel it away from the paper.  All of these steps are easy to do on the road (summer trips!) or in front of the tv or watching a sporting event.  My kind of quilting!

The Sewline mechanical pencils are always in use here too.  They come with several colors of lead refills - and I have a mechanical pencil ready in every color. You never know what color will show up best on a particular fabric.  What do I use them for?  Mostly for hand piecing, but I mark quilting lines occasionally with them too. 

I often have a hand pieced project in the works here.  Many of the recent ones have been done using acrylic templates like this one.  I rotary cut the fabric needed - then mark my hand sewing lines with the pencil.  In this case - just the corner dots - and I hand sew dot - to - dot. 

While Moda Fabrics + Supplies asked me to write about these tools - I wouldn't do it if they weren't a tool I loved.  Here is a picture of my sewing notions ready to be used next to my stitching chair - there are quite a few Sewline tools in use.

Hope you have a hand work/travel project ready to go for this summer.

Laters,

Laurie

English Paper Pieced 6 Pointed Star Quilt

There were some scraps left of Northport prints and wovens after I made my 3 quilts for International Quilt Market.  I decided to make an EPP (English Paper Pieced) quilt with them.

 The picture isn't very good. I JUST got the border sewn on and since thunderstorms are threatening here - I quickly took a picture before it was pressed.  Thunderstorms. Again. Poor Gibby doesn't like them at all.

 The quilt has 9 stars and 3 half stars in this setting.  The border is 7" wide and it finishes at 67" x 78"

This is how the pieces are arranged to make the star block.   

 And this is how they are set....

The hexagon is 1" size and each block uses 1 hexagon.  The half-hexagon is a 1" half hexagon and you will need 16 for each block.  The 3" equilateral triangle is next and you need 6 for each block.  The 3" diamond (60 degree) will call for 6 in each block.  The 6" equilateral triangle is the 6 blue triangles that surround each block.  Finally - you need 6" diamonds (60 degree) for the setting - the red large diamonds.  It all depends on how you set the block together as to how many of these large 6" diamonds you need.  For this quilt I needed 35 - plus 3 half diamonds. 

All the paper templates and the acrylic templates to cut the fabric came from Paper Pieces. 

I'll be posting more on techniques later this week.

Laters,

Laurie