Paper fabric postcards

I wrote a previous blog about making painted paper fabric.   Some of the pieces that I made were just the right size to cut up and make into postcards.  They are a really fast and fun way to get things done so that you have the feeling of accomplishment!  So many of our projects take years to complete, and most of us quilters/fabric artists have several in progress.  Fabric postcards are just the ticket to give you something you can finish without slowing down all of your other projects.

Here are a few of the postcards that I made with that painted paper fabric.

Enjoy!

Fabric, fabric and more fabric

Our quilt guild holds two stash bazaars a year so that our members can clear out their "junk" and sell it to other people as their "treasures".  I recently went to one of those stash bazaars and I was bombarded as soon as I walked in the door.  So many people know that I love lime green anything, and especially lime green fabric.  So a few of them had set some aside underneath their tables, lying in wait for me!  It's all in fun... but since I have lime green fabric lust, they cleared out my wallet!  I keep telling myself I WILL NOT BUY ANYMORE LIME GREEN FABRIC.  It isn't working.

Anyway, I now have a bunch more of it, and I love it still.  I hope I'm not the only one.

Is there something that you love too?  Something that you just can't get enough of?   Happy Quilting!

Getting Nervous about my solo show

I had to admit to a few people that I am starting to get nervous about my solo show approaching in October.

I've made a list of all the quilts I want to display - around 100.  One task done.
I've written to all the people that have quilts I want to borrow back for the show.  Second task done.
I've made most of the card stock labels that be pinned to the front of the quilts.  Third task almost done.
I've sent pictures to our publicity chairperson for the postcards and flyers.  Fourth task done.
I've done a preliminary layout of the show.  Fifth task almost done.

However, some unplanned tasks are starting to crop up:  Several people have asked me how to wash their quilts, how to get them to me, if I can do a few "small" repairs, and to let me know there isn't a hanging sleeve sewn on the back of the quilt.  Oh oh, that sounds like some work for me.  I don't mind a little bit of work.  I just know that it's summer and this is my traveling, gardening and biking season.  So, it feels like there is going to be a crunch time coming.  And that is making me a little nervous.

Wouldn't it make you a little nervous too to gather 100 of your quilts from around the USA and Canada?

Anyway, still over the moon that I was selected to be the featured artist for Clark County Quilters.  Mark it on your calendars:  October 19-21, 2018.  Opening reception is on October 19 from 5-7 pm.
H.H. Hall Building, Vancouver, WA.

Painting paper fabric

I bought a whole bunch of muslin when I saw a sale at Mood on line.  It was purchased for making dress fitting muslins.  But it was so much, like 10 yards or something!  And I don't sew that much clothing.  I remembered a technique that I did one time where I glued tissue paper to the muslin to make a "paper fabric" base.  This time, while everything was still wet, I went crazy with water colors and fabric paints and made up some interesting painted paper fabric.  It is so fun to have a play date and do things like this.

I want to make some art quilts with it; perhaps a nest.  Who knows?

Anyway, here it is:

Sewing with the cat

If you are a quilter and you have a cat, or cats, you already know my dilemma.  The cat likes to be near me, on me, on top of what I'm working on, underneath what I'm working on, underneath my feet......  You get the picture.   I end up with cat hair on everything.  But I love my cats!  OK, I might go so far as to say that I have made my cats co-dependent on me.  I've turned into a cat enabler.

Here is my current cat, Jack, sharing my chair while I'm waiting for paint to dry and goofing around on my computer.  Do you see how much chair I get to use?

Here is a picture of my previous cat, Fly, who loved to sit on top of my sewing machine while I was sewing.  Sometimes, she would hang her feet over the edges and get so close to the needle, I thought that I might accidentally sew over her paw.

Here she is sitting on top of a quilt while I was sewing on the binding.

And here is a really old picture, showing me holding a kitten when I was about 6 yrs old.  So you know I've liked cats for a long time!

I hope you have room for pets in your life too!

Labels for quilts

I helped several people working on documenting quilts from their states as part of a historical record.  Many of the quilts we discovered did not have the maker's identity on them,  Sadly, this is the case for most antique quilts.  Because of that, I think that every quilt you make should have a label on the back with your name and the date.  Other things you can add are the name of the quilt, the person you gave the quilt to, a picture of the quilt or yourself or the recipient, a short story about the making of the quilt, or your city or contact information.

When I first started making quilts, I hand embroidered my name on the lower right back corner.  I started out using chain embroidery stitch and embroidery floss.  I changed to back-stitching with embroidery floss and still do that sometimes.  Here is my very first quilt signature:

(Did you notice that it took me 17 years to complete this quilt?  Yes, it was a long time.)

Lately, I've enjoyed doing the label in the Word program and printing it on inkjet ready fabric.  I try to match the color of the label to the color of the quilt.  But not always.  It's super easy to do that in Word.  Here are a couple of examples.

Sometimes, it's fun to include a picture of the recipient or the honoree on the label.  Here are some examples of that:

After I print the label, let it dry and iron it,  I stitch it to the back of the quilt by hand.

Some of my friends have labels made on embroidery machines and these are quite beautiful.  And other friends hand write out their labels with pigma pens.  Some of these labels are quite large.  But they tell the full story that stays with the quilt.  It's so fun to read those story labels.

I hope you remember to label all of your quilts too.

President's block

Each year our guild is asked to make quilt blocks to give to our outgoing president, as a way to thank her for her year of service to our organization.  This year, 2018, the request to the members was to make a block, up to 10", of something orange, and perhaps a chicken or cat somewhere on the block.

I know that this particular president has quite a sense of humor, so I designed a humorous cat for the block that I wanted to make for her.

And here it is:

I hope it gives you a smile too!