Hello, my name is Annie and I am a fabric postcard addict... 

...and you can help feed my addiction.

I've made a buncha fabric postcards over the past few years and sent them to family and friends for a variety of events or reasons.  But I'm worried now they may be tiring of them. 

But I'm not tired of making them!

This is where you come in.  I've had many admirers of my cards and I'm wondering if you would like to receive one?  As a follower appreciation gimmick giveaway, I want to sporadically offer up for grabs a postcard now and again.  Interested?

There won't be any jumping through hoops to win the cards, but since it's produced in appreciation of my followers and my flickr contacts, you have to be an already existing follower/contact when the card is offered up for grabs.

You can choose whether you would like me to mail the card to you from me (which means I write on it and address it to you and mail it to you naked), or you would like it to come to you ready for you to send yourself if you so choose to (which means I leave it blank and put it in an envelope to send to you). 

Mr. Random number picker will not be involved here.  I will just choose the winners, based on comments here and on flickr.  I would like to know that they go to caring homes.

Here are two cards up for grabs to start this off.  Let me know in your comment which one you would like.  Two recipients this time.

Tweet Bird

Butterfly Post

I so appreciate all the wonderful things many of you have commented in the past on my postcards.  I so love to make them.  Here's to hoping I will find some new recipients to send them to.  Cheers!

Annie

Blog Hopping

It seems every other blog I follow is in the middle of a blog hop.  It's so fun to see what so many are doing creatively, but I can't even keep up anymore.  Although I keep trying.  Dare I even say it's the latest craze?  **cringing**!

 

I work anywhere from 4 - 8 hours daily.  I try to keep up with flickr contacts and blogging buddies.  I'm doing good to see what those cyber friends are creating.  And I throw in a bit of blogging myself.  And now add blog hopping?...I can only get to that if I'm really feeling like lazing in my comfy chair and clicking...

...and that does happen now and again! **smiling guiltily**

When I'm working, I'm always thinking about what I want to do at my sewing machine when the time comes...usually right after my power nap.  It's hard to draw the line, but I'd much rather be creating something myself.  Then again, I'm so inspired with what I see on my computer screen.  Then again, it's not like I'm running out of inspiration.  Then again I don't want to miss something that could be the "ultimate" inspiration.  Then again....  I think this is called a vicious cycle.  STOP!

I am so happy to see that most bloggers have removed the word verification.  They've changed the legibility of those words to WORSE!  I hardly ever get them right the first time now and I'm sure some couldn't possibly be right, but I must have made a good guess.

I've got a few extra minutes, maybe I can check in on a blog hop.  Have a blogging fun day!

Annie

On The Bandwagon?

I'm waving to everyone on the bandwagon.  I jumped off.  It's too crowded for me.  It continues to travel far and wide and continues to have a great following.  I'm blaming the Internet for my lack of interest to "jump on the bandwagon". 

When all I had were magazines and books and sewing classes to inspire me to sew a specific project, my to do list really was never ending.  My list continues to be never ending, but for different reasons...such as life gets in the way of actually getting projects done in a timely fashion.

But, ..... the Internet is causing me to loose interest as fast as it inspires me!  I love it when I see a blogger or a flickr contact has created a fresh perspective for a quilting project.  I start getting inspired and mentally add the idea to my to do list.  Then, within a couple of weeks and sometimes even less, that fresh perspective starts popping up all over the Internet.  What happens to me being inspired happens to lots and lots of others.  It doesn't seem to take long after that for me to become uninterested in sewing the latest craze.

But I still love seeing every one's version of the latest craze.  I think all it's going to take is time for these newest fads to run their immediate course of popularity.  Once they disappear from sight for a while, I'm sure I'll become interested again.  I wonder if this happens to anyone else.

It isn't a bad thing either...it's also causing me to really dig deep for some originality to my own work and to add some personal perspective to work that inspires me from bandwagons long gone by. 

Just musing,
Annie

Man Quilt...

...that's not so man-ish anymore.

This quilt (#6 for me) began with a charm pack of batiks I received with a mug rug swap.  They were ugly and I couldn't re gift them because I didn't want anyone to think I'd actually choose that charm pack.  They sat around for a long time.  I finally decided they would work into an ugly "man quilt".

So I got started on a design idea.  I'm sure it was triggered by something I've seen somewhere.  This was back last November.

Then the holidays came and other sewing commitments took over.  Finally in April it surfaced again.  And I found that I was actually enjoying sewing this quilt top.  It didn't look as ugly as I thought it would.  Probably because the ugly fabric pieces are only 2" square.

Soon it was ready to sandwich.

I love when a quilt top is ready to sandwich.  The three layers together is when it changes from pieced fabric to a quilt.  I love to hug it after pin basting it just to feel all my hard work as a "quilt".  The design wasn't hard, but those corners of all the blocks match up really well because I worked hard to do my best to make sure they would all match up.

I moved along to my favorite straight line quilting. 

I couldn't be more pleased with the way the quilting looks with this simple design.

I just can't imagine sending a quilt top out to be quilted.  There is just no better feeling than sewing a quilt from start to finish.

Time for binding...

I wondered if I would ever bind a quilt with the same fabric as the design background rather than a contrasting piece.  Sure enough, this one called for a binding that didn't frame the design. 

 And in the end, I love the quilt!  It doesn't look strictly man-ish. 

It's definitely non gender specific.

I still have lots of pieces of this "ugly" charm pack left over.  Who knows what it'll turn into...we'll see.

Quilt #7 is on the wall and it's calling me to come play.  It's a rather interesting concept that I'm having a fun time with, so off I go to play!

Annie

Blooming Dresden

Table Mat

I'm not the biggest fan of the Dresden plate.  I don't dislike it but it isn't a favorite design.  However, I really like playing with the Dresden ruler wedge lately.

For this piece I traced the 8" ruler wedge.  Shrank the tracing with my printer to 3 different sizes plus a partial wedge. 

I fused the pieces to the background and stitched them down with a raw edge applique technique.  Easy peasy!  The binding is not bias, it's straight grain.  I don't like doing bias if I don't have to.

This piece is another make with this fabric collection for a personal challenge.  Other pieces can be seen in my flickr photostream here. 
Confession:  One fabric piece is not part of this fabric collection but I didn't want to keep repeating too many of the prints to make enough wedges so I just added one more print to the collection.  Is that cheating?  Maybe I can't count it in that challenge.

I've made a couple of table mats for my daughter and she said she'd like to have "some" more.  I'll have to send this to her eventually, but right now I just can't part with it.  I like it and want to enjoy it for awhile before I package it up and send it off. 

Now I can get back to work on my "Man Quilt" that I started back in January.  It's ready to quilt...I'm always so excited when a quilt is ready to be quilted.  See ya ~

Annie