Halloween Greetings

Fabric postcard Halloween greetings.

After the quilt show, I have several new patterns to shrink down for postcard making.  What a fun time I’ve had!

The correspondence side...

We’ve already had our Trick or Treating afternoon.  I got a big kick out of this couple.  I’m surprised that so many grown-ups were dressed up.  Maybe many of them were going to a party afterwards.  I think these two were already partying with their to-go cups in hand. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

A Second Tote

I’ve made a second tote bag using a Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements fabric print.  It is like impossible for me to resist this line of fabrics.  They say “come on, come on, let’s go home together”.  

I also love this grungy lining print I used.  The two prints have nothing to do with each other except that I love them both.

With this second tote I fused a medium to heavy weight interfacing to the fabrics and I like the sturdier body I get with it.


Here next I had gone to what was called and Junk & Art Market.  It is a junk and antiques store mixed with some crafty art items.  On this day they added some outdoor craft vendors.  

But this vintage sewing machine find obviously sits outside all year round.

Wouldn’t that be a great outdoor decoration at a quilt shop or even if you have a separate studio she-shed in your backyard.  I did not ask the price and it also was weathered...faded away from sunshine.

This rusting process would have to already be started for me.  I could NEVER set out in the yard a rather decent condition machine to become weather worn over time.  Many would say what an awful thing to do, but since it’s done and there’s no changing it, I think it has it’s coolness as an outdoor decoration.

A Bit of Mail Art

I’ve had a swell time making a bit of mail art.

I immediately fell in love with this set of grunge style sewing themed stamps.   This is a #10 business envelope.  The scissors stamp is quite large.  (The stitches under the scissors are from a different set of stamps).

These carrier pigeon stamps are a hoot.  I gave them a line to stand on.  Unfortunately with modern transportation and email, it is the unemployment line.

I’m quite and sufficiently mad at myself with this envelope.  I was working on a couple of envelopes at the same time and I addressed this one incorrectly.  I found a way to correct it, but I did not mail it.  It seemed waaaayyy too tacky to actually mail it.  There’s no hiding the mistake.  Held up to the light reveals the error of my ways.  

I’m sending this postcard to my bicycle riding partner who put up with all my riding plans all spring and summer long.  

I am very lucky that this woman has a great sense of adventure.  All of our rides inadvertently turned into an adventure of some sort.  Loads of fun was had!

And this is how September was for me.

Happy Fall.  It’s the spooktacular month of October.  Creepy good decorations inside and outside are so fun to see.

Numbers Strip

I’ve sewn another thing...this one really is a thing.

I mentioned while sewing my tote straps that I was inspired by them.  I loved looking at them hanging around waiting to be sewn to the tote.

So I cut and sewed a strip of the numbers to have hanging around for my viewing enjoyment.

Different set of numbers on the back...

No rhyme or reason here.  Just something I like looking at.  It can move around and hang out anywhere.  I love it.  As my cousin-in-law said, “it’s danged cool!”  She likes words and numbers too.

Most days it doesn’t take much to amuse me.

Numbers Tote

I’ve sewn a thing!  

My thing is a tote bag.  Man-O-Man has it been a long time since I’ve sewn a tote!  Back then they were all very simple.  This one also was (should have been) simple, but it seems I wanted to sew everything from finish to start rather than from start to finish!  I also tried new things.

Slowest thing about it coming together is that I made it up as I went along.  Which means it is riddled with mess-ups and made-up fixes.  That works for me!

I went to a quilt show last weekend and caught a huge sewing bug!  I bought all kinds of new fabrics and patterns and went home and decided to sew with a fabric I already had.  I can’t explain how that happened.

I couldn’t resist buying this Tim Holtz numbers fabric.  I love numbers.  Of course it had to be a one-way print.  Why ever would I choose something that could go either way for a tote.  Because I am my own worse enemy, that’s why.

I hardly ever buy fabric for a purpose.  99% of my fabric purchases are because I love the print.  Then I buy yardage according to how much I think I love the print.  I do not usually buy more than a yard.  But the number fabric I REALLY LOVED and bought 1 and a half yards.

That lining was an ancient purchase of a half yard.  There isn’t much left.  That means there is an open spot for a new piece of fabric to lie in wait.

Rather than batting and for durability, I stitched a strip of ultra suede inside the shoulder straps.

Sewing the straps gave me a new inspiration that I’ll be stitching up soon.

Inside the tote.

I have a Dymo label maker and wanted to try some iron-on tape.  It ironed on but I don’t trust it so I added stitching.

I also thought I’d like to corral my water bottle.  However, I don’t think that was  the best plan.  I have my doubts that I will like it.  Not a problem, easy to chop out if I decide to.

It’s pretty roomy inside.  When it goes to the next quilt show, I’m fairly certain I will run out of money before I run out of room to add purchases to it.

There are extra wide selvedges on this fabric.  I decided to add some wordy interest to the numbers print by stitching the selvedges along the side seams.

I also seemed to have had a need to add my love of cycling for a bit of added interest.  No other rhyme or reason.

Another selvedge section from a bicycle theme print.

I found these leather Hand Made labels so added that also for a bit of interest.  From a distance you might think this is a designer bag with a big name on it.  NOT.

That’s the “thing” I’ve sewn.

Sadly, I have nothing coming up to use it!  Sad face.

Fabric Postcard Mail Art

I’ve been in the mood to make fabric postcards lately.

An idea or two for designs presented themselves and I didn’t resist.  

T

This snail simply had to be turned into a snail mail postcard.

The image of the girl has been in my stash of printed fabrics for quite a long time.  The sentiment that it sometimes takes all day to get nothing done spoke to me.  It seems like that is a rather common occurrence for me.  LOL. The other pieces on the postcard are all washi tapes.  I’d already started sewing them down on the edges before I thought to glue them down for extra security.  My hope was that they wouldn’t get caught in transit and tear.  I know the postcard arrived but I haven’t heard yet how the tapes survived.

And here’s my life in August.

While I wait for some new fabric postcard inspiration to pass by, I’ll just keep myself busy working on finishing up other “started” projects.

Happy September...already!

150 Years of Postcards

The world is celebrating the 150 years of the birth of postcards.  You know that I want to be part of that!

The interesting history of the postcard is documented

here

I sent in a couple of cards to get in on the celebration as I so love making and sending postcards.  One had to be fabric, the other art.

There is a bit of a contest for the front and written side of the cards as well. 

That meant a chance to express how you feel about postcard mail.

I’ve shared this art postcard before but had never sent the original to anyone.  Since it had a little bit of a postal theme, I sent it in as well.

My expressed words for my love of postcards.




As I say many times on my postcards...

Happy mail day!

Calendar Journal

Catching up on sharing my life with my calendar journals.  My nosey blogging friends have made requests.  I’m glad to know I’m not alone in being a Nosey Nellie.  I love reading what other’s are doing in their daily life.

Hmm, I wonder what I did on the 31st besides work.  Obviously nothing noteworthy.  And forgot to go back and fill it in with something that means nothing noteworthy happened.

Creepy Birthdays

My children and grandchildren love themselves some creep.

I got into my daughter’s creep stash and made them all creepy happy birthday cards this year.

Grandson’s card

Daughter-in-Law’s card

Son’s card

Granddaughter’s card

Daughter’s card

It was fun to make cards outside the ordinary box.

Especially for birthdays.

3-D Pinwheel Quilt

My first ever pieced quilt top.

I love that it is perfectly imperfect showing my piecing skill improvement over the years.

This quilt top has hidden from me for close to 25 years!  

I didn’t start making quilts until 9 years ago.  I was under the greatly misunderstood impression that quilts had to be free-motion quilted with a design or tied.  How silly is that!  I’ve done free-motion on many small quilted pieces, but I don’t enjoy it.  So I knew I’d never machine quilt this top.  It would have to be tied.  Although that wasn’t really appealing either, it would be what I would do.

This quilt top got carefully folded and set aside.  Then we moved.  And moved again.  This quilt top never made it’s way out of the storage bin that it was put into to move...and move again.

Over the last 9 years, I’ve searched for this quilt top a few times.  Because I finally woke up to the fact that I could quilt it in any design I wanted to.  Including straight line quilting.  Not finding it anywhere, I have been kicking myself for obviously giving it to the thrift shop thinking I’d never quilt it.  I went through the kicking myself every time I looked for it.  And I kept looking occasionally because I wasn’t absolutely sure that I had given it away.

During the last 2 years I have slowly worked at sorting and purging my stuff-burdened life.  A couple of months ago I finally began to notice the progress and I went at it whole hog in the basement.  At the very end of storage bins to sort through, buried at the bottom of the bin was this quilt top!!!  Can you even imagine my surprise?

The top is cheaply made.  The pinwheels and black sashing are broadcloth.  Did I hear shocked gasps?  Well, it was what I could afford at the time.  And could not afford batting and backing at the time.  Which was another reason the top was carefully folded and set aside.  

I’m not hard on my quilts, so I expect even broadcloth is going to last a good long time in my possession.  I won’t treat it any different than the quilts I’ve made with quilt shop fabrics.  

At the bottom of that storage bin was another surprise.  It was my daughter’s very first ever quilt top that she sewed.  She would have been about 10 or 11 years old at the time.  I told her I’d quilt it for her.  She’s not taking after her mother or grandmother or great grandmother with an interest for sewing.  Her quilt top is next under the needle as I cannot have unfinished projects lying around.

I still can’t believe I had enough patience to cut and fold all those 3-D pinwheel pieces!  I’m not sure I would even consider doing that these days.