Be Back Soon

I will be out of the office (tee hee) for a while. Surgery tomorrow to repair an umbilical hernia and have my chemo port removed (hurrah). I don't know how mobile I will be, but I hope to be back with more projects soon. TTFN

Postcard #20

This is the FINAL postcard in the Continent Series. This completes all seven. The postcard is representative of South America...or Fruit Loops if you are under the age of 5. If you click on the picture, you will be able to see that his chest is a different color from his bill. Again, lousy picture. I think part of the problem is that I need to take these pictures in the daytime rather than by incandescent lighting in the evening.

Beachy's Postcard #4

This is the final alphabet postcard for my friend, Beachy. The letter was "Q". Of course I had to try and recreate a quilt. Too bad I didn't plan the space for the border very well. Oh well, it's a learning experience! And so is photography apparently. Another blurry picture.

Postcard # 19

The title of this fabric postcard swap is "to dye for". I owe the creation of this postcard to Frieda Anderson, http://www.friestyle.com/ . Frieda sells beautiful hand dyed fabrics. This particular flower was shown in a past Quilting Arts Magazine, with an article authored by Frieda. She is one talented lady. Please check out her website for awesome inspiration. Thanks Frieda!

OMG

Yep, I don't know what else to say....I am smiling from ear to ear today...My husband and I just found out we are going to be GRANDPARENTS for the first time!!! It doesn't get any better than that. A new little baby to love....ahh....life is good.

Beachy's Postcard #3

Here is another postcard for Beachy. This time the alphabet letter is K. Wow, is this picture ever distorted. The edges are actually straight. You'll just have to trust me on this one.

Postcard #18

This postcard is the sixth in the Continent Series for my Artsnthemail Group, the continent being North America. I found the flag and Mount Rushmore on a computer generated program we own and merged the two. I then printed it out on fabric.

On a side note, tonight I will be giving an informal lecture on the making of fabric postcards to my quilt guild. It need only be 10 to 15 minutes long. I hope I can find enough to talk about for that amount of time. I am bringing samples....plenty of eye candy to keep them distracted!

A Postcard for Connor

This postcard is for Connor. Connor is a nine year old boy who lives in Jefferson, Wisconsin and is suffering from brain cancer. His wish is to receive postcards from all over the world. You can read Connor's story here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/connorbourke Just get a tissue ready. This is one brave young man.

Postcard #17

The theme of this postcard is "shake your valentine". This was one of the toughest cards I have made to date. First of all, I had trouble with the vinyl moving around before I could get it secured onto the background. Then I had to get those teeny tiny beads and confetti to stay inside the vinyl while I zigzagged around the outside, all the while making sure none of the beads got caught under the needle. This is one of a second set of cards. My first set got dumped because I satin stitched around the design, not realizing that what I was doing was perforating the vinyl. A small tug and everything came apart. My favorite notion while doing these cards was a drinking straw. I cut one of the ends of the straw on an angle and loaded those beads onto it. I could then set it inside the vinyl pocket and drop the beads. Since everything was already encased when I was doing the zigzagging, I used the flat edge of the straw to push beads over to the side so that they wouldn't get under the needle. By using the straw, it kept me from leaving scratches on the vinyl top when moving the beads. Thank goodness this set is done and I can move onto something less challenging!

Postcard #16

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. This postcard will be entered in the February lottery for my Artsnthemail postcard group. A few extra were made for some very special people in my life. XOXOXO

Beachy's Postcard #2

I am working on Beachy's alphabet postcards. See previous post. This time I needed to create "something beginning with an E". I chose this envelope. This was really fun to make. Again, everything used to make this postcard was from my stash.

Beachy's Postcard

So who's Beachy? She is a member of Artsnthemail. She sent out a post a while ago asking if someone would be interested in completing a set of alphabet postcards for her. The swap is listed like this "something beginning with the letter C". Beachy needs C, E, K and Q. I asked her to send me a list of what she already had for the letter C so that I didn't duplicate ones she had already received. So, here is C is for Cactus!

If It's February First....

it must be time for a new list. Here is last month's update.

1. Finish a swap block for the Artfulquilters Group. Done
2. Complete shoe postcard for swap. Done
3. Complete Europe postcard for swap. Done
4. Baby shower gift. Started
5. Padfolio. Started
6. Attach binding to pink/brown quilt. Done
7. Finish Ashley's pillowcase.
8. Work on Hawaiian quilt.
9. Make covers for two pillow forms.
10.Three secret gifties. Started

If there's one thing I learned this month, it is that everything takes more time than I think it will. Now there's a revelation, huh? lol That being said, this month's list won't be quite as ambitious as last months.

1. Complete 4 separate swaps for Artsnthemail.
2. Complete 4 postcards for Beachy.
3. Work on Hawaiian quilt.
4. Valentines
5. Finish up the shower gift
6. Finish padfolio
7. Repair a purse
8. Finish Ashley's pillowcase

I seriously think this list is doable, even with this being a short month. We shall see.