Quilted To A Tea

Fabric postcards are all the rage and making them is so fun and easy. There are loads of great ideas floating around for making fabric postcards and the postcards can be mailed. You need to be sure everything is stitched securely and that you add the word “Postcard” to the back and ask to have it hand canceled. E-mail is a wonderful thing but there is still something fun about going to the mailbox and finding a card or note from someone, especially since you know they put some time and effort into it. It just makes it all the more precious.

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I wanted to send some cards to my favorite friends. I wanted to send a special little note or gift with my cards so I didn’t worry about “postcard size”, I just made mine to match some envelopes I already had on hand. My envelopes would easily hold a 5″ x 6″ card so that’s the size I decided on. I cut a piece of medium weight fusible interfacing about 1/2″ larger than my finished size. The interfacing is your base that you will stitch all the fabrics to. Using fusible allows you to iron them on and they will stay in place while you are trying to stitch.

Now you need to decide what kind of card you want to make, a landscape with trees and a house, a big heart, a fish, what ever you can imagine. I wanted a shabby chic kind of crazy quilt pattern. Makes sense since I’m a quilter. I decided to use my soft pink tea theme fabrics. I started cutting scraps into various sizes and started arranging them on my interfacing. At this point I decided I wanted something more than just fabric so off to the computer to print a graphic image on to photo fabric. I used an image from The Vintage Workshop, they have some great designs and they print beautifully. I wanted an antique type feel so I used a 100% silk photo fabric. There are so many brands and types of photo fabric to choose from, I suggest you experiment to find what works best for you and your printer.

Now with the fabric pieces and graphics all gathered I began arranging them and pressing them to the interfacing. Be sure that your fabrics are cut larger than you actually need so they will cover the edges of the interfacing completely. Trust me, you do not want the fusible adhesive on your iron. The extra fabric will be trimmed off later. Here is where you can use all those wonderful decorative stitches on your sewing machine, you know all the ones you have never used. Experiment, have fun! This is also a great time to use some of those decorative threads you’ve accumulated. Don’t forget to add ribbons, lace, buttons, charms, whatever you have on hand. Again, experiment and have fun.

Once all the fabrics and trims are stitched down it’s time to work on the back. Since I was planning to mail my cards in an envelope I didn’t have to worry about the “postcard regs”. I designed a back for my cards in a graphics program and printed it out on white card stock. I actually printed my out using the quick print mode since that uses less ink and it gave it a soft, worn look that complimented my shabby chic front. Since I was using card stock I didn’t feel it necessary to use fleece or batting like is recommended for most fabric postcards but there are really no rules so be creative.

Once all the fabrics are ironed into place it is time to square everything up, so off to the cutting mat. Layer the front and back and using a straight edge and a rotary cutter neaten everything up. If you find the back and front are a bit slippery, use some double sided tape or even a bit of Stitch Witchery to hold the layers together while you cut. Be sure to use an old rotary cutter blade because cutting paper will dull your blade and then it won’t be any good for fabric cutting and that would be sad. Once everything is all squared up it’s back to the sewing machine to join the front and back. I used a zig-zag stitch to join the two pieces together.

Wasn’t that easy! And they are soooo cute! I cranked out about two dozen of these on a snowy weekend. It made all the inches of snow somewhat more bearable. Remember, if you plan to mail your cards without an envelope you must make them to conform to USPS regulations. The important thing is to have fun and try something new.

I love a good mystery. I’m not aways good at solving them but I love the challenge. One of my favorite mystery authors is Diane Mott Davidson. (http://www.dianemottdavidson.com/) She writes the most the most delicious mysteries about a feisty little caterer named Goldy. One of the highlights of the books, at least for me anyway, is that she includes many of the recipes! So, after you finish reading about all these wonderful dishes, and of course solve the mystery, you can head to your own kitchen to whip up one of Goldy’s signature dishes. Yumm!

I also love to quilt. So how can I combine quilting and mysteries? Easy, a Mystery Quilt ! So what is a Mystery Quilt? Simply a quilt that is planned, cut, stitched and assembled without knowing what the finished quilt will look like. Of course as you go along you can start to tell but the fun is letting yourself go and choose fabrics with no preconceived idea of the finished project. For some that is easier said than done. After all planning and designing the quilt is part of the fun. There is a barrel full of great mystery quilt sites on the web. Some are from quilt groups, or from quilt shops or just quilters who love to design quilts and share with others either free or for sale. One of the sites I found that offers patterns and a freebie (and who doesn’t love a freebie) is Ms. Mystery Quilt - Mystery Quilts With A Twist. (http://www.msmysteryquilts.com/free.php) I tried her freebie with Twist A and Twist B. It was fun and fairly easy so I think beginners could enjoy it and more seasoned quilters can challenge themselves with their fabric choices. ( I would post pictures of my blocks but I don’t want to spoil it for you.) Another site with lots of Mystery Quilts to try is http://quiltingpassion.com/mystery.html. There’s a great description of mystery quilting and you can sign up to be notified when new mysteries are posted.

Mysteries and quilting, fun ways to spend a winter afternoon.

Pretty vintage hankies can evoke such lovely memories. Currently I am working on 4 (yes 4) beautiful hankie quilts for a very dear friend and her sisters-in-law. It is such an honor to be entrusted with these tokens of a loved one now gone and to be able to create a very special one of a kind rememberances. There are so many more projects I want to do with vintage hankies so I am scouring thrift shops and estate sales. E-bay has been another great source for hankies, I just have to control myself! What am I planning for these hankies? Well, more quilts of course, but also I want to try making tea cozies with them, adding them to a denim jacket, a pillow or two, and aprons. I am crazy about the renewed interest in aprons, both vintage style and more modern styles. Check back, I’ll post pictures. So, hold on to grandma’s hankies, they can be turned into beautiful accessories for you and your home.

Did you know that every month there is an online quilt auction and EVERY penny raised goes directly to Alzheimer’s research? All the quilts are donated by caring quilters from around the world and are beautiful to see and read all the dedications on each of the quilts. If you have never visited this quilt site it is worth a look. There is a great deal of information about Alzheimer’s plus great quilting info and Ami Simms is a delight. A great use of even a few minutes of your time.