Midnight Watchman : January Journal Quilt

Here's my entry for the 3CS Journal Quilts Challenge. A few years ago, I had a hollyhock in the garden that was this dark. No kidding! I think it was called Midnight Watchman in the seed catalogs. I loved it!

This one is actually postcard size. It's been sitting in my studio for more than a year, just waiting to be finished with something. I added the beads this weekend. It's made from some leftover burnout velvet, along with the red leaf that came from a spray of fake flowers. Lots of rich texture that is difficult to photograph.


I stitched it to the flap of this messenger bag. It was a freebie with a company logo on the flap, so I covered that up with the new postcard. I'm using this bag, now to hold my art supplies (pencils, brushes, erasers, Neocolor crayans ...) for the Sketchbook Challenge. This keeps everything together, and makes the kit more mobile.

Peas-in-a-Pod Post Cards

In PA last week, pea pods were in season in my father-in-law's garden.
We ate all the pea pods he brought up from the garden.


Version 1 is done with a reverse applique technique.
I layered a pull "page" of the green over-top the background.
On top of that, the outlines of the peapods were drawn on quilt paper (like tracing paper).
Then I stitched through it all, followung the outlines.
Tore off the quilting paper, and picked the bits that remained.
Then I cut away the green to the edge of the pea pods.

Quilting paper has become my favorite way to mark fabric for quilting.



Here;s version 2 done with fusible applique.
The end result doesn't seem all that different, proving there's more than one way to "skin a cat."
Here I used a different color green for the inner pea pod walls. I didn't bother to reverse the design, so it's a mirror image of the one above.
This method is more familiar to me, but sometimes I worry about the longevity of the fusibles. Will it turn yellow as it ages?
This method is easy and flexible, but may not be advised for heirloom pieces--or that great piece I'll want to have hanging in the Smithsonian someday ;-)

Blue Pate Specials : April Postcards

Blue Plate Special I - Scrambled Egg Breakfast


Blue Plate Special II - Sunny Side Up Breakfast

Here is a set of fabric postcards I made this weekend. (I've got seasonal allergies with a vengeance this year, and it makes me hungry for comfort foods like bacon and eggs and biscuits.)

Notes : The scrambled egg was given relief and texture by taking a scrap of orange and yellow flower fabric and crumbling it up and then fusing it in its crumbled state.

The bacon looks a little burnt--some people like it that way. ;-) I think my next bacon in fabric will use a pinker/redder scrap to start with. These postcards are always fun little experimental pieces that can actually be finished in a day.

The toast is a piece of wool leftover from a skirt I made years ago ... I thought it had a nice texture for whole wheat bread.

And just because I think it's interesting to see how these ideas develop, here are some photos from the real (analog) Sweet Leaf Notebook where I record my ideas and let them simmer until I can bring them to life :

Snowflake Postcard

The Angelina Fibers really sparkle, but are notorious for not photographing well.
The technique was reverse applique.
I fused a sheet of Angelina.
Then I layered Timtex, Angelina, and the top blue fabric on which an outline of the snowflake shape had been traced.
Then I straight-stitched over the outline of the snowflake.
Then I carefully cut out the center of the snowflake in just the top blue fabric, careful not to disturb/destroy/cut the sparkly Angelina underneath.
Then I satin-stitched the edges of the snowflake and finished off the edges as usual for a post card.

What to know what else we were doing this weekend? Though we have plenty of snow outside, Oliver and I made Borax Crystal Snowflakes :

Here are the ingredients :
* Borax (in the laundry aisle at the grocery store)
* hot water
* pipe cleaners
* string

Instructions for growing a Borax Crystal Snowflake.

We got the above dramatic results! It's remarkably easy and cheap entertainment.

Fabric Post Cards

Last month at Conversations in Cloth, we worked on Fabric Postcards. I finally finished mine.

The turtle pattern/idea is from a recent issue of Quilter's Newsletter, though not for postcards.





This last postcard uses the cut-out curls from the other turtle shells. You can use all your scraps this way! Makes a nice bouquet, doesn't it?

These will be mailed out soon. I just need to show them to CinC members.

Personal Notes on Fabric Post Cards :
I was really looking forward to learning how to make these because I thought the small format would be great for trying a variety of new techniques and color combinations without being bogged down in finishing a huge project like a bed-size quilt. What I found out was that the 4 in x 6 in size was just a little too small for me (See how the turtle feet hang over the sides).

The other great thing about these will be sending them to people. What a surprise it will be for the recipients in the mailbox!

On time management : Working on these post cards takes time away from my other projects. I didn't want to work on them on Sunday (my one day reserved for sewing). I think if I continue, I might have to schedule 1 night a week to work on postcards or journal quilts, the experimental stuff ...