Mail Time - Vintage Pit Boss Postcard

There is something so fun about getting a postcard, and this one from Frances just made me happy! Apparently this is a real vintage cookbook about barbecue from the fifties - out of print but still available. Of course, The Pit Boss and I loved it. I think it will go in a little frame next to the door to the deck where the magic happens. 

Frances is sending a postcard a day for 2018. What a great idea to get you writing and reaching out to friends! 

Confidential to Frances: QuiltCon 2019 in Nashville is TOTALLY happening!



Speaking of Frances and writing, have you seen her latest book, Margaret Goes Modern? It's a book of short stories about quilters and quilting. Some of them you may have seen on her Quilt Fiction page, but several are new. It's a charming read, just perfect for a quick story before bed that will leave you with happy, quilty dreams. Right now it's a bargain on Amazon Kindle for just $1.99.

WiP Wednesday - Quilt Show Prep

I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

On Monday I dropped off all four quilts for the show and breathed a sigh of relief. Now I am prepping for my demonstration on Sunday.

When I signed up to take a slot, I didn't have any idea what I'd be doing. Suddenly at the last meeting, people wanted details. I ran through a few possibilities, dismissing each as being hard to teach on a "rolling" basis as people walk by or because they would require too much stuff.

I was listening to...someone?...talk about the Fall Fabric Postcard Swap that Sandi is hosting over at Quilt Cabana Corner, and I realized that would be a perfect thing to demonstrate. I can have several postcards and ATCs in the various stages for people to see, and I can work on one or two from start to finish. Hopefully by the end I will have the postcard for my swap finished, plus a spare or two. Two birds, one stone and all that.

I have been cutting and fusing and prepping my materials, and I've gathered some of those that I've received over the years as examples. I may even put together a kit or two and do a drawing at the end of my shift.

If you had advice about making fabric postcards, what would it be? I'll be sure to share it with anyone who comes by.



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Making Connections - Fitness Friday with OzzyPip! Plus #LDSI and a Postcard Swap

One of my favorite things about being a quilter is how social it is. From the quilt bees of long ago to the virtual sew-ins on Twitter or Instagram, quilters like to work together and see what other quilters are working on.

My #twilter friend OzzyPip, who has been great about reminding me to post the Throwback Thursday links, has started her own linkup for Fitness Friday. This is where we are supposed to post our progress and cheer on other quilters in search of better health.

My Fitness Friday update is pretty short. The Pit Boss has been working hard to help cook healthy meals and push invite me out the door after dinner for a walk with the dogs. After a completely off schedule summer and two weeks of back-to-school insanity, I think we might be settling back into a routine after this weekend. I'm looking forward to having my FitBit recognize 5 digit numbers once again and get the scale moving in the right direction.

Of course, when we have a long weekend, it's time for a sew-in on Twitter. I'm hoping to actually get some sewing done this weekend. Come join us using #LDSI!

Last, Sandi over at Quilt Cabana Patterns has announced a fall postcard swap. Sign up to send and receive a fall/Halloween themed postcard. These are such fun, quick projects that allow us to own a piece of art that one of our online friends has made.

What are you up to this Labor Day weekend?



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Fabric Postcards, Fourth of July, and Family!

I am whoop whooping it up because my boy is coming home and my brother's family is in town for our first visit with Batman. The only thing that makes me happier than all my kids under one roof is when my whole extended family is together.

This makes my heart so happy! #thirdchild

 There's been swimming, tons of good food, and so much laughter. There are little kids, big kids, KanJam, and Cornhole, not to mention hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream, and s'mores. It might be my favorite week of the whole year!

I haven't been sewing much lately, so no finishes except my fabric postcard for the Summer Swap that Sandi over at Quilt Cabana Patterns organized.  I realized that I showed you the one Pip sent to me, but I wanted to wait until it arrived in Australia before I showed you the one I made for her.

After seeing how Pam used her daughter's art to inspire a quilt, I decided I would make my summer postcard in the style of one of my favorite paintings that Grace has done. She painted this at an art camp when she was about seven or eight, and I love it.

You can see all of the summer postcards in the Flickr group.

I'm linking up today with Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?  Sarah is hosting a quilt giveaway, so check it out!




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Mail from Australia! - Postcard Swap

Sandi over at Quilt Cabana Patterns has organized another postcard swap, this time to celebrate the beginning of summer.

Lucky me! My swap partner is the fabulous Philipa, aka OzzyPip who, as you might guess, is from the land down under.

She writes, "Dear Jenny, Australian summers where I live are very hot but it's also the wet season so things can be lush and green. Sunflowers are a commercial crop in my area and bloom over summer."

Pip sent me TWO postcards! 

 

She writes, "Dear Jenny, Australian summers can also be very hot and dry, especially during our all too often droughts. I've chosen yellows and browns plus some Aboriginal prints to illustrate this."

Pip mailed both postcards and a sweet note in an envelope, and it appears that it took about a week to arrive. She says this was her first time making postcards and she was nervous about getting them here on time. I'll bet hers are the first to show up!

Mine went in the mail today; I wanted to send it "naked" but chickened out at the last minute and put it in an envelope as well. I'll show you that one after it arrives in Australia so as not to spoil the surprise.



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FMQ Friday and a Whoop Whoop! - Fabric Postcards for Christmas

Today is Free Motion Quilting Friday over at Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project.

The rules are simple:

1. Link up with a post that features something about Free Motion Quilting (FMQ). 
2. Somewhere in your post, you must link back to Leah's site, or you can just post the FMQF button in your sidebar. 
3. Comment on at least a few of the other FMQF links. Share your love of free motion quilting and make this weekly link up a fun way to connect!  

I'm so excited to finally show you the fabric postcard I made for Carol for the postcard swap over at Quilt Cabana Corner.

I had bought this fabric at Sew Main Street over a year ago, but couldn't quite bring myself to cut into it yet.  When I saw the postcard swap, I knew immediately what I was going to do.

I started off by fusing a 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" piece of fabric onto a 4" x 6" piece of Peltex.  Then I lightly marked the path of my letters and pinned my cording into place. 

Using a narrow zig zag stitch, I couched the cording into the word "Joy."

Then I held my breath and FMQed all around the design with Sulky Sliver, a beautiful but sometimes challenging thread to sew with.  I used it on the snowflake quilt with a lot of cursing and breakage.  This time I turned the tension WAY down and went a little slower.  Voila!  No breakage or nesting at all!

I trimmed the top fabric to the 4" x 6" size of the Peltex.  Then I cut a 4" x 6" piece of white muslin for the back.  I drew a line vertically down the center and wrote POSTCARD at the top with a Pigma pen.   I drew horizontal lines on the right side for the address and filled that in.  Then I added my message to the left side. 

I used my Tulip Tool to add a little extra sparkle to the front. I love how this looks!  Last, I layered the back onto my quilt sandwich and stitched around the edge with a tight zig zag stitch twice.

I ended up mailing mine in an envelope because the line at the post office was insane, but I have had good results sending these through the mail.  Carol sent me this beauty, and it arrived perfectly with no envelope to protect it.  She also used metallic thread and did gorgeous FMQing.  I will be bringing this to work to show off and adorn my desk.

Thanks so much to Sandi for organizing and to Carol for my lovely postcard!  This was such fun.  If you want to see the others, you can visit the Flickr group Sandi set up.


Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?  My big boy will be home tonight.  Nothing makes me happier than having all my chicks in the nest.  I hope you are surrounded by people you love this month.



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Q1 FAL - Close But No Cigar

This is where I'm supposed to link up my first quarter finishes for the Finish Along, so it's going to be a short post.

Back in January I had reasonable goals.  I did make some progress on getting my Christmas table runner quilted, but my indecision about those triangles lingers.

I haven't even touched the bag or the 4" block swap quilt.

And though it wasn't really on my list, I did get the top finished for the Family Ties quilt.  I also finished non-list items like the bag for my niece, the fabric postcard and the mini quilt for Easter.

I suppose this is exactly why I have so many UFOs to begin with; I plan to work on one thing and then get sidetracked by the new shiny thing that catches my attention or stirs up my creative juices.  In the end, what really matters to me is that I keep on creating. 

How did you do this quarter?



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FMQ Friday - Bargain Bin

Today is Free Motion Quilting Friday over at Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project.

The rules are simple:

1. Link up with a post that features something about Free Motion Quilting (FMQ). 
2. Somewhere in your post, you must link back to Leah's site, or you can just post the FMQF button in your sidebar. 
3. Comment on at least a few of the other FMQF links. Share your love of free motion quilting and make this weekly link up a fun way to connect!  

I'll bet you can guess what this is going to be!  After I made my practice postcard, I decided to try a bigger version.  I couldn't find a high quality thread in the colors I wanted, so took a chance on some clearance thread that happened to be exactly the right colors.

Let's just say that I understand why it was on clearance, but since I switched to a metallic needle it has worked beautifully.

Hoping to get this done before Sunday!

What are you quilting today?

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March Along Week 2 - Happy #NQDSI Weekend!

It's time to report in for Week 2!

This week has been the usual spring insanity with sports and standardized testing; throw in jury duty and graduation announcements and I'm almost around the bend.  BUT I can do anything for 15 minutes!

On Sunday I practiced my free motion quilting.  I tried zippling and letters.

On Monday I went to the quilt show with the WannaBees.

On Tuesday I frantically rummaged through cleaned a section of my sewing room while looking for the English paper piecing templates Lynn gave me.  I wanted to take them to jury duty on Wednesday so I could do handwork, but I never found them.  Do you remember where I put them?

On Wednesday I had jury duty so no Prayer Quilt Ministry, but I managed to listen to Katie's Interview with a A Modern Quilter on the way to and from the courthouse. 

On Thursday I watched a bunch of Leah Day videos trying to figure out the solution for my Christmas table topper dilemma.

On Friday I finished my FMQ practice postcard.

Yesterday I played along with #NQDSI and listened to Frances' latest podcast, although I never actually got to turn on my sewing machine.  Looks like this week is more of the same.

What are you up to?



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FMQ Friday - Play Time

Today is Free Motion Quilting Friday over at Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project.

The rules are simple:

1. Link up with a post that features something about Free Motion Quilting (FMQ). 
2. Somewhere in your post, you must link back to Leah's site, or you can just post the FMQF button in your sidebar. 
3. Comment on at least a few of the other FMQF links. Share your love of free motion quilting and make this weekly link up a fun way to connect!  

Not much today, except a little practice piece and pictures from my phone.

I told myself I wasn't going to start a new project when Leah introduced Express Your Love.  I told myself I had to finish a few UFOs first.  But visiting the other blogs each week has me dying to try some of these designs. 

My frustration last week with the Christmas Table Topper didn't help.  And today Bonnie Hunter had a QuiltCam session in the middle of the afternoon.  I needed a project quick, and I needed it to be something that didn't require my undivided attention and all of my brain. 

I grabbed a scrap of white fabric and some batting and quickly drew a design that has been floating around in my brain since I first saw Express Your Love, and I started quilting.  If this little postcard sized sample turns out like I hope, I would like to do a larger one.

Link up and show us what you're working on  Maybe you can get me to veer off track into a totally new direction as well!



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Gifts From the Studio - Tag It!

This week's gift from the studio is a mini fabric postcard that can be used as a gift tag.  In your family circle, these could be returned to you and reused every year, or they can be used by the recipient as an ornament.

While stashbusting, I found that I have an abundance of Christmas fabric.  I'm not sure why, especially since several of them are not high quality material.  I suspect that I had big crafty plans for them when I made my purchases.  Either that, or fabric really is reproducing on my shelves!

While writing this post, I realized my link to the basic instructions for fabric postcards has been taken down.  I guess Deb really did give up blogging.

You will need:

1. Cute fabric for the front
2. Any embellishments you'd like to add
3. Something for the middle.  You can use batting.  I like Timtex Fast2Fuse Heavyweight or Peltex 72 - double sided fusible is best so you don't have to fuse your own, but it is sometimes hard to find.  I got mine on my visit to A Scarlet Thread.
4. Fusible web if you couldn't find the double sided fusible.
5. Pressing sheet so your iron and ironing board don't get gunked up (yes, that's the technical term)
6. White muslin or other neutral backing fabric that you can write on
7. Pigma pen or other fabric safe pen
8. Sewing machine, coordinating thread, etc.

I roughly cut out my designs and fused them to the Timtex or Peltex.  

Then I cut them out more precisely and fused them down to the white muslin.  Cut them out and stitch a narrow, tight zig-zag stitch around the edges.  I chain pieced these and just left them in my machine for whenever I had a spare 5 minutes to whip out a few. 

Now you can add your message to the back.  For those I don't expect to get back, like the ones I will put on cookies or pet treats, I just wrote a general "Happy Holidays from Quiltin' Jenny" type message.  For our immediate family, I wrote to and from messages so I can reuse them each year.

 
The very last thing is to add any embellishments that are dimensional.  I chose not to spend the time on that for this project, but for a birthday postcard they really add a lot of pizzazz.

What gifts are you making in your studio this week?  Please link up for show and tell!



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Fading Fast

Remember this?

It's the 50th birthday card I made just under two years ago for my friend, Teresa.  I was at her home the other day when she asked for a favor: to go over the writing on the back because now it looks like this:

I am so sad!  I cannot believe how quickly it has faded.  I used a Pigma Micron pen to write on it, and thought that it would last a lot longer than two years.  It makes me wonder how long my labels really will last.  I use these pens sometimes, and other times I use my printer and fabric sheets. 

Hopefully this degree of fading is due to the fact that Teresa had it sitting out in her kitchen and exposed to more sunlight than a normal quilt label would be.  And luckily, I took pictures of both sides so I could remember what I wrote! 

Has anyone else had this problem?  How do you deal with it?  Is there a more permanent ink I can use for fabric postcards and labels?



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Blogtoberfest Postcard Swap - Last Chance!

Last chance to join us for the Blogtoberfest Postcard Swap.

If you had trouble emailing me, you can click here for a form to fill out.