Saturday, July 19, 2014

Monogram Postcard and Go Ducks!!!

I wanted to continue the feather theme for July but add a letter to it and somehow intertwine the two elements.
It was a bit tricky and I have much more work to do as it was more difficult than I had expected. But not to bad for my first one!!!

The Go Ducks postcard was going to be just a modern artsy card, but it really lacked something!! I will show you the sequence of the cards.
my first sketch
drawing the outline of the postcards
first two designs, the one on the left went bye bye
And the quilting process begins:
echoing

Used a fabric pen to darken the O
You can see my pen marks and by the magic of heat: they
will disappear as you can see below  

Using colored pencils to color the feathers and C
Echo quilting, not done with the coloring but I can
never seem to stick with one thing for very long!!
All done with the quilting. I marked the postcard edges again and sewed
inside the drawn edge to prepare it for cutting. That way all my quilting
stitches do not unravel!
Before coloring
And after, much better!!
All cut and ready for the edge work.
And done-ready to mail!!!


I worked on these before work one morning

Son Josh gave these to me!! Nice!!!! He said they were expensive and I
can really tell, they color really nicely.
I painted this on to all the areas that were colored with the
pencils to ensure the color doesn't wear off. Easy to do!!

So one of these little postcards is on its way to its new owner, sure hope she likes it!!!!
That's it for today. I need to get back out to the garden, lots of work to do out there!!!

Take care, Happy Quilting and keep those scissors sharp!!! Martha

Monday, July 14, 2014

New Scarf For the Harley Rider


I made a simple scarf to wear on the bike!! Some left-over
fabric from some random quilt! We rode to Sisters on the
4th of July and I knew I needed something to wear!!!
I folded it in half, right sides together to get the squared
corners, then refolded it right sides out. I also made a
small 1/4" hem. Then I sewed on velcro to that the scarf
overlaps in the back. I actually wear it on the open road
over my nose, mouth and ears. So I put it on first, then
put my helmet on over that. The wind takes my breath
away and is just so uncomfortable. This scarf really
helped that!!! When we go on a short ride I can just wear
it around my neck. But the Sisters ride was about 2 1/2
hours on the bike!!!

Take Care, Happy Quilting and Sewing, and keep those needles sharp or changed!!! Martha

Monday, July 7, 2014

Postcards-Free Motion Quilted Feathers

I belong to a group on Facebook called FMQ POSTCARD FUN and CHALLENGES. We do an exchange monthly, sometimes with a theme, sometimes no theme.

June was feathers and we referred back to Diane Gaudynski's feather tutorial from SewCal Gals 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge. -You can check it out-just click on the the link :^)

I decided to do six at one time, ridiculous!!!! Just because they are small doesn't mean they are quick to do!!!! They still take time and contemplation.
Here's my piece drawn out, including two book marks which are not yet finished!!! I have a plastic template that I use to trace the postcard onto the fabric so I know the design area. Once all layered and pinned I needed to choose threads. That was difficult!!!
The quilting stage-not fond of the one on the right and it is still unfinished.
 I am trying to figure out how to save it!!!


I like this, but you cannot really see the quilting very well.
Perhaps not a great fabric choice!!??
The back 
For this one I used a heavy black Aurifil thread-MAKO' NE 28/2.
 I love this one, the heavier thread just really makes the quilting pop!!

Lots of little pebbles! And the quilting is done on this one!
I stitch my feathers from the bottom up so
 I can see where I am going!!!

This one is more of a ferny feather
Now to add more color and definition!!! 
Pink thread for this one, tiny pearls in the center of the spine
and doing some different echo quilting around the border.
Love this thread!!! It is a Mettler thread-100% polyester!!
It really stands out against the lavender fabric!!

Quilting is done on the feathers and you will notice that
 some have been colorized with a crayola crayon!!!

I finish the postcards with a satin stitch on the edge. I go around it at least twice, sometimes three to be sure to get those edges covered well!!!

AND THE FINISHED PRODUCTS!!!!

This postcard went to Diane Gaudynski in Wisconsin
 You can see all the postcards that our group sent to her in thanks here!!! Be sure to scroll down as there are at least 3 blog posts with quilted postcards!!!

This bright card went to Susan in Liverpool-UK
This one is still at home with me.
My Aurifil quilted feather has finally arrived
at Christine's home in Germany.
Still waiting for this postcard to arrive at Maria's home in Phoenix.
 I am really hoping it arrives safely.
If not, I do have a spare that I can send her :^)
Well, thats it for today, I need to get a bit of sewing done before I get ready for work. Take Care, Happy Quilting and keep those scissors sharp!!! Martha