Faux quilted fabric postcard tutorial

Here's another tutorial on a different style of postcard- this one is the faux quilted look.
Mine isn't perfect, because nothing I make is- but the video includes a few tips to help yours look closer to perfect (if that matters to you). The number one hint is to measure you fabric, something I didn't do, and to pay more careful attention to where you are stitching. 



I like a quick and easy project more than I like a perfect product most of the time.  As long as you aren't looking super close up like the camera is, I think this looks pretty good!

Enjoy!

Fabric Postcard Tutorial

I made a video tutorial to show you how to make a simple fabric postcard.



The ones I've posted on previous days I've used either wonder-under fusible or a gluestick to secure fabric and then sewed it down. In this video, I highlight one really beautiful piece of fabric instead.

Do you want to recieve the postcard I made in the video? Comment below by January 2nd 2016 and I will pick someone (out of a hat) to send it to.

Make sure you are not a "no reply" blogger so I can get in touch with you to get your address if you are selected.
Here's a tutorial to check: http://morefromyourblog.com/no-reply-blogger-how-to-fix-this/
Chances are if you are a no-reply blogger you don't even know it!  (Or leave your email address if you are one on purpose and still want to enter.)

International readers are welcome to enter as well!

Four more postcards

My Christmas Eve goal was to get some cleaning done in my sewing room. I guess I still have time to do that, but I have my doubts it will get done.

Instead, I made 4 more postcards. These are fun and addictive.

I made one very similar to yesterday's:

I made one with some of my favorite batiks. I really like this one:

I tried something different, not my favorite:

And I made one that looks quilted. Not sure what I think. I do know it's a really bad picture!

Fabric postcards

My apologies for the months between posts. I don't know if anyone still reads, but if they do- I am going to try harder in the new year to post interesting things.

Things got very hard here since my last post.  In October we found out that the baby had a very rare (and extremely large) chromosomal deletion. Then in November we lost him.  I delivered Sean still on November 12. Needless to say, things have been very difficult. His life would have been full of an unbelievable number of challenges that we know this is for the best, but every morning that I wake up without my little boy I just feel empty.

In an effort to try to add a little happiness to my life, I've started making quilted fabric postcards to mail out for postcard swaps. (I'll post if I get any cards back!)

The first three I made using fused scraps. My favorite is the woven one!

Have you ever made a fabric postcard?  I'm told I can mail them with a normal stamp (not a postcard stamp- it's too little), but well, I have my doubts.  I will let you know if I hear they made it to their destination.  I hope to make a tutorial on how to make them soon.

Loving schoola! Sharing what I got on my last order.

I know I just posted about schoola, but I got another order in and wanted to share everything I got! I have photos of all the clothes I ordered (taken from their confirmation email- but I've recieved it all in the mail already, it is washed and hung and ready for the baby to get here!)

Anyhow- I LOVE schoola.com (not in any way affiliated, this is not a sponsored post.)

Want to try it out? Here is my referral link: https://www.schoola.com/stitch?ref=cp-3X542v1ZD
By using this, you get $15- and so do I.
Schoola offers free shipping with a $25 order, and they have been running a promotion that if you start a "collection" you get a $10 credit too.  

The thing I like the best is that all of this is in such good condition I would never know it was used!
(I sort by "good" condition. You can't use discounts on new with tags. I have got a few "blemished" items and they were as described, but in my opinion, good seems to equal new!) Everything comes to you freshly washed and folded, but of course- I run it through my laundry too.
And this website has such good discount codes the clothes are nearly free! For the order shown below, I used 2 referral credits and then a discount code (right now try FALLINGPRICES for 50% off, or OHBABY for 20% off).  So all of these items were only $0.98!! That's unreal.

Each order they send you a bag to send clothes back to them- which I will definitely do the next time I clean the closets out. My local school isn't on their list yet, but I think the process to add a school is pretty simple, and I know a school always appreciates a fundraiser!

I still quilt!

My sister in law is having a baby this winter- and of course that means it is time for a baby quilt. They didn't find out the sex ahead of time, so I chose some of my favorite colors to make something gender neutral. (I've been saving this teal for a long time!)

I love this simple, bold design. I hope she does too.

Currently the baby-to-be is being referred to as "cricket" and like his/her sister "acorn" I personalized the quilt with some crickets.  (I thought I placed them randomly, but they turned out to form a pattern- with one missing... oops.)  You can see Acorn's quilt here: http://skittl1321.blogspot.com/2011/10/quilt-for-acorn.html

Something new I've been doing on all my baby quilts, for the past 3 or 4...  (I wish I had this idea earlier....) Just add a little love in!

Get $50 in clothes, free. Seriously.

(Wow- it's been a long time.  I've got exciting news: I'm pregnant!  So that explains why I haven't blogged in months and months. I've instead spent that time throwing up.  More blogging soon.)

So one of my budget boards posted this and I couldn't not share!

$50 in clothes for free.  I actually spent $2.87 (for 2 dresses, 5 shirts and a pair of pants!), but only because I didn't want to give them CC information for $0 in charges. But if you get your cart right, it is totally free.  My sister-in-law has gotten an order from them previously, so while I can't review my clothes yet (I will) - this is legit.

Here is what I got. You can also see the totals, so you can see what I paid.

(The website also tells you the retail value of the clothes. Lesson learned: Holy crap, maternity clothes are overpriced.)


Get your free clothes:

Here's how to do it:
1) Click the link https://www.schoola.com/stitch/rf551692. That gets you a $15 credit (and me one too).
2) Click the Collection tab at the top, and at the bottom of the dropdown it says Create New Collection. A new screen will pop up and on the left side where you can click create a collection and select your preferences. Make sure and save the collection - this adds another $10 to your account. Then you don't actually have to do anything with it.
3) Add $50 worth of clothing to your bag.
4) Checkout and use the code ‪#‎schoolasummer‬ This gets you half off. Half off $50 is $25, and from above you have $25 in credits, so it ends up free. You also get free shipping for more than $25.


Edit: The #schoolasummer is over, but you can still get $25 credit.

And, I got my clothes in and they are seriously awesome. 1 shirt did not ship, and they gave me a $20 credit to make up for it.  The other 5, well 4 of them fit perfectly (one I just don't care for, but it is not the shirts fault.) And every single piece is in such great condition I would have never known it was used!

Piecing diamonds

There are lots of ways to make mistakes when piecing diamonds.  Watch as I explain how to get the perfect seam, and mistakes to avoid.

Cutting diamonds

I started my challenge block for the next month. Up next: diamonds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIlaT7O1tK0

What am I working on?

Here's a peak of what I am working on right now.  I've never done a pieced scrap quilt before. Wow do they take a lot of time!

How to clean a sewing machine

Here I demonstrate how I clean and oil my machine.

Small Group Challenge

Continuing the vlog idea.  Here is a peak into my sewing room as I make an improv block using equilateral triangles for my march small group challenge.





So? Do you like the videos?

Starting something new

So i've been really bad about blogging lately.  I decided to try something new, and have done a few short videos/vlogs.  Tell me what you think- do you like watching videos or would you rather read the blog?

This video shows how I store my fabric. And a quick peak at the disaster that is my sewing room right now.

2015 Small Group Challenge: Rectangles

For 2015 our small group challenge required us to pick a color that we would use in the challenge each month; then at the end of the year I will put them together as a quilt top.

The color I picked was Jade. Kevin told me I couldn't pick pink because it wouldn't be a challenge.  I have to say, this will be difficult to work with and incorporate other colors!

This month's challenge was rectangles. I made a simple, modern block using improvised piecing. I didn't have a plan when I started.

Dancing Butterfly #3 and #4

Two more butterflies done (there are 12 total).  Sorry about the weirdly rotated pictures. There is no way to fix them in

Butterfly number 3 features Echo Shell and Zigzag Path. 

I really like both of these designs and I am getting a lot better at keeping consistent spacing. It is fun to see how much I've grown in my ability to quilt over the past few years.


 Butterfly #4 features sharp stippling and bamboo forest.  I found the sharp stippling to be really challenging. I'm not sure mine really looks like what the design was set up to be, which is more flame like.  I'm so used to either all curves, or sharp zig-zags, that trying to make curves with points was really though. 

2014 Color Challenge Quilts

In 2014 my small quilt group came up with a challenge. Each month, someone would bring a fabric or collection of fabrics to act as color inspiration. Then all the members of the group would create a 12" quilt showcasing those colors.  It was amazing to see what different people did each month.

Although I didn't intend to, my quilts seemed to have a few themes running through them. I grouped them by technique, but you'll notice a lot of circles and stripes too! Here are my twelve quilts from 2014. I may have shared some of these before, but never as a group.



Two quilts with stitch and slash.  I love the red one!

And then there were applique quilts. Here the dresden plate is my favorite, but I also love the raw edge arrows.

 

The next group is improvised piecing. I love all of these, but the gray with pink is my favorite of the 12.  It is a lot of fun to piece with no idea of where you are going!

 And then a few odd balls. Painting instead of piecing, quilt and piece at the same time, woven fabric, and then my very first try at a mosaic technique (the flowers are from where I spilled something when we met at Panera...)

New for 2015: Dancing Butterfly

I finished the quilt that I showed in the Mosaic tutorial. I do need to post it soon (though, as infrequent as I post- is anyone reading?)


But first, Leah Day has struck again. In a great follow up to Building Blocks Quilt Along, she has released the dancing butterfly quilt. This pattern has amazing video support- you get a password when you get the pattern, and you can watch her every step of the way. I don't really plan to watch the videos, making it an expensive pattern- but I wouldn't even be quilting without Leah, so I think it is well worth it.

 

Even for a semi-experienced quilter, this is a great project. Especialy since I quilt such small scale most of the time, this is forcing me to work on my large scale quilting, something I'm not great at.

 

I picked fabrics from the $1.99 sale at Fabric.com so I didn't have much choice, and unfortunately my thread doesn't show up great on the busy fabrics, but I think that will just add texture and color to the quilt. The back is a really busy pattern, so the quilting won't show up much there at all.

So now, explanation of the pictures
The pattern is set up where you quilt two "design blocks"  and then use those patterns to quilt the butterfly square.

The first up: Paisley and Ocean Currents. You can't really see them in the design blocks- so I didn't do close ups. Paisley was a real challenge- filling space with a large design. And Ocean Currents I kept having thread issues, so it took me a long time to get through too.

And set two: Zippling and Feathers.
I didn't do close up of zippling, because it's just a stippling design, nothing exciting. The feathers I am mostly happy with. I used bounce back feathers, a method I've finally started to get better at.

 

The one thing with this quilt is that it is quilt-as-you-go so there is a binding that covers 1/4" of the edge. I was so nervous about having my feathers covered up, I did the border ones much too small. Since this is not a show quilt, I am not going to rip them out to fix them, but blah.