Fabric Postcards

At my local Modern Quilt Guild meeting, I learned about fabric postcards.  Back in 2010 when I had my third baby, I actually received a fabric postcard from a friend and was quite impressed with it.  The details, the ability to travel in the mail and the cute factor stood out to me.

I never really considered making my own fabric postcards until at our meeting we decided to draw names and make and send one postcard out for Valentine's Day.  Once I got started with making the one, I didn't want to stop.  They are fun to make and due to their size, a small canvas for trying new things.

For this project, I did purchase Peltex, a stiff interfacing, and a postcard rubber stamp.  Both items I found at Hobby Lobby.  The Peltex they had is fusible on both sides.  I read later that this might be a disadvantage, but it seemed to work well for me.

I did a combination of sewing parts together and also just layering fabrics.  Then after fusing the top layer to the Peltex, I quilted on top to hold everything together.  Finding ribbons and small scraps of fabrics for embellishments was fun too.

After completing the top and quilting, I cut a piece of white fabric and fused it to the back of the postcard.  If I didn't iron too long on the front, the fusible back didn't seem to get activated until I ironed on the back.  Once all the layers were together, I did a satin stitch around the outside once more slowly and a second time faster.  Then using my new rubber stamp, I stamped "Postcard" on the back.

I have read different things about how to mail these.  First class postage seems to work ok, hand stamping at the post office is often recommended.  Some use thin cello bags to protect the mini quilts during shipping.  Because I didn't use any beads or sequins, I think sending them alone may be fine.  Hopefully they will all reach their destinations!

Even Easier Luggage Tags - A Tutorial

After making a few luggage tags with multiple layers, I decided I wanted a simplified method and after making a few of these and tweaking the design a little, I thought it was worth sharing.

These luggage tags are the perfect size for a business card or just a name.  Different prints can be used or a combination of pieced fabrics with or without some ribbon.

Luggage Tag Tutorial

Step 1 

Cut

• two 3.25" x 5" fabric or piece together for a different look
• two 2.75" x 4.5" of heat bond craft interfacing
• one 5" x 1.25" strip for bias
• one 1.5" x 12" strip for the handle
• one 3.25 x 4" of clear plastic vinyl

Step 2

Center interfacing on the back of each 3.25" x 5" rectangle and adhere

Step 3

Make small bias tape.  The strip is 1.25" x 5" which is pretty narrow.  Making it a big bigger would work too.  Iron in half, then open, iron each long side towards the center line, then iron together making a bias tape.




 Step 4
Place bias on top of clear plastic sandwiching one of the 4" sides, sew close to bottom edge.









Step 5
Layer pieces for sewing.  With right side up of print, add plastic with bias on top, then with right side down, place other print on.  Right sides are then together for each print and the clear plastic is sandwiched in between.

















Step 6
Sew around edges with a 1/4" seam allowance being careful not to have the plastic slip.  Begin near top corner, leaving a small opening for turning.  Clip corners and any bias or plastic not lined up.

Step 7
Turn right side out.  This is certainly tricky; the materials are stiff and the opening is small.

Step 8

Push all four corners out with a pencil or chop stick.  Being very mindful of the plastic, give a quick iron on the back and all edges.  Turn under the open edges and iron.

Step 9
Take 1.5" x 12" strip and iron in half.  Open back up and iron each long end towards the center line.  Then fold in half and iron again.  Sew down the long edges of the strap close to the edges.

Step 10

Insert both raw edges of the strap into the luggage tag.  Center the strap.  Insert about 1/2" of ends.

Step 11

Sew a box around the ends inside the luggage tag.  Then top stitch around the whole luggage tag being sure to catch both sides of the opening at top.

Luggage Tag

It's tricky to sew over the plastic.  Tissue paper can be used under the presser foot or a special teflon presser foot can be used.  I've done both and the new to me foot is worth it.  Holding the presser foot up a bit while sewing helps going over bumps and at the corners.

Luggage Tags

My daughter started the flute this year and it is a used flute.  The flute case had a plastic luggage tag on it that broke after one trip to school.  I suggested making a luggage tag for her and she finally warmed up to the idea.  I found many great tutorials, but this one from Sid's In Stitches stood out from the rest.

While my daughter was still deciding on fabric, I made up a black one to practice.  It was good to see where I could be more precise and that all the guidelines I made make a difference.

Round two did come out better and it matches her recorder bag.  We were happy to find that there was just enough left over.

More Heart Pillows

More heart pillows are ready for delivery!  I enjoyed doing wonky stripes and then using the leftovers for piecing.  The pieced hearts look like crazy quilting.

The Letter "K" Pillow

After playing around a bit more with the Slice and Insert quilting method, I thought the letter "K" might work for it too.

My three year old chose purple sparkly fabric for the "K".  After I cut out 3" strips and arranged them into a K shape, I realized that piecing together made more sense.  She then chose the Minnie Mouse print for the background.

I started with the top diagonal, then the bottom and added to both sides.  Then I added the bottom diagonal to the top and finally added the straight piece.  I added borders, then batting and quilted through the top and batting.

I added batting to the back piece too to give the pillow a better form before stuffing.  It is about 13" square.

Heart Pillows for breast surgery patients

When reading the newsletter for my local breast cancer coalition, I saw they are in need of pillows to give away. These little pillows are great post surgery. They can be tucked under the arm to protect the breast or armpit after surgery. They can also be used to soften a seatbelt strap in the car.

I was given a small square shaped pillow after I had surgery and it was great. A heart shape was suggested for me to make and it is much cuter and I could see it hanging out on a bed or couch after it was used post surgery. 

If any locals could use a quick sewing project, I am happy to share the pattern!

I put together six pillows this morning, though I did run out of poly-fil before the sixth.  Quilting scraps worked great and gave some pillows personality.  I used microfiber for the backs. 

Stuffed Heart Pillows

Heart Pillow before stuffing

Unicycling Unicorn

There is a Kiddie Parade in my town every year to kick off the Fireman's Carnival. I didn't know much about the parade until someone encouraged us to check it out a few years ago.

This year we decided to do it again. Kids dress up, there are strollers, wagons, a few bikes and trikes.  My nine year old daughter rides a unicycle and the three year old can ride a tricycle and bike with training wheels. 

We considered different costume options. First we were going to go with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. We have a Minnie dress. Then I saw a unicycling unicorn and thought a unicorn would be a great idea for my unicycling daughter. We tried to convince the three year old to have a triceratops costume or maybe a pony. At the end, she wanted to be like her sister. 

After surveying our potential supplies, we went with white felt, white micro fleece and organdy ribbon. 

We started with the horn and our helmets. After trying out some thin cardboard, white card stock worked best. Next I used clear packing tape and a hot glue gun to secure white microfleece and ribbon.  For the ears I used white felt and pipe cleaners.  Clear packing tape made it easy to attach everything to the helmets and would later be removable.  I also made a mane, tail, wrist and ankle cuffs out of the microfleece with hot glue.  I would normally sew things, but using the hot glue was quick and easy.

The girls didn't win the competition, but did get an honorable mention and won six dollars.

To Boston with Love

Another cool project that the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild spearheaded is Flags for Boston.  The to Boston with Love Exhibition will be on display at the Museum of Fine Arts from May 23 to June 16.

My Modern Quilt Guild is participating.  Bright colors were encouraged as well as messages of peace and love.

I chose some prints, did some wonky stripes and added a dove like Peace on top with some free motion quilting.


I stamped the back and it went fairly well for my first time stamping.  One upside down letter and running out of space...I think they'll still get it.  :)

Quilted Name Tag

For my Modern Quilt Guild, we were asked to make ourselves a name tag for meetings.  I had missed a couple meetings, but wanted to get to the next one.  I had wanted to try a landscape quilt and figured making a super mini quilt as a name tag would be a great way to practice.

Because this won't be washed, I was less concerned about raw edges.  I went with fusing the layers with iron on fusing and lots of stitching.

I made lines on the blue water and did pebbling on the grey.  After quilted the mini quilt, it seemed too big.  I cut it down a little and added my name and made tiny spirals.  It was nice to use my regular machine for free motion quilting and see that I can make careful stitches, even with a wiggly girl in my lap.  I had used my new HQ 16 for spirals the day before and noticed they were not very smooth.  More practice at playing with the different speeds will probably make a big difference.

Gifts for my Nieces

My nieces enjoy baking and going shopping.  I often feel that gift cards are a bit of cop out...but sometimes they are the best gifts.

A gift card needs a holder though.  There are many great tutorials out there for gift card holders.  I chose to follow Valerie's tutorial, but I made it a touch smaller and used a 1/4" seam allowance.  These are fast and easy and don't require much fabric.  I considered making a scrappy back, but then abandoned that idea when it was taking longer than I wanted to spend.  I intended to use interfacing, but forgot that step.  They seem to hold their shape pretty well without it.

The mitt idea I had long ago and actually had the fabric purchased and cut out, but never finished.  I sewed the mitt parts on, then added the thermal batting and with right sides together stitched the front to the back.  I left an opening for turning on one end curve.  After turning, I sewed the curve together with my machine, then flipped that raw seam inside the mitt.  After top stitching, the seam is totally hidden.  Now they are in their new home.

Reindeer Shoe Covers

My daughter dances and is encouraged to dress up for her dance class this week.  We already had a Santa hat, Santa skirt, and red and white striped long socks.  My nieces dance and I saw some of their themed classes.  Some of the girls had made their hair buns into reindeer faces.  Such a creative idea.  I considered this for my daughter, but she will have her hair under a Santa hat.

Reindeer Shoe covers came to mind.  The idea reminded me of the little leather shoes my little ones wore.  We never had any reindeer ones though.  It seemed like a very quick and straight forward project.  

The first step was to cut reindeer shapes out of felt.  Then I found some vinyl scraps for the backside of the felt.  I figured this would keep the felt in place better on the shoe.  Finally, I added a little fluff in between the two layers, stitched them together, and added a thin elastic strap.  

While designing the reindeer cover, I was using the tap shoe as a model.  The elastic fit nicely in the groove underneath the shoe near the metal plate.  My daughter also tried them on her jazz shoes and they work well too!

Gabby the Giraffe

My young, sensitive preschooler was watching an episode of her favorite show, Doc McSutffins when she stopped it mid-show.  It was the episode called "Arcade Escape" and my daughter was upset that the giraffe was ripped.  She said it over and over.  I suggested we could make a little giraffe and stitch it up.

Together we found a template for a giraffe and then went back to the show to decide on the details for the felt giraffe.  We finished the show and saw that Gabby the Giraffe does indeed have a rip or an open seam and Doc McStuffins and Lambie are able to fix her right up.

It was neat creating felt details for the giraffe to match the tv character.  My daughter helped decide which colors to use for the body and spots.  We also agreed on orange stripes on the giraffe's legs.

Gabby has a lot of details, so we started sewing them on first.  For younger children, sewing the details on makes more sense than using glue.  Once we starting sewing around the edges and adding filling, I could demonstrate what had happened to Gabby in the show.

It was disappointing that it could not be completed in one sitting.  We went off to bed with a few safety pins holding Gabby together because done or not, she is already loved very much.  Then in the morning, I was able to complete Gabby the Giraffe.

Super Cute Felt Cookies

My sister suggested felt cookies as a nice birthday gift for her daughter's upcoming third birthday. She sent me links to a few options other people had made. I thought they were really cute and probably not too hard to make.

Felt Cookie with sprinkles

I looked through my stash. I had cookie colored felt and beads that would make perfect sprinkles. I started with the tan felt and made two circles. Then I made a smaller frosting-like shape out of pink felt. From there I just sewed the beads in a random sprinkle-like fashion. Sewing the beads onto the frosting and the top of the cookie was enough to connect the frosting to the cookie. Finally I sewed the top of the cookie to the bottom with coordinating thread and used a very small bit of polyfil to give it some body.

After seeing my toddler trying to remove the frosting layer, I decided I needed to place beads even closer to the edge.

I did run out of the tan felt and decided I could use some cream, dark brown, really dark brown fabric and more tan.  After a shopping trip I started on more cookies.

I was excited to try to make chocolate chip cookies. I took scraps of the dark brown felt and tried to make random chips. Each chip was then attached with a few stitches. It was a fun challenge to place the beads and chips in a random looking pattern.

Felt Cookies

Even though I'm not a big fan of sugar cookies in real life, they certainly looked cute in pictures. I used cream felt and found these tiny colorful beads. The package seemed pretty old. I think I've had these a while!

Because St. Patrick's Day was on its way, I decided to also try a shamrock cookie.

I thought of other cookies we like to eat and make. I started a gingerbread man, but didn't like how it was looking. I thought a tree would be nice too. But found that I really like the way the circle cookies look, so I stuck with them. I did try a kiss cookie or a peanut blossom cookie. I'm not sure that's a winner either.

Probably when I finished my first or second cookie, it became clear to me that I would need to make a second set for our house. They were too cute!  Good thing I have an almost two year old in the house.

I saw one set of cookies in a picture that was presented so nicely in a little box. I looked around at Target and JoAnns for small boxes. We actually found a perfect little pink treasure chest gift box at Target, but it was too big for six little cookies.

After looking at cookie and cupcake boxes, I settled on small paper mâché boxes. They seemed a bit more durable than the bakery boxes.

However these little boxes needed some color. I decided to paint them. Painting and drawing have never been my strongpoints and I was reminded of this fact again as I was painting. It was especially hard when the almost two year old wanted to climb on my lap when I was trying to make careful lines and dots. But as they were drying, I decided they will make nice little cookie boxes for two little girls.

Felt Cookies & gift boxes

A very productive Sunday

New quilting ideas keep coming to me through searching and just trying things.

Crazy Mug Rug

The day started out with a blue and yellow mug rug in a crazy quilt pattern. It is for my daughter's teacher as she loves blue and yellow. It's interesting to me that all the blues lined up in the middle. I will have to take note of that in the future.

Next I wanted to try a wonky log cabin pattern. I had fabric leftover from my quilted baby carrier that I wanted to use. I found this tutorial at Tallgrass Prairie Studio and thought it was neat.

Wonky Pink & Brown Quilt Blocks 

I used a 4" square, then 1.5" strip, then 2.5" strip, 2" strip, and finally 3" strip. For two of the blocks, I mixed it up a little and changed the order of the different sized strips, but didn't change the sizes. Once the block was made, I squared it up to 16.5".

My husband says maybe I need to go wonkier. Maybe starting with a rectangle would help too. I may try this pattern for a queen sized quilt for us at some point.

I picked up some white fabric today for wide sashing. I think sashing will really make the blocks stand out nicely and maybe make the wonky pattern more visible.

Rainbow Wonky Stripes

I wanted to play around with the wonky quilting idea further. It's such a neat concept to just start cutting and sewing strips of fabric together. I thought I'd put a rainbow together. I only made one block, but with the magic of my Photo Wall app, I could see a possible quilt taking shape.

It was a very productive and fun day in the sewing room.