When I saw on Instagram that Elm Street Quilts was hosting a postcard swap I became intrigued. I've been seeing quilted postcards popping up here and there and decided to join in and give one a try. Postcards are only 4x6 inches - I have time for that!
When we signed up for the swap we were asked to give a one word prompt for what we'd like to receive. Then we received an email with a swap partners name, address, and her request. My partner's prompt was CAT.
I read through my partner's blog and found she was traveling and had made a stop at what turned into a very interesting museum. It reminded me of a family vacation we took years ago so gave me a perfect "postcard" note to send.
I read through several tutorials before starting my postcard, including Patty's. Ultimately, here's what I did:
- made a 4x6 block
- quilted it with a scrap of batting
- trimmed it to 4x6"
- printed the back
- layered one piece of very stiff interfacing between the front and back
- zig-zag stitched it all together using a stitch width of 5 and length of 4 (next time I'll go shorter.)
Super fun little project!
Wondering what I received in return?
When I signed up for the swap I was completely focused on my Kaleidoscope quilt for the Modern Plus Sign Quilts book hop. So...my prompt was PLUS. Sarah in Texas made me a plus of pluses!
Now hop along to check out the other postcards that have been exchanged.
Denise @ DottieDoodle
Isis @ Creation d'Isis
Karen @ Run Sew Fun ←You are here!
Lynette @ What A Hoot Quilts
Laura @ LC's Cottage
Lisa @ Sunlight in Winter Quilts
Marsha @ Quilter in Motion
Michelle @ Creative Blonde
Paige @ Quilted Blooms
Patty @ Elm Street Quilts
Sandra @ mmm! quilts
Susan @ California Fiber and Music
Thanks so much to Patty for a very well organized swap.
I'll also be linking up with:
Sew Fresh Quilts - Let's Bee Social
Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Friday
I absolutely love the cat. x
ReplyDeleteThank you Kay. It was such fun to make!
DeleteBeautiful, I love the cheddar cat 🙀 so much patience to sew all those blocks, great job 💕
ReplyDeleteI'm new to your blog and it was fun to meet you on the postcard swap. WOW!! All those tiny pieces in your cat AMAZE me!!! Wonderful work!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that your partner sent you a postcard of pluses. And all those tiny pieces on the cat. Well done!
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable cheddar cat! That was some precision piecing you did! How fun you chose 'plus' as you word too and received creative plus sign postcard!
ReplyDeleteThank you Paige. Plus is the word of the year...so far anyway!
DeleteThe cat postcard is great for cat lovers everywhere! The plus postcard is a treasure, too!
ReplyDeleteHi Laura. The plus I received is a treasure indeed. It appears PLUS and CAT were popular prompts in this swap. It's been fun to see how differently folks interpreted their prompt. I'm glad you hopped by!
DeleteLove your cat, will try it out, bigger size though. Isn’t this soo much fun!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Isis! Yes, soo, sew much fun!
DeleteHow clever you are to piece a cat that small. You made a beautiful card. And got a great one in the mail too.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful cards! I continue to be amazed at that tiny cat! Thank you for being part of the postcard swap and our blog hop!
ReplyDeleteHoly crap! That is one teeny cat with teensie pieces! What a beautiful back-thanks for that shot; you do gorgeous work! I love the plus of pluses that you received, and I think she should have let it be plus size; that would be the icing on the cake ha! Now, are you on one of our Great Lakes? I'm on Erie, south of Detroit, and I see you're in MI...think you may be the person who got me to buy this fabulous stars background fabric...(does that ring a bell or am I way off course?)
ReplyDeleteI believe I know who is getting your card and BS will love it especially since she is now home. Thanks for reminding me of this pattern. Upon seeing it again I will pull my fabric tomorrow to try and match my 3 cats. Wonderful tut on making these cards. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMaking cats to match your own...how fun! My suggestion is to keep your pieces in order as you are cutting them. There are lots of pieces and many are similar sized. It's easy to get confused - especially if you are using a directional fabric.
DeleteWhat a great postcard you made, Karen! But you've reminded me of why I don't do swaps. :-) Gosh, if I'd been given the word CATS, I would have asked for a different word! I can't help it that I don't care for cats, so the idea of MAKING one doesn't sound fun. Might that word have been interpreted any differently? Well, you sure got it right, and with tons of piecing too, it seems. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteTwo super fun postcards! You both chose very interesting prompts and carried them out to the max!
ReplyDeleteSo nice to get something special in the mail! I used to make fabric postcards...I should do that again soon. The back and front of your cat are very impressive!
ReplyDelete