postcards

Welcome to my stop on the Postcard Parade.

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.

There are several cat patterns out there but I went straight to one a guild friend, Pam, created, the Cheddar Cat.  I downsized Pam's pattern by 1/2 to make it fit the 4x6 size.  

There are 28 pieces in this block!

That makes the back worth taking a photo of!  (I over-sized the borders here and didn't trim to the final 4x6 size till after it was quilted.)

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 don't have a fabric marker and even if I did I would be afraid to use it but I have had success several times running freezer paper backed fabric through my printer so went with that method for the back.  

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!

More of a mini-quilt, really, she even bound it!  

And it appears that she, too, was afraid to write on the back! 

So she sent a sweet note instead.  Thank you Sarah.  Love the Alison Glass fabrics, too!

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

sewtopia swap

I'm excited to be attending Sewtopia this year and made this Carry-All Pincushion for the swap.

The pattern is from Handmade Style by Anna Graham.
I'm including a few of my favorite notions:  wonder clips, Aurifil thread, a FUN tape measure, and a hera marker.

 All the fabrics are Cotton and Steel.  

I fussy cut UTAH for the strap because Sewtopia will be held in Salt Lake City this time.

And I'm wrapping it all up in a drawstring bag I made using this free tutorial by Jeni Baker.  I had to alter the dimensions so the oversized pincushion would fit!

I'm also participating in Sewtopia's Michael Miller Challenge.  Here's a sneak peek at my project.  My family is all about space and I had a blast using these fun prints!  I'll share full photos of this soon.

Thanks for stopping by.  
I hope you're working on a fun project this week.  

I'll be linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts Let's Bee Social.