Fiber (art?) postcards and my Play Date with Sharon!!

Today was the second day of preschool for my youngest daughter Sophia. And on the first day of preschool, I wandered the house and wondered what I should do first. Laundry? Dust? Vacuum? Wash dishes? Unpack suitcase?

Nope. I read Quiltart.com and was reminded that in less than a week, the Contemporary Quilt and Fiber Arts Alliance and the wonderful Fiber on a Whim is having a sew-in to make postcards for Virginia Spiegel's Fiberart for a Cause. Suddenly dressing out of the dryer didn't seem as dire as planning this event and having no postcards to show for it!

And, reading Jamie Fingal's question on Quiltart.com -- "What are you going to do this coming week that is going to stretch you artistically?" prompted me to go outside my box when creating this batch of postcards. The rest of the first-day-of-preschool I sketched and went through old sketches looking for old brain farts to air out.

So on Sophia's second day of preschool, Sharon came over and we both worked on postcards. Sharon had done her homework and quickly was able to produce 6 postcards -- not finalized, but put together and next steps mapped out. I really admire her for that ability.

I was moving a little slower -- mulling over my pile of batik scraps, wondering if these sketches would work, having a bit of trouble with my hi-tech light box (a Lite Brite Deluxe). . . oh gosh I was procrastinating. Is this what working outside the box does to you? I just didn't have the confidence to put my ideas on fabric. So I just decided to jump in and go for it.

Here's what I came up with -- these are works in progress, still needing quilting and finishing. Beads on many, I don't know what on others. In the end it was fun and now I have three more sketches resulting from this playdate which I hope to execute on Saturday.

This was started at a previous playdate with Sharon. Using Model Magic by Crayola, I made the base on top of acrilyc felt. Let it dry and then painted with Lumiere paints. Next will be stitching, beading and finishing.

These are puff paint, painted with Lumiere, then heated with an iron to let it puff up, then painted again. I will stitch and bead these.

And then back to what I love to do RAW EDGE FUSED APPLIQUE. Ah but(t) these were fun. Sorry I couldn't resist.

My parents bought a painting in Paris of a nude lady from behind. She is on her side and has the most beautiful bottom in the world. It is entirely blue with only one spot of yellow, which as I remember is a flower. Inspired by that painting and a recent viewing of my own bottom (which looks nothing like these) I thought I'd try this.

And for fun a different color combination with a butterfly batik. Interesting tattoo!

Adam and Eve? John and Yoko? Joel and Becca?
Heck I don't know, but I like the nekked people.

Detail of stitching.

LAST YEAR'S POSTCARDS. I haven't made postcards for a while. They are addicting, and I really wanted to work on larger pieces. But here are a few I made last summer.

"Margie's Damn Robot" - my buddy called to ask me a question about where to get nuts and bolts fabric for a robot she was making to applique on her son's jacket. I offered her my stash, but she declined. For the next two days, I worked on this little Robot. The nuts, bolts, and washers made it fine through the mail. NOT HAND CANCELLED. I just stick stamps on and drop them in the box. I've never lost one yet.


These were made for my mom the week of her birthday. She had just recovered from an attack of diverticulitis and so I was inspired to make this series of postcards for her.

Fortune Cookies.
Each of these fortune cookies contained
a removable fortune about food and health.
Remember to add "in bed" at the end of your fortune.

Box of Chocolates

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Daily Special: Surf and Turf