Sketching on the road...a new product

     Many times people pack up paints and pens to produce works of art on a vacation; and then they find they never have a chance to use them. As you know, I often stitch Sashiko in the car while listening to a good book on CD as Joe, the car enthusiast drives. For this trip, part of our 50th celebration, I decided I would sketch in the car.

      If you sketch on a trip, I think your memories are more indelible or tangible than when you only take photos. I put a sketchbook, Micron pen .005, water soluable pencils, pencil sharpener and Niji waterbrushes loaded with water in my purse. From the minute we hit the road, I didn't know what to sketch and thought...what the heck...I will sketch anything in front of me without giving it thought!

      Believe me, my sketches look as if I didn't give them any thought. The road goes by FAST and is bumpy! But it was fun to mark the path with pen, then color with watercolor pencils and wet the marks down as well. I don't think this was my favorite sketching solution, but I love having a rough 60 pages of marks and some memory flags to remind me of what to paint when I get to it at home. One should paint her 50th anniversary!  

      After  I wore down the Micron point in Castine, ME, I made the exciting discovery that there are Sharpie fine point pens now that don't bleed through the paper, and more than that, there are Sharpies that come with a retractable fine point so you won't have to look for lost tops under seats in the car! When I couldn't replace some of my Caran d'Arche watercolor pencils in the USA, I found Derwent watercolor pencils in Rockland a surprisingly good substitute. Heavenly. And of course there are different results for sketching on arrival but this was an experiment! Click photos to enlarge.

Posting Pumpkins: fabric postcards for the mail

     October is beautiful outside and a time to be with friends. To touch those far away, there is the fabric postcard. Still having withdrawal from a great get-together with childhood chums in Texas, I was having trouble getting back to quilting. But I bit the bullet and sat down to make these small quilts.

click to enlarge

    If you click to enlarge the photo, you will see the only quilting is around the edges and down the center. I made these 7 quilted postcards by cutting fronts, backs, and flannel or batting to a size of 4 1/2" x 6 1/2." The proper postcard size will be 4" x 6." Next, I stamped the back fabric with an old Post Card stamp. You could write "Post Card" with a fabric marker as you will the address and notes.

      I put the front and back face to face atop the batting and stitched all around 1/4" from the edge, leaving two inches on one end open to turn. I then snipped off corners and turned the pieces. I ironed the "cards" turned, and once again stitched all around the edges, only this time, closing off. Feeling I should quilt a bit, I took a fancy stitch on my sewing machine to make the line down the middle and it was OK on the front. I could have quilted more before sewing the pieces together. Where the light string hit the black, I used a black Sharpie....and an orange Sharpie on the pumpkin.

        Tomorrow, I will address, add a message, and take the Postcards to the Post Office for stamps and hand canceling. I do not put the postcards in an envelope, and they have always arrived at their destination. I like the soft quilt version, but you can use Timtex or other products for a stiffer version. YouTube also has videos on the subject.

         Type "postcard" into the Search space at the top left to see earlier fabric postcards I have made.

SAIGAI: a journal quilt

    It is always difficult to create a journal quilt about a catastrophe such as Katrina or 9/11 and the one in Japan.I looked for a fabric that expressed maelstrom or upheaval, and I found the word for disaster is saigai. On-line I Googled "how to say disaster in Japanese" and found some characters and pictures at  Japanese Symbols. I printed a couple of the many possibilities and then put the paper and fabric on a light box to mark with Sharpies.
     My fabric was too dark to see the markers so I got out the black Lumiere fabric paint and a tiny brush to enhance the characters. I will only be satisfied when I sharpen the edges with black crochet thread. I made a sandwich of batting and background fabric, stiched a border at 8" x 8" and cut the excess off with pinking shears. I went back to make a few quilted lines,
  

Saigai, Japanese disaster

   You can view 9/11, my first journal quilt at my website, as well as Katrina, here at the blog, posted July 1, 2010. Relax a moment while the particular image loads.

Island Getaway: a journal quilt

     The beader's getaway to Martha's Vineyard was for only three days, but I was shocked how relaxed I was after such a short time, absolutely forgetting all that I had on my plate to do. Hopefully I can remember that feeling and call it forth when needed. Maybe this journal quilt should have been about all I filmed there for my little movie, or about the craft I took to share (it's failure, despite my good planning). For the journal quilt, however, I singled out that special moment where I realized I was SO relaxed. Note: Usually I sew with white thread only, and take an extra fine Sharpie of appropriate color to go over colored areas. I forgot to get out my blue Sharpies for this piece before photographing, but did remember on the postcards.

   While I had the sewing machine out today, I made and took to the Post Office three fabric postcards. I sent the postcard of the dollhouse to another Alice whom the beaders visited yesterday. We saw a myriad of doll houses Alice created over the years. I was especially taken by the Rennie Macintosh room, and returned home to get out a book of his watercolors and to look for pictures of his windows at Google Images to mail to Alice.  I mailed the Seurat fabric postcard to an ill friend who is a fabulous painter. The postcard with the basket with Toto is a thank you for a Nantucket beading tray basket.
    You remember I cut the address side, front and batting, each of the three pieces, to 4 1/2" x 6 1/2". I put the batting on the bottom and the good sides of the back and front together and stitch 1/4" all around except for a 2" opening at one end so one can turn inside out (the pillowcase method). Clip the corners, turn, iron and stitch around one more time 1/8" around. I love making these; and so far, they have all arrived via our Post Office in perfect shape!

Easy Fabric Postcards

The easiest fabric postcard to make, IMO, is what I created today. I made eight of them and took them to the PO to be hand-stamped after I had afixed a self-adhesive stamp and rubbed it in with the back of my nails. I know, from experience, some will arrive locally, tomorrow. (click on both photos to view)

I sent the sparkling fairies to thank my grandchildren for my birthday gifts, the pencil prints (Kaffe Fassett design) with the cakes to thank for other gifts or to wish a happy birthday to people here and far away, and the baseballs to Evan who put up our paper when we were gone.

First, with a rotary cutter, cut a front, a back and a piece of flannel, all 4 1/2" x 6 1/2."  I used an antique stamp to print Post Card, but writing it is equally nice or better. I ironed on the cakes with something like Wonder Under. Next,  stack, the pieces and pin:  the flannel on the bottom, then the back and front, their good sides together.  Stitch all around 1/4 " from the edge (leaving a two-inch opening mid-end so that you can turn the pieces after clipping the corners). Press after turning. Now stitch 1/8" from the edge all around which will close the opening. I used white thread, and Sharpies to color where I did not want white lines. I used a gel marker to write without the bleeding of ink. I wish I could move more slowly to give the ink time to dry!