Postcard Exchange Update

(Click here for the One Monthly Goal February Finish Link-up)

Happy Spring!

I'm excited to report that I mailed my postcard and it was received!   My partner's prompt was "bright" so I went with happy spring flowers.  It was fun to see her IG post when the postcard arrived!


Have you made and maybe even mailed your postcard yet as part of our Postcard Exchange?  Here are snippets of postcards which have been shared by the makers on Instagram for their secret partners.

Credit:  (top row) @chromatica,  @martinaga86,    @richrwodhttps
(bottom row) @krislovesfabric,  @shemunkee , @stitchinathome

To see even more photos, check out the Instagram tag #esqpostcardswap. 

Postcard mailing deadline is March 17 but please mail your creations as soon as you have them done!

I'll be sending out an email reminder sometime next week which will including details about the postcard parade!  Make sure you take a picture before you send yours in the mail.

For reference:

• Postcard Exchange Frequently Asked Questions 

• Fabric Postcard Tutorial  (You can follow any tutorial you want)

I'll be linking up my Happy Spring postcard with  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Broken Berries - Clementine QAL Block 2

(Click here for the February One Monthly Goal Finish Link-up)

Block 2 in Fat Quarter Shop's Clementine QAL is called Broken Berries and I'm excited to be one of the bloggers who gets to share their blocks today.  (Click to see my prior block Watermelon Wheel block.)

The block was a lot of fun to put together and I'm just loving my fabric.   Here is the larger block.

And the smaller one.

I really, really love the gray fabric with the colorful pattern.  It goes so well with every fabric in the line. 

I've chosen Moda Creekside for my blocks - the fabrics below plus a few others from my stash.

Fat Quarter Shop's Clementine QAL benefits St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.  Quilters are encouraged to donate $5 for each block pattern.  I really love how the FQS QALs support a different charity each year.  If you love the fabrics in the sample quilt, you can order the kit!

You can ready more about the QAL and get the second block pattern today on the Jolly Jabber and read more about the Clementine QAL.  There is also a youtube video on the block!

I am happy to be sharing this QAL blog hop with all these other bloggers - go check them out!

*April of April Rosenthal (@amrosenthal)

Bonnie of Sunset Family Living (@sunsetfamilyliving)

Cara of That Crafty Cara (@thatcraftycara)
Carrie of Moda Cutting Table (@modafabrics)

Denise of Pieced Brain (@piecedbrain)

Elise of Elise and Emelie (@eliseandemelie)

Gina of Carpe Quiltin (@gina_tell_carpequiltin)

Heather of A Creative Pursuit (@acreativemama)

Hilary of By Hilary Jordan (@byhilaryjordan)

Jan of Cocoa Quilts (@cocoaquilts)

Jen of Heritage Threads (@heritage.threads)

Joanne of Quilts by Joanne (@turtlequilterjo)

Kairle of Kairle Oaks Handcrafted Goodness (@kairleoaks)

Kendra of Good Starter (@good_starter)

Kristen of 3 in the Nest (@threeinthenestraleigh)

Kristina of Center Street Quilts (@centerstreetquilts)

Leah of Ponderings from My Heart (@ponderingsfrommyheart)

Melanie of A Bit of Scrap Stuff (@mellierc)

Melissa of Happy Quilting (@happyquiltingmc)

Pat of Pat Sloan (@quilterpatsloan)

Pat B. of Life in the Scrapatch (@scrapatches)

Patty of Elm Street Quilts (@elmstreetquilts)

Rebecca of One Wee Bird (@oneweebird)

Sarah of 123 Quilt (@123quilt)

Seema of SSK Craft Shop (@sskcraftshop)

Sherri of A Quilting Life (@aquiltinglife)

Sondra of Out of the Blue Quilts (@sondradavison)

Stephanie of Quilt 'n Party (@quiltnparty)

Tanya of Tanya Quilts in CO (@tanyaquiltsinco)

Teresa of Aurea's Kitchen (@aureaskitchen)

Vickie of Crocheting Vixen (@crochetingvixen)

Have a wonderful day! Patty

One Monthly Goal - February Finish Link-up

Ready to link up your February finishes?

Don't panic - this link-up is open until February 28 at 11:55 pm ET.

My goal for February was to attach borders, baste and start the quilting on my Small Scraps quilt.  I managed to finish the quilting using a loppy FMQ motif.  Next step, binding.

Now it is your turn to link up - share your goal finish for February.

Please only link up if you finished your goal and if you also participated in the February Goal Setting Link-up.

There will be three winners this month - Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate, Make Modern Magazine is offering a 6 month subscription to their digital magazine and Christa Watson from Christa Quilts, our featured designer for February, is offering a copy of  one of her books!.  In addition, anyone linking up at both the goal and finish link-ups earns a point towards the  first quarter bonus prize which is a thread set from Aurifil.

Congratulations to Nann, Lisa & Nicole - this month's winners!
(Winners were notified by email - updated March 4, 2018)

Visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags. 

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month. (February Goal Setting Link-up.)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can follow where you are linking.   Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:
  

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - February Finish Link-up

Sign up to receive email notifications when the One Monthly Goal linkup is open.  Think of it as a helpful reminder!  Joining the link-up from Instagram -see the tutorial.

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for linking up!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Piles of HSTs

Mountains of HSTs waiting to be trimmed.  Aren't they pretty?  These are all from Alison Glass's Sunprint 2018 fabric line paired with a dark gray solid from Paintbrush Studio's.   There are 288 of them in this pile.

I've got a guild retreat coming up in early March so hope to get them trimmed up and ready to sew into blocks at the retreat.   I am still debating my overall finished quilt size and will likely more.

I'll be making this block.

I made these using the 2 at a time method and decided to cut them apart with scissors while watching the Season Finale of Star Trek Discovery.

Hmm, maybe not the best idea.

I've got about 8 that were miss-cut.  Since I always cut large and then trim, I'm hoping some of these can be salvaged with another seam.

Live long and prosper.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Postcard Exchange - Frequently Asked Questions

Postcard assignments were sent out on Saturday, February 17 - so check your email (including your spam folder and your promotions tab) for something from Elm Street Quilts.

I've been getting some questions via email so decided to post a FAQs.  Please don't hesitate to send me questions more via comments or email and I'll update this post as needed.

How many people signed up?

100 people are making postcards.  18 of those signed up to make a second card.

How were the assignments made?

Everyone was assigned randomly, playing attention to whether you wanted to mail to someone in your country or anywhere in the world.   Those who wanted to make a second card were assigned someone randomly from someone else who wanted to make a second card.

Wait - I wanted to make 3 cards but only got mailing addresses for two people?

There wasn't enough interest from people who signed up for a third card.

Ok, I've got my person, when do I need to mail my postcard?

Postcards should be mailed by March 17.  But, if finish your postcard sooner, by all means send it off!  You'll make someone happy.

I signed up for the swap but didn't get an email.

Check that spam folder and the promotions tab.  Still can't find anything?  Just email me, I'll be happy to help.

Is there a specific tutorial we have to use?

No.  Use any tutorial you want as long as the postcard is postcard sized - 4 x 6''.  Here is the link to my tutorial. 

How should I mail the postcard?  Should I just put a stamp on it?

I'd recommend you put it in an envelope for mailing to make sure it doesn't get messed up in the whole post office process.  If you decide to mail it directly as a postcard, contact your local post office to understand required postage.

Can I send any other goodies along with it for my new friend?

Nope, please don't.  This is about only sending and receiving a postcard work of art. 

Is there anything I should include with my postcard?

Please write a nice message on the back of the card.  Also include on the postcard (or a piece of paper in the envelope) your Instagram or your blog (if you have either) so the person getting your postcard can tag you in their pictures. 

Is it ok to share photos of the postcard I am making on Instagram or Facebook or my blog?

Absolutely!  Just don't say WHO you are making it for so they can be surprised when it arrives in their mailbox.  Tag any photos you share with #esqpostcardswap. 

What should I do when I get my postcard in the mail?

We'd all love to see a photo and please do tag the maker if you have their social information (Instagram or blog).  Then put that postcard in a special place and enjoy!

What can you tell me about the postcard parade?

More details on that later in March.  For now, make sure you tag any photos you do share with #esqphotoswap and take a photo of the postcard you send and you receive.

 I missed the sign-ups, will you do another swap?

It depends on how this one goes!  I'm having fun and my hair isn't on fire (yet).  This is the first time I've ever hosted - or participated - in a internet based swap so lots to learn.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Collecting Rainbows

It's official.  I'm officially collecting rainbow fabric and thread.

First up - no plan yet for this charm pack and set of perle cotton.  For now, I will enjoy just looking at it.

Alison Glass's latest line - Sun Print 2018 - was just calling my name when I went into my local fabric store.  I ended up buying 4 yards - 6'' each of every color.  (Yes, this store is awesome - they sell by the inch!) 

What can you do with a 6'' cut?  Well, that's wide enough to cut a 5 1/2'' square for making 4-at-a-time flying geese. It also works perfectly to cut squares to make 2 1/2''  HST.

I'll be playing more with this fabric at an upcoming guild retreat.  So fun!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Creating a temperature quilt

I've always wanted to make a temperature quilt - using fabric colors to record the high temperature each day.  (Google temperature quilts to see some great ideas.)   I decided to start one for 2018 and use hexies.  I looked through my solids and then assigned a specific color to a specific temperature range.

The dark, dark purple for temps <=20 all the way to a dark, dark red for temps >95.  (I expect I'll need a few dark, dark reds.) The rest of the colors represent a 5 degree range as shown in the photo above.

My husband is an Atmospheric Scientist and often looks at weather maps where colors represent temperature spreads.  He reviewed my color spread, made a minor adjustment and then gave it a thumbs up.

I've been working on the month of January.  All the hexies are made and I'm in the process of sewing together the two long chains - one for Jan 1-15 (bottom one) and the other for Jan 16 - 31.

More on the layout once I've got some more done.

This is a fun project and I'm excited to see how this is going to end up.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Mini Bags

Aren't these fun?  These were recently gifted.   They finish at 5'' x 4''  - see tutorial.

I'm just in love with this bag made from the latest Alison Glass line and will need to make another one of these for me.

I'll be linking up my bags with  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

EPP - My projects

Last summer, I bought a giant mini-charm pack that contained all of the colors of the Paintbrush Studios solids line.  What did I do with it?  I made hexies!  And then made more hexies using a not-quite-as-giant mini charm pack of another fabric line.

I'm sewing them together in a circle, randomly pulling each hexie as I go.  I'm quite happy with the results.  This currently measures roughly 14'' square with about 50 hexies yet to attach. (Here is what it looked like mid-January.)   I've got a plan.  We'll see if it makes sense once I get all of the hexies added!

I've been wanting to try a shape that wasn't a hexie.    This is my version of the beautiful block called Dresden's Dreaming (pattern here) from Aurifil's 2018 BOM.

I used scraps and really like my sunflower.  I've not yet cut the background down to a square because I am thinking about adding a stem and leaves and making this a mini quilt.  I'll be linking up my sunflower block here.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Valentines - Put a Little Love in It Blog Hop

(Click here for One Monthly Goal February Link-up)

Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  This year, I decided to send each of my Valentine's a fabric postcards.  This mini quilts - 4 x 6'' - are fun and fast to make.

You can do some for kids. I fussy cut the robot and the birds from other fabric and used my FMQ foot for some raw edge applique.  The message for the back?  What about "You are out of this world" for the robot or "Owl be your Valentine" for the owls!

Try some improv - I made this one from bright, bright pink fabric scraps.

Machine or hand-quilt them, or do both!  My star is hand-quilted and I did a combination of machine and hand quilting on one of the hearts.

Have I convinced you yet to give one a try?

There are lots of ways to make this little postcards - here is a brief tutorial on how I made mine.


Ingredients:

• a 4 x 6'' mini quilt (or slightly larger if you plan dense quilting
• (2) pieces of fusible fleece, cut slightly larger than 4 x 6''
• (1) piece of stabilizer (example), 4 x 6''
• (1) piece of white backing fabric, 4 x 6''

Starting with a mini quilt and fusible fleece slightly larger than the finish size gives you the opportunity to trim your piece after quilting.

Follow manufacturer's directions, iron the (2) pieces of fusible fleece to the wrong side of your mini quilt.  Quilt by machine and / or by hand.

 Make a sandwich with the quilt as the top layer, the stabilizer in the middle and white backing fabric as the third layer.

Secure with binding clips and then use a zigzag stitch on your machine to sew around all four sides.  I set my stitch length to 5 (width) and 0.5 (stitch length) to get the coverage on the edge that I wanted.

Trim any stray threads.   Flip the postcard over and write your Valentine message!

You can mail these cards as regular postcards (check with your post office for the right postage) or slip them in an envelope and mail them with a regular first class stamp.

Now enjoy a piece of chocolate and go visit the other quilters that I am sharing today with!

Life in the Scrapatch

Freemotion by the River

Marjorie's Busy Corner

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Vroomans Quilts

That Fabric Feeling

It’s A T-Sweet Day!

Elm Street Quilts

Thanks Carol at Just Let Me Quilt for organizing a fun hop!

I'll be linking up my Valentines with  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Needle and Thread Thursdays, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

One Monthly Goal February Goal Setting

Welcome to February!  We had 169 (wow!) projects linked up in January - let's see if we can beat that this month!

New to One Monthly Goal?  Welcome!  To join, share a photo of your project, some words about what you want to accomplish in a blog post, an Instagram post (tutorial) or a post on Flickr.  Return t the end of the month and share your results.  You can read about the event and the rules on the main event page.

We have wonderful sponsors this month - three (3) winners will be randomly chosen from those that link up in both the goal and the finish event.  Plus anyone linking up will earn an entry for the bonus prize.  (Bonus prize to be awarded in April - you can earn up to 3 entries by joining the link-ups January through March.) 

Fat Quarter Shop offers a tremendous selection of fabric, notions, books and just about anything you will need for your project. Consider their Sew Sampler box to receive a monthly surprise delivery of fabric and fun.   Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate to one lucky participant.

Make Modern is a digital magazine launched by a collaboration of quilters based in Australia. Their magazine is filled with modern quilt designs and a wonderful source of inspiration. Make Modern is offering a 6 month subscription to one lucky participant.

Aurifil is home to a beautiful rainbow of thread in all weights, perfect for any of your sewing and quilting needs.  My favorite product is the designer collection boxes which coordinate with various fabric lines.  Aurifil is offering a thread set for the first quarter bonus prize.

Photo credit to Christa Watson
Photo sourced from ChristaQuilts.com

Christa Watson from Christa Quilts is our featured designer for February.  Christa is an award winning quilter, a teacher, a quilt designer, and an author.  

With the release of her first fabric line, Modern Marks, and a second under development, Christa is also a fabric designer.  Pictured on left is Christa showing off her new fabric line at October Quilt Market in both the quilts that surround her and the shirt she is wearing!

Christa loves to teach and inspire quilters to make their own quilts from start to finish.  She is passionate about teaching quilters to quilt on their domestic sewing machine.  Perhaps you've been lucky enough to have taken a class from her at a quilting or guild event? as well as on Craftsy. Her blog and Facebook page have multiple tutorials.

Christa is currently running a QAL for her quilt Squiggles - a pattern from her latest book Piece and Quilt with Pre-Cuts. 

Photos and quilt credit to Christa Watson, sourced from ChristaQuilts.com
(top) Colorful Chevrons, Facets, Modern Puzzle (bottom) Modern Logs, Squiggles

Photo sourced from We All Sew

Christa is offering one lucky winner a copy of one of her books - winner's choice!  (For a US winner, the book will be a signed hardcopy;  an international winner will get a digital copy.)

You can visit Christa on her blog, on Instagram, and on Facebook.  Find her patterns in her store. Also, checkout her fabric store, The Precut Store.  Her books are available from Amazon.  Learn more about Christa on this great article on We All Sew.  This article includes several free patterns including Modern Puzzle pictured in the above collage.

My goal for February is to get back to work on my "Small Blocks and Scraps" quilt top - it needs a decision about borders, needs to be basted and the quilting started!

Now it is your turn to link up - what is your goal for February?  (A goal could be to finish a quilt but it could also be to attach a binding.  Whatever it takes to help you move forward and make progress on your projects!  And as long as the project involves a needle and/or fabric, you can link up!)

Make sure you visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags. 

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month.   (The One Monthly Goal accomplishment linkup will be available on February 23.)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can find the OMG link-up from your blog.   Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal February Linkup.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sign up to receive email notifications when the One Monthly Goal linkup is open.  Think of it as a helpful reminder!  

Thanks for linking up!

Have a wonderful day! Patty