The Best Kind of Mail...

Three exciting pieces of mail art arrived here today. All are from the postcard mail art swap conducted by Lenna at Creative Swaps this summer. In fact, "A Summer's Day" was the theme for this swap.

Sarah Boblit, Iowa, did an impressive amount of hand embroidery and beading on her post card, above, titled "A Summer's Day in August". It's criss-crossed with sheer ribbons, and loaded with French knots and seed beads, which give lovely texture. A hand-dyed fabric stitched in place creates the smooth edge finish.

This altered-image postcard is from Valeri-Jael Tups in Germany. She added to the original lighthouse image, using stamps, stickers, inking, and vintage collage images. You can see more of her work here.

The two maidens in "Summer Flowers" came all the way from Donna Parker's colorful studio in Mexico. She stitched the vintage Belgian flower girl images to a fabric background and added stamping.

Even the backs of the cards are interesting to look at. Lenna mailed each postcard directly through the mail. Sarah's was enclosed in a clear protector because of all the texture and fabric it contains. But none are worse for their travels.

All lovely, and all very much appreciated. Lenna's swaps are great fun, and provide a way to stretch a little bit to try a new technique or two. Just look at the variety of mixed media methods on display in these three post cards! The cards I sent were shown in the blog entries from August. What will Lenna come up with next??

Get Yourself an Outfit...

Notice a trend in these photos? It's not enough that I love making quilts. I apparently am compelled to carry the passion for quilts into all phases of my life. In an "oops, I did it again" moment, I went shopping for clothing and brought home yet another garment, shown above, that looks like a quilt. I'm drawn to them. Especially if they're on sale!

A quick inventory of the closet revealed this somewhat disturbing truth. It seems that I often dress like a quilt. It happened quite gradually, and yet these four ready-to-wear garments are just the tip of the iceberg. There's more. Tops, jackets, even purses Lots more!

My consciousness of this trend was first raised when I wore the Crazy Quilt vest below, and people asked me if I'd made it. I gave the standard quilter's answer of "No, but I could have."

It all puts me in mind of the parody of the song titled "The Cowboy's Lament", that starts out "As I walked out in the streets of Laredo....". My version goes like this, to that tune:

I can see by your outfit that you are a quilter.

You can see by my outfit that I am a quilter, too.

We can see by our outfits that we are all quilters.

Get yourself an outfit and be a quilter, too!

Ain't she sweet....

Look what happens when the sewing room gets a clean-out. I came across the pattern for this little doll while going through my pattern file. I've kept the pattern, and kept it, and kept it some more. It's dated Mary's Patterns, 1991, so after 20 years, it seemed time to finally make one of these!

Because I collect vintage textiles, there are a few pretty hankies in the mix. They're perfect to make the pinafore the floral fairy doll wears, like the one Angelica (that's her name) is modeling above. I decided against the wings, for now at least. She needs some beading at the neckline, so that's on the to-do list. The tiny rose is pinned on for the moment. How come the things I make are so often not quite "done"?



Also, Angelica needs more blush. You can hardly see that she's wearing any, which is my style. But not hers. So I'm going to have to buy make up for her. Unless you have any thoughts on what else might pink up her cheeks a bit more. Since she has no features other than eyes, her cheeks are quite important. Maybe colored pencil?

I've got more hankies, so Angelica may get some friends. She'd like that. Then the pattern will go back in the file so I can keep it, and keep it, and keep it some more.