Blue Moon Fabric Postcards

April 2018

Sheree McKee
sewfabsew.blogspot.com


KISS was my main objective - Keep It Simple Sheree - only because it was March Madness season and the University of Michigan was in the NCAA basketball playoffs.  

My husband travels all the time for work.  He was finally home and enjoying the playoffs from the comfort of his leather recliner.  Since our lower level family room is next to my sewing studio, I decided to join him during three of the most important games.  (In the past, I've escaped to my creative haven, and just yell out.... "What's the Score"?

Ahead of time, I fused the crescent moons to backgrounds and Peltex stabilizer.  This Blue Moon Swap was primarily handwork.  Each fabric postcard took approximately 2-3 hours of stitching.

I brought out my collection of "Bobbles, Beads, Trinkets, Charms, Buttons" to a TV tray.  I also pulled out my magnifier head-gear.  It was a real challenge... threading a delicate beading needle... in a dimly lit room.  Our dog, bumped into my setup several times, and I had tiny beads flying all over! 

Hand sewing from a comfy chair is not that easy when you are waxing threads,  picking up little beads with a needle tip, and getting your thread caught on dimensional charms and objects.

In reality, I had to work on these FPC on several additional days - during decent daylight, while sitting at a well lit table. 

I also played with a new way to label - Using small rubber stamps and 3/8" satin ribbon I was able to create a stamped and folded title label.  

I think I've decided to rename my postcards Blue Moons Be-Jeweled.

I have this headband magnifier with 4 changeable lens,
unfortunately it is not marked with the manufacturer identity

Review: 5 Best Headband Magnifiers

by Most Craft

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From Tammy A. in Pennsylvania -
Her very first postcard swap with our PostCardMailArt Yahoo Group
And she did a great job! A charming landscape!

From Dr. Amy S. in Virginia -
She titled this Moonlight Dancing Diva, and it has a lot
of sparkle in reality, that doesn't show up in the photo.
And there are some unique lacey wings!

From Jeanette S. in Idaho -
A beautiful abstract using dyed fabrics 

You might enjoy this LINK to a previous post on Paisley Project Postcards

Spring Landscapes 2018 Critique

Sheree McKee
April 2018
SewFabSew.blogspot.com

Spring Landscapes 2018 Critique

I'm not ashamed to critique my own work.  I learn from it.  One of the reasons, I rarely create identical fabric postcards is because I learn something from each progression of construction.

To begin, my Spring Landscape swap was inspired by a screenshot on my iMac computer -as seen above.  I fell in love with the clear and sharply focused reflections in the water.  

The colors were soft hues of pink and plum.  

Attempt #1
Purple / Aqua
My tree line fabric did not have enough contrast on the right side. It blended into the purple mountains behind.  I used a triple stitch of variegated thread for defining the water waves.  I regret using a too wide satin stitch to define the ground. This sky is an iridescent watercolor fabric with a touch of sparkle.  My favorite part is the corded edging.

Attempt #2
Purple / Lime Green
I reversed the layout by moving large mountains to opposite side.  I used a lime green tree line for more contrast.  I switched to a decorative stitch that look like spiked bushes at the groundline. I felt the water needed to be milky so I added a single layer of sparkle organza.  Then I used a wave stitch and changed the length for each row of stitching so all the waves were not evenly spaced.  The sparkle organza looks better in reality, than in this photo. The sky fabric has metallic silver circles which represent swirls of wind.

Attempt #3
Orange / Green
I found some orange fish fabric and thought it would make a great lake.  Of course, a reflection of the sunny sky.   This time, I layered some peach colored bridal tulle over the water, to mute the water.  I don't like my choice of straight stitching along the green mountain tops and really should have used a different stitch. I used a dark green corded edge, but it really isn't even noticed.

Attempt #4
Orange / Green
My blanket stitch on hills better represents blades of grass.  But I messed up, by using two layers of aqua organza on the water.  The two layers are too opaque to see the fish in water, they are lost.  If you notice the corded edge...  I tied random knots in the cording to add a unique texture along the outer edges, but this is very hard to stitch.  It is hard to get the presser foot over the lumps evenly.

Miriam from Ireland
Created a landscape of the historic Poulnabrone Dolmen, a Celtic tomb
in Ireland.  She cleverly used a frayed fabric to create grass, and
a layer of tulle for texture on the ground.

Sue B from California
Created a seascape landscape.  The seagrass and flowers are free-motion stitched. The watercolor sky and background remind me of Diamond Head volcano in Hawaii