Saturday, August 26

A New Project - Postage Stamp Quilts

One of those days while browsing the images on Pinterest I happened to come across postage stamp quilts and this got me thinking. 
I like to work with paper as much as I like to work with fabric and with my tiny collection of postage stamps I decided to use them to make an actual postage stamp quilt.   
.First Step: Sort through stamps. I found stamps to be clustered together and it was just a couple which were individual stamps which had sufficient paper of the envelope on all four sides.
So with one stamp I just tore the paper away so I had this uneven edge and did a simple blanket stitch all around.
With two others I used a metal scale as a guide and tore the envelope paper away on all four sides. I got a frayed edge but it was a straight edge rather than an uneven edge.
For the sake of symmetry and else of joining the stamps together I decided to go along with the second method.  
Step 2 : Soak  all stamps clustered together or with insufficient paper on all four sides in water. 
 
Step 3 : Remount dried stamps on discarded envelopes. Stitch around each stamp with blanket stitch and I put the name of the person from whom I got a card or letter. I've decided I'll put down the country as well.
A wealth of inspiration on Pinterest

There are so many ideas I'd like to try but unfortunately I don't have sufficient stamps to try them out with.
I've put the word out to family to collect any and every stamp that they or their friends and colleagues get and can spare and send them to me.
Would you like to contribute postage stamps to my project? Leave a comment and I'll share my postal address with you.
I'll put your name and the country you are from on the reverse. It will be very interesting to see the reverse of the finished quilt. A patchwork pattern of colours. 
I'll wait until the end of October to lay out all that I receive before I start the composition of my first quilt.A small baby quilt. It would be great to make one with flowers, or birds. 
In the meantime I'll be working on the stamps I have and what I can gather locally.

A long weekend here in India. Have a great week.

Wednesday, August 16

Irreverent quotes

I've been in the habit of scribbling down quotes in notebooks since I was in school. Never did anything with them. My mother is discovering them now when she flips through the odd book she finds.
Once I discovered embroidered cushions with irreverent quotes on Pinterest I decided I was going to embroider quotes irreverent, sarcastic or otherwise and get them framed.   
 This will be an ongoing project.
I intend getting them framed.Let's see if I can find some place to display and sell them here in Coonoor. No stores or galleries in this town.
I have a glass fronted cupboard in our B n B where I'll put them for our guests to view and hopefully they will want to buy. At present the cupboard is bare. Need to  stitch a little quicker I think.
Have a good week.

Wednesday, August 9

July just flashed past

July went by in a flash. 
 Got to spend quality time with my family. Drinking tea and eating breakfast on the verandah at my mother's place is something my sister and I cherish. We colour a page in the colouring book, read the newspaper, are delighted by the antics of the cats or kittens. Neighbours drop in , I do origami with the flyers in the newspaper.
 
Rusty, the cat at my mum's place had a litter. Meet the kittens Google ( under the leaf) and Safari(. with paw extended)
I've made progress on my 1 year of stitches project.
In other exciting news I have been interviewed by Sharon B of Pintangle and the interview can be read here. This interview is part of a series of interviews which will run in 2017 as part of the Take A Stitch Tuesday which has been running for a decade. Thank you Sharon for your generosity and for getting me started on blogging.
See you more often in August than we did in July. I hope to be more disciplined and get back to posting more often.

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