When the Christmas season arrived a year ago I wanted to do something to express my appreciation to my customers. I thought that there must some kind of clever Christmas card that I could send. Unfortunately, I could not find anything that fit the bill so just sent regular Christmas cards to wish my customers a Merry Christmas and thank them for their business in 2016.
This year, towards the end of September, I happened upon just the idea that I had been searching for. As I was traveling to Auburn one day I was listening to a podcast by Pam and Lynn of The Stitch TV Show. Lynn was describing the fabric postcards that she makes. Perfect! I listened to that portion of the podcast again when I got home and took notes so that I would be able to construct these postcards when I found a few spare moments.
Several weeks later I found the opportunity to try my hand at making these cute little postcards. I first assembled the materials that I would need: small pieces of batting, scraps of Christmas fabric from my stash, rick-rack, and 4” x 6” index cards. Next I cut several pieces of batting about 6” x 8” and took them to my sewing machine along with strips of Christmas fabric. I began by sewing the fabric to the batting in a log cabin pattern until I had filled the batting. Then I centered the index card to the back and attached it with a blanket stitch. The final step was to trim close to the stitching.
After making several log cabin post cards — which are a bit time consuming — I found some strips of Christmas fabric that I had already sewn together and had left over from another project. I cut them to size, layered the batting on the back, and then added rick-rack in the seams to secure the two layers. On others I added some decorative stitching with rayon thread. These were then finished in the same way as the previous postcards.
I was really hoping to be able to send these through the mail like postcards, but the post office claims that they aren’t flat enough and I would need to at least put them in an envelope. I just hope that works as this was just the kind of clever idea that I was searching for - a cute way to thank my customers for their business in 2017 and Happy Quilting in the New Year!
Update on a previous blog — I purchased a new domestic sewing machine a few weeks ago! After talking to several vendors when we were in Paducah, KY for AQS QuiltWeek, I decided that the Bernina 350 PE would work quite well for my needs. Since my present Bernina was being held together by glue and duct tape, it was definitely time to get ready for a replacement. I had not intended to purchase a new machine until next spring as I thought my old machine would last at least that long, but I was seeing a price for the 350 that I just could not pass up. Next I had to decide where to make my purchase. That came down to basically two choices — Quilt Stitches in Beatrice who just recently began stocking Berninas and the new Bernina store in Lincoln. I ultimately decided on Quilt Stitches as I wanted to give them some business and I am also hoping that their repairman will be able to get my machine serviced in a more timely manner than what I generally experience in Lincoln. Now I just need to find a little more time to spend playing with my new machine!!
