Finished It Friday

I just completed a big postcards order for the SK Craft Council.  Believe it or now, these are my Prairie Postcards #308 to #321.  Yes.  That is how many I have made: THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ONE stitched prairie scenes @ 4x6 inches.

I absolutely love making and teaching Quilted Postcards.  I'm not picky.  I will use any fabric that works, from hand dyes to commercial prints.  We had a lot of fun making them in Melfort last weekend.  I chose the topic I Love Spring and someone said, 'I prefer fall.'  lol  And so I quickly amended the theme to be My Favourite Season.  That resulted in a couple people choosing winter.  So there...  I'm not the only one.  : )

I meant to have these ready for Mother's Day at the Boutique but life and health got in the way.  I was pretty sick for 10 days.  I missed celebrating my birthday and I lost my voice as well.  I really hope that I didn't pass that bug on to anyone who took last weekends classes!

I really like this batch of landscapes.  They were easy to do after the drive home.  I was feeling so inspired.  These mini landscapes are a perfect way to simplify.   It was really nice to have a couple hours on the highway again.  I miss that.

Now I'll pack these up and run them down to the SCC Boutique on Broadway in Saskatoon.  If there's one here you particularly like, let me know quick and I can hold it back for you.  I sell them for $28.  The are not framed but do look terrific that way! : )

* * * For anyone who happens to be on Flickr, you are more than welcome to add your Postcard photos to the pool HERE.  You might also enjoy clicking on that link to take in all the eye candy.   There's a great batch of fibre art there.

If you want to hear the radio show I was referring to in class, that is with Brandy Lynn Maslowski / Canadian Quilt Talk Radio HERE.  I've linked specifically to the Postcards podcast, but she has so many to listen through as well.  Brandy is from BC and was recently in Moose Jaw as a quilt judge!  She also caught the Quilted Postcard bug and runs swaps now and then.

Next - to get on with awaiting commissions.  I have four to get to!  2 are small and 2 are bigger.  (I THANK EACH OF YOU for your patience.)  Onward!

Have a lovely weekend everyone, and good health to you.

Things I Love Thursdays

I love winter.  I love the colours and the textures.  I love the sparkle.  I love the silence.

I love the elegant sunrises and sunsets we've been enjoying.  They've inspired a lot of new work.

I love the softness of this new set.  The ones I made last summer were vibrant and full of funky commercial prints.  These are full of hand dyed pastel coloured fabrics my pal Dahn custom made for me.  We barter.  I have amazing fabrics from her and I love to look for wee pieces to cut out that would be perfect on a postcard.  I love the challenge of finding just the perfect little parts.  There are four fabrics layered on this next one.  I love the hint of clouds placed so low.  I think this next one is my favourite out of this batch.

p.s.  I have a monitor that is not colour-set properly, so please let me know if they look more grey or yellow or pink to you.

If you happen to love postcard making, there's a flickr group I put together here for anyone to join.  There's a tutorial up in my tabs across the tops of the blog.  And there's postcard supplies here.  

Have a great Thursday!

By The Light of the Moon

I felt inspired this week to include the moon in my postcards!  As it turns out, there happens to be a Lunar Eclipse today, known as the Blood Mood because of the beautiful red it will be!  If you've never seen a lunar eclipse, you must check it out.  I've see a few and they are so amazing - but again, you need to be patient.  It's a long process.

As for my postcards, here are a few of my favourites. I'm nearing #300 with these few dozen new ones.  Isn't that amazing!?  They are all signed and numbered on the backs.  I listed a small handful of them in Etsy in my shop.  The rest are destined for the SK Craft Council Boutique in Saskatoon and the Mackenzie Gallery Shop in Regina.  Some will also be included in the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra's fundraiser!  I'll be sending them all off this week.  There aren't eclipsed moons in these, but I do love the delicate while slivers in the sky.  : )

 I am digging purple lately, can't you tell!?  ; )

Snow.  I know.  It's not here yet.  But I think winter nights are beautiful.  That particular scene is similar to the one chosen by the Broadway area MLA for her greeting cards last year.

They really make me happy.  I think you might expect more purple in my upcoming commissions. ; )

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday @ TN&TN.  You can get to my Etsy shop via the right sidebar of my blog.  The Etsy pics are linked.

Have a beautiful day - and don't forget to moongaze. xo

Finished it Friday

Check this out!  Saturday only, in Rouleau from 9am to 12 noon you can get your postcards hand stamped by Canada Post with this!

Dog River Days on Facebook made this announcement : )

So - on that day from 11 to 4, I will have paper postcards ($1), blank greeting cards ($10), and quilted Prairie Postcards ($28) ready to go.  How cool is that?  Here are some of the cards I have packaged up...

...from dreamy and smokey

to hot and bright...

 ...big, big sky with lots of day-dreamy-ness.  ; )

and of course, when you think of prairie summer, how can you not think LAKE!  : )

I had so much fun working with these commercial batiks and odd prints.  Can you get over the numbers?  I am completed card #245.  All cards are #'d and labelled on the backs with a pretty Postcard stamp.  I still have a stray #9 card in my sewing room.  That's shocking, hey?!  245... and no two alike.  I do love me some prairie.

see you on the flipside...

In Production - Preparing for Dog River

No finishes this week!  I did start a whole new batch of Wish You Were Here Prairie Postcards for my trip down to Dog River Days in Rouleau.  I hope to fill my whole spinning display rack with these new, happy summer cards.  This batch is very SUN-SHINY, bright, and joyful.

I've been playing around with commercial batik prints and having a blast!  So far, I only have some bare-bones compositions put together.  I love them.  I'll have to think about how I'll free motion & embellish these.

Then I stopped to spend some 'conference teaching time' with a student on Skype.  It was great!  It was a follow-up from the last class I did.  Her audio crapped out at the end which was unfortunate.  But - we did it and she said she was very happy & would do it again any time.  It was quite easy to just set up my laptop near my machine.  She paid the same as all the other students & and I sent some kit materials to her in the mail.

Skyping with someone on the east coast.

It is pretty amazing what we can do these days.  Today was quite humerous.  Once we were on, her dog began to bark.  Then my dog began to bark.  Then my daughter came home with a friend.  Then the dogs barked some more.  Then my boys returned home with more kids to play with.  haha.  Well... it is summer holidays.  I'll be Skype-teaching more once I'm settled in to my new space & the kids are in school.

I can't wait! 

And then I continued to put together a few more card designs.  I totally dig these!!

HAPPY SUMMER
XO

Friday Finish

Here's a second little 'In Bloom' that I made up.  It's 5x5", just like the commission that went to New Zealand.

In Bloom Again, 2014

It doesn't have the water that the original did.  Also, the trees are birches and I did the leaves a little differently.

detail of In Boom Again, 2014

Also, the new postcards are ready!!  : )))  That's exciting.  I personally love this set.  You can find them on Etsy in my shop (linked), or on Flickr in the Fibre Art Postcards group.  All are available and shipping is free.  Right now Etsy is having a promotion too.  First time shoppers get $5 off.  That's pretty cool!  Coupon thingy is here:  $5.oo off

This feels good.  I love when things are complete.  !  : )

See you tomorrow,

A New Palette

I am working on a stack of new postcards again as I am running low.  I started mixing ambers and browns with pinks and purples and ooooh, loving it so much!

I think all the pre-green prairie spring colors have absolutely inspired this.

Lily of the Valley...   waiting.

I have been noticing more pink in the skies at each dawn and each dusk.  I am surprised to feel a renewed passion and joy for these horizontal colour combinations.  After this batch I will be well past 200 'Wish You Were Here' prairie postcards.  There are no two alike.  There are colour combos I haven't even made yet.  Who knows how long I can make these and they continue to be 'uncharted' as far as my work goes.

These new mini-landscapes are not stitched yet - but what do you think about these colours!?  How do they make you feel?

I personally love how this set glows even though the colors are so soft and gentle.  : )

Happy Spring to you!

More Prairie Postcards - 'Wish You Were Here'

I am glad I numbered these from the beginning!  I am now up to 112 cards.  I had no idea I would make this many mini-art-quilts and there's no way I could come up with a different title for each.  All have my name & the # of the series on the backs.  : )  All are simple with one horizontal line.  All are different.  I suppose that's fascinating in and of itself!

pink

blue - love the lake!

pink

I'm nearly ready for next weekend's group show.  Art at Agar's is 11am to 5pm, just east of Saskatoon on Saturday, September 21st only.  I still have a few meetings, classes to teach, and a grade 2 field trip to go to all this week, so I need to call it quits on creating and just wrap things up for now.  I'm going to head out and do a little pre-winter shopping this afternoon with my kids.  They all need new winter boots.  I know it's early - but once the snow flies, all the moms will flock to the stores & there will be nothing left in the sizes we need.  Yesterday day was absolutely sweltering hot.  I know we'll have a great selection of boots to look through! : )

talk soon,

Sunday... in my studio.

To be honest, I've been parked in my studio for days from morning to night.  Friday in my studio.  Saturday in my studio.  Sunday... in my studio.  I've been working on piles and piles of postcards.  Piles and piles...  I plan to have them at Waterfront in June!

Two years ago, I made my first postcards ever.  They were a set of four - one of each season on the prairies.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time, but I naively entered them into the big Dimensions show put on by the provincial craft council.  Shortly after that, I got my first rejection letter.  : )  They were very kind.  I still have it somewhere.  The first line read, "Dear Ms. Kinner-Whalen, Thank you for being so brave."  LOL  It was terrific.  I sold them in dollar-store shadow boxes for $30 each at the Centre Galleries just weeks later.  Ever since then, I've wanted to keep making more.  They are simple, quilted, with no fancy embroidery.  I named the set, "Wish You Were Here". 

Wish You Were Here #1

Now I have several dozen more.  They will all be labelled "Wish You Were Here," with an accompanying number.  Each one is different, and each one is special with some pretty aspect about it.  They are a standard 4x6 and will all have be satin stitched along the edges.  Waterfront Craft Fair is specifically for Saskatchewan Craft Council members and I was told it is free for first time artists.  Sounds like a good opportunity to learn how to do a market.

I love postcards!  They are addictive to make, very creatively stimulating, and always warmly welcomed in this day and age of e-mail, FB status updates, and tweets.  : )

Spring Bunnies, 2010  (swapped @ PostCard Cottage)

Happy Sunday!