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The rest of the postcards and a hack

12/7/2020

 
I did it! I finished all the postcards! It's actually 79, not 80 but I'm not going to be short. There are a couple of people on last year's list that aren't on this year's. Not because I suddenly dislike them but because they moved, or, sadly, died.
​After all of the agony and angst, I'm actually happier with this batch of cards than any year before. I like all 3 designs equally.
Christmas fabric postcard
Here's the second design. I suppose it can be called an abstract tree. The background is a fabric that I think was called Mirror Ball and it's got just the right amount of sheen. I cut out diamond shapes from batik and fused them down. I picked up the Merry Christmas ribbon at one of the craft stores. The stitching is silver metallic thread.
christmas fabric postcard
I think the final count on these was 22. I'm not about to get up out of this chair to go count.
Christmas fabric postcard
The third set are really cute Gingerbread Men. I picked a plaid background for the look of a kitchen towel or tablecloth. Mottled hand dyed fabric was perfect for the cookies (or biscuits for my UK friends). The shape came from Electric Quilt. I took their Gingerbread applique and sized it for a postcard. It distorted the head a little so I just had to fix that before making my cardboard template.

The arm and leg icing is a very narrow ric rac. I have a shoebox of vintage ric rac that comes in handy from time to time. This was one of those times. The face and buttons are paint. I did some in white and some in colors and a few of the mouths are "o" shaped because they are afraid of being eaten. I wish I had "taken a bite" out of a couple of them. My brothers would get a kick out of that.

christmas fabric postcard
Here they are after painting. This picture reminds me of gingerbread on a cookie sheet. There are 20 of these cards.
Picture
Here's the stack of 79 cards ready for a hand-cramping session of addressing. Before I get to these I have a few Christmas gifts that need to get made before Friday. I expect I'll address these this coming weekend and get them in the mail on the 14th. That's plenty of time!

And now for my hack!

After I finished these I shortened some sleeves on some new long sleeved tshirts that I bought and then I started cleaning up the serger to put away. It was a linty mess and I was trying to use cotton swabs and brushes. I used to have one of these mini-vacuum attachment kits but it never fit any vacuum that I owned so it was useless and was thrown out ages ago. I wondered if I couldn't hack one of my own.
Picture
I had this attachment from an old vacuum that I use in the basement. I never use the attachment so I tested and it fits the upstairs vacuum. I cut off the brush stuff.  Then I found this hose in the cabinet of leftover hardware and stuff. It turns out that cabinet has a TON of weather stripping for some reason. I can't even think where we have used any of it and have no idea why we have so much of it.  Probably need to do a purge down there sometime. Anyway, this tubing was in there so I cut a length and it just fit inside the attachment.
Picture
That tube wasn't going to be small enough to fit in the small areas of the sewing machines. I solved that with another length of a narrower tubing that fit perfectly inside the big one.
​Duct tape is so awesome.
Picture
The old attachment fits right on the end of the vacuum extension thingy. It's not pretty but I've always been a function-over-form girl.
Picture
This hack functions perfectly! Look at that beautiful clean serger! I'll be using this on all my machines as soon as the Christmas sewing rush is over. 

Now I'm working on coiled coaster sets, you know, the ones that are fabric wrapped around clothesline. My friend, Estelle, makes lots of these as a fundraiser for the Virginia Quilt Museum. She's right when sewing them is like eating potato chips. You just can't stop! It's such a zen activity. I made 2 sets earlier this year and another last night. I want to get 2 more made by Friday and that shouldn't be a problem at all.
Karen link
12/7/2020 10:43:25 am

I love your hack vac! if it does the job is all that counts right. I can see brothers getting a kick out of a ginger bread man that has a bite out of it. Good job on all those cards.

Kristin F
12/7/2020 11:39:57 am

Very clever hack! I'm function over form too, especially for footwear.

Mary Anne
12/7/2020 12:19:41 pm

You've proven the old adage that necessity is the mother of invention - great hack! And your postcard series(ssss) for the year are all great and I'm not at all sure I could pick a favourite. I'm very curious about the coiled project - I love the look but I'm terrified to try it on my machine for fear it (pardon the expression) buggers it up. If I had a backup machine I might be convinced to try it, but the thought of trying to stitch through that much thickness is too scary, particularly when this machine groans at any more than three layers of denim.

patty
12/7/2020 05:11:04 pm

Those postcards turned out fabulous! Those gingerbread ones are so cute! Love your hack. Duct tape and some plastic tubing - bam!

Gene Black
12/8/2020 08:35:12 am

The postcards look great. And the hack is brilliant for anyone with a serger. Mine is so messy when I use it too.

Laceflower
12/8/2020 05:25:30 pm

The Gmen are so cute and thanks for reminding me about the applique in EQ8. I made some cards with birds, bells and leaves. I'm glad I didn't have to make 79!!

Alycia Quilts link
12/8/2020 06:06:22 pm

These are just adorable!!! I love them all! and your hack.. now that's pretty nifty!!!


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    About Vicki

    I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here.

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      • Painted Shower Curtain Tutorial
      • Metallic Paint Effects on Fabric
      • Curing Metallic Fabric Paints
      • Zentange Pens
      • Leaf Printing Tutorial
      • Printing On Fabric
      • Life of MX Dye Concentrates
      • Testing Soda Ash in fabric dyeing
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