I'm sure you've heard the song, "Stuck on You", right? Well, I'm stuck on making these ladies, I think. I do have some other obligations that I've taken on with more swapping, and projects, but until I get these ladies out of my head, and the ones I promised other people finished, I just can't seem to move on. Today, I'm going to introduce you to my friend, Susie. Susie is #8 in my Ladies Series and truly is a dear friend of mine. (She's also a dear friend of, Shirley, who you met in the last post.) Susie does not live in Siberia, though (like Shirley does). She actually is only about 5 minutes away from me. LOL I had a heck of a time with Susie. I drew her 3 times and literally gave up. I could not get her right for love or $$. When I showed her my last attempt, she said she looked better on the drawing and to make her like that so I did. LOL So this is her (or at least how she'd like to look): That, of course, was in process. I should show you the drawing first, I suppose: And the finished product: Susie is a lover of Kaffe fabrics and uses them a lot in her personal sewing. Incidentally, she works at Patched Works in Elm Grove, so go see her and tell her that you met her here. She'll flip! Check out her eyes, which are blue/brown. Then, next is Annie, who is #9 on our hit parade list of ladies. Annie is really freezeframe03. You probably will find real photos of her in her Flickr stream. But here she is in fabric. First the procedure: And now for the rest: Seriously, Annie is really that blond, which makes it hard to see against the white background, but after she received herself in the mail today, she told me that she is going to outline stitch around her hair to make it more noticeable. I can't wait to see what she does. Incidentally, Annie has a blog and it's on my blog list, so go check her out. She's really funny! So there you have it. More ladies and I know you're probably really getting sick of them by now. After all I'm thinking it's close to a month that I have been making them. Only a few to go, I promise! Thanks for your patience.....really!!!!!

Your bright, colorful and quirky designs always inspire me, Carol.

This tutorial has been updated and can be found here: https://freezeframe03.blogspot.com/2021/07/fabric-postcard-tutorial.html I've had several requests to explain how I bind my fabric postcards. So I'm finally getting around to posting a tutorial of my process. You really aren't going to believe how simple this is! But first, you need your postcard front design, a layer of stiff sew-in Peltex, a light to medium weight regular fusible interfacing and a backing to write your message on. Step 1: Create your postcard front design This ice cream cone is paper pieced. When I raw edge applique a design, I use Wonder Under for fusing the pieces together. Lay your design on the Peltex. Pressing them together helps keep the layers together while you top stitch on your design through the Peltex. Now do ALL your stitching before you add the backing. I use a paper backing because I really do mail my postcards and I like that it's easier to write on paper. I also like the security of knowing the stamp will remain on the postcard. However, you certainly can use fabric as your backing. I use Post Card rubber stamps on my backings. You can also just use a marker and write "Post Card" or print the words on your printer. The backing can even be left blank. It's totally a personal preference. Then I fuse the wrong side of the paper with a piece of interfacing. This insures that your paper backing will not fall off after satin stitching the binding. (The sewing perforates the paper) Now lightly glue stick around the outside edges of your backing just enough to stick it to your completed card top., wrong sides together. Edge stitch close to the edge just to keep the layers together while you add the binding. (You don’t see that in the photo because I didn’t use to do that. But have since learned it is very helpful to keep your design from bubbling while gluing the binding on.) Choose your binding fabric and cut a 3/4" strip long enough for all four sides of your card. Press this strip in half lengthwise. I usually cut the short lengths first, then the longer lengths after the short lengths are attached. With a glue stick, run glue along the edge of the paper side or back side of the card. Be careful not to get the glue out farther than the binding will cover. It's just to hold the binding in place until it is sewn down. Place the glued paper side down on one half of the binding. Repeat for the other short side. On the front of your card, run glue along the edge being careful not to extend the glue farther than the binding will cover. Fold over the binding to the front and press it into the glue. Cut binding lengths for the long edges and repeat the glue process first gluing to the back and then to the front. When all the edges have binding glued on, just run the iron over both sides lightly to melt any little glue globs that might have happened. I know you're thinking this is going to gum up your needle...nope!...your needle will not have a clue that it was anywhere near glue. Now we're ready to stitch that binding down permanent. With a straight stitch, back tack to just off the edge. Then stitch forward just to the inside edge of the binding. t Change your stitch to a zigzag. You'll have to find the best satin stitch length for your machine. I set my machine for a width of 3 and just a smidge longer than my preset satin stitch. This now is the reason to fuse interfacing to the back of the paper backing. The satin stitch will perforate the paper. The interfacing assures you that your backing will still remain connected to the card. Satin stitch all the way across to where the binding meets again. Straight stitch to the edge, back tack to the satin stitch, turn your card, repeating the stitching for the first three sides. When I get to the last edge, I pull my starting thread tails across the binding so that they will get stitched into the satin stitching. When I get to the end, I sew several tiny straight stitches along the inside of the satin stitching to finish the sewing. Keep the raw edges at the corners from fraying by adding a tiny bit of fray check along the edge. Not too much, mind you. If the satin stitched binding edges leave little frays sticking out, trim them close. WhaLa...all done! You can view all my fabric postcards displayed as a set in my Flickr photostream here Lots of people like to just satin stitch the raw edges of their layers together. I like the way the binding and contrasting satin stitch frame the little art work within. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may still have. Good mail day to you, Annie

Like so many others, I feel that I have discovered several steps to "easier" paper piecing that I simply must share. I'm much better at teaching in person, so bear with me on this... Are you ready? Would you like to make this? I first discovered paper piecing as a sure way to sew perfect quilt squares with perfect points because I did not at all like the idea of cutting all those little pieces and stitching them together just so and perfectly...I knew that wasn't going to happen. Being inflicted with the "perfectionist" illness without the patience for it, traditional quilt blocks were not going to be in my future. But I also was drawn to how many perfect little cutsie designs could be created with paper piecing. I can applique endlessly, but having the designs with stitched-in seams was very enticing for me. After laying out a small fortune for books and patterns, I was initially disappointed that nothing was coming out perfect! AND, I was spending way too much time with my seam ripper and getting such poor results. However, as usual, persistence pays off and I discovered little secrets and tips that have made paper piecing easier and quite enjoyable. So much so that I've even taught myself to make some of my own patterns. So, without further ado, let's stitch up my ice cream cone pattern. First, get your pattern on paper that you will stitch on. You don't need fancy paper...I use regular 20# copy paper. This pattern is in 4 sections and you may be thinking that it's too complicated for a beginner...NOT!...with my tips for you, there is no such thing as a complicated paper piecing pattern. (At least that's how I feel about it now.) Cut the sections apart...don't be precise, just cut outside the seam allowance line. Gather your fabrics. These can be from your scrap bin or you can make new scraps. I use both, depending on whether I have scraps for my plan or not. This particular pattern needs more background fabric than ice cream fabric so I just have chunks that are large enough for each scoop. But for the background fabric that will require several sections within each section, refer to the next photo. Take note of which background section is the largest and about what size it is at it's widest part. Then add maybe a 1/2" to that measurement and slice a strip off your yardage to use for all your background pieces. Again, no need to be preceise...you'll have the whole lenghth to work with if the short end is not wide enough. Now you're ready to start stitching. Set your machine stitch length for a shorter than usual length. I normally stitch at 2-1/2 so I stitch paper piecing at just under 2. It doesn't matter which section you start with. It only matters that you sew in numerical order with each section. (Even this rule can have exceptions, but for learning purposes, let's stick with the numerical order rule.) Take your cone fabric, lay it wrong side to the plain side of the paper being sure it covers past the cone lines. This is the only time you will want to hold this up to the light to be sure it covers. And you don't need to give a hoot about straight of grain...love that! Next... ...and here's where life gets really easy...(and every section you sew here after will be done this same way)...hold your pattern facing you with the next number section above the previous number section that you placed or just sewed. With your thumbs, mark each end of the sewing line. Fold it forward enough to see that you will place it on the right side of the background fabric strip with enough for a seam allowance showing and that there is still background fabric going past each of your thumbs. You need at least an 1/8" of seam allowance. Everything after that will get cut off. I usually allow about 1/4". Bring everything to your machine (the photo just shows the seam allowance you will have after sewing.) Keeping your pattern and two pieces of fabric in that position lying flat to stitch on the paper pattern line. Now, some patterns end up with a pile of seams all in one place...such as a pinwheel...and you will want to press your seams open rather than to one side. If you want to press them open, you cannot sew all the way across the seam allowance. I always make only one stitch in the seam allowance (this also helps for trimming 1/8" seam allowances which in turn keeps fabric bulk at a minimum. Stitch on the line and at the end, sew only one stitch into the seam allowance. Now for trimming... Flip the sewn section over to the fabric side and trim "all" the fabrics in that seam allowance to 1/8". (Trim them all together, not one at a time) DO NOT CUT THE PAPER! Now here is where I can't believe I didn't take a pressing photo...but open your newly sewn piece and press it back over it's seam allowance. It is said that you only need to finger press, but that isn't pressed enough for me. I use an "iron on a stick" (Clover mini iron) or my regular iron. Then from your pattern side, chop away the excess fabric outside the seam allowance. Now find your next number, hold the pattern so that number is at the top and repeat the above steps until there is fabric behind every number. Now getting the sections ready to be joined... When you photo copy a pattern, there is every possibility that it won't be the "exact" size as the original. So even though I draw a 1/4" seam allowance around my pattern, I still cut that 1/4" allowance by the measurement of my ruler...it usually cuts just outside my drawn line. Now we're ready to join the sections...but first, a few helpful extra tips to get you through the paper piecing process even easier... Many times a necessary section will only be sewn in by a couple of stitches. After stitching be sure to hold the stitches in place as you pull the stitching away from the presser foot to cut your thread...otherwise you'll just pull them right out. Don't worry about how much fabric you have in your seam allowance when your sew a piece in because you will trim away all but an 1/8" anyway. These chunks you cut off can be used for small sections as you go along. You can see in my example that my top scoop fabric is way more than I needed. I actually changed the direction I was going to use it in, but as long as you end up with your fabric pieces extended past the sewing lines, too big is not a concern...too small is a major concern. You can hold your work up to the light to check it if you need to. And this next one is important because a mistake will no doubt happen at some time... Remove your stitches carefully, I would suggest one at a time so as not to disturb the paper. 20# copy paper is pretty tough, but if you use something lighter, be careful not to tear it...too much. When you resew the line, stitch in the same exact holes...and I say this, because if you still don't sew it correctly...because I probably got distracted :-)...and you need to take the stitches out again, your paper pattern will remain intact. Now we're ready to connect our sections... I join these sections from the bottom up but it doesn't really matter which order you do them. The seam joining the cone and the first yummy scoop is a straight seam, so you just line them up and stitch all the way across. Be sure you've sewn the right seams together...then before pressing them, I remove the paper in the seam allowance. Fold it over, then tear it away. You can now either press the seam to one side or press it open. Now for the angled seams. These are the ones that really got to me and made me cringe when I saw a pattern in sections. I could never get them right until I finally figured out how to easily... Lay the sections together the way they go. Push a pin through the corresponding seam line corners of both pieces being sure the pin comes through both corner points. Hold the piece so the pin is straight across...this will keep your two sections exactly as they need to be. I wouldn't pin the sections together because once you angle the pin, the sections will slip slightly apart. If you're trying to match points, you won't be happy about that! Get the piece into sewing position before removing the pin at the end. It really isn't difficult, just be sure it stays where you want it when you begin to sew. You can even touch the seam allowance lightly with a glue stick for an assisted temporary hold. If your design requires matching a section in the center of the piece, poke your pins through those matching spots rather than at the ends. Stitch, check your match, tear the paper from the seam as you did previously and press. Sometimes with angled seams (and in the center of pinwheels) you'll end up with too much seam bulk. By not stitching all the way through your seam allowances (as previously mentioned) you can press part of the seam open and the rest can be pressed to one side. When seams overlap, you can press the bulky sections up and down as shown below. Now let's tear away the rest of the paper... Work from the outside to the inside. Fold the paper up on the stitched line then tear away. The inside pieces tear away easier. I like to use tweezers with teeth to grab small pieces. It doesn't really matter if every tiny bit of paper is removed. My ice cream cone pattern can be found here. UPDATE: This link no longer works. If you provide me with your mailing info, I will mail a copy of the pattern to you. To finish off the top and bottom, I've sewn on a sash piece. Your paper piecing patterns can be done in any size you want them just by reducing and enlarging the pattern. The lime sherbet cone is at 50% the size of the original. Just remember when you reduce and enlarge that included 1/4" seam allowances will not be at 1/4" anymore. I more enjoy the smaller paper piecing projects than the full size quilt sizes, but any size can be sewn in the manner as I've shown above. If I've left you still feeling you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Following are some of my paper piecing projects. Make Mine A Triple Scoop, please Nosey Parker This Bird is Paper Pieced Selvages Spool Wonky Christmas Tree Butterfly Potholder Form Dressmaker Collage I love it when I learn something new, so I hope I've been able to make paper piecing just a little easier for those that have been frustrated by it in the past. Happy Paper Piecing! Annie

In the era of technological advancement, neural networks have become an integral part of our lives. Transforming our perception and making everyday tasks easier, they are becoming more and more in…

Item specificsConditionNew other (see details)A new, unused item with absolutely no signs of wear. The item may be missing its original packaging, or the original packaging has been opened or is no longer sealed. The item may be a factory second, or a new and unused item with minor defects. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tabSeller notes“Please Note:This item is NEW but the box is damaged.”BrandFreezeframeTypeDaily Use

I present to you “Frost” and freshness in a creative set with actions, brushes and styles for Adobe Photoshop. Use this product on an isolated image or text for a realistic effect of ice, snow caps, frozen crystals. All styles are 300 DPI and are suitable for printing, publishing and screen resolution. It is very easy to create a lot of fresh, cold, frozen, magical, winter designs with it. Select one of the action and play on the layer and get a mood of frosty freshness. Using brushes, paint different types of frost frames and the magical effect of snow. Extra, the Drops style is included in the set.It will also help create a fresh mood on a hot summer day or convey the atmosphere of rainy weather. Try three frosty styles for free: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DwIAzNDu_gBI6_6JZFxFfY3oyw86u2jV Included: ❄ 14 styles ❄ 17 actions ❄ 10 brushes 📃 User Guide 🚩 Quick Start If you have any questions, write to me.

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I’ve joined in with the “Show Your Stripes” blog hop. Many thanks to Carla of Creatin’ In The Sticks for allowing me to join and all her hard work of organizing a successful blog hop. My stripes project began with a smallish quilt. 55” X 60” Using a bundle of Tim Holtz fabric fat eighths that I have had stashed for a few years. I pulled out the bundle, plus considered a few extra pieces to add to it. I cut the pieces into 2.5” strips. I arranged a line-up and stitched the strips together end to end. I made the top using the jelly roll race technique except in a controlled manner. Because I’m terrible at accepting the unknown. I had to have some control. I squared it up and quilted it. Added the binding. I know, shocking that it isn’t a striped binding! Who would’ve guessed for a stripes blog hop that I wouldn’t use a stripe for the binding. Hand stitching the binding to the back is my favorite part of quilting. And DONE! I love including selvedges in my quilts. I stitched the few selvedge strips end to end for a fun narrow row. That’s another stored project OUT of storage. It is my last long stored project. What a super feeling to have ZERO planned projects in storage. I also don’t want to keep making scraps to store. I had some strips leftover. They became a pillow. But there are STILL some strips and pieces of strips! Too hard to just toss them out. And I can’t just keep keeping them. Too many scraps become too chaotic for me. So I stitched them all together. Then cut that slab in half, stitched it end to end and I now have a long hot pad for the table. That’s it. I always find it amazing how far a fat eighth collection will go. The Giveaway... I have a striped fabric postcard that I will send to one of my followers. Simply include in your comment that you’d like to receive this postcard in your mail. I will contact the winner for mailing info. Check out my fellow bloggers sharing their striped projects today to inspire your sewing creativity. Tuesday, February 23rd Life in the Scrapatch Stitchin At Home Websterquilt Homespun Hannah's Blog Karrin's Crazy World Quilt Schmilt That’s Sew Kerry SameliasMum Annie's musings

I have been having the best fun with this stripe border. And I want to show you how I make it. You guessed it...paper piecing! I just cannot get anything like this straight or uniform in size by cutting the pieces and sewing them together. Paper piecing comes to mind as a solution for the simple fact that paper will not stretch. If you've had trouble with my ice cream cone tutorial, this one may just clear up some of your confusion, as this is the exact same technique and process but on a very basic level. I know this is a lengthy tutorial, but I don't plan on any more paper piecing tuts. If you can't figure it out now, then you must pay my travel expenses to come to you for hands on personal training. LOL These next photos just continue to walk with you through the continued process. After the first block of white, I work with the entire fabric strip to cut waste and not worry about whether my fabric piece is long enough to work with. When your strip is complete, you can trim the long edges to have a 1/4" seam allowance ready to sew to your project. Have fun and I want to see your borders, Annie

An American artist has created colourful representations showing what Wi-Fi waves and peaks would look like if we could see them. He used coverage data taken from networks around the U.S Congress in Washington.

I needed some more Triple Scoop ice cream cones. You can find this paper piecing tutorial on my blog: freezeframe03.blogspot.com/2011/09/paper-piecing-tutorial...

After Effects Version CC, CS6, CS5.5, CS5 Files Included After Effects Project Files, Design Files Length 1:08 Resolution 1920×1080 File Size 207MB Media Placeholders 13 Text Placeholders 12

I’ve been in the mood to make fabric postcards lately. An idea or two for designs presented themselves and I didn’t resist. T This snail simply had to be turned into a snail mail postcard. The image of the girl has been in my stash of printed fabrics for quite a long time. The sentiment that it sometimes takes all day to get nothing done spoke to me. It seems like that is a rather common occurrence for me. LOL. The other pieces on the postcard are all washi tapes. I’d already started sewing them down on the edges before I thought to glue them down for extra security. My hope was that they wouldn’t get caught in transit and tear. I know the postcard arrived but I haven’t heard yet how the tapes survived. And here’s my life in August. While I wait for some new fabric postcard inspiration to pass by, I’ll just keep myself busy working on finishing up other “started” projects. Happy September...already!

This tutorial has been updated and can be found here: https://freezeframe03.blogspot.com/2021/07/fabric-postcard-tutorial.html I've had several requests to explain how I bind my fabric postcards. So I'm finally getting around to posting a tutorial of my process. You really aren't going to believe how simple this is! But first, you need your postcard front design, a layer of stiff sew-in Peltex, a light to medium weight regular fusible interfacing and a backing to write your message on. Step 1: Create your postcard front design This ice cream cone is paper pieced. When I raw edge applique a design, I use Wonder Under for fusing the pieces together. Lay your design on the Peltex. Pressing them together helps keep the layers together while you top stitch on your design through the Peltex. Now do ALL your stitching before you add the backing. I use a paper backing because I really do mail my postcards and I like that it's easier to write on paper. I also like the security of knowing the stamp will remain on the postcard. However, you certainly can use fabric as your backing. I use Post Card rubber stamps on my backings. You can also just use a marker and write "Post Card" or print the words on your printer. The backing can even be left blank. It's totally a personal preference. Then I fuse the wrong side of the paper with a piece of interfacing. This insures that your paper backing will not fall off after satin stitching the binding. (The sewing perforates the paper) Now lightly glue stick around the outside edges of your backing just enough to stick it to your completed card top., wrong sides together. Edge stitch close to the edge just to keep the layers together while you add the binding. (You don’t see that in the photo because I didn’t use to do that. But have since learned it is very helpful to keep your design from bubbling while gluing the binding on.) Choose your binding fabric and cut a 3/4" strip long enough for all four sides of your card. Press this strip in half lengthwise. I usually cut the short lengths first, then the longer lengths after the short lengths are attached. With a glue stick, run glue along the edge of the paper side or back side of the card. Be careful not to get the glue out farther than the binding will cover. It's just to hold the binding in place until it is sewn down. Place the glued paper side down on one half of the binding. Repeat for the other short side. On the front of your card, run glue along the edge being careful not to extend the glue farther than the binding will cover. Fold over the binding to the front and press it into the glue. Cut binding lengths for the long edges and repeat the glue process first gluing to the back and then to the front. When all the edges have binding glued on, just run the iron over both sides lightly to melt any little glue globs that might have happened. I know you're thinking this is going to gum up your needle...nope!...your needle will not have a clue that it was anywhere near glue. Now we're ready to stitch that binding down permanent. With a straight stitch, back tack to just off the edge. Then stitch forward just to the inside edge of the binding. t Change your stitch to a zigzag. You'll have to find the best satin stitch length for your machine. I set my machine for a width of 3 and just a smidge longer than my preset satin stitch. This now is the reason to fuse interfacing to the back of the paper backing. The satin stitch will perforate the paper. The interfacing assures you that your backing will still remain connected to the card. Satin stitch all the way across to where the binding meets again. Straight stitch to the edge, back tack to the satin stitch, turn your card, repeating the stitching for the first three sides. When I get to the last edge, I pull my starting thread tails across the binding so that they will get stitched into the satin stitching. When I get to the end, I sew several tiny straight stitches along the inside of the satin stitching to finish the sewing. Keep the raw edges at the corners from fraying by adding a tiny bit of fray check along the edge. Not too much, mind you. If the satin stitched binding edges leave little frays sticking out, trim them close. WhaLa...all done! You can view all my fabric postcards displayed as a set in my Flickr photostream here Lots of people like to just satin stitch the raw edges of their layers together. I like the way the binding and contrasting satin stitch frame the little art work within. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may still have. Good mail day to you, Annie

Like so many others, I feel that I have discovered several steps to "easier" paper piecing that I simply must share. I'm much better at teaching in person, so bear with me on this... Are you ready? Would you like to make this? I first discovered paper piecing as a sure way to sew perfect quilt squares with perfect points because I did not at all like the idea of cutting all those little pieces and stitching them together just so and perfectly...I knew that wasn't going to happen. Being inflicted with the "perfectionist" illness without the patience for it, traditional quilt blocks were not going to be in my future. But I also was drawn to how many perfect little cutsie designs could be created with paper piecing. I can applique endlessly, but having the designs with stitched-in seams was very enticing for me. After laying out a small fortune for books and patterns, I was initially disappointed that nothing was coming out perfect! AND, I was spending way too much time with my seam ripper and getting such poor results. However, as usual, persistence pays off and I discovered little secrets and tips that have made paper piecing easier and quite enjoyable. So much so that I've even taught myself to make some of my own patterns. So, without further ado, let's stitch up my ice cream cone pattern. First, get your pattern on paper that you will stitch on. You don't need fancy paper...I use regular 20# copy paper. This pattern is in 4 sections and you may be thinking that it's too complicated for a beginner...NOT!...with my tips for you, there is no such thing as a complicated paper piecing pattern. (At least that's how I feel about it now.) Cut the sections apart...don't be precise, just cut outside the seam allowance line. Gather your fabrics. These can be from your scrap bin or you can make new scraps. I use both, depending on whether I have scraps for my plan or not. This particular pattern needs more background fabric than ice cream fabric so I just have chunks that are large enough for each scoop. But for the background fabric that will require several sections within each section, refer to the next photo. Take note of which background section is the largest and about what size it is at it's widest part. Then add maybe a 1/2" to that measurement and slice a strip off your yardage to use for all your background pieces. Again, no need to be preceise...you'll have the whole lenghth to work with if the short end is not wide enough. Now you're ready to start stitching. Set your machine stitch length for a shorter than usual length. I normally stitch at 2-1/2 so I stitch paper piecing at just under 2. It doesn't matter which section you start with. It only matters that you sew in numerical order with each section. (Even this rule can have exceptions, but for learning purposes, let's stick with the numerical order rule.) Take your cone fabric, lay it wrong side to the plain side of the paper being sure it covers past the cone lines. This is the only time you will want to hold this up to the light to be sure it covers. And you don't need to give a hoot about straight of grain...love that! Next... ...and here's where life gets really easy...(and every section you sew here after will be done this same way)...hold your pattern facing you with the next number section above the previous number section that you placed or just sewed. With your thumbs, mark each end of the sewing line. Fold it forward enough to see that you will place it on the right side of the background fabric strip with enough for a seam allowance showing and that there is still background fabric going past each of your thumbs. You need at least an 1/8" of seam allowance. Everything after that will get cut off. I usually allow about 1/4". Bring everything to your machine (the photo just shows the seam allowance you will have after sewing.) Keeping your pattern and two pieces of fabric in that position lying flat to stitch on the paper pattern line. Now, some patterns end up with a pile of seams all in one place...such as a pinwheel...and you will want to press your seams open rather than to one side. If you want to press them open, you cannot sew all the way across the seam allowance. I always make only one stitch in the seam allowance (this also helps for trimming 1/8" seam allowances which in turn keeps fabric bulk at a minimum. Stitch on the line and at the end, sew only one stitch into the seam allowance. Now for trimming... Flip the sewn section over to the fabric side and trim "all" the fabrics in that seam allowance to 1/8". (Trim them all together, not one at a time) DO NOT CUT THE PAPER! Now here is where I can't believe I didn't take a pressing photo...but open your newly sewn piece and press it back over it's seam allowance. It is said that you only need to finger press, but that isn't pressed enough for me. I use an "iron on a stick" (Clover mini iron) or my regular iron. Then from your pattern side, chop away the excess fabric outside the seam allowance. Now find your next number, hold the pattern so that number is at the top and repeat the above steps until there is fabric behind every number. Now getting the sections ready to be joined... When you photo copy a pattern, there is every possibility that it won't be the "exact" size as the original. So even though I draw a 1/4" seam allowance around my pattern, I still cut that 1/4" allowance by the measurement of my ruler...it usually cuts just outside my drawn line. Now we're ready to join the sections...but first, a few helpful extra tips to get you through the paper piecing process even easier... Many times a necessary section will only be sewn in by a couple of stitches. After stitching be sure to hold the stitches in place as you pull the stitching away from the presser foot to cut your thread...otherwise you'll just pull them right out. Don't worry about how much fabric you have in your seam allowance when your sew a piece in because you will trim away all but an 1/8" anyway. These chunks you cut off can be used for small sections as you go along. You can see in my example that my top scoop fabric is way more than I needed. I actually changed the direction I was going to use it in, but as long as you end up with your fabric pieces extended past the sewing lines, too big is not a concern...too small is a major concern. You can hold your work up to the light to check it if you need to. And this next one is important because a mistake will no doubt happen at some time... Remove your stitches carefully, I would suggest one at a time so as not to disturb the paper. 20# copy paper is pretty tough, but if you use something lighter, be careful not to tear it...too much. When you resew the line, stitch in the same exact holes...and I say this, because if you still don't sew it correctly...because I probably got distracted :-)...and you need to take the stitches out again, your paper pattern will remain intact. Now we're ready to connect our sections... I join these sections from the bottom up but it doesn't really matter which order you do them. The seam joining the cone and the first yummy scoop is a straight seam, so you just line them up and stitch all the way across. Be sure you've sewn the right seams together...then before pressing them, I remove the paper in the seam allowance. Fold it over, then tear it away. You can now either press the seam to one side or press it open. Now for the angled seams. These are the ones that really got to me and made me cringe when I saw a pattern in sections. I could never get them right until I finally figured out how to easily... Lay the sections together the way they go. Push a pin through the corresponding seam line corners of both pieces being sure the pin comes through both corner points. Hold the piece so the pin is straight across...this will keep your two sections exactly as they need to be. I wouldn't pin the sections together because once you angle the pin, the sections will slip slightly apart. If you're trying to match points, you won't be happy about that! Get the piece into sewing position before removing the pin at the end. It really isn't difficult, just be sure it stays where you want it when you begin to sew. You can even touch the seam allowance lightly with a glue stick for an assisted temporary hold. If your design requires matching a section in the center of the piece, poke your pins through those matching spots rather than at the ends. Stitch, check your match, tear the paper from the seam as you did previously and press. Sometimes with angled seams (and in the center of pinwheels) you'll end up with too much seam bulk. By not stitching all the way through your seam allowances (as previously mentioned) you can press part of the seam open and the rest can be pressed to one side. When seams overlap, you can press the bulky sections up and down as shown below. Now let's tear away the rest of the paper... Work from the outside to the inside. Fold the paper up on the stitched line then tear away. The inside pieces tear away easier. I like to use tweezers with teeth to grab small pieces. It doesn't really matter if every tiny bit of paper is removed. My ice cream cone pattern can be found here. UPDATE: This link no longer works. If you provide me with your mailing info, I will mail a copy of the pattern to you. To finish off the top and bottom, I've sewn on a sash piece. Your paper piecing patterns can be done in any size you want them just by reducing and enlarging the pattern. The lime sherbet cone is at 50% the size of the original. Just remember when you reduce and enlarge that included 1/4" seam allowances will not be at 1/4" anymore. I more enjoy the smaller paper piecing projects than the full size quilt sizes, but any size can be sewn in the manner as I've shown above. If I've left you still feeling you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Following are some of my paper piecing projects. Make Mine A Triple Scoop, please Nosey Parker This Bird is Paper Pieced Selvages Spool Wonky Christmas Tree Butterfly Potholder Form Dressmaker Collage I love it when I learn something new, so I hope I've been able to make paper piecing just a little easier for those that have been frustrated by it in the past. Happy Paper Piecing! Annie

This tutorial has been updated and can be found here: https://freezeframe03.blogspot.com/2021/07/fabric-postcard-tutorial.html I've had several requests to explain how I bind my fabric postcards. So I'm finally getting around to posting a tutorial of my process. You really aren't going to believe how simple this is! But first, you need your postcard front design, a layer of stiff sew-in Peltex, a light to medium weight regular fusible interfacing and a backing to write your message on. Step 1: Create your postcard front design This ice cream cone is paper pieced. When I raw edge applique a design, I use Wonder Under for fusing the pieces together. Lay your design on the Peltex. Pressing them together helps keep the layers together while you top stitch on your design through the Peltex. Now do ALL your stitching before you add the backing. I use a paper backing because I really do mail my postcards and I like that it's easier to write on paper. I also like the security of knowing the stamp will remain on the postcard. However, you certainly can use fabric as your backing. I use Post Card rubber stamps on my backings. You can also just use a marker and write "Post Card" or print the words on your printer. The backing can even be left blank. It's totally a personal preference. Then I fuse the wrong side of the paper with a piece of interfacing. This insures that your paper backing will not fall off after satin stitching the binding. (The sewing perforates the paper) Now lightly glue stick around the outside edges of your backing just enough to stick it to your completed card top., wrong sides together. Edge stitch close to the edge just to keep the layers together while you add the binding. (You don’t see that in the photo because I didn’t use to do that. But have since learned it is very helpful to keep your design from bubbling while gluing the binding on.) Choose your binding fabric and cut a 3/4" strip long enough for all four sides of your card. Press this strip in half lengthwise. I usually cut the short lengths first, then the longer lengths after the short lengths are attached. With a glue stick, run glue along the edge of the paper side or back side of the card. Be careful not to get the glue out farther than the binding will cover. It's just to hold the binding in place until it is sewn down. Place the glued paper side down on one half of the binding. Repeat for the other short side. On the front of your card, run glue along the edge being careful not to extend the glue farther than the binding will cover. Fold over the binding to the front and press it into the glue. Cut binding lengths for the long edges and repeat the glue process first gluing to the back and then to the front. When all the edges have binding glued on, just run the iron over both sides lightly to melt any little glue globs that might have happened. I know you're thinking this is going to gum up your needle...nope!...your needle will not have a clue that it was anywhere near glue. Now we're ready to stitch that binding down permanent. With a straight stitch, back tack to just off the edge. Then stitch forward just to the inside edge of the binding. t Change your stitch to a zigzag. You'll have to find the best satin stitch length for your machine. I set my machine for a width of 3 and just a smidge longer than my preset satin stitch. This now is the reason to fuse interfacing to the back of the paper backing. The satin stitch will perforate the paper. The interfacing assures you that your backing will still remain connected to the card. Satin stitch all the way across to where the binding meets again. Straight stitch to the edge, back tack to the satin stitch, turn your card, repeating the stitching for the first three sides. When I get to the last edge, I pull my starting thread tails across the binding so that they will get stitched into the satin stitching. When I get to the end, I sew several tiny straight stitches along the inside of the satin stitching to finish the sewing. Keep the raw edges at the corners from fraying by adding a tiny bit of fray check along the edge. Not too much, mind you. If the satin stitched binding edges leave little frays sticking out, trim them close. WhaLa...all done! You can view all my fabric postcards displayed as a set in my Flickr photostream here Lots of people like to just satin stitch the raw edges of their layers together. I like the way the binding and contrasting satin stitch frame the little art work within. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may still have. Good mail day to you, Annie

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"FOR THE LOVE OF CARBS, DO WE HAVE TO?"

This week I get to host at the Sunday Postcard Art with my choice of theme, which is PICNIC. I chose this theme because I wanted to stitch this ant. I was worried how his little legs might end up looking. I was surprised to be so pleased. And ants go so well with picnics. This little guy is on his way to a picnic right now. My postcard backside... I'm anxious to see the variety of picnic art that my fellow postcard artists will create. Happy summertime! xxx Annie