In the Mail

Wrapping up the week by ticking things off the to-do is always a good feeling.

We are gearing up for a busy next couple of weeks-- a birthday, a vacation, girls camp, and hopefully a visit from some out-of-towners are all on the horizon.

In an effort to be organized, I finished up this little beauty for my friend and her new baby, Rosie.

I love that the vintage pillowcase I had has roses on it! So appropriate.

After washing it up and fluffing it in the dryer, I love how cozy it turned out.

The vintage pillowcases and linen are so soft.

 Now, to just get this postage stamp quilt off in the mail and I can move on to the next project!

Postage Stamp Pillowcase Quilt

Ever since I read Oh, Fransson's! tutorial on postage stamp quilting, I wanted to give it a try.

I have also been collecting vintage pillowcases for awhile and wanted to use them in a worthy project.  My sweet friend just had her second baby girl and the thought of a feminine-postage stamp-vintagey quilt seemed truly appropriate.

Even though it's not completely finished, here's my progress so far.  The top is mostly made, just needs a border.  The squares ended up being 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" finished.

For my first try at Oh Fransson's! method, I really liked it.  Perfectly lined up corners and seams with out much effort is really gratifying!  There are some things I will do differently next time-- and I'm already planning a next time... thinking my Moda Punctuation jelly roll would look especially nice.

One thing I would do differently is to make a slightly larger seam allowance (a little more than 1/4").  That way it will be easier to make the seams lay flat.  There is a lot of bulk to press open.

Second thing would be to lay out the squares on the interfacing on a solid color surface.  It was hard to see the interfacing's pre-printed grid lines on my ironing board.

I've been having trouble with my iron.  The pesky thing!  Even though I use distilled water, it has been bleeding discolored water on my fabric.  I can't seem to find an iron that really works well.  I'll have to do some serious stain treatments to get all the spots out of this mostly white quilt before I gift it.

Any suggestions?

I'm excited to get this finished and on its way!