Textile ATC trading

It's been over 12 months since I began making and trading textile Artist Trading Cards (ATC), would you believe my collection now amounts to 316 cards? I'm amazed at the variety and creativity that people achieve in these tiny 2 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inch works of art. I belong to Southern Cross Quilters or Scquilters, an online group of Australians, New Zealanders and expats living overseas. The ATC group numbers over 100 and most began trading originally because there was a Scquilters retreat in Perth, some attendees were going to be swapping ATC and we would miss out on all the fun. It was decided we needed a Cheer Me Up Swap for the stay-at-homes in April 2008. Our valiant List Mum Mandy keeps us all in order (most of the time) She encourages us to suggest themes,then she posts them up for us to sign up, usually in groups of 6. We make 6 identical cards, keep one for ourselves and swap 5, that means we each then have a group of 6 different cards in a set theme. So far I've swapped such various themes as Jungle Animals, Chooks, several colours, Anzac Day, Christmas food, favourite things, I'm sure you get the idea. I haven't featured many of my cards here for a while, I've forgotten to photograph so many that I'll never post them all, but here's a few to whet your appetite. I also posted a little tut on how I make my cards here

I also swap internationally through my Stitchin Fingers ATC swap group, where we swap with the next person on a list of swappers, and a few privately arranged swaps with internet friends happen from time to time.


A Christmas card for Anne in France

We also started a Birthday Swap on the Scquilters ATC group, with 29 members. Each person makes a card for the birthday girl or boy and sends it along at the appropriate time. So on January 1 this year, I looked forward to receiving 29 cards from the group.


Some of my birthday swap cards received Jan 09

This is the card I made for our List Mum Mandy, who loves silk ribbon embroidery. I'm only a beginner, but I think it turned out quite well.

April ? Surely not!!

I honestly don't know where this year's gone to, now I can imagine how Rip Van Winkle felt, I've lost 1/3 of a year! It has been very busy at our place between family and building works, but really Easter can't have gone by already??
We spent a very pleasant 4 day weekend with family visiting on the Sunday for a meal. It was only take-away pizza I'm afraid, but don't they say it's not what you eat but the company you keep? Well in that case, we dined like kings, VBG. The 2 grandchildren of course brought their own tucker and had us all besotted for hours. My mother. who turns 80 soon, was delighted to see her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids all together, and really that was all I needed too.

There hasn't been a LOT of stitching happening around here, I've been making groups of themed ATCs to swap online at my group, and I've included a photo here of the last group received just today. There's a face-to-face retreat happening in Adelaide, South Australia this month but those not able to attend decided once again to swap Cheer Me Up cards. I made a dozen cards and sent those in to be swapped out for another dozen.



Aren't they all wonderful and cheerful? My own cards were in different colourways of the same print and embellished with my latest toy, a Bejeweller. It puts little Swaroski crystals onto nearly anything with a heated tool, such fun to plan where to use it. I'll photograph the one I kept and post that soon.

Some other stitching was the class sample for the YTFG club where I'm the Leader. I made a canvaswork wristcuff based on a design shown by another Club Leader Del White at our recent Annual Leaders' Meeting. Our Club is a little smaller this year with a few members busy now with High School and sporting committments, but 4 young ladies really enjoyed making there own version of this design 2 weeks ago.



The following day I took a workshop with Margaret Stephens on Reticella style needle lace at our NSW Lace Day. Here's my sample today:



The bottom rectangle shows 4 sided stitch border, the middle rectangle shows corded satin stitch inside 4 sided stitch and counting started for withdrawn thread blocks. The top rectangle shows some needle weaving begun and 2 filling stitches worked. Not much progress for a 2 day workshop I know, but I'm a slow stitcher!! Apologies for the crooked scan, linen is hard to scan sometimes! Hopefully some more progress soon.

Christmas de-brief

Now, before you get too excited, the family did NOT all become nudists in the Christmas break, LOL. I just thought I'd take the opportunity during the holiday lull to tidy up a few loose ends for 2008.

I received a comment on a previous post asking where was the photo of my new little grandson Riley opening his Christmas gifts. I had to wait till his mum posted some on her Facebook page, so here they are.



He looks so cute in his Santa T-shirt!



Look at that earnest little face, not sure what this gift was as he got SO MUCH LOOT.


Then there were some ATCs traded with members of my Scquilters online group, 3 great sets for Christmas including Gold and White,







Christmas Trees








and Christmas Food.






And for the New Year, Let's Party and Happy New Year which have not yet all arrived. I also signed up for a Birthday Swap, so I'm expecting about 28 cards to arrive in the next week or so for my own birthday. Each person on the list makes one card and sends it to the birthday person during their birthday month. There were 2 of us on 1st January, Del is only the 3rd person I've known personally with a New Years' Day birthday. I went to school with another girl who co-incidentally had the same initials as myself, spooky eh?

The other loose end is to show you the Christmas ATC I traded with Anne L. in France, arranged by Doreen G. (see previous post) The first photo is my card to Anne, a silk print of an old fashioned Victorian christmas embellished with beads and braid.





Anne's card is a goregous cross stitched one featuring variegated stranded silk thread on a fine Aida type cloth. I'm so delighted with it, and thanks Doreen for suggesting the trade.