Saturday, June 28, 2008

ATC Cards, Specially for Friends










Once I heard about ATC cards, I just had to try and make some. The idea of something that small with a lot of detail in it really interested me. I love "tedious" work......just don't like the word. Maybe we should just call it "time-consuming work." While I am involved in making something like this...I do lose track of time and later wonder where all the time went, as it just seemed to disappear.

Anyway, when I found out about ATC cards, I knew I would make cards like this. I told several friends that if they made me one...I'd return the favor. Life got in the way and it took me way too long to complete them, but here you see what I made for these folks. They have finally received their cards and I hope they are not disappointed. I did enjoy thinking of what to make each person..... and, with one exception, they are truly original. My friend Susan, and I, are fans of the quilt and book "Mother Earth and Her Children: A Quilted Fairy Tale" by Sieglinde Schoen Smith. However, Susan lived in Germany for a long time and had actually seen this fairytale book long before the quilt version was made. Knowing she loved that book, I decided to make a little version of it for her. The rest of the cards are totally original designs from me and the Nest.

There is a book called "1000 Artist Trading Cards" by Patricia Bolton (Quilting Arts Magazine) published by Quarry Books in 2007. One of my ATC cards is in it. On page 151. In the photos, here, you will find the cover of the book, plus my ATC card of a little house. I was so happy to have a card included in this book. The cards I made my friends, also pictured here...were all made after the book came out. I have made other cards and traded them, but do not have photos of them. I scanned them and stored them in my computer, but they aren't the best quality. (Pre-camera days.) Also, I have received some wonderful cards in this trading.....and may show those in the next week or so.

I dedicated a lot of time to making them because I wanted them to be special for those receiving them. It also meant that they were late in the trading....so, for those of you who waited...thanks for your patience. You were on my mind every minute of the time it took to dream them up and make them. They are each one of a kind because you are each one of a kind.
Pat

3 comments:

Caffeinated Weka said...

Your work is beautifully intricate. I, too, like 'tedious' work, ie detailed and taking a long time to put together. For me, it's the process and not the product of which I am proud. Thank you for sharing your work.

StitchinByTheLake said...

I'd like to echo cafe chick - the intricacy of your work is amazing. I tried my hand at making one card and just couldn't master the binding on something that small. Maybe one day I'll try again. My favorite(s) are the ones that say laugh. Blessings, marlene

Anonymous said...

Pat, your ATCs are, by far, the most beautiful I've seen, even in that book of 1000! Your embroidery skills are over-the-top and your attention to detail, especially in the finishing, is so great. These are not cards that could be stored in a notebook, but need to be displayed and seen!

Sherry in Little Rock

A Bit of Heaven

A Bit of Heaven
An original designed wall quilt with my vision of heaven on earth.