CQ Artist Trading Card

Rissa Peace Root © 2010

First, create a template for your ATC, using a trading card or cut an index card to 2.5" x 3.5". (They sell all sorts of ATC supplies in the art supply section of most craft stores, such as protective sleeves and art paper pre-cut to the correct size.)  Next, mark your muslin, using the template. If your muslin is large enough, you can mark two cards at once, as I have done here. 

Audition your fabrics to decide what will work best for you in such a tiny area. 

Although I think the landscape piecing method works well for something this shape, I decided to use the traditional patch method, starting with a five-sided piece.  I went for something with a decidedly odd shape, to add visual interest to such a small piece. Once my base piece was in place, it was just a matter of working with the rest of the fabrics to finish piecing the small block.  After I was happy with the piecing, I used a wide basting stitch on my sewing machine to mark the area to be embellished. 

Since there are already so many colors in this small space, I decided to use a very basic color palette for the stitching.  I selected three shades of blue DMC Flower Thread that I thought would work. 

The hardest part was keeping my stitches on a small enough scale not to overwhelm the project.  Once the embellishing was finished, I used a piece of cardboard with a 2.5" x 3.5" cut out to select just the right area for my block before finishing. 

Once the area was chosen, it was just a matter of backing and signing this tiny little crazy quilt.

Then, I needed to check to make sure it fit in a trading card protective sleeve, which it does. 

Now, the final step is to iron, block and mail off to Robin!

Resources:

• Fiber Artist Trading Cards

• Fiber Artist Trading Cards Revisited

• Block of the Issue: October 2010

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Editor: Published by: Pretty Impressive Stuff