Free Motion Mavericks - Week 72 - Stamp Collection Cradle Quilt

If ever a fabric has made me laugh, it is the one in the centre of this little quilt. 

The montage of old stamps, on a background the colour of manila envelopes, took me back a few years.  Some of the images are a bit smudgy, but I could make out stamps from Britain (Scotland in particular), Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Indonesia...

... USA - very 1970s, anyone remember it?...

... and this very familiar looking one from Spain.  I started squinting at the postmark and spotted a distinctly un-Spanish place name ending in "ton".

Then I realised the same post mark crops up on other stamps, reading ....ton Mearns 10.30 AM 30 DEC.  This didn't ring any bells, but an internet search gave me the answer.  Newton Mearns, on the outskirts of Glasgow.  Since then I have been imagining bizarre conversations.

"I would like to order a General Franco cot quilt, please."

"Yes, certainly Madam.  With or without the Scottish postmark?"

"Oh, with, definitely."

There again, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that there should exist somewhere a Franco stamp franked in Scotland.  A card from Spain might have been delivered to the wrong address, and the householder just bunged it in the nearest post box, so it got a new postmark. 

I want that stamp. 

Meanwhile, on the back there is a great game of spot the animals for children.  Rabbits and foxes looking unnaturally relaxed together, owls perched on toadstools, deer and hedgehogs.

Here goes for week 72...

The project in Week 71 that really caught my eye was Sue Daurio's quilt for her great-nephew.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France and Macau have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts.