Progress on the Stamp Quilt

Harsha's contribution. Harsha is a letter writer and these stamps came from her stash of letters and cards. 

 Here's what I got from Deena in Washington DC.Deena got to know about my project from a friend who  sent her the link to my post about the postage stamp quilt. I'm so touched Deena, by your generosity.
Deena must have an impressive stamp collection because she inherited her great grandmother's stamp album which was published in the United States in 1920. Deena herself started collecting stamps and adding to her collection in 2012 and friends and family have been sending her stamps.
She's also the recipient of a stamp collection which a friend gave her. It belonged to missionaries who lived in Taiwan and the Philippines.
Deena I'd love to see your stamp collection some day and hear all the stories associated with the stamps which are so fascinating.
Deena has sent me stamps from Canada, the USA,Philippines,Hong Kong, France and China.
Like a quilt which began as a thrift activity and there would be stories associated with each piece of fabric , this stamp quilt or quilts which I make is not going to be just stamps joined together to create a pretty pattern but a collection of stories as well.

I've managed to remount and stitch around all the stamps Harsha donated. Since they were multiple Gandhi stamps and  few others I've started arranging them - in a nine patch. Should I make a block of a certain size? and then stitch the blocks together? Or should it be like a crazy quilt, different sizes together? So many questions.
In the mean time I have to start with Deena's stamps this week.
Not sure when I'll start 'piecing' the quilt together.

A New Project - Postage Stamp Quilts

One of those days while browsing the images on Pinterest I happened to come across postage stamp quilts and this got me thinking. 

I like to work with paper as much as I like to work with fabric and with my tiny collection of postage stamps I decided to use them to make an actual postage stamp quilt.   

.First Step: Sort through stamps. I found stamps to be clustered together and it was just a couple which were individual stamps which had sufficient paper of the envelope on all four sides.

So with one stamp I just tore the paper away so I had this uneven edge and did a simple blanket stitch all around.

With two others I used a metal scale as a guide and tore the envelope paper away on all four sides. I got a frayed edge but it was a straight edge rather than an uneven edge.

For the sake of symmetry and else of joining the stamps together I decided to go along with the second method.  

Step 2 : Soak  all stamps clustered together or with insufficient paper on all four sides in water. 

 

Step 3 : Remount dried stamps on discarded envelopes. Stitch around each stamp with blanket stitch and I put the name of the person from whom I got a card or letter. I've decided I'll put down the country as well.

A wealth of inspiration on Pinterest. 

There are so many ideas I'd like to try but unfortunately I don't have sufficient stamps to try them out with.

I've put the word out to family to collect any and every stamp that they or their friends and colleagues get and can spare and send them to me.

Would you like to contribute postage stamps to my project? Leave a comment and I'll share my postal address with you.

I'll put your name and the country you are from on the reverse. It will be very interesting to see the reverse of the finished quilt. A patchwork pattern of colours. 

I'll wait until the end of October to lay out all that I receive before I start the composition of my first quilt.A small baby quilt. It would be great to make one with flowers, or birds. 

In the meantime I'll be working on the stamps I have and what I can gather locally.

A long weekend here in India. Have a great week.