Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Hold the Phone! Fabulous Wearables

Can you believe this twirly sweater-dress created by Katwise? I love this! That lime green splash along the bottom edge is gorgeous, but the icing on the cake is the hood. See the fringe that would frame your face (and cover your eyes, yeah yeah I know) and the long hood? Oh, this is so cool.

Be sure to visit: http://www.katwise.com/. Click on "About." She has an Etsy store too.

Thank you to Junky Chicken for blogging about Katwise. Stay tuned to read about her soon.

Visit Kay in South Dakota

This is a morning view from Kay Peterson's backyard in Trent, South Dakota. Wow, that's so beautiful! Thanks for sharing your neighborhood with us.

Kay hasn't taken the plunge with selvages yet, but she does hang out at the Selvage Blog. That's the first step, right? Check out her blog: http://www.myolivebranch.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Joyful Art!


JoAnne in southern California writes:

"My husband and I recently visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and this really fascinated me. What's pictured is a hanging "sculpture". There was no sign telling about it or giving anyone credit for making it. It's made of all kinds of different plastic bowls, baskets and containers hanging from fishing line or something like that. They swayed in the breeze and children were having fun running through it. You have shared some unusual things with us so I wanted to share this with you. Enjoy!"

Thank you, JoAnne! I love this sculpture, and it must make an interesting sound when kids run through it too. So clever!

Greetings and hugs to all our visitors from France and Texas today!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Wanna See My New Old Sewing Machine?

If you've been reading the Selvage Blog lately you probably knew this was going to happen: I just bought this charming little sewing machine on eBay! You are the first one I'm telling! It's cast iron and measures only 7" x 7." They say the handle turns and it works, but I think I'll still use my Juki 98Q.

More Selvage Bags from Fernanda in Portugal

Today we're looking at more creative selvage bags by Fernanda Gomes of Portugal. Above and below, she uses selvages and ribbons sparingly to add little messages and design flair.

I have a warm place in my heart for "Dick, Jane and Sally" (see the fabric on the left in the photo below) because I learned to read using that series of books. Somehow, reading "Run, run, run." wasn't boring, it was reassuring. :) I like the little cartoons on the pink background too.


Using selvages this way is so clever. I like the light and airy look she has created. And look at those handles!

Having a small selvage stash is no longer a reason not to make a selvage bag.


Wonderful job, Fernanda! Thank you for all the inspiration. It makes me want to head to my sewing machine right now.

Remember, you can see her blog at: http://owlmania.blogspot.com/
Greetings and hugs to all our visitors from Portugal today!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Meet Fernanda Gomes from Portugal!

Fernanda Gomes from Portugal has made a stunning collection of selvage bags. These 4 bags were made by applying selvages and fabric squares with machine zig-zag stitching. What a creative idea!




Fernanda has such a carefree improvisational style! Bravo, Fernanda! I like the fabric with the little Russian dolls (on the white background above, and on the brown background 2 photos up).

What a beautiful blast of color in the bag above. See more of her work tomorrow too!
Visit Fernanda's blog at http://owlmania.blogspot.com/

Antique or New - Just Can't Decide?


This is definitely a one-of-a-kind sewing machine! Just the thing for the quilter who has a warm place in her heart for the old Singers, but no, wait, maybe she wants a new machine. I found this photo on the Internet - just an attention grabber with lots of ads posted near it.
http://www.freakingnews.com/Sewing-Machine-Pictures-34886.asp

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Cindy Cooksey's Selvage Quilt

Cindy Cooksey of Orange County, California made this pretty little selvage quilt. Here's her story:

"Earlier this year, before I knew about you, I made a selvedge quilt, too. It's called "15 Selvedges," and it's in the "Edges" special exhibit that was at Quilt Festival Long Beach this summer. It'll be at Quilt Festival Houston. "
Thanks, Cindy. Nice job! I especially like the row of black dots near the bottom. Notice her personal selvage style: the fabrics sing, and there's very little writing and no color windows.
Visit Cindy's blog at: www.cookseyville.blogspot.com/ and her website at http://www.cindycooksey.com/. Keep an eye out for Cindy's quilt if you're going to Houston.

Gretchen Thompson Gets Started with Selvages

Gretchen Thompson of Spicewood, Texas writes:

"I am new to the selvage game and a friend turned me onto your site and blog. Attached is a pic of my first (but not last!) selvage project. I love your site, thanks so much for the inspiration!"

Thanks for sharing this little selvage chick with us Gretchen! Very cute:) I love all the ribbons. Is that little black eye a color window or a button?

Friday, September 25, 2009

JodieFlowers Artwork


JodieFlowers has some delightful artwork on Flickr. These are wall leg vases. They don't have flat feet, but duh, they are "wall" vases so they don't need a flat base. It took me a minute to process this. That's part of why I like them. Also see her colorful Wall Monsters. Very clever. This kind of stuff gets my creative juices flowing.

Quilter Found on Mars?

No, this is Erica Spinks' neighborhood at 6:45am yesterday in Australia. They are having a dust storm and this is the exact color of the sky. This is some of the best weather I've ever heard of for quilting. (Tough on farmers and people with athsma, though.) Check out Erica's blog: http://creativedabbling.blogspot.com/. Other Australian bloggers have photos too.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Antique European Toy Sewing Machines




When I saw Sylvie's toy sewing machines (see next post) I decided to take a look at some antiques. Where else can you see an instant collection but eBay? These are all currently up for auction. The green one is in Bulgaria, the black one is in the Netherlands, and the blue one is in the US (but made in Germany).
Can't you just imagine the many happy hours that were spent playing with these sewing machines? I'm thinking that an old toy sewing machine would look charming in my quilt studio. But so far, I'm just looking.


Sylvie's Toy Sewing Machines

Sylvie from France saw the recent post about toy sewing machines and she wrote this:

"I had a toy sewing machine too, and I found the same one (above) for my daughters on 'Emmaüs' (a sort of flea market for homeless people in France) for 2€! It does not really sew, but you can play with wool. It is very appropriate for my young daughters! They like to sit next to me when I 'play' with my sewing machine."
"I have another toy sewing machine, which can actually sew (above). I'm sure my daughters are going to be sewing addicts, just like me!"
I'd say there's a very good chance of it, Sylvie! Thanks for sharing.

Antique Singer Sewing Machine - Red Eye

You know how fishermen have stories about "the one that got away?" Well here's the quilter's equivalent. This antique Singer "Red Eye" (called that because of the painted decoration) was on eBay and I "knew" the price would climb sky high, so I didn't bid. That was dumb! (And yes, I do have a BS in Finance.) The machine sold for only $91. I'm just getting to know my way around this market a little bit, but that seems like a very good deal to me. Wouldn't this machine look stunning in a quilting studio? I think I'm getting bit by the Singer bug!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

East Cobb Quilter's Show - Melinda's Zinger




Melinda of the East Cobb Quilters' Guild in Marietta, Georgia was featured in the local newspaper with her Kiwi Zinger quilt. They had a quilt show this month that exhibited 363 quilts! Take a look at Melinda's blog to see many photos of the winning quilts: http://melinful.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-sylvia-bridal-sampler.html.
Melinda won several prizes for quilts that she made as a team. (She did the machine quilting.) Bravo! That's no surprise when you take a close look at her quilting in the Kiwi Zinger above! Alas, no prize for the Zinger this time. I think that quilt is awesome.

Darlene's Purple Selvage Tote

Darlene's made this purple tote bag using a bit of her selvage collection and a pattern from McCall's Quilting magazine. What a conversation-piece this will be at her next guild meeting. Good job, Darlene!

She says she's now hooked on making selvage items and is almost finished with a bed-sized purple zinger quilt! We'll keep you posted.

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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Blue Blue Selvage Quilt

Lynne in New England was inspired by the quilt on the cover of my book "Quilts from the Selvage Edge" when she made this stunning wall quilt. She has such an artistic eye. Look how she handles all those blues, and the little splashes of red, orange and yellow are just right. I also like how the quilting lines echo the selvages. The red cherry dot near the center of the quilt, the brown lacy strip in the southeast corner, and that sparkling black and white binding...oh this quilt has it all! Yayyy, Lynne!

Lynne made this selvage quilt for a Doll Quilt Swap. Here's what she had to say about it:

"There was a discussion on the swap forum about what some abbreviations mean. I didn't know what kwim was, so I proposed some funny possibilities... like Kisses With Important Messages... Kiwis With Impromptu Mangoes? Kangaroos With Illegal Machineguns? My swap partner (who's flickr name is quiltinkimmie) suggested "Kimmie's Wonderful In Michigan."So when I had this very long, very blank selvage I had a little idea... and wrote that on the edge of the selvage and sewed it in the quilt."

Visit Lynne's blog at: http://patcherymenagerie.blogspot.com/. Your time there will be well spent! Her cat Millie also has a blog: darlingmillie.blogspot.com.

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Monday, September 21, 2009

YOU Can Sleep in this Treehouse!

Isn't this the most intriguing treehouse? It's one of two on Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Canada) that you can stay in for $125 or $175/night. The interior reminds me of an RV. See more about these spherical hotel rooms at http://www.freespiritspheres.com/

This is definitely an onion chair experience, don't you think? (If you missed the "Onion Chair" post, see: http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-can-this-onion-chair-give-us.html)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Judy on Cape Cod


Another quilter welcomes us to her part of the world: Judy lives on Cape Cod (or "on the Cape" as they say) and this is the view in her backyard. Isn't it gorgeous? Those boats are so New England. I can hear the fog horn in my imagination when I look at the photo at the top. Do they even have those any more?
I love visiting quilters from all over this world via the blog. It feels like we're all neighbors. It's nice to know that no matter what the hour, somewhere a quilter is quilting!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Rock Sculpture in Connecticut



My husband and I went for a drive in Connecticut recently and we saw this rock sculpture in front of a gallery called "O Gallery, insider and outsider art" at 131 Kent Road South, in Kent, CT. I love this kind of stuff! Just plain old rocks, but arranged in an unexpected way. A little like selvage quilts, right?
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Sherrill's Little Selvage Basket

Sherrill in Texas made this charming little selvage scrap saver, her first selvage project. Nice job, Sherrill. The buttons are a nice touch. See her blog at: www.quiltinginmysleep.blogspot.com.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Selvage Sewing Machine Cover

Jocelyn at happycottagequilter.blogspot.com wrote to tell us about this selvage sewing machine cover made by Margie in Oregon. She made it for a contest and it took her one whole day. And now she doesn't have to use that white plastic cover that comes with the machine. Good idea. Margie's blog is: http://threadingmyneedles.blogspot.com/2009/08/sewing-machine-cover.html

Thanks, Jocelyn!

Pincushion Flower in Norfolk, CT

I was driving through the very beautiful town of Norfolk, Connecticut recently and saw this interesting flower near the Library. Doesn't it look like a pincusion? I have no idea what it's called. I had to get down on my elbows to get this shot, but it was worth it. You can't be shy when you're the reporter for the Selvage Blog!

See the bee on the left? I just discovered it!
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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Wow, See Rebecca's Neighborhood!

Rebecca in Florida took this photo from her front yard as the Space Shuttle Discovery launched.
Is this an amazing photo or what? Thanks, Rebecca! See her blog at: http://ichnoart.blogspot.com/

Show This to Someone You Love

Do you know anyone who doesn't know what this is? Take a minute to introduce someone to poison ivy. You may help them aviod weeks of itching! I had a case of poison ivy on my leg in August and decided to post this photo as a public service.

I've heard awful stores of people unwittingly making wreaths and centerpieces with this nasty stuff! Do you have poison ivy in Australia? (No. See Comments.)

I took this photo and invite everyone to spread it around.

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Ann Marie's Red Zinger Wins at Oregon State Fair



Ann Marie of Oregon won a red ribbon at the Oregon State Fair for her Red Zinger selvage quilt! And she won a Viewer's Choice blue ribbon too, Yayyy!
The judge's comments read: "Nice binding technique / what a fabric collector / points should all match." :) This one is definitely a winner!
Nice job, Ann Marie! See her blog at: http://runandsewuilts.wordpress.com/ She also likes to hike with her family and you can see some breath-taking photos of the Northwest on her blog in addition to some great quilts.

Harvest Sun Quilt - 1800's

I just saw this quilt on eBay. Isn't it wonderful? You can see it at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370260074988&ssPageName=ADME:B:FSEL:US:1123

It reminds me of my fan quilt (see sidebar at right). In the close up photos you can see embroidery around the red circles. I really like this one. I'm not buying, just looking. :)

P.S. Wouldn't it be fun if we could travel back in time and talk with the quilter who made this?