Exhibit Your House Quilt in Pennsylvania!

Illustration: Above quilt block by Christine of Auntie's Quaint Quilts - Tasmania, Australia.

The Charm Girls Quilters want to exhibit your house quilt in an elegant Quilt Show to benefit the Pearl S. Buck International House in Perkasie, PA in April 2010. (We are 6 quilting buddies who have been together for 5 years. This will be our second show.)

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Any way that you interpret the “House” theme is fair game! Are you thinking of a fixer-upper or a mansion? A hen house, fun house, gingerbread house, housework, or a fire house? Surprise us. There will be a Grand Prize chosen by the staff of the Pearl S. Buck House, and Viewer's Choice Awards.

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Finished quilts must be no larger than 36” square, and no smaller than 20” square. The rest us up to you.

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Please tell Helen Wolf (asap) if you will be contributing a quilt: charmgirls@comcast.net. Your quilt must arrive in PA by March 31, 2010. All quilts will be returned, or if you choose, donated to a silent auction to benefit the Pearl S. Buck International House. There is a submission fee of $10 for quilters in the US. If you live outside the US (or in Alaska or Hawaii) there is no fee since you will have extra shipping expenses. Helen has all the info.

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Also email a photo for exhibit on the Selvage Blog. Have fun!

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"Buenos noches!" to all our visitors from Spain today.

Selvage Applique by Debra Posthumus

Debra Posthumus of Terre Haute, Indiana created these delightful selvage applique designs. She bought the blue fabric (a shirt) at a garage sale for 50 cents, and she got 8 embroidery hoops at a church sale for $1. And of course, the selvages were absolutely free!

Debra likes the bird (above) the best, and she uses it in the header for her blog: www.quiltchicksrule.blogspot.com.

I think my favorite is the house and tree. The shapes are just right, and I like all the selvages. I like how the door stands out.

The line, "I love cake" is from an episode of "That 70's Show."

Even though the photo below is a little washed out, I wanted to show you the teacup. The steam looks like question marks to me. And I love that tea tag. Nice job, Debra!

200 Crocheted Granny Squares in a Month!

What do you do when you are stressed, or have a long ride in the car, or have to sit in waiting rooms, or get to go on vacation and watch action movies with the men in your family? Needlework of some kind, of course! I was stressed 5 weeks ago so I went to Michaels and bought 9 different colors plus dark brown for the borders. And two Size "G" crochet hooks. Always get a back-up hook! 200 blocks later, I'm not stressed any more. And we had a blast in Oregon, as you all know. Now I hope to attach all these blocks into a nice warm afghan.

My mother and her mother taught me how to make these "Granny Squares" a long time ago. How cool is that? I remember using the blankets they made, so this brings back nice memories.

Selvage Tote for Lynne's Mom

Lynne in New England made this beautiful selvage tote bag as a birthday present for her Mom. They're both artists so you would expect this to be stunning...and it is! I love color gradation arrangements. She put some dark selvages in the middle so dirt won't show up on the bottom of the bag. Pretty smart idea. See the handles below.

Lynne had this funky pink button left over from another project. It's perfect here!

Millie likes the bag too (below). She has her own blog: http://www.darlingmillie.blogspot.com/. You should see all the cats in the list of Followers of Millie's blog!

Oh, yeah. Lynne has a blog too: http://www.patcherymenagerie.blogspot.com/. She shows more in-progress photos, including the zippered inner pocket. Nice job, Lynne!

The Toy Society

The Toy Society makes toys and leaves them in public places to be found by lucky passers-by. You can find out more about it at www.thetoysociety.blogspot.com.

I just found the blog today and I signed up to get more information. I like the idea of crafters leaving little treats all over the world. I found this pretty blue bird on the blog among the older posts. Looks like fun.

An Uplifting Place

This is the cieling in one of the Reading Rooms at the New York Public Library (Fifth Ave. and 42nd Street). Isn't it beautiful? You can imagine how elaborate the rest of the building is, if this is the cieling!

As I admired this I was inspired to be a more artistic quilter, to think "bigger," to reach further. I suspect many visitors to the Library are lifted up in their hearts. I think this would please the creators of this elegant building.

Little Selvage Pin-Cushions

I made these little pin-cushions as "party favor" type gifts. Each one was wrapped in a clear bag, then tied with pretty satin ribbons. The collection made a festive decoration!

P.S. I bet Martha Stewart never thought of this!

Quick and Easy Selvage Project

Do you like the idea of starting and finishing a selvage project in one afternoon? Take a look at this. It's just one quilt block, used to make a pretty pillow. It looks so good in a quilting room or other place where creativity is celebrated. I like how the cherries are featured in the middle.

You could draw lines on the foundation first, to help you be sure the center section is covered with selvages.

Then add selvages to the corners. Trim. I rounded the corners of the finished square so that the pillow wouldn't have little pointy things on the corners.

You may remember that I made this pillow for the Moda Bake Shop, and it was featured in a give-away a while back. This piece is unusual in that the selvages are so coordinated.

If you would like more directions for selvage quilting, visit www.selvagequilts.com and click on Workshops. It's all free; you can use anything you find there for classes or whatever you want.

Do You Like to Read Quilts?

Have you noticed that clothing labels are being replaced by the practice of printing the information right onto the clothing fabric? In 10 years a labels quilt like this one may be a real antique.

Label quilts are like selvage quilts in a way: they feature a common item we normally don't value or save. They're fun to read. They're tough and withstand lots of washing. They look very busy.

I like to secure my labels with bits of masking tape so it's easy to machine sew the labels onto the foundation. After sewing, just pull the tape off.

Fill empty spaces with little buttons (above). The quilt top below will be finished one of these days when I decide what kind of border I want. I love all the buttons in the sashing.

I am responsible for the Block-of-the-Month program for my guild this coming year. This labels block will be the topic for October. The Empire Quilters meet at the Fashion Institute in New York City's Garment District. How appropriate that we make a fashion labels quilt!

The blocks for Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. are already posted on a blog: www.empirebom.blogspot.com. If your guild needs a BOM program, feel free to use this one.

Make Yourself a Selvage Tote Bag

Are you considering your next (or first) selvage project? How about a OOAK (one-of-a-kind) selvage tote bag. Won't that be fun to bring to guild meetings in the fall? And it's a nice souvenir of your quilting projects. Add buttons or patches or charms or beaded fringe or knotted selvage fringe! I just made that last one up as I started brain-storming. Oh, and how about those little mirrors from India.

I made the big selvage tote above. Click on the link below to see posts for this and 18 other totes made by various selvage quilters. Also go to the Index in the sidebar at right to see "Selvage Purses," etc. http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/search/label/selvage%20tote%20bags

When you make your tote, send a photo for all of us to admire. Have fun!

Crocheted Selvage Purses for Fund-Raiser

Brenda (of www.scrapsandstrings.blogspot.com) alerted me to this fund-raising project going on in Iowa. The proceeds are going to the Mennonite Central Committee to benefit "Global Family" (to fund education for children in India). This is what the sponsoring "Love Joy Peace" blog had to say:

"Talk about laugher and fun at the North American Relief Sale meetings in Iowa City when we started talking "Green"! What can a selvage do? "You throw them away", was the first response. The crochet hook was moving right along as Marlys's friend had supplied balls of selvages from their quilt borders. The result: Bags and Purses! Each one was different: Bags with fabric handles for over the shoulder to Clutch Handbags. As the ideas and suggestions came, each purse was different. (The crochet hook is still going, too)."

Visit this blog at: http://lovejoypiece.blogspot.com/

Akiko's Selvage Hat

Akiko Kunst of Massachusetts made this beautiful selvage hat. (If you haven't seen her selvage whale, click on the photo in the sidebar at right.) Here's what she had to say about it:

"I finished my selvage hat:) I lost my favorite hat for gardening and I couldn't find anything I like.
So I bought Amy Butler's Sky hat pattern but I couldn't decide which fabric to use.
When I was making my whale, I thought "Oh why not make the hat with selvages!"
I might get white ribbon and colorful buttons to put on my hat."

Akiko is so talented! I love how the selvavges are splayed fan-like around the brim. What an inspiration. Great job!

I hope this garden hat will be worn while sipping iced-tea, not digging holes!

Meet Edith Bieri of Switzerland

Edith Bieri of Zurich, Switzerland says she made the striped blocks in one day, then pieced them into a quilt top after dinner!

I really like this quilt. The color combinations are surprising, but pretty. Very modern and not fussy. It would have been fun to watch her put this together. See Edith's blog at: www.quiltsundmehr.blogspot.com. (She includes English text.)

Meet Sunday Garcia of Tennessee

This wonderful quilt is on display at "The Most Amazing Quilt Shop" in Cookeville, Tennessee. It's the creation of Sunday Garcia, a customer of this shop. She started quilting only a year ago, but she had prior experience sewing clothes. (Even so!) Sunday is a retired Miami police officer. Wow! She is multi-talented! (See below for close-up photos.)

Aren't these details great? Even a little bottle of suntan lotion (below) near the sunglasses!

Wonderful job, Sunday!

Sunday's Quilt, Part 2

Here are some more photos of Sunday Garcia's quilt. (See post above.) I love all the details.

Linda Wolanin's "Most Amazing"

On a recent drive along I-40 in Cookville, Tennessee, I saw a sign for "The Most Amazing Quilt Shop." Who could resist something like that? I had a nice visit with the owner Linda Wolanin. She had such a good experience buying the shop from the previous owners, she kept saying "This is so amazing!" and that became the shop's name.

This is such a delightful place, especially if you like 1930's style fabrics. I love the simple quilt above with the double pink stripes. Wouldn't it look nice with a few selvages added to the mix?

Linda said that the quilt above is called "Texas Pinwheel Star."

She has quilts displayed on little beds. A visit to this store and you want to run home and make a quilt! Her website is: http://www.mostamazingquiltshop.com/.

Come back tomorrow to see photos of a stunning quilt that Linda had on display. It was made by Sunday Garcia, a former Miami police-officer. You'll really like it!

Dogs Rule!

JoAnne of Keller, Texas made this selvage log cabin quilt for a guild challenge. She named it "Dogs Rule." The log cabin blocks are nice and soft. I like the borders too. Yayyy, JoAnne! See her blog at: http://www.nappinnanaquilts.blogspot.com/.

Meet Anna Hergert of Moosejaw

The featured exhibit at the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center was Anna Hergert of Moosejaw, SK, Canada. I was lucky to meet her the day I visited the museum. She is a delightful person who likes to share her inspiration and methods. She will be teaching soon at Quilting by the Lake in New York. Check out her website at: http://www.annahergert.com/.

Anna let me take these photos to share with you. She and her husband traveled around Canada and she made a series of quilts from photos that she took. This is one of her landscape quilts. She has others that are abstract, inspired by her emotions. Some are three-dimensional, and the view changes as you walk by the quilt. All are stunning.

I like how she made this fence. She said that the fence post below wasn't dark enough at first, so she used tulle to darken it. The shadow in the sky above the red house was from light shining in the window, not the quilt. This exhibit runs until the first week in September.

Latimer - Part 3, Unique Quilts

Here are some interesting quilts I saw at the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center. There were no quilter's names on these items. (If anyone knows who made these, please let me know and I'll post the names.) Isn't this an amazing portrait quilt!

These flowers are three dimensional. I love the embellishments and the checkered background fabric too.

This landscape quilt shows a typical Oregon coast scene. Nice job.

This is one of many quilts displayed on racks, but the colors really made it stand out from the crowd.

Latimer Part 4, Items for Sale

This amazing bowl is made from felt! This is such a fun place for textile enthusiasts. The tag on it says "The Chocolate Sheep."

This is a basket of dolls. Kind of alien-like, but curiously cheerful in a basket by the window.

This closet of quilts captures the personality of the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center.

This pretty hooked rug is called "Three Rose Antique" from the collection of Jo Stoltenberg. I got to see a demonstration of rug hooking while I was there. I could really get into that!

Come back tomorrow to see the featured exhibit: art quilts by Anna Hergert from Moosejaw, SK, Canada.

Latimer Quilt and Textile Center

Have you been to the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center in Tillamook, Oregon? I visited it today and took some photos to show you. This building was built in the 1930's and used to be a school. Now it's a friendly place where quilters, weavers, knitters, rug-hookers, felters, and other textile artists meet to work on their projects, teach, and exhibit. There are many interesting textile items for sale too.

The flowers at the entrance were so pretty I had to include them here. I may have to change the name of this blog to "Selvage and Flower Blog."

There is a nice variety of quilts on display here. This one (above) caught my eye with it's soft colors and classic "twentieth century style."
I love the movement in this bright colored pickle dish (or orange peel?) quilt. Pretty applique adds a nice finishing touch.

To find out more, visit their website at: http://www.latimerquiltandtextile.com/.

Latimer - Part 2

One room is full of weaving looms, both big and small. You can see a demonstration of the weaving process there. Isn't that a nice painted floor? It looks like they spin wool now and then also. If I lived around here, I'd drop in often and learn how to spin.

They have a nice collection of feedsacks in a glass display case (below). I didn't know feedsacks were so pretty; I thought they said "Acme Feed Company" and stuff like that on them.

This pretty quilt is on display there, but there was no sign telling who the creative quilter was. Nice job on all these butterflies, don't you think?

Canon Beach Flowers

This is the view from our hotel room balcony in Canon Beach, Oregon. It has been cool and cloudy, but just perfect for walking on the beach. Only a few brave people have tried swimming. Every one I have seen has made it only half way in, then come out shrieking about the cold!

The flowers in town are gorgeous! Just look at the double white daisy above. The two flowers below are some I've never seen before, and I thought you'd like to see them too.

If you have emailed me recently, please be patient. While on vacation, my outgoing emails are not "going out;" they're just sitting in my Outbox. If I can't resolve this, they'll just have to wait until I get home.

Some Flowers for You

Isn't this a beautiful one? The center of Canon Beach, Oregon is full of the most beautiful flowers. I love the color of the dahlia below.

Blue flowers always catch my eye and there are about 5 different kinds here. These clusters are about 12 inches high.

I hope these sunny flowers will brighten your day (especially if it's winter where you live). Back to quilting tomorrow! We'll have a "field trip" to the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center.

GreenMare's Selvage Bag

GreenMare of Wisconson made her first selvage project, this pretty selvage bag that she says is her favorite. It goes with everything. She chose the dotted lining to go with the color window dots on the selvages. Nice job Mare! Check out her blog at: http://greenmare-maresnest.blogspot.com/.

Lori's Selvage Bag

Lori Draeger says: "My guild's challenge this year is to make a bag/purse/tote that followed a reduce, reuse, recycle theme. Here is my selvage bag." You can read more about Lori's project on her blog at: www.mngirltx.wordpress.com. Nice clean design and pretty water-blue selvage. Great job, Lori!

Which do you prefer?

Here are two photos of the same scene. I think I prefer the view looking through the arch. It adds an "old world" feel to the scene.

This is the Columbia River, between Oregon and Washington. Isn't it beautiful?

Cherries and Blueberries

We stopped to pick cherries in this orchard near Mt. Hood. The trees are only about 10 feet tall, and the cherries were so abundant and delicious and pretty, I had to take some photos to show you. Then we stopped for some blueberries. What a garden paradise!

Lavender Valley

This is Lavender Valley in Mt. Hood, Oregon. There are 10,000 lavender plants on 4 acres, representing 70 different varieties! The friendly and enthusiastic proprieters, the Harris family, process the lavender into essential oil in a lab right there where you can watch. They also offer a variety of products for sale: lotion, shampoo, soap, spray fragrance, sachets, plants, ribbon wands, watercolors, lavender tea and honey.

I bought some lavender tea and lavender honey. The tea has the wonderful fragrance of lavender but I thought the flavor was too intense. (I'm not too adventurous in my tea cloices.) The honey is yummy! I'm enjoying some in my black tea right now.

Visit their website at: http://lavendervalley.com/history.htm. This place is "top-notch."

News from the Fabric Square Shop: Laura has restocked her inventory of selvage strips. She says: "There are 100 strips per bag for $9.95. We do not have the free shipping promotion any longer but the bags are now priced lower and also not gallon size. They are located on the website in the What's New Category." Visit: http://www.fabricsquareshop.com/, or click on the ad in the sidebar.

Mt. Hood Close-Up and Multnomah Falls

I was astonished to come face-to-face with the peak of Mt. Hood just before landing in Portland, Oregon! I'm on vacation this week with my husband Jason and our two sons, Brian (25) and David (22). This is one of our old favorite places to visit. We like Portland, the Columbia River Gorge, and the coastal area of Cannon Beach, Oswalt West SP, Fort Stevens etc. My favorite part is that the four of us are together. At 22 and 25, we rarely spend this much time together.

We visited Multnomah Falls which is along the Colombia River (which seperates Oregon and Washington). There is a charming old restaurant at the base of the falls where he had dinner outside. The upper part falls about 250 feet, and the lower part falls 69 feet. It is just beautiful!

"Vanity Chair" by Cynde Clark

Cynde Clark of Alabama made this delightful selvage chair, and I love the name she gave it too: "Vanity Chair." Nice job, Cynde!

I would love to have a chair like this in my quilt studio. So of course, I'm going to make one. I wonder how many selvage chairs will be made around the world as a result of seeing this one. If you make one, be sure to send a photo.

Happy Birthday, USA!

Indian Textiles in Assam

While searching the world to bring you all the selvage news, I found this interesting headgear being worn by a man picking tea leaves in Assam, India. (This photo was in a magazine called "Tea," Spring 2009 Issue.) If you take a close look you can see the selvage edge. It reads: "NAKORA SOSO BLOCK PRINTS 394." The middle photo shows a good view of several printed textiles. Aren't they interesting?

The green fabric with the selvage is tied to his tea leaf basket behind him. I think the folded fabrics on his head are there to make it easier to carry the basket. The basket "handle" would slip off his bare head, but the folded fabric cushions the handle. The other workers had solid colored head fabrics, and a smaller pile too. Some had no headgear at all.

A Google search for the words on this selvage revealed no results.

Melinda's Kiwi Zinger

Melinda of Marietta, GA just finished her Kiwi Zinger selvage quilt! Isn't it beautiful? She is a longarm quilter and quilt teacher. She stippled the selvage areas, and feathered the zingers. I love how some selvage areas are dark, and some are light. It looks like jewels glistening. Wonderful job, Melinda!

Take a look at her blog to see more photos of this amazing quilt: www.melinful.blogspot.com.

Selvagey Rabbit from Annette in Scotland

I received a delightful note today from Annette Tait of Edinburgh, Scotland. She made the gorgeous Arabella Rabbit Bag and the Baby Felines (decorated with selvages) that were featured here a while back.

This rabbit decorates the front of her notecard. I just love how the selvage "bits" add a shaggy texture. She used a foam-type adhesive between the rabbit and the card, raising it a little above the surface. Above the rabbit she wrote, "...Arabella had been very busy in the sewing room that morning..." I'm probably wearing a few threads right now myself!

In addition to Arabella rabbit bags and handmade cards, Annette makes baby hares, watercolors, and collages. Take a look at her Etsy store: http://www.dragonhouseofyuen.etsy.com/. Thank you Annette for your inspiration.