Talented selvage enthusiast Jill Bunis of New Jersey has a new Kindle so of course she's been making selvage covers. Aren't they wonderful? Look at those fabrics. I love that zipper fabric. Visit her blog Cre8fmomquilts to see her son Matthew's artwork too. What a creative family.
I hope you all have a wonderful new year! 
Are you in the market for a new calendar? This one is spiral bound so it lays flat on your desk. There is a page for each week, and beautiful quilt photos to inspire you all year long.
Remember yesterday I said, "If you're in the blizzard, I hope you're warm and safe. If you're at the beach, send a picture!" Well Leeann in New Zealand did just that! This is what Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) looked like at Ruakaka Beach, south of Whangarei, NZ. Isn't it breath-taking? It was 86 degrees F and Leeann was swimming here. She says the sand is white silicon. Lovely. We're walking on white stuff too, but not as toasty.
Now that we have quilting friends around the world, I'm more aware of the fact that someone's enjoying summer when we're in the middle of winter. I always knew it, but now it's more real to me. I'm more aware of the fact that it's every hour of the day and night somewhere too. Hello to all our neighbors on Planet Earth. 
The "No-Bake Chewies" below were really disappointing. The ingredients looked yummy: dates, raisins, walnuts, granola, and dried cranberries. I heated the mixture of buter, honey, Karo syrup, and I forgot what else, but when mixed with the first items, they didn't "stick." So I just spread it out on a cookie sheet. My DH said it was good ice cream topping. I'm not so sure. Confectioner's sugar is sprinkled on top. If they had been a success, I would have come up with a better name. Why name them for a process that isn't used in the making?
These chocolate "Haystacks" were pretty good. All you do is melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler, then mix in some chow mein noodles and drop in little haystacks. Well, okay, I admit that I was looking at the kids section of my cookbook by this time. Haha.
I hope that you're enjoying a wonderful Christmas Day today - quiet moments as well as happy times with loved ones. I'm hoping something special will warm your heart.
Gail from the Cozy Quilter blog has two very special ornaments (above and below). The bell is from her in-law's tree. When Gail's daughter was 3 years old she couldn't resist reaching out and taking the bell in her little hand, shaking it and saying "Look Mom, I'm making spirits bright!" Gail says "She certainly did, and she still does. She just turned 19, and Grandma gave her the bell to put on our tree."
This angel ornament was also given to Gail's daughter from Grandma the year that her daughter was an angel in their church Christmas pageant. They arrived early so she could get into her angel costume, but when she saw the costumes, she decided that she didn't want to wear one. But she still wanted to sing. She was the "rebel angel" that year. I think I'd really like that church. :) And Grandma too. What heart-warming stories. Thank you, Gail.
Joan Jordan has had this ornament (above and below) for many years and it's her favorite. She doesn't remember where it came from or when. It measures 2x3 inches with the doors closed. Isn't it sweet?
And here's a little present for all of you: some good news. Remember Myra in New Zealand who is dealing with cancer? Many of us have made heart blocks to cheer her up. (See the blue button in the sidebar.) Well, her friend Karen Jones reports that Myra is doing well. The initial tumor has shrunk, and the pain has stopped. Yayyy! In 3 days Karen will visit Myra and they'll do some sewing on the hearts quilt. Karen says Myra loves receiving all the blocks and good wishes.
Veronica from Spain made her Christmas cards with selvages this year! What a wonderful idea. It looks like you can take the ornament off the card and put it on your tree also.
This is the entrance foyer. A neighbor brought us a pointsettia. The "streaks" of light on the wall are created by the light fixture. More photos to come. Thanks for visiting. :)
Oops, little mistake. If you're looking for the post about ornaments, it'll be here tomorrow.
We have been building a house in Connecticut, and I'm happy to tell you that we just moved in! We've moved 8 times in 33 years. It's such a big project! You pack and pack, then when you think you're done, you still have to pack things like the telephone and the food in the refrigerator. And clean the fridge too! Then you have to start unpacking! And we're having a family Christmas party on Saturday. I caught a cold during all this, but things are looking up. Thanks for listening; I just had to whine a little.
Amanda Jean in Wisconsin at Crazy Mom Quilts has a tutorial on her blog showing how to make checkbook covers, including this selvage version. Nice gift idea. I know she did it 2 years ago, but I just found it, thanks to Sharyn at Kalama Quilts. Thanks, Sharyn!
Kay M. Peterson (from the Midwest, USA) made these pretty selvage postcards with a dash of rick rack. Her blog is called My Olive Branch because she assumes she'll eventually annoy all the readers, and the title is her official and continuing apology. Are you getting the idea that she's one hilarious quilter? You're right.
Haha. This is from Knitting Help. Have you ever noticed that non-knitters think you hold knitting needles the way you hold a pencil? The Keebler elves knitted like this on a tv ad too.
Quilter Liz Broussard from Houston, Texas calls this quilt "Salvaged Selvages Sloped." The selvages were given to her by a fellow Stashbuster (a Yahoo group). Liz used telephone book pages for the foundations. Talk about upcycling! I love the zig zags going on here. It reminds me of the rippling pattern of water in a swimming pool. And the quiet black border is perfect. Great job, Liz!
I'm really excited about Ricky Tims' new book "Kool Kaleidoscope Quilts" published by C&T. First, he shows you the basic method summarized on two pages. Then each step is presented in detail. Basically, you sew fabric strips into strata, then cut triangles and kite shapes to create your big wedges. Take a look at the photos on the back cover, shown below.
Ricky has taught this method many times so the directions are clear as a bell. There are also many photos of inspirational quilts made by his students. He says he doesn't plan the quilt in advance; he just chooses fabrics he likes and lets the design develop. That's my kind of quilt! This looks like so much fun, and the quilts are gorgeous.
One thing though, this fellow chops up his selvages! What is he thinking? Somebody tell Ricky to trim off his selvages before cutting his fabric into strips, in case he wants to try selvage quilting. Some even have his own name on them! Haha.
The first step in creating this quilt was to make two Courthouse Steps blocks using just red and taupe. Next, I cut them both in half and stacked them for the center medallion "tree." (To make this work, the center "squares" were actually rectangles to start with. Otherwise the tree trunk would have ended up looking like short stubbs. You log cabin aficianados will know what I mean.)
Jenny in Wellington, New Zealand of the Romany Quilting blog recently made two selvage quilts using her Christmas fabric selvages. One is for a friend and the other is to keep. I like how the ric rac looks, and it covers up the raw edges too. Very clever, Jenny! Merry Christmas!
To read more and see the other quilt, click on over to Jenny's blog. Scroll down to the post on November 29.
