Novelty String Quilt

This novelty string quilt is my latest addition to the Etsy quilt store. The novelty fabrics include some Victorian children and toys, an ice skate, flowers,etc. See close-ups below. This quilt is a fun combination of improv string piecing and an organized pattern of blocks in a grid. I like how the red outer border holds it all together. I should have added some selvages to this one. Next time.

Dr. Oz Show

Yesterday my Mom and I were in the studio audience at the Dr. Oz show. The lead topic was "Perimenopausal Rage." Haha, you don't get to pick the topic, but it was a very interesting show. It will air in about 2 weeks. And here we are with Dr. Oz after the show, a kind and gentle guy. We were at Rockefeller Center, a high-energy busy place.

Now we're getting ready for 10 inches of snow later today and tonight! Should be good for quilting  :)

Clever Necklace from Czech Republic

This is so clever! It's for sale on Etsy for $20 from lapin Petite in the Czech Republic. She's a 24 yo interested in making funny jewelry and miniature scenes in bottles. This necklace also comes in white to wear with black clothes  :)

Meet Patty Baker, Painter on Etsy.com

Patty Baker is an artist in Thousand Islands, New York (near Canada) who sells her paintings on Etsy. Her shop is: Lookout Studios. You can also send her a photo of a favorite landscape scene and she'll paint it for you. I'm thinking this might be a great Christmas present for my DH. Don't worry, he never reads my blog, and I know my secret's safe with you! ;)

I love the colors in this painting!

First New Sunshine and Shadow

Yesterday I mentioned that I found a bunch of Sunshine and Shadow quilt tops made a few years ago. Well the first one is now a finished quilt! It's about to go on Etsy. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the steam and finish some more. Isn't this pretty? I love these. The high contrast area is chopped up in this one.

Sunshine and Shadow on the Wall

The guest bedroom needed some color and this Sunshine and Shadow quilt did the trick! It's 68" square. (Each little square is 2" finished size.) The purples and pinks came from a package of hand-dyed fabrics that I got at a quilt show a long time ago. I love to make the gradual gradation, then Cha-Chang! High contrast. That's why the boldest contrast combination was put in the largest diamond on the quilt (the black and light aqua.)

 I just found a box of 6 similar quilt tops that I'll finish and put on Etsy. I'll show you as they are finished.

Carolyn's Dyed Selvages

Carolyn Hosier of Des Moines, Iowa (Lee Prairie Designs blog) has made some fun things with her selvages. She says, "I have also tan died the selvages and used other dyes to change the color of them just to give another look! I plan to dye some selvages with green dye and make small Christmas trees to applique on placemats." Dying is a great idea!

Selvage Pillow from the Quilt Barn

The Quilt Barn in Idaho has a Hen House in back where the chicks gather to sew and take classes. I wish Idaho and Connecticut were a little closer! They also have an Etsy store with gorgeous fabrics. Nice autumn selvage pillow, Chicks!

Selvage Star by Twin Fibers

Take a look at this beautiful selvage star quilt made by twins from Michigan, Jennifer and Jessica at Twin Fibers. I like the echo quilting. And see the binding in the photo below. So clever. There's a link to a tutorial for adding that green stripe. The Selvage Star pattern is by Sarah London.

Winners Announced!

Quilt by Riel Nason, author of new book: The Town That Drowned.

The winners of the 4 little vintage bowls for pins are:

1. Danielle Villano
2. Sandy
3. Amy
4. Debby

The winner of Riel Nason's new book The Town That Drowned  is:

1. The Cozy Quilter

Stay tuned to Riel's blog for more book giveaways coming up!

I'll email you for your mailing addresses. Congratulations!

Riel Nason's New Book - Giveaway!

You've seen Riel Nason's amazing selvage quilts here. Now her first novel has just been released, The Town That Drowned. I finished it a few minutes ago and I loved it. It's winsomely told from the perspective of a 15 year old girl, Ruby. The type of story is somewhat similar to the kind that Garrison Keilor might tell. There's even a trailer for this book. You can read about the story on the trailer site.

Riel has generously offered an autographed copy of this book for a giveaway. She will mail it to you directly. So leave a comment on this post to enter the random drawing. Winner announced Wednesday. She'll mail from Canada to anywhere in the world.  P.S. Riel is going to add a little surprise to the package.

Riel's quilting blog is: The Q and the U.

Meet Photographer/Graphic Artist Agnieszka

Did you know that you can buy a custom banner for your Etsy store on Etsy? For less than $9! Agnieszka from Europe will take images from your Etsy store listings and make a stunning banner to match your store. She made the banner for my store and I love it. I asked her to make changes twice, and she made just what I wanted, and she worked fast too. Her store is Magnesina. I heartily recommend her.

Agnieszka sells fabulous photography too (see example below.) Some photos are only $13. Sale going on now. Take a look.

Linda Baxter Lasco's Selvage Quilt

Take a look at this fabulous quilt by AQS author and editor Linda Baxter Lasco! (She edited my book, "Quilts from the Selvage Edge.") I love that bright yellow inner border. This quilt will go to a child with cancer at Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Nice job, Linda!

Vintage Give-Away - 4 Winners!

This weekend I found 4 beautiful vintage bowls at my church's Fall Festival that would be perfect for holding pins in your quilt studio. (Two are shown here. Each one is different.) So I'm having a give-away!

Here's the scoop:
1.) Help spread the word about my new Etsy store. Write a blog post, put something on Facebook or Pinterest.com, tell your neighbor, or take out an ad in Veranda magazine!
2.) Then leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered in the drawing. Four winners announced next Wednesday the 19th. You must live somewhere on Earth to enter.

Thanks for helping me get my new store on the map. Cyberspace is a big place!

New Etsy Store: KarenGriskaQuilts

My new Etsy store is open! And this green and brown Midwest Amish style wall quilt is one of the 44 quilts listed for sale so far. It was inspired by (but not a copy of) a quilt in the book "Amish Crib Quilts from the Midwest, The Sara Miller Collection" by Smucker, Crews, and Welters, page 16. Improvisational Amish quilts are some of my all time favorites.

I know you're all quilters, so you're not in the market for quilts. If you see a quilt you like and you want to make one just like it, help yourself to the idea. Don't think about a "pattern," just do it by eye.

Many of you encouraged me to give Etsy a try and I'm so glad I did. The site is easy to use, and it's such a dynamic place! There's a lot to learn about circles, teams, treasuries, keywords, tags, favorites, etc., but I'm learning. If you see anything in my Etsy store that could be improved, please let me know. Thanks.

Selvage Arrangement - Close Together

Here's a good detail photo of a selvage block where the quilter arranged the selvages close together. You can't see any of the printed part of the fabric. It gives a modern, white, light-and-airy look. It's from the blog: Oh Frannson! You need a lot of selvages to do this, using only the part with the writing and color windows, but it looks good. What's your selvage style? Close like this, or spaced further apart to show the fabric print? (I show the prints, but I like this look (above) too.)

Selvage Quilt Will Warm a Scholar's Heart

Edda from Michigan made this beatiful selvage quilt and she's donating it to a wonderful program called Seita Scholars. It supports young adults who have grown up in the foster care program by providing an education at Western Michigan University, all expenses paid. One of these young people will receive Edda's quilt too. This is her contribution to her guild's service project for next year. What a wonderful idea!

Largest Selvage Quilt in the World? From NZ

This amazing selvage quilt is the creation of Debbie Pettinger of New Zealand. It measures 84" x 84!" Can you imagine? This may be the largest selvage quilt in the world. If you know of a bigger one, let us know.

Her quilting friends helped her gather this bounty, and she still has selvages left over to start her next project. I love the light touch of color she added to this multitude of selvages. Yayyy, Debbie!

Welcome to My Quilt Studio

A few days ago I moved my wire basket fabric storage and yarn bins out of my closet and into my quilt studio. These Elfa drawers are great. Even when filled to capacity, you can still easily slide the drawers open and closed. There are knitting needles and crochet hooks displayed in vases too. I really like this arrangement.

The design wall area (white flannel, floor to cieling) is where the yellow/red quilt top is hanging. The zigzag quilt is hanging where I photograph quilts. The log cabin quilt on the right stays there. That's one of my favorites.

The sewing machine, cutting table and ironing board all take advantage of the light from the windows. Of course the overflowing box under the table is full of scraps.

And this is where I'm writing to you right now. This room has never been so clean and organized, so I'm enjoying the view for a little while before I make a nice big mess again! After years of operating out of boxes, I'm so happy to have such a nice big space.

Blog Features Modern Quilts

I just found a blog that you'll love, especially if you like modern quilts: Ahhh....Quilting by Cynthia in MN. There are so many inspiring quilt photos on her blog! I'm intrigued by these wedge quilts. And you'll get to like her just by the way she writes. Quilters are just that way, don't you think?

Nice Touch for Sewing Table

Years ago my sister Eileen gave me this antique soap dish, and I've been using it to hold my pins. It adds such a nice touch to my sewing experience. Good gift idea for our sewing buddies too.

This is what's on my design wall today. Rather than just doing the usual 16-patch, I'm thinking about adding something improvisational in a stripe down the middle. Maybe a row of triangles. Any suggestions?