Hello from Colorado

Last week I was in Colorado on vacation with my husband and one of our sons. The photo above was taken in the Twin Lakes area between Leadville and Aspen.

Look how this chapel seems to blend into the rock! It's called St. Malo.

We found this cheerful greeting along the road near Durango, CO. I love stuff like this!

Quilt Along - Asterisk Quilt (Post #2)

Welcome Quilters! Start your engines! You will love how easy the Asterisk block is!

Okay, here we go. Each block is made from one 6" square and one 1" strip (about 32" long).

Cut your square, corner to corner, as shown above. Insert a strip. Press your seams toward the strip (not as shown below, oh well).

Next, cut your square diagonally in the other direction, as shown below. Insert strip. Press.

You can see below that my strips aren't lined up perfectly. This won't matter since you'll cut through the center twice more anyway.

Also see Kathleen in CT's wonkified asterisks on flickr. I think they look great.

Now cut your square vertically and insert a strip. Press.

Isn't this looking great? And no triangles to measure!

You know what to do, right? Cut horizontally, insert, press. Now trim your block to it's original size, 6" square.

That last step assures that your blocks are all the same size. What do you think? Easy?

You can join the Quilt-Along by going to http://www.flickr.com/ and joining the Group called "Old Red Barn Quilt Company." There are over 1,200 members already! You can upload photos and chat.

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Also email your quilt photo(s) to me so I can add it to the upcoming Exhibit on http://www.onlinequiltmuseum.com/. Include your name, where you're from, and the quilt's name. Email: karen@onlinequiltmuseum.com

Safety-Pin Necklace

On a visit to the Denver (Colorado) Art Museum last week, I saw this necklace in the gift shop. It's made from safety-pins and little silver spacer beads. The safety pins are decorated with colorful beads. Isn't this clever? I think it would be more fun to make this than it would be to wear it, but I wanted you to see it. Have a creative day!

Hello from New York City

My Internet connection was on the fritz today so I couldn't post until tonight.
Today I went to NYC for my guild meeting. It was such a nice warm day, everyone was outside! This is Time Square (42nd Street and Broadway). Lots of people were sitting at tables in nearby Bryant Park having snacks and enjoying the day. I checked out fabrics in the Garment District around 38th Street. That was fun.

Lizzie's Selvage Dresden Plate

After seeing the selvage Dresden plate block here a while back, Lizzie decided to give it a try. She used the book "Throughly Modern Dresden" by Anelie Belden. Wow, I like how it came out. I'm hoping this will become a quilt! See Lizzie's blog at: http://www.quiltinginnortherncalifornia.blogspot.com/.

Meet Chelo from Spain!

Chelo from Madrid, Spain made this beautiful collection of selvagey items: a rotary cutter case, a small sewing case, a bag for larger items, and a cushion for one of her porch chairs. She's going to make more cushions for her chairs, and she has five!

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Can you imagine if Chelo from Spain, Jill from New Jersey, and Jodie from Ballarat (Australia) were neighbors? No, I can't either! All together they've made upholstered chairs, window cornices, dresses, and lots more, all with selvages. I guess that's why God spread them out around the world.

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Visit Chelo's blog at: http://entretelasypuntadas.blogspot.com/.

Donna Barnitz's Selvage Quilt

Take a look at this amazing selvage quilt! Made by Donna Barnitz and featured on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site: http://www.quiltville.com/. Thanks to Daryl Perry in NM for the heads up about this quilt. Yayy, Donna!

Sharon's New Selvage Tote

Thanks to Kathie Holland for alerting me to this nice big selvage tote made by Sharon Rowlett of Texas.

You can see their quilts at http://www.living4quilting.blogspot.com/.

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Rachel (Sharon's niece) gave me Sharon's blog address: http://www.sunnysideupquilting.blogspot.com/.

Welcome to the Quilt-Along!

Welcome to the Quilt-Along! Today (and for the next two Mondays) we're going to have a tutorial here on the Selvage Blog showing how to make this quilt. You can join officially by going to http://www.flickr.com/ and joining the Group called the "Old Red Barn Quilt Company." Then you can share photos of your version of the Asterisk quilt, and chat with other quilters (and me).



There are already over 1,200 members! Join us, this will be fun. This quilt block looks like it might be aggravating to make, but it's really easy. No triangles to cut. You'll like this!

The photo above just shows a layout of some of my first blocks. The whole quilt below shows the border.

I designed this quilt. Another version of it appeared in the May/June issue of Quiltmaker magazine. This time I'm making it in solids. I think it would also look great made from scraps.

To make one block: cut one 6" square, and one 1" strip about 32" long. (See above and below.)

I like how striped fabrics look when used for the 1" strips. (Scroll way down for examples.)

Twin quilt: For a quilt that measures 56" wide x 72" long, make 88 blocks. Cut each block 6" square. Cut 88 strips 1"wide x 32" long. (Save leftovers for the border.)

Fabric requirements: 2.5 yards for the blocks, and 2.5 yards for the strips.

Add an additional 2 yards of scraps for the borders.

Wall quilt: For a smaller version, 36" x 36," make 25 blocks. Cut each block 6" square. Cut 25 strips 1" wide x 32" long. (Same as above. Save leftovers for the border.)

Fabric requirements: 1 yard for the blocks, and 1 yard for the strips.

Add an additional yard of scraps for the borders.

There will also be a piano key border like the one shown below. I like to start making blocks from scraps, then decide on the final size later when I see how it looks. You don't need to decide your quilt's final size now. Let's just quilt-along. ;)

Are you inspired? This week review your stash and pick out some fabrics to get started. It's easier to pick 50 fabrics than it is to pick only 5! Cut some 6" squares and some 1" strips. Then you'll be ready to start making some blocks next Monday.

What do you think? Are you gonna give it a try?

Huge Quilt in South Africa!

This enormous quilt is near the airport in Cape Town, South Africa. It's made out of fabric. Can you believe this quilt? I wonder what they did with all their selvages.

I found this on the Jazmin Fabrics and Patchwork site, www.jazmin.co.za.

Gretchen's Selvage Footstool

Here's another item for the selvage history books: Gretchen Thompson's selvage version of Amy Butler's Gumdrop Footstool!

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This would look so good in my new quilt studio (when I get a quilt studio)! Take a look at her wide selvage strips, you get a good look at the Eiffel Tower fabric, a Moda monkey, some oranges, and more. I really like black and whites next to selvages.
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Gretchen brought this footstool to her guild meeting recently. It wouldn't fit in the trunk so she put it in the passenger's seat. She says she got some interesting looks at the stoplights. They're just jealous. :)

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See Gretchen's blog at: http://spicewoodquiltingdiva.blogspot.com/. This blog makes me laugh. She says the footstool doesn't match anything in their house, but she doesn't care, she has it in the living room. Well, how about some selvage wallpaper? Perfect!

New Zippered Selvage Bag - from Italy!

Francesca from Padova, Italy made this sweet selvage bag. She's going on a cruise and wanted a bag that was big enough for all her cosmetics, like suntan lotion, which she hopes to need. Nice colors, ruffled green flower, and I like those two beads on the zipper-pull too. Nice job, Francesca! Have a wonderful trip!

Francesca's blog is: www.pezzepercaso.blogpost.com. Click on the translate button at the top. It's the little flag icon.

Melinda's Selvage Kindle Cover!

Melinda in Marietta, GA made this charming selvage cover for her Kindle (Amazon's wireless reading device). She started by sewing the selvages to batting, then she added the black and white lining. Nice lime green binding too!

See Melinda's blog: http://www.melinful.blogspot.com/. I thought the Kindle would be hard on the eyes, bright like a computer screen, but it isn't. Any opinions out there about using the Kindle?

Sujata's Selvage House

Is this the happiest little selvage house or what? I love the cherries on the roof and the big red door. And the dots and the colors. It's all just right, don't you think? This block was made by Sujata Shah of http://therootconnection.blogspot.com/. Sujata is an artist in Philadelphia, originally from India.

Free Pattern for Fabulous Selvage Bag!

Take a look at this fabulous bag my Marijke Mill from Idaho (originally from the Netherlands). Pronounce her name: Ma-RYE-ka. She has a free pattern for it too. I like the soft scrunchy look, the little flower with the covered button center, the light color, and the outside pocket for my phone. There's a lot to like about this bag!

You're going to enjoy Marijke's site: http://crystelleboutique.com/. She has an Etsy shop too, called Potato Boutique. Very creative!