Selvage Wallets by Ardis Hasenbeck

Take a look at these beautiful selvage wallets made by Ardis Hasenbeck of Texas. She used a pattern by Valori Wells that was given to her by her friend (and mine) Gretchen Thompson of the Spicewood Quilting Diva blog. They are addicted to making these. Ardis has made over 50 so far (by the time you read this, who knows what the actual number will be!) and she donates them to a charity bazaar. Great idea. Nice job, Ardis!

Julie Silber's Amazing Antique Quilts

Here are some wonderful antique quilts from Julie Silber's blog. As you probably know, Julie is a quilt expert, curator of the Esprit Amish quilt collection and a buyer and seller of museum quality quilts. You will love the quilts on her blog.
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Does the block style (above) look vaguely familiar? I've seen photos like this tile quilt before and I think that was somewhere in my subconscious when I made my raw-edge quilt recently. The antique quilt pictured is needleturn applique, not raw-edge. Also, these pieces are curvy, and mine are straight edged. The fabrics are different too, but the overall "feel" is similar. The heart adds a nice focal point. I wonder what the border looks like.

Julie suspects that the inspiration for this fantastic red and white quilt (above) was crocheted doilies. Have you ever seen a border like this? I love it. I bet all those little circles are stuffed.

Hey, red bird, put that flowerbud back!

Don't you hate it when applique birds mess with your quilt design?

More Transparent Stuff

Here are some more transparent products to tickle your imagination. I would love to take this canoe out in a clear lake and watch the underwater world. Price $1,500.

I don't think I'd want to see into my refrigerator all the time, but still an interesting idea. I could probably waste some time watching my clothes get washed though. These are both from Japan. You can see more on this blog.

This toaster makes sense. The tub, well I'd have to get used to it. It looks like a big measuring cup. If you want to use less water I think a smaller but deeper tub is best. Like an Asian soaking tub. Ahhh.

Update: The antique crazy quilt (with the asterisk-like designs) sold on eBay for $202.

Transparent Iron

Isn't this an ingenious idea? A transparent iron from Yanko Design. Now you can see what you're pressing! I like this idea. See more about the transparent "B-Iron 715." (It's just a concept at the moment, not a product that is available for sale.)

I guess you'd have to give up the steam option though. And I really like steam.

Funny that it's still called an "iron." Maybe that will change to "presser," or "smoother."

Antique Crazy Asterisk Quilt on eBay

Take a look at this one-of-a-kind antique quilt that was recently sold on eBay. Made in 1870 it measures 58" x 76." This caught my eye probably because of those crazy, improvisational "asterisks." The quiltmaker added some embroidery and applique for good measure too. I really like the cheddar, black and red in this quilt...and the pink too. I like the funky "Gee's Bend" flavor of this quilt!

This quilt sold for $202.50.

"Stamp Collection" Tile Quilt (Empire October BOM)

One of my "jobs" is to design the Block of the Month blocks for my guild, Empire Quilters in NYC. This raw-edge machine applique block is our block for October. I made this tile quilt as an experiment to see what would happen when it was machine washed and dryed. I know it's pretty big for an experiment, but I was having so much fun.

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I should have used a zigzag stitch to applique the patches, or sewed a little further away from the edge (more than 1/8"). A few of the "tile" edges came loose in the wash and needed repair. The quilt also needed a trim to remove lots of frayed edge threads. But that's okay. It has a soft, shabby chic look now, and I like it. I think it looks fabulous from a distance! Haha.

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If you like the look of tile quilts, you might be interested in a book called: Tile Quilt Revival: Reinventing a Forgotten Form by Carol Gilham Jones and Bobbi Finley, published by C&T. The quilts in this book use the needleturn applique technique rather than raw-edge.

If you had three extra hours every day...

...what would you do with them? Get more sleep? Finish your to-do list? Have fun? Write a novel? I really want to know.

I think I would read, at first. There are so many things I want to read, but it seems like I never get to it. And then I would quilt. Maybe thinking about this will help me re-work my priorities and jump out of my ruts.

Quilters Remember September 11th

Have you visited the National Tribute Quilt at the American Folk Art Museum (Lincoln Square Branch) in New York City? To see close-up photos and read about this amazing quilt, visit the Online Quilt Museum Exhibit.

The man in the black coat and hat appeared just as I was photographing the quilt. I think his shilouette adds a somber note to the photo. The Empire guild meets tomorrow. I'm sure we'll have a quiet moment to reflect on this sad day.

Lovely Selvage Gift!

I just received the nicest gifts from Joan of Smyrna, Georgia. She made a selvge cover for this quilter's notebook ("needlework companion"/idea book) and a selvagey bookmark. Aren't they beautiful? Thank you, Joan!

The little button closure is covered by this happy face resting on two yoyo-like flowers. It makes my heart smile :-) Also notice the red zig-zag stitching along the selvage edges. A nice touch.

A selvage near the happy face says "Blank Quilting." This one always makes me chuckle. It's like "flavorless chocolate." What's the point? Lol. Perfect, I like that one. Another good selvage is the "Girlfriends" below. I hope fabric manufacturers will give us more selvages with "useable" words on them, like "Happy Birthday," or phrases, quotes, lyrics, names, places...anything.

Thank you, Joan. Aren't quilters thoughtful?

Elfa drawers for fabric stash? Need advice.

I'm thinking about using some of these units to hold my fabric stash and selvages. They're from elfa. I saw them in person at the Container Store. They feel sturdy and they look pretty nice. You can get a wood top to put on them (like a counter top.) Lowe's also has some similar wire baskets.



This arrangement would allow me to see my fabrics, and to remove a drawer and bring it to my cutting table. Each drawer is 11" deep and 20" wide. The 3" deep drawer on top would be good for tools, etc. They have liners so little things won't fall through the holes.



So what do you think? Would dust be a problem? Can they handle heavy loads of fabric? I fold my fabric, but I'm not the "fold around a cardboard template" type. Any ideas? What works for you?

Edda's Red Selvage Star Quilt

I'm so excited about Edda's new selvage quilt! Isn't this a beauty? I love how the star sparkles on the delicious red background. This and several more of her quilts will be in the Cal-Co show this weekend in the Battle Creek, MI area. Selvage newbies are in for a nice surprise!

This quilt measures 34" x 34." She had all the reds in her stash and she used leftover batting, so this quilt didn't cost her a cent! Her inspiration was the "Twilight Star" quilt in my book, "Quilts from the Selvage Edge." (It really isn't hard, especially for such a cool-looking quilt.)

Asterisk Quilt Wins Ribbon in the New York State Fair

Congratulations to the maker of this Asterisk Quilt and winner of a yellow ribbon at the New York State Fair! Linda Lasco's sister took this photo. Thanks Linda, for sharing it with us.
Using my new reading glasses and best Picassa forensic tools, it may say: "Lois Sayles-Woods" on the label. Very nice job!
(Let me know of you have more info about the maker. Thanks.)

Offline Wikipepdia and More Instant Vacations

Did you take a trip over to the IVman's blog recently? IV stands for "Instant Vacation." He's a professor of French and has lots of short interesting posts.

Boy, I could really use some walls like this in my house!

Happy Labor Day

Today we take a break from our labors and say good-bye to summer. Sigh.

What are you up to today? Picnicing, quilting, catching-up?

I'll be watching auto races at Lime Rock with my husband and two sons.

I don't care about cars, but I love hanging out with the guys.

Happy Labor Day!

Above: "The Artist's Wife at the Sewing Machine," by Romanian painter Ignat Bednarik (1882-1963.)

Quilts by CoopersQuilts

Wow, look at the corner blocks in this quilt! Great colors too. Sparkling earth colors.

You could add a bunch of selvages to the string quilt below, don't you think? Although it's pretty as is.

Saving the best for last:

While searching Bing.com for "colorful quilts" I found these beautiful quilts made by Jacqueline of CoopersQuilts from Florida. She sells them on Etsy. (All the quilts are recent except the one in the bottom photo which is from March of 2008.)

Iraqi Bundles of Love (by Oct. 1)

Quilters are putting together bundles of fabrics and thread to send to our soldiers who will give them to women in Iraq for making quilts and other things for their families. Visit the Iraqi Bundles of Love website to learn more. Leave a message and ask for the address if you'd like to send a bundle of love.

Matt, the soldier who is responsible for delivering the bundles to remote areas, has a mother, sisters, wife and daughter who are all quilters. So he knows how important these bundles are.

Here are some recipients with their bundles, a women's sewing co-op.

Jacqui's Fancy Stitches

Jacqui of Treadle Quilts in Canada is saving Kaffe fabrics for an orange peel quilt that she plans to make. In the meantime, she used the selvages to make another thread-catcher to hang near her sewing machine. Take a look at the fancy machine stitches Jacqui used to attach the selvages. It looks like she used variegated thread too. What a nice touch.

Liberated Wedding Ring Selvage Quilt

What a wonderful selvage quilt by The Cozy Quilter from Ontario, Canada. She calls it her Liberated Wedding Ring selvage quilt. I think the red triangles look like butterflies fluttering over the surface of the quilt. The royal blue inner border is one inch wide. The binding will be dark red. She'll be taking it to be professionally machine quilted soon.

Isn't this a beautiful way to display her quilt, on a clothesline? Cozy Q doesn't have a clothesline, so this is her neighbor's. Take a look at her blog.

Jana's Selvage Sewing Machine Cover

Take a look at Jana's new selvage sewing machine cover. What a neat job! Visit her blog called Jana's Patchworkwelt Jana is from Hamburg, Germany.

She's a Violinist and a Quilter!

Linda Hall of Tampa, Florida is a symphony violinist and a quilter. Her new blog is The Quilting Violinist, "Holding life together with stitches and notes." Isn't her selvage quilt with yo-yo's a beauty? Nice job, Linda! Take a look at all the fabric that Linda and her quilting buddies are using to make charity quilts. Wow!

Michelle's Clothesline Quilt

Michelle from Florida (Nostalgic Cafe blog) made this great quilt and do you know what she thinks about it? She says: "meh." What's not to love? I think it's wonderful. What do you think?

Have You Visited Nifty Quilts?

Nifty from Seattle of the Nifty Quilts blog made this stupendous quilt! I love everything about it: the border, the quilting, the webs, the "backgrounds," and the binding. Her blog is loaded with more wonderful quilts and fantastic fabrics. It's a real treat! She is a new blogger, so stop by and say hi.

This quilt makes me want to drop everything and go make a string quilt. How about you?

Yulia's Braids

This is Yulia Tymoshenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine. She's iconic in Europe for her braids. They're very pretty, like a golden crown. A beauty salon named Muse used braided hair extensions as handles for these bags sporting Yulia's photo. (See below.) Pretty clever.

Thanks to LeeAnn for the "heads-up" about this story which first appeared on the blog: http://www.blog.ivman.com/. ("IV" stands for Instant Vacation.) Also visit LeeAnn's blog.

Inspiration from Nostalgic Cafe!

Wowzers! Take a look at all these selvage projects by Michelle from Florida on Nostalgic Cafe!

Numbering them 1-9, top to bottom, left to right, which is your favorite? I especially like #4 the spider web and #8 the house (or pool cabana). Oh yeah, #9 the Asterisk blocks too! Cool selvages in #2 too. Nice job Michelle!