New Asterisk Quilt for my Mom's Alumni

I just finished this Asterisk quilt which will be raffled to benefit my Mom's nursing school alumni association. I designed this block which was the Empire Quilter's Block of the Month last year and appeared in Quiltmaker magazine too. The link to a tutorial is in the sidebar at right. (I'm getting a lot of mileage out of this one!)

One of the nurses made this label. Didn't she do a great job? She also made another little one with my name on it, and I put it in the other corner of the quilt.

My friend Jackie Kunkel of CV Quiltworks in Canton, CT did the machine quilting. Isn't it beautiful? Jackie is a fabulous quilter; one of her customers sends her quilts all the way from Spain to have Jackie quilt them!

It's challenging to make a quilt that you think will appeal to a large group of people that you don't know. But I like how the solids go with the bright Kaffe prints and the quiet background prints. I think it looks modern, but not too wild. Mom likes it too.

Today the Blog Tour takes us to Amber Carillo's blog: One Shabby Chick.

This is Post Number 1,000!

This is how I feel about my 1,000th post. I love doing this!

Like a big pile of selvages, the Selvage Blog blog now contains 1,000 posts! Hard to believe, especially since I worried that I wouldn't have much to say when I started. That obviously hasn't been a problem.

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I love it that you email me with photos of your selvage projects so I can share them here. It's so cool that this is selvage "inspiration-central." Your creations are amazing!

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Also, making friends with quilters in blogland is wonderful! Some, like Jackie at CV Quiltworks, Kathleen C., and Barb L. live right near me, and others like Karen Jones live in far-away, exotic places like NZ. And I met them all (and many more) on this blog!

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Finally, writing a blog makes me more alert to the creative and interesting things around me. Now I stop, take a photo, and get some additional info to share with you.

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Plus, if my DH does anything annoying, I threaten to write about it on my blog. Heh heh. Just kidding; he's a good guy.

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While we're chatting about the blog, tell me what kinds of posts you enjoy most: selvage projects, other quilt photos, interesting quilts for sale on eBay, creativity topics like the airbag helmet, finding fun new blogs, links to tutorials, book giveaways, fabric giveaways, my family stuff like the dump dinner, asking for advice (like top load washers vs. front load), reader's photos like the view from your sewing room, show us your stash...any suggestions?

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I'm glad you're here today. Special hello and hugs to my regular visitors and new visitors too!

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Today's Blog Tour stop is Rossie Hutchinson's blog: rOssie.

Brand New Website: Learn 2 Quilt Online

Visit Chris Dahl's brand new website : Learn 2 Quilt Online.

Check out the Grand Opening Giveaways too.

She'll be offering a copy of Quilts from the Selvage Edge

and lots of other cool stuff. Good luck.

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Today's stop on the Blog Tour is Melissa Burt's blog: Connecting Threads.

Take a look at Kelly's blog: Pinkadot Quilts. (This is a correction from a few days ago.)

She's the winner of the most recent book giveaway.

Selvage O'Lantern Quilt

This creative Selvage O'Lantern Quilt was made by the talented Riel Nason of "The Q and the U" blog from Canada. She really knows how to manipulate those selvages, doesn't she? She talks about working with selvages on her blog. It's interesting. Riel, you are a selvage rockstar!

To view Riel's recent selvage sampler quilt, click here. I think she likes orange :)

The winner of "The Practical Guide to Patchwork" by Elizabeth Hartman is Kelly from Downingtown, Pennsylvania of the Pinkadot Quilts blog. Yayy, Kelly!

Today the Blog Tour brings us to Alissa Haight-Carleton's blog: Handmade by Alissa.

One More Day to Email a Photo for the Quilt Challenge

"If you were a quilt, what would you look like?"

Have you made a quilt in response to this challenge, or do have a quilt "that's really you?"

Email a photo to me today or tomorrow at karen@onlinequiltmuseum.com. Put "Challenge" in the email title. Include your name, the state or country where you live, the name of your quilt, and a few words about how you and your quilt are alike.

I'll post them here, and create an exhibit for the Online Quilt Museum too.

This should be interesting!

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Today is Day 4 of the Blog Tour and we're visiting Jacquie Gering's fabulous blog: Tall Grass Prairie Studio. (You'll remember she made the mint green spider web quilt shown here.)

I made the quilts in the above illustration, but my entry isn't there. Stay tuned.

Book Give-Away Today

When I told Megan at C&T that we were following the Blog Tour on the Selvage Blog, I asked if they'd like to provide a copy of The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman for a give-away here. She said, "Great idea!" So leave a comment today to enter the drawing. Winner announced tomorrow. The quilts shown above are from this book.

Day three of the Blog Tour brings us to Rashida Coleman-Hale's blog: i heart linen.

Blog Tour Starts Today - Follow it Here

C&T is coming out with a new book: The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman, and they're sponsoring a Blog Tour which starts today and runs until Nov. 6. There will be lots of give-aways, interviews with the author, and some surprises. You can follow the whole thing right here by clicking on the Blog Tour link each day.

This book presents a relaxed intro to quilting for new and intermediate quilters. The quilts are fresh and modern. Click on the title above to see some of the quilts.

The first stop on the Blog Tour is Kristin Link's blog: Sew, Mama, Sew.

Free-Motion Quilting Blog by Leah Day!

If you've seen my quilts, you know that I really put my heart into the piecing. But when it comes to the quilting, I just want to get the job done without ruining a good top. So I use my Juki 98Q to sew parallel wavy lines across the quilt. I'm afraid that if I tried to make them straight, some would be wavy. So I just go with wavy right off the bat. If I plan to enter the quilt in a show, I make the wavy lines closer to each other. That's my idea of heavy quilting.

But look at these awesome free-motion filler designs by machine quilting genius Leah Day! She has challenged herself to come up with a new pattern every day! And you can watch videos about how to do them. Her website is Day Style Designs. See 365 different patterns like the ones shown in this post: The Free Motion Quilting Project. For the latest on what Leah is up to, visit her blog. She has an excellent post on buying sewing machines too.

I think discovering Leah's work will have a big influence on my quilting life by enhancing the appearance of my quilts and adding more fun to the process of making them. Wowzers!

The pattern designs are called "Fossil Bed," "Little Hands and Fingers," "Space Star," "Spaghetti and Meatballs," and "Elodea" (listed from top photo to bottom).

I've seen gorgeous machinie quilting before, but the difference here is that I think I can actually do these! I'll let you know how I make out. Thanks to Liz Broussard who made the brown selvage quilt (that was featured here a few days ago) for telling me about Leah. I love how inspiration spreads through cyberspace!

Now this Helmet Makes Sense, I think.

Hovding in Sweden has come up with an inflatable bicycle helmet that starts out like a protective collar (see below, left), but it has an airbag that inflates on impact. Actually, it looks like it inflates before impact, judging from the crash-dummy tests on YouTube.

We seem to be finding some interesting headgear lately: hat with attached beard, brain-hat, and now this! It's only a concept; not yet available for sale. (P.S. I like that black dress. The pony tail, not so much.)

Elegant Brown Selvage Quilt by Liz Broussard

This wonderful Brown Selvage Quilt was created by Liz Broussard from Houston, TX.

Liz says she didn't have the right shade of brown and neutral, so she overdyed some of the fabrics. She liked the results so much that she also overdyed the selvage blocks! For the sashing, Liz used the back side of the fabric because the color looked better. Wow, she was really thinking out of the box!

And look at that fabulous quilting! Liz says she's inspired by Leah Day's blog for machine quilting ideas. Leah has wonderful close-ups of machine quilting. I'll be visiting that blog again and again.

This is a charity quilt, to be donated through her guild. Wow, someone's in for a real treat!
Nice job, Liz!

Colorful String Quilt Includes Selvages

This wonderfully colorful scrap quilt was made by Nifty Quilts in the Northwest USA. She's a member of the 15 Minutes Play...Bumblebeans group. I want to make one of these. If you want to see the tutorial for this method at Bumblebeans, click here.

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Nifty's blog is full of inspiration. You'll be amazed at what she's made with men's shirts from thrift stores too. Take a look!

New Selvage Bench by the Cozy Quilter

The Cozy Quilter from Ontario, Canada has made another one-of-a-kind selvage bench. Selvages are nice and sturdy for a project like this too. Nice job, Cozy! (Remember she also made the Selvage Wedding Ring quilt and the selvage thread-catchers that sit on the sewing table. She's on a roll!)

If I Only had a Brain - Hat

When my buddy Jill Bunis in New Jersey saw the Beard Hat post here a few days ago, she said "I see your beard hat, and raise it..." Is this hilarious, or what! :) Does anybody else think it should be gray? Or maybe I'm being too literal.

This hat was designed by Flint Knits. The pattern appears in the Sept/Oct issue of Crochet Today magazine. (This link goes to a pattern preview. The actual pattern appears only in the magazine.)

Bird Fun With Barb and Mary

Barb Vedder in New Jersey made some clever little Sue Spargo birds, and this one is her favorite. Mine too. Take a look at all the amazing quilts on Barb's blog: Fun With Barb and Mary. Scroll down a page or two to see them all. She has some great quilt show photos.

Mini quilt cabinet give-away winners: Tina in Rhode Island and Tatkis in Russia. (See post.)

2010 Selvage Sampler Quilt by Riel Nason

This fabulous "2010 Selvage Sampler" quilt is the creation of Riel Nason, a writer, antique dealer, and selvage quilter extraordinaire from New Brunswick, Canada. This quilt is her own design. She free-pieced it without a pattern. Riel says it took her about 2 months to make it and she had fun making it. You can read more and see additional photos on her blog: The Q and the U.

This quilt was machine quilted by Tina Hanson of Town and Country Quilts. She quilted with a swirly design that looks great.

I love all the different ways Riel pieced the blocks! The butterfly in the bottom photo is one of my favorites.

Don't Have a Beard? Get a Beard Hat!

Is this hilarious, or what? I burst out laughing when I saw this on Nedra's Cactus Needle blog! (While there, see her "Mumbo Gumbo" scrap quilt.)

You could disguise the whole family while keeping your chins warm. Is that little bearded baby laughing? You can see more from the creator of these hats at Taraduff's Crochet and Other Stuff blog. She sells these hats on Etsy.

Thanks for the "heads up" Nedra! (I couldn't help that. Heehee.)

Meet Mia from Sweden! (Read how she gets selvages.)

Mia Ohberg from Sweden made these colorful zippered selvage bags. The smallest one is almost 3 inches wide. Look at those little flower buds on that bag! And all those bright flower petals on the biggest one. These fit one-inside-another like those Russian dolls.

This may be the most beautiful selvage arrangement I've ever seen (above)! I love pink and black together, and I'm a sucker for florals. You can see this bag opened below. Mia planned to use it for cosmetics, but she actually uses it to carry sewing supplies.

Mia has a big advantage when it comes to collecting selvages. She owns her own quilt shop! She offers to cut customer's fabric into strips for them if they let her keep the selvages. "That's normal behavior, isn't it?" she asks. Mia, that sounds perfectly normal to us!

She made this tote for carrying supplies to quilt retreats. She thinks a quilt shop owner should do a little better than carrying paper bags to quilt events. Oh, this is much better! Nice job, Mia.

Some Kind of Special Club?

This fabric isn't for just anyone! You must be a quitter. Hahaha. This fabric was purchased at JoAnn's by Molly Wiley from Roseburg, Oregon. Are they assuming nobody reads selvages? Nuh-uh! We notice this stuff! Thanks for the photo, Molly. visit Molly's blog.

I was once a member of the Cumberland Valley Quitter's Association in TN. I was told that the documents were misprinted, and no one ever fixed it. It's a wonderful guild and I miss them.

Mini Quilt Cabinet Give-Away

Winners Announced!

1. Tina from Rhode Island

2. Tatkis from Russia

3. Also Kay Jay in New Zealand (a get well treat for your friend)

I will email you for addresses.

More give-aways coming soon. Stay tuned.

These little quilt cabinets are just 6 inches tall. I made them by painting the pre-made cabinets, then adding the tiny quilts. The quilts are glued into the cabinets. Would you like to have one on your desk or in your quilt studio? Your comment is your entry for this random drawing. Two winners. Have a great day.

Quiltmaker Magazine's 100 Blocks, Volume 2!

This collector's edition of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks just went to press two days ago! It'll be on the stands November 16. And yes, there will be a selvage block, designed by me! :)

In volume 1, I contributed a pieced block called "Candlestick," but this time I decided to make a selvage block. I think it will look challenging to newbies, but you selvage quilters will easily see how it goes together.

I like the block on the left in the bottom row. And the block with 4 shoes too. I wonder who designed them. We'll have a giveaway of this magazine when it's available.

Special giveaway coming tomorrow. Guaranteed.

One of Thelma's All-Time Favorites

When I saw these photos of Thelma's quilt on her blog: Cupcakes 'n' Daisies, I thought about the Tile Block-of-the-Month we just did at Empire Quilters. Thelma's is pieced, so it's a lot neater than my raw-edge applique, but the idea is similar.

She calls it "A Mazing Abundance" because it's inspired by Ashcombe, an Australian hedge maze, and the fabric line "Simple Abundance" by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. She made this quilt in the Carrie Nelson Chicago Class #3 sponsored by the Prairie Star Quilters Guild.

You'll enjoy Thelma's blog. She tells about her thought process as she chooses fabrics for her quilts. You can also view her awesome red and green log cabin quilt at the Online Quilt Museum. (Scroll down the page to see the photos.)

Come back tomorrow for a give-away! And the day after that, a funny crochet post. (Of course crochet can be hilarious!)

Becky's Selvage Quilt

Becky in Indiana made this beautiful selvage quilt using her favorite blues and Civil War selvages. It's her first selvage project! It was machine quilted by Joanne Lendaro.

(You read about her here yesterday.)
Great Job, Becky! And Joanne too!

Meet Longarm Quilter Joanne Lendaro

I was introduced to Joanne by Mr. Random Number Guy when I had the fat quarter give-away recently. When she won the jewel tone geometric fabrics, she said she was going to use them in one of her Freddie quilts (colorful house quilts made famous by CA quilter/author Freddie Moran - for all you newbies). So of course I wanted to see what Joanne was up to! Isn't this quilt stunning? It's so much fun to choose scraps for doors, windows, roofs, etc.

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Joanne is a long arm quilter too. Take a look at her blogs: Splitting Stitches and Insanely Cheap Quilting. (She lives in New England.)