Christmas Sampler Quilt

This wonderful Christmas sampler quilt was made by Jen in Roseville, CA. Her blog is The Quilty Home.

She made it for Christmas 2011. Some of the quilting was done with gold metallic thread.

This quilt is a real winner.

Snowstorm Stew!

 

A snowstorm is starting up and I'm ready! This veggie stew will be slow-cooking all afternoon, and I think a pumpkin pie to go with it sounds good too. Snowstorm Stew is full of healthy ingredients and it's delicious. 

See the recipe below.

You can't see the snow falling in this photo, but it's there.

Snowstorm Stew

2 Onions

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Ginger

1/2 tsp. Coriander

1/2 tsp. Turmeric

1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper

***

1 Sweet potato

1 cup Butternut squash

3 Carrots

2 Parsnips

1/3 cup Raisins

1 can Chick peas or 1 can Red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 quart of Vegetable stock (low sodium if desired)

***

2 cups fresh Spinach, cut off stems and cut/chop if desired

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

***

1. Saute chopped onions for about 4 minutes, until soft and translucent.

2. Add spices, cook for a minute to combine.

3. To slow-cooker add: onions, chopped veggies, and stock (enough to cover the veggies). 

4. Cover "slow-cooker" and cook on HIGH setting for 6 hours.

5. Add chopped fresh spinach and vinegar, and let it wilt for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper if desired.

*****

NOTE: Originally from Chow.com (Root Vegetable Stew), then I tweaked it a little. It's easy to add and delete vegetables. I've used fresh kale instead of spinach. I've used corn, celery, peas, black wild rice; it seems any combination is good. 

Christmas String Quilt

Amy Friend made this Christmas string quilt in 2010. Her blog is called: During Quiet Time. The quilt measures 43 1/2" square. She used scraps of Christmas fabrics, cutting the strips between 1" and 2 1/2" wide. There are 5 different ivory fabrics in this quilt, and even a fine wale corduroy! 

Great job, Amy!

Christmas Pinsies $4.99 per package

Have you seen the Christmas colored pinsies? These packages of 9 make nice gifts for friends who have pincushions or bulletin boards. They look pretty on a windowsill in the sun.

Want to make your own? It's fun. Click here. 

I just got home from MI tonight. I was visiting my sister. Had a great time. She cut some fabrics from her stash and put them in my suitcase before I left. How nice is that?

Quilter's Pincushion Buns

Here are just two of the pincushions in the Buns category in my Etsy shop. The photo above shows a pincushion on a thin dish, and the photo below shows the thicker dish. The pincushions are secured to the dish. Each one comes with pinsies that go with the fabric. The one shown below has a fancy silver button in the center. Click here to see more. 

Urbane Armor

 What a creative piece of jewelry! Searching out things like this helps me think "out of the box." See this item and 19 more from Urbane Armor in Newport Beach, California. 

Bunting Quilt and Pattern!

Here's my latest quilt, hot off the sewing machine: Bunting! It measures 61" x 77." 

I like the light and airy look of this modern scrap quilt. As I was making it, I realized that there is a faster way to do it (use rectangles, not squares), so the pattern reflects that. But the finished quilt looks the same. I like the two black dots in this quilt. This quilt is fun to make. And it provides a good excuse to buy some new fat quarters!

See all my patterns here. 

Crocheted Piano Spread

Isn't this crocheted piano spread amazing? Be sure to see the exhibit by Joana Vasconcelos at Versailles. 

This will delight your creative spirit! 

Killer Heels

Smiling croc shoes made by SIT Noir with Rob and Erik Hillenbrink. They call these "Killer Heels." I think the killer part is the high skinny heels more than all those teeth. Not made from animals, just inspired by them.

Christmas Table Runner by Twisted Sticks

This modern quilted table runner by TwistedSticks from Neshkoro, Wisconsin is so bright and cheerful. It measures 36.5" x 24." I think this design would look great made up as a full size quilt too. 

Celeste's Christmas Table Runner

This pretty Christmas table runner was made by Celeste from The Little Quilt Shoppe in Alabama. It measures 15 1/2" square. I love the little bird in the center, and the photo with the white vignette is beautiful.

Nice work, Celeste!

Empty Spools of Thread

This amazing chair was made from empty spools of thread! 

As you remember, we're saving our empties in 2013 just to see how much thread we use, year-to-year. We're going to share our numbers here on the Selvage Blog at year-end, then I'll report to Diane Harris of Quiltmaker Magazine. She'll be writing about this in January.

Here are more ways to upcycle spools.

A garland by Crafty Staci (including a tutorial): 

A nice heart arrangement by Jess from New York at Epheriell Designs.

A wreath from Amy's Rag Bag:

And finally, a garland with buttons and fabrics from Karen in Rhode Island at Sew Many Ways.

Machine Quilting by Angela Walters

Everyone knows Angela Walters' gorgeous machine quilting, but I just had to feature this photo of her work. You can see more about it on her site: Quilting is My Therapy. She said she turned up the music and really enjoyed doing this quilting. Look how small her designs are. I'd love to be able to do this. Maybe it will be my New Year's resolution to give it a try. I'm just thinking.

Russian Bears and Bunnies

I found a great collection of bears and bunnies from Russia at: Anna Pavlovna on Etsy. Anna and Kate make all the stuffed toys by hand. They even sell patterns. 

I like the embroidery on these little fellows. Nice job, Anna and Kate!

Autumn Dawn Quilt by Ann Brauer

Ann Brauer of Massachusetts wrote an interesting post about designing the quilt above, "Autumn Dawn." She includes photos of the quilt while in progress. Her blog is called The Quilts of Ann Brauer. 

See more of her quilts here. Nice work, Ann! 

OOAK Vintage Pincushion

Definitely One-of-a-Kind! This Connecticut antique market find has been transformed (by me) into a pincushion. (From what? I don't know, maybe a vase?) 

When my 26-yo son and I saw this at the Elephant's Trunk in New Milford, he said "Sick!" and I said "Perfect!" I like this fancy little Renaissance guy. The piece is unglazed bisque, and the cushion is pink silk dupioni. Pinsies included. See this pincushion.

Here's another favorite find turned into a pincushion: the Hand & Purse. (Sold.)

See more pincushions: Sea Urchins, Buns, Wool, and Collector. 

Robin Halleck's New Upcycle Quilt

Robin Halleck of Northern Michigan just made this beautiful Upcycle quilt for her granddaughter Lydia.  It will be presented to the little 2 1/2 year old this Thanksgiving.

Her fabrics look great on the blue background, don't you think? And I love the swirly quilting with multicolored thread. She says she had a blast making this quilt. Nice job, Robin!

See the pattern here: Upcycle Quilt Pattern.

See all my patterns here.

Selvage Mini Quilt

This colorful mini selvage quilt was made by Missyecaj/Jacey Craft, and posted on flickr. 

This would make a lovely doll quilt. The dense quilting is just right.

Selvages and Hexagons

Titled "Hash Brown Monday" and found on Pinterest, this selvage quilt with hexagons was pinned from addicted to fabric. Leave a comment if you know who made this pretty quilt. 

Ann Marie's Amish Style Selvage Quilt

This is Ann Marie's seventh selvage quilt, and what a beauty it is!! You can see more on her blog: Run and Sew Quilts.