Blue Blue Selvage Quilt

Lynne in New England was inspired by the quilt on the cover of my book "Quilts from the Selvage Edge" when she made this stunning wall quilt. She has such an artistic eye. Look how she handles all those blues, and the little splashes of red, orange and yellow are just right. I also like how the quilting lines echo the selvages. The red cherry dot near the center of the quilt, the brown lacy strip in the southeast corner, and that sparkling black and white binding...oh this quilt has it all! Yayyy, Lynne!

Lynne made this selvage quilt for a Doll Quilt Swap. Here's what she had to say about it:

"There was a discussion on the swap forum about what some abbreviations mean. I didn't know what kwim was, so I proposed some funny possibilities... like Kisses With Important Messages... Kiwis With Impromptu Mangoes? Kangaroos With Illegal Machineguns? My swap partner (who's flickr name is quiltinkimmie) suggested "Kimmie's Wonderful In Michigan."So when I had this very long, very blank selvage I had a little idea... and wrote that on the edge of the selvage and sewed it in the quilt."

Visit Lynne's blog at: http://patcherymenagerie.blogspot.com/. Your time there will be well spent! Her cat Millie also has a blog: darlingmillie.blogspot.com.

Urban Inspirations Quilt Show - Part 4

Here it is again, my "Red Zinger" selvage quilt! I just want to make sure everyone sees a selvage quilt. That's one of my missions. It's surprising how many men stop and take a good look at it. And yes I did wear my selvage vest. It was wonderful to meet so many selvage quilters!!

I also brought the fan quilt (above). I called it "Firing on All Cylinders."

I made a bunch of mini quilt cabinets and pin cushions for the Boutique.

My favorite vendor was there: Pat Yamin of "Come Quilt With Me." She brought a big supply of templates that can be used to make one-patch quilts (like in her book), or whatever you like. I got an "Ice Cream Cone" template set. It looks like a thousand pyramids, but with one curved side. She also had fabrics, patterns, tools and a beautiful display. I took a photo of her selvage Tumbler quilt. (above) She'll be at Quilt Pacific coming up soon. Check out her website at: http://www.comequiltwithme.com/.

The big prize ribbons were made using Mark Lipinski's Katmandu fabric, embellished with embroidery and beads. Very pretty.

Junk Mail Selvage Quilt

This is my latest selvage quilt "Junk Mail." I used the new Envelope templates from Pat Yamin's Come Quilt With Me. She'll show this quilt to help promote her upcoming book Two Patch Scrap Quilts (published by AQS). The "all-selvage" blocks were made on muslin foundations. I really like the outer border on this quilt. It looks a little like a postage stamp edge. 

I can't stand pickles, but I really like that pickle fabric above. Did you notice that Eileen's quilt has pickles too? (See recent post.) Often after a fabric shopping trip we share our bounty.

If I could tweak this quilt a little, I'd make that "a" in "mail" a little less like an "o," but that's about it. If you see Pat vending at a quilt show, stop and say hi. She has tons of templates and other goodies. Here's her new book:

Meet a Selvage Quilt Named "Garcia"

Quilt Diva Julie of Memphis, TN just finished her new selvage quilt named "Garcia." Why Garcia, you ask? I wondered, too. When she showed it to her law firm co-workers and asked for name suggestions, someone said "Garcia" because the colors (especially the print on the back) reminded her of Jerry Garcia...his music and ties. Everyone agreed and the issue was settled.

This quilt is machine quilted and has been laundered. Why did we think (in the old days, a few years ago) that selvages would twist and buckle and do other bad things? I love how she adds such nice color in her selvage arrangements.

This is one beautiful quilt, isn't it? It makes me want to drop everything and make a selvage quilt.

Selvage Quilt from "2 Hippos"

The quilter from "2 Hippos" blog saved her selvages in 2009. When Stephanie at Loft Creations announced her String Quilt Challenge, she was inspired to make a selvage quilt. After all, a selvage quilt is a string quilt, right?

You can see that she uses the "stitch and flip" method for adding selvages. That looks nice, but adds a little more bulk. I like her colors and the subtle diagonal seam. We'll have to wait to see the whole quilt, as well as all the other quilts in the challenge. It's all online:

See "2 Hippos" blog at: www.2hippos.blogspot.com.
See Stephanie's Loft Creations blog at: www.loftcreations.blogspot.com.

Selvage Quilt by Susan Holman

Susan Holman made this very clever selvage quilt called "Gone Fabric Shopping." It measures 67" x 67." This quilt was recently exhibited at the Friendship Star Quilters quilt show in Montgomery County, MD. This is what Susan had to say about her quilt:

"The book "Quilts from the Selvedge Edge" inspired me to make this quilt. I have always saved the selvedge edge that had writing or dots so I've got 17 years worth of fabric collecting to cut from. This quilt barely scratched the surface... Machine pieced. Machine quilted."

Thank you to Amy of the Calico Cat for sharing this quilt with us. You can see her beautiful baby and her quilting projects on her blog at: www.thecalicocat.blogspot.com.

Australian Selvage Quilt In-Progress

Remember Linda Robertus, from the Netherlands but now living in Australia? She has started making a beautiful selvage quilt for their queen size bed. Since she doesn't want to quilt such a thing, she is using a quilt-as-you-go method that she links to in her blog post. Visit: http://q-linda.blogspot.com/2009/03/selvedge-quilt.html.

I really like how she has arranged her colors. You need a mighty big stash to do that! Her friends in the Netherlands are sending her their selvages. What a nice idea to sleep under a pretty quilt made from bits of fabric from your far-away friends.

Quilt historians are going to have such an easy time dating these quilts! But determining where the quilt was made could be pretty tricky in this case!

Awesome Little Selvage Quilt!

This beautiful little table topper selvage quilt is the creation of Wendi Irons of Galt, CA. She used a pattern by Schnibbles for inspiration. This quilt measures 33" x 33." Didn't she do a wonderful job?

I can't quite figure out what it is about this quilt that I like so much. Is it the bright colors, or maybe it's the crisp white border that ties in with the selvages so well? The binding is pretty too.

This would be a stunning quilt studio wall quilt! Wouldn't take that many selvages either. Wendi says it didn't even make a dent in her selvage stash. :)

Cindy Cooksey's Selvage Quilt

Cindy Cooksey of Orange County, California made this pretty little selvage quilt. Here's her story:

"Earlier this year, before I knew about you, I made a selvedge quilt, too. It's called "15 Selvedges," and it's in the "Edges" special exhibit that was at Quilt Festival Long Beach this summer. It'll be at Quilt Festival Houston. "

Thanks, Cindy. Nice job! I especially like the row of black dots near the bottom. Notice her personal selvage style: the fabrics sing, and there's very little writing and no color windows.

Visit Cindy's blog at: www.cookseyville.blogspot.com/ and her website at http://www.cindycooksey.com/. Keep an eye out for Cindy's quilt if you're going to Houston.

New "Quilter's Home" Features Red Zinger Selvage Quilt!

The new Sept/Oct issue is hot off the presses! It's full of good stuff, but take a look at page 48 first. It's my "Red Zinger" selvage quilt!

When Mark Lipinski spoke to the Empire Quilters, he said he didn't like it when quilt magazines "dumbed down" the quilt patterns. So, when he asked me to make a quilt and a pattern for his magazine, I pulled out all the stops. I challenged myself to come up with something above and beyond what I had already done. This quilt isn't hard to make, it just looks like it! That's because there is a bit of an optical illusion.

Take a look. If you make your version of this quilt, email a photo to this blog at karengriska@selvagequilts.com. Or maybe you will take it to the next level!

Dinah's New Selvage Quilt, Oh My!

Dinah Snyder of Crawfordsville, IN, has just finished her second selvage quilt. Isn't it beautiful? This is a big quilt; it measures 88" x 88." She used the quilt-as-you-go method, quilting each block individually, then attaching them together. Each block is 11" x 11." The background was made using three different yellows from her stash, so this project required no new fabrics. And Dinah says that after making two big selvage quilts, her selvage stash is as big as ever. This is one of the mysteries of selvage quilting!

To see Dinah's first selvage quilt, click here.

Selvages in "Down Under Quilts" Magazine

Have you seen the new issue of Down Under Quilts from Australia? They're featuring selvages! Erica Spinks' authored the articles, and her beautiful selvage quilt is on the front cover. She used a solid beige fabric with her selvages, and she added hand quilting with black thread to echo the selvages. Terrific idea. This is the first selvage quilt to appear on the cover of a magazine!

Above, do you recognize my Tree of Life selvage quilt and Jodie Carleton's selvage frock? They also show Jodie's selvage chair on another page. Below see the selvage shopping sack by Linda Robertus.

Below, see my "Twilight Star" selvage quilt (left) and Linda Robertus' "Salvaged Selvedges" (right).

You can get a free digital edition of this magazine at: http://www.creativelivingmedia.com.au/.

Quilt Art Studio - New Selvage Quilt!

Pam at QuiltArtStudio in Virginia recently made this gorgeous selvage quilt. She used a "quilt-as-you-go" method. This quilt is for sale on Etsy at QuiltArtStudio. She has a stuning collection of quilts there, many made with colorful Kaffe Fasset fabrics. Lots of inspiration there!

Pam put her label on the back of the quilt.

Nice quilting. It looks like Mickey is admiring it too. Nice job, Pam!

Pam Smith's QAYG Selvage Quilt

Pam Smith of Quilt Art Studio made this new 48" x 48" selvage quilt using a quilt-as-you-go method. 

She sewed the selvages directly onto 7" x 28" strips of Warm and Natural batting,

 then she cut the strips into squares. 

Pam's is the most beautiful facebook page I've ever seen. 

Also visit: Quilt Art Studio on Etsy. You'll be inspired.

Nice job, Pam!

Here's another gorgeous quilt by Pam. I love the bright prints on the white background.

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.)

Selvage Quilt Featured in the New AQS Calendar

If you are using the new AQS Quilt Art Engagement Calendar, you saw Alice Weickelt's selvage quilt today. Isn't it beautiful? She used thin interfacing to foundation piece the quilt top, and she machine quilted it. This quilt was exhibited at the AQS Show in Des Moines in October 2008, and juried into the Wisconson Public Television Quilt Expo in Madison. I wonder what Alice will come up with in 2009!

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.

Karen in NZ - Prizewinning Selvage Quilt

Karen Jones of New Zealand made the award-winning log cabin selvage quilt above. The theme was "Go Green," and she won First Prize in the Intermediate category, and Best Traditional quilt. The show was judged by Sandra Meech. Yayyy, Karen!

I really like this quilt! She made courthouse steps blocks, and then put them together in a barn-raising arrangement. And notice that there is just one red center square! I love that. (Nice balance with that red ribbon on the other side!) :)

Karen's friend Carol also made a selvage quilt (below) for the same event. You can't tell that she used selvages unless you can see it up close, because she used the printed selvages without writing. What a nice scrappy improvisational look. Good job, Carol!