Pottery Knitting Bowl

Have you ever seen such a thing as this black pottery knitting bowl? It was made by Marietta in Minneapolis. Her shop on Etsy.com is called Blue Room Pottery. It sells for $36 and she was sold out before Christmas so they're pretty popular. I like that twisted leaf, very pretty. This would be a serious upgrade from the method I'm using now which involves a plastic shopping bag. Haha.

Cheryl is Crocheting Up a Storm in the UK

Cheryl from Rainham, England crochets beautiful blankets and Barbie doll clothes. She sells them in her Etsy shop: Nanny Cheryl Crochet. There are 158 items listed there! Cheryl has many health issues that keep her from getting out much, but she loves to sew and crochet. She says she just can't stop. Haha. We know what you mean!

Click over to Cheryl's store to wish her a Happy New Year.

Happy New Year!

I hope that 2012 is filled with wonderful surprises for you, beyond your wildest dreams.

Pamela's Necktie Quilt

Pamela (Pamela Quilts blog) made this necktie quilt for a customer. She says she bit off way more than she expected when taking on this project. Click on the link to see more photos and read about her experience. She says it's really heavy. Haha. I think it looks really nice. See the back too (below).

Pamela also sells quilts in her Etsy store: Pamela Quilts. The pretty quilt below is just one of the more than 100 items in her store. And I just have to show you one of her selvage bags too, after all, this is the Selvage Blog.

Now is that cool or what? Yayy, Pamela!

Tote Bags from Sofia in Greece

 Sofia from Athens, Greece sells her charming tote bags in her shop Apopsis on Etsy. You meet the nicest people while browsing there. She used to make bags just for her friends and herself, then she opened this shop in August. The bags have felt applique and hand embroidery, and she'll add your initials or name to the bag if you like. They are several layers thick for sturdiness. I love her designs.

Remarkable Necktie Quilts

Ellen Holen made the quilt shown above during the Depression using her son's neckties.

The quilt top shown below was made by the members of "13th Street Studio" using silk scraps from a necktie factory. They made the top in one afternoon, then donated the finished quilt to a charity fundraiser. So beautiful.

This woven necktie quilt is the work of Renay Martin. Pretty clever!

Today on my Design Wall

 This is what I've been playing with this week. I thought it would be faster to make, but it takes time just to cut all the pieces! The row of half-square triangles and some charming novelty prints add interest. It will be a generous twin size when finished. This is one of those sewing-for-fun, no-thinking quilts.

William Morris Fabric

"More than anyone, textile designer William Morris influenced the swirling graphic style that would eventually become the Arts & Crafts movement. Curling vines and flowers hovering between naturalistic and stylized, and the shimmering rich colors make this magical garden print worthy of any of your most enchanting projects. Larger flowers are about 2", from the 'Morris Meadows' collection by Michele Hill for In The Beginning Fabrics."

This is from the equilter site. I love these prints. They are such classics, and they would go with the crazy scrap quilt that I'm working on right now. I'll show you soon. Here are two more of my favorites, below. I can't just pick one. Haha.

This last one looks like one of those "Magic Eye" pictures, but I've tried it and it doesn't "work." Wouldn't this fabric be perfect in a kaleidoscipe quilt? Wow!

Merry Christmas

Very best wishes to you today!

Christmas Eve Visit

I hope your hearts are filled with joy and peace this Christmas Eve. Let's visit a little while. I'm pouring you a cup of tea/glass of wine (virtually..so I know it's your favorite). I hope you and your families are well. We are all fine. Our older son moved 800 miles away to Nashville two weeks ago. He likes it there, and I can call him now and then too. I can't imagine how people managed without phones. It's so wonderful to be able to pick up the phone and check on your loved ones.

Isn't this a pretty string block arrangement above? It's the Block of the Month for my guild for January. Coming up with the blocks is my job. This is my third year and I really enjoy it. I like the color recipe for this one: red, pink, orange, and yellow. Any or all. Nice warm colors for January. It's so easy, this is a very relaxing sewing project. See the BOM site if you're a quilting newbie. I hope you have time this week to do all your favorite things. Hugs to you.

Calendar Winner Announced!

The winner of the AQS Engagement Calendar is...(drumroll, please)...Miss Patchwork of Germany!

Yayyy, Miss Patchwork!

Interesting Ornaments

This garden tomato is from Trendy Tree.

Yarn filled ornaments from CraftyCrafty. I'm sure we all have enough snippets to make a bunch of these!

 

Here's a tutorial for this seed bead ornament (above) at Kaboose.

See how to make this pretty ornament at Nepper's Nest. This looks like fun. She shows other versions too.

Linda Hungerford's Quilt - Engagement Calendar

Fellow Selvage Blog reader and blogger Linda Hungerford of West Des Moines, IA made this wonderful quilt that is part of the AQS Engagement Calendar which will be given away here tomorrow. (Leave a comment on yesterday's post to enter the drawing.) Linda was inspired by a Churn Dash block swap that she did with another blogger, Edith Bieri from Switzerland. Linda used Sandi Cummings' Double-Circle technique and several Pick-Up Sticks blocks for this quilt. Isn't it great?
Yayyy, Linda!!

AQS Calendar Giveaway!

Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win this AQS Engagement calendar. One winner will be randomly chosen on Friday. (52 great quilts in there to enjoy all year.)

In your comment, tell us something that you have enjoyed during this Christmas/Hanukkah season. I have enjoyed decocrating the Christmas tree with my husband. The ornaments bring back lots of memories. We have a pair of mangled eyeglass frames that we found in the Badlands of South Dakota back in the 1970's. We thought it showed how really bad those Badlands were. It's a pretty interesting tree. Haha.

Giggle Sticks - Clever Idea!

Isn't this a clever idea? For parties, decorations, add to floral arrangements, or just fun with kids. So simple, yet festive. These are for sale on Etsy at YesItsCake. Have a great day.

Chairs from Istanbul, Turkey

I was browsing for unique chairs and found interior decorator Jo Supara Tarakci's Name Design Studio on Etsy. She's from Thailand, now living in Istanbul, Turkey. The cost of shipping a big chair like the one above to the US is about $500. But the fun of browsing is that you don't have to be concerned with practicalities like that, right? I'm showing some pretty wild things here lately; what's happening to me? I think it's going to start showing up in my quilts. Stay tuned!

Quilts in Movies!

Let's keep an eye out for quilts in movies!

I'll go first: There are some quilts/crocheted blankets in Charlie Bucket's grandparents' bedroom in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. (The old one, not the newer version with Johnny Depp.) Maybe also the Hobbit or a Harry Potter movie?

I know there are lots more, I just can't remember which movies! Do you have any favorites?

Alaskan Duck Neck Quilt

This quilt is featured on the front cover of the book: Quilts of Alaska, A Textile Album of the Last Frontier, by June E. Hall (link goes to Amazon). This duck neck quilt was made by Jenny Olson Rasmuson of Yakutat, Alaska around 1905-1912. It measures 58" x 58" and is part of the Skagway Museum's quilt collection. Jenny was a missionary and expert hunter. She collected and preserved necks from mallards, canvasbacks, pintails, bluebills and teals for years before having enough to make this quilt. She used msulin for the backing. Isn't this amazing? I bet it's soft and warm.
(Info from Quilts of Alaska website.)

Japanese "Bubble Quilt"

This "Bubble Quilt" was part of the Crow Collection of Asian Art exhibited in Dallas a few years ago. I've never seen one like this before. How about you?

It's on Granny Geek's blog. It's not a quilt blog; she writes about her observations in Dallas.

Playtime - Mini Quilt Cabinets

How refreshing it is to stop and play. Especially when you're cleaning. Haha.
I was cleaning my quilt room last night and decided that these cabinets needed to be played with and photographed. Aren't they pretty? I decided to keep them in my Etsy store, but to move them to the back of the store so that the quilts don't get lost. Here they are. Thank you to everyone who offered advice. You're a bunch of smart cookies! Hmmm, speaking of cookies...