Gallery of Pin Cushions! - Day 1

Watering can pin cushion by Taylar Hall from Omaha, TX.

Vintage baby shoe pin cushion by Seaside Rose Creations in New Jersey.

Hydrangea pin cushion by Love Laurie in Boston, MA.

Cocoa pin cushion by Dotty in Maryland, USA.

Aren't these imaginative pin cushions? More tomorrow.

Philip Jacobs: Delphinium

While I was browsing through Laura Sampsel's Fabric Square Shop, I found this beautiful fabric by Philip Jacobs called Delphinium. I love these colors. I'd like using it in big pieces, and cut up in small pieces too. These are "my" colors. But I'll share.

New Bags from Sophia in Athens

Sophia has some new additions to her Etsy shop, Apopsis. Aren't they pretty? Nice job, Sophia!

World Quilt Giveaway!

Remember we recently admired a string quilt that I found on the Internet, and we decided to make a group quilt using 1.25" strips sewn together randomly in 55" widths? Well, here it is! Isn't it a beauty?

The quilters who participated in making this quilt are:

1. Martina from Germany, Stufen Zum Gericht
2. Darlene from Missouri, Dar's Patchwork Garden
3. Janet from the Yukon Territory, Canada
4. Michi from Austria, Michimachtdas
5. Carolyn from Wisconsin
6. Kym from the USA, Fabric Fascination
7. Susan from Kansas
8. Tina from Rhode Island, Seaside Stitches
9. Carol from Michigan
10. Helen from New Zealand
11. Kim from New York, Pokeytown Kim
12. Karen from Connecticut, Selvage Blog

With blocks coming from Down Under, the Arctic Circle, and many places in between, you see why I call it the World Quilt! It was so much fun to open all the packages and get this quilt together! It measures 54" x 70." The backing is a bubblegum pink print. The binding is a mixture of prints. The batting is "Warm and Natural" cotton, and it's machine quilted. Yup, awesome!

And now you can enter a random drawing to win this beautiful quilt just by leaving a comment on this post. Good luck!

UPDATE: This quilt now lives in Florida!

Brand New Selvage Quilt Pattern!

Just finished this today! Here's my new selvage quilt pattern, "Cane Weave!" It's a pdf tutorial so you can get it now via email. Then you can print it if you like. This quilt goes together fast, and it's lots of fun to make. You know you already have all the ingredients in your sewing room! Haha. And more, I'm sure. There's also a Photo Gallery section with lots of interesting selvages to see too. Take a look, I'm really excited about this quilt. It's different from the quilts in the "Quilts from the Selvage Edge" book in construction and appearance.

Come back tomorrow for a really big giveaway! (Hint: Remember the skinny string quilt that we made?)

If you'd spread the word about this pattern on your blog, that would be wonderful. Thanks!

Mosaic Art Teapot from Utah

This incredible mosaic teapot is the creation of Lily Rose Prawitt of Salt Lake City, Utah.

She has four teapots listed in her Etsy store: Lily Rose Tulip. 

 Three are 7" high, and one is 9" high. This one is priced at $799.

 It's a little like a scrap quilt, isn't it? I love stuff like this!

 Nice work, Lily Rose!

Free-Form Crochet

On a recent car trip I decided to try my hand at free-form crochet, and these are the two pieces that resulted. I have to say that it was lots of fun. I don't have any idea what I'll do with them, but the fun of making them was worth it. My husband just shook his head. My 25 year old son said, "Oh, that's cool." Kids are so smart! Haha.

The chunky yarn is by Rowan. I love the colors and how soft it is. Using yarns of different thicknesses adds to the scrappy, shabby-chic look.

It's Snowing and I'm Sewing - Perfect!

Perfect quilting weather! I just took these photos a minute ago. This is the view from my sewing machine. I've got a nice cup of tea and no place I have to go. Ahh, perfect.

Cute Handmade Baby Skirt!

This cute baby skirt is the creation of Emily Cookson of California. She makes all sizes, from tiny doll size to size 10. Emily sends me her selvages, and as you can imagine, they are beautiful.

So click on over to her store and say "Hi, Emily!"

Winner Announced!

The winner of the book "Back to Charm School" is Connie from Quilting by the River. Here's one of her quilts, called "Bullseye." Connie lives near the Mississippi River. Yayy, Connie!

Selvages by Moda

I'm working on a new selvage quilt today and I'm enjoying a new package of selvages from Emily in California. These are Moda selvages. I really like those scissors above.

The acorns and the little house logo on Deb Strain's designs are cute too. Why don't all the fabric manufacturers add a little more charm to their selvages?

Have you seen any good ones lately? Email a photo to me at karengriska@optonline.net.

New Red Zinger by Michelle Bishop

Michelle Bishop just finished this Red Zinger selvage quilt. Isn't it a beauty? Nice job, Michelle!

An Urban legend Debunked

This beautiful work of art by Inga Nielsen is titled "Hideaway." Inga said she created it on her computer using a scenery generator.  But it has been circulating around the Internet as a photograph since 2006, and was even featured as NASA's "Astronomy Picture of the Day."  

You can read more about it on Hoax-Slayer.

It is a beautiful scene in any case. Nice job, Inga!

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

Thinking of down-sizing? Take a look at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company site. I hope there's room for a sewing machine.

Andie's Specialty Sweets

These are candy buttons by Jason and Andie of Andie's Specialty Sweets in Los Angeles, CA. They offer a huge selection of amazing edible creations including green ferns, chocolate keys, and the vanilla mint lolly-pops below! Nice job Jason and Andie!

Smoky Mountains Springtime

On a recent trip to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee we saw some signs of spring! These daffodills had the slightest fragrance. They were bent downward a little because of a snowfall duing the night, but it was nearly noon when I took this photo to show you.

Quilt Book Giveaway!

Have you seen the new book, "Back to Charm School" by Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene from Country Threads in Iowa? This is Book #2 with more ideas for small quilts you can make using 5" charm squares. Some are simple and others are more challenging, but they're all very pretty. This book also has instructions for making quilt binding and other good info for new quilters.

Leave a comment to enter the random drawing for a signed copy!

This book is also being featured today at A Quilting Life.

(Sorry, you can't "Click to Look Inside" as it says above. This photo is from Amazon.)

Carla's Freeform Crochet Scarf Tutorial!

Doesn't this look like a lot of fun? Take a look at Carla Barrett's free tutorial on Feathered Fibers. I have a road trip in my near future and I think I'll make one of these. Don't worry, I won't crochet and drive at the same time. I can't wait to show you what comes of this!

See more of Carla's free tutorials.

Amazing Optical Illusion Quilt

This quilt by Meena Schaldenbrand is called "Different Points of View." It measures 16"x20." I can't imagine how she made it, but I love it.

Mary Keasler's Selvage Quilt

Accomplished quilter Mary Keasler of Tennessee made this amazing selvage quilt.

Also take a look at her blog for lots of quilt inspiration: Fiberliscious.