Butterfly Shoes

These hand-painted shoes caught my eye and won't let go! Great with a little black dress.

They're listed on Etsy from Jessica in Toronto, Canada at OCD Collection.

Priced at $75 for the ballet slippers and $145 for the heels, in case you were curious. I'm not in the market, but I can't stop looking. Aren't they well done? Nice job, Jessica!

Selvage Chair from Canada!

Another fabulous selvage chair, this time from Canada! Made by Judy Kelly, you can see more photos and read about it on the Canadian Quilting blog. Judy used her grandmother's chair for this project. It has a special place in her sewing studio. Aww. Great chair and a great story.

Gudi's Selvage Chair!

Gudi from Germany just finished this selvage chair! Don't you love the heart-shaped back? Nice job, Gudi!

You can see this on her blog too: Flohmarkt und Sticken. Scroll down; there are several posts showing the original condition of the chair and her inspiration. This makes me want to get back to my selvages. 

Progress on the Fan Quilt

This is the King Size quilt in-the-works. I've never made a quilt this big. I'm not sure what happens after this piano key border is finished. I hope my customer likes it; she has a similar smaller quilt that I made so I'm not too worried. All these blues and purples are so soothing. It's like sitting by a pond.

Turkey Neighbors

I was quilting this morning when I noticed these turkeys had come by for a visit. I was hoping they'd fan their feathers for a great photo, but they weren't in the mood. 

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be our national bird rather than the bald eagle. He praised the turkey as courageous, but said the eagle was of bad moral character, earning his living dishonestly. I saw no evidence of moral character or the lack of it. We just looked at each other for a little while. 

I'll show you my quilt tomorrow.

Food Themed Tile Quilt - BOM

This is Empire Quilters' BOM for October, a food-themed raw-edge applique tile quilt block. These are so much fun to make. Perfect for novelty fabric collectors. With so many quilters contributing blocks, there will be a huge variety of food fabrics. I'll show you all the blocks after the meeting on Oct. 13.

Want too see a Raw-Edge Tile Quilt pattern? 

What's the biggest quilt you'll make?

Now this is a big quilt! It's the AIDS quilt in Washington DC. You can see a huge zoomable image here.

But I mean, what's the biggest you'll make? I was asked to make a quilt measuring 100" x 108" and I'm beginning to realize that it's not going to work. I think the biggest I can manage comfortably is about 60" x 75." My favorite size is about 50" x 50" or 60" x 60." I use my regular sewing machine, a Juki 98Q for piecing and quilting. 

Lace Photo Mats

Here's a clever idea: using fabric and lace on photo mats! This assortment was made by Kelsey Wurtz of Chicago. Lace might make a nice addition to vintage wedding photos. I guess you'd need glass to protect the fabric from collecting dust. So many creative ideas out there.

Meet Cassandra Beth from Canada

You meet the nicest and most interesting people on Etsy. Today I met Cassandra Beth from Montreal, Quebec. Visit Studio Cassandra to see her paintings (above) and prints. Her blog The Cassandra Pages features watercolors, photos (below), poetry, and her observations about books and general goings-on. I enjoyed my "visit" with her today via email. 

UPDATE: Today is Cassandra Beth's birthday! Stop by and wish her a happy day.

First Prize Photo

My photo "Mojave Desert Sunrise" won first prize last night at the HV Camera Club in Southbury, CT. The theme was Nature, so there couldn't be anything "man made" showing in the photo. This fit the bill, haha.

Now back to quilting! I'm making a blue and purple fan quilt for a customer. Pretty.

Happy quilting!

Green Robot

This summer the Shelburne Museum in Vermont had a Steampunk exhibit. This is Robby the Robot.

If Robby decided to help you with your quilting, what tasks would you assign him?

 I think I'd ask him to baste the quilt layers together, maybe even do the quilting if he was up to it.

 He looks pretty smart! 

Scraps Harmony from Canada

This quilt called "Scraps Harmony" was made by Marina Segalovitch from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC. 

It was on exhibit at the Vermont Quilt Festival this summer. Nice job, Marina!

Ann's Diamond Dish Block

This is Ann's Diamond Dish block. She's thinking about replacing the white fabric with a brighter color. I like the white; it's modern and the dishes will appear to float on the white. But a bright color is good too. 

Ann is Welsh and now lives in France. See her blog enbellefrance.Thanks for showing us your block, Ann! 

Treasury of Antique Quilts

Take a look at this antique string star quilt for sale on Etsy from Nancy Bee in California.

Also see this Treasury of 16 antique quilts. You'll be inspired. They're amazing!

Window Shopping Trip at Fabric Fascination

Kym at Fabric Fascination has collected some gorgeous treasuries for us. So put on your virtual shopping shoes, and take a look. (One of her treasuries is my creation. A fabric shopping trip, of course.)

The simple bird fabric above is called Bright Sky by Moda and offered by Owl and Drum.

This Christmas jelly roll can be found at Fabric Fascination, 10% off if you enter the code: SELVAGEBLOG in your order. I love the pale turquoise combined with the traditional red and green for a fresh modern look. Add some white to this mix and you've got a lap quilt or tree skirt in short order!

Happy quilting today!

Meet Elizabeth in Southern California

This is just one of the photos from Elizabeth Eastmond's delightful blog Occasional Piece-Quilt about the creative life. She's an English teacher at a community college in Southern California. (I hope I don't make any grammatical errors in this post.) She had some quilting projects that she couldn't finish so she did the time-honored thing: she added to her stash. (Above) Haha! Her blog is full of inspiration, a real delight.

Edda's Selvage Quilt - 3

This is the third selvage quilt by Edda in Kalamazoo, MI for the Sieta Scholars Program at Western Michigan University. Aren't they great? 

Edda's Selvage Quilt - 2

This is another of Edda's selvage quilts that she donated to the Seita Scholars Program at Western Michigan University. So beautiful!

Edda's Selvage Quilts - 1

Edda in Kalamazoo, MI donated this selvage quilt to the Seita Scholars Program at Western Michigan University. This is one of 3 selvage quilts that she made. Her group donated 106 quilts. Wow!

See Quilt #2 tomorrow, and #3 on Monday. Terrific job, Edda!!

Beautiful Seaglass!

Take a look at this Treasury of beautiful sea-glass green items. This is my favorite color.

Marty's Diamond Dish - And Challenge!

Marty made a Diamond Dish block, and now she's hooked! She has challenged herself to make 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks! That's the name of her blog, and it's a very inspirational one too. 

See her Diamond Dish post here. Nice job, Marty!

Comment on her post dated Sept. 5 for a giveaway!

Something to Add to Selvage Quilts

This "love" tape could be mixed with selvages in a selvage quilt, don't you think? I found it at The Crafterie. It sells for $6.50 for 3 meters. All kinds of ribbons could be added to selvage quilts. Black and white would be nice. Have you used ribbons with selvages?

***

Here's what my sister Lynne in Vermont had to say about the dark plaid block:

I like the new dark tartan plaid square.  I pictured something way more subtle: navy background; stripes of dark green, deep red, maybe even black.  And very, very narrow stripes of brights/lights: yellow or orange.  But the black and white print?  That was a shocker!  Karen, you're always throwing a new twist on things!  I'm looking forward to seeing your new plaid quilt.  

Sharon's Pinsies & Pincushions

Sharon Woerz of Kalama Quilts in Washington State just made these pinsies and pincushions as gifts for her friends in Michigan. Lucky friends! She's keeping one for herself, I think it's the one below. The beads are so pretty in the light. Nice job, Sharon. 

Happy Labor Day!

Are you taking the day off? Feet up? I hope so. 

I took this photo recently on Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire. Beautiful. Did you see the movie: "On Golden Pond?" This is where they made that movie.

Today I'll be sewing my Plaid Weave scrap quilt. Cheers!

Dark Plaid Variation

When my sister Lynne in Vermont read the Plaid Weave quilt pattern, she said she'd like to see a variation with a dark background. So I made this block with a navy background and started adding colors that were somewhat traditional. Then I went a little wild and added brighter colors and finally the b & w. I'll tell you what she says. Haha.