Meet the Yarn Harlot

Stephanie Pearl McPhee is a knitter/blogger/lecturer and a very funny lady from Canada who has written a ton of books including: "At Knits End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much," and "Knitting Rules! The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks."

Take a minute and enjoy a chuckle from Stephanie. Visit her blog: http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/ You probably already know about her, but I couldn't take a chance.

To see her books on Amazon click here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=stephanie+pearl-mcphee&sprefix=stephanie+pear

Be sure to visit the Selvage Blog tomorrow. We'll go Christmas shopping in NYC.

See My Fan Quilt in Quiltmaker Magazine!

Photo above by Tim Benko.

Quiltmaker magazine has included my fan quilt in their January/February issue! It's very exciting to open Quiltmaker and see a quilt that I thought up. And this quilt is one of my favorites too. They named it "Fandango" (the fast Spanish dance using castinets). I used to call it "Firing on All Cylinders," but I like their festive name better.

The article has a good description about how to make this quilt. It's string-pieced by eye, not foundation pieced. Scraps are cut 1 inch wide. The key to making the fan is: when you sew two strips together, start with a regular 1/4" seam allowance, then gradually increase to about a 1/2" sean allowance. Repeating this with each strip creates the fan. Finally, place a square template on the block and trim to a square shape. Quiltmaker did a good job showing how to do it.

Click here to see an interniew with me about the quilt: http://www.quiltmaker.com/articles/Karen_Griska

Happy Quilting!

Bamboo Textiles

Did you know that bamboo is being used to make textiles for clothing and towels?

"Once you look at it, bamboo is a very logical choice of fibre for many items of clothing. As well as having excellent strength, shape stability, washability, colorfastness, shrink fastness and being exceptionally comfortable against the skin, bamboo fibre also boasts the following:
* Naturally bacteria inhibiting
*Particularly absorbent and breathable
* Produced without the use of harsh insecticides, serious pollutants"
--from www.bambootextiles.com.au/

The fabric is made in China. The company selling the socks and towels is in Australia. I'd like to try some of these.

Call Me for Tea

This telephone/teapot is on display at my favorite Internet cafe, "Common Grounds" in Litchfield, CT. They have the most delicious pumpkin muffins, big comfy chairs and a fireplace. Not to mention some pretty cool teapots. This one says "Call Me for Tea."

I hope you have a "tea with a friend" moment today.

Christmas Colors

When I see red and green Christmas decorations, I remember Christmases from when I was little. I love red and green.

But this year I'm tempted to break with tradition. Isn't the blue bulb beautiful? Do you have a favorite Christmas-decorating color scheme? Are you "red and green" or something else?

Melinda's Pin Cushions and "Quilt in a Cup"

Melinda of Marietta, Georgia made 20 selvage pin cushions for her quilt guild. She must have a team of elves working day and night in her quilt studio!

Her sister Robin, also a quilter, recently gave Melinda a "Quilt in a Cup" kit and she made it up with selvages already! She uses it in the quilt shop where she works, and people are buying up kits like hotcakes. You can order them from: www.quiltinacup.com. I have one. They are very easy to make, and the quality is very nice. They offer other nice quilty items too.

Visit Melinda's blog at: http://melinful.blogspot.com/

Textile Bookshop and Gallery!

Minerva is a textile bookshop and gallery, and the home of New Zealand Quilter magazine, in Wellington, NZ. If it wasn't 8,948 miles (14,401 kilometers) from my house, I think this would be my favorite bookstore! (I found this on Jenny's blog. See yesterday's post.)

This store has over 1,800 titles in stock covering all aspects of textiles/fiber art, as well as exhibits and gifts. See their website at: http://nzquilter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7&Itemid=50 Imagine all the inspiration in there!

MYSTERY SOLVED: Remember the photo of Jill's selvage project? We were tryinig to guess what she was making. Well she has announced the answer: she's making cornices for the windows in their playroom! Now that's a good idea. I've asked her to be sure to send us some photos of that! Kathy has won the prize for guessing correctly.

Antique Quilt from Quiltville Blog

Have you seen Bonnie K. Hunter's blog: http://www.quiltville.blogspot.com/? This cheery antique four-patch quilt was featured on her blog in early November. I really like this one. Nice and bright for this time of year, and not too serious.

Jenny's Selvage Apron

Jenny from New Zealand made this Christmas apron using selvage strips in the bib (see the close-up photo below). Isn't that clever? It remends me of those Bavarian style lace-up bodices. It was made for a challenge in her quilting group. I like Jenny's best. You can see more on her new blog: http://www.romanyquilting.blogspot.com/.

Thank you for all the book recommendations yesterday! I went to the library and got stocked up. We are getting snow and ice all day today. I also have some chicken and veggies for a pot of soup. Perfect!

Seven Dollar Jacket!

Yesterday I bought this jacket at Walmart for $7! It's reversible too. All polyester, machine washable, feels nice, sleeves are long enough. What's not to love? So I bought three more to give to my sisters and niece. Mine is hot pink and brown, another is lavender and plum.

I love a bargain.

Amish Buggy Quilt in Progress

This is the December block for the Empire Quilters BOM (see www.empirebom.blogspot.com). I like this simple pattern in solids. A buggy quilt is one that can get used hard; it's the Amish term for a utility quilt, according to one of my books anyway.

Melinda's New Selvage Projects

Melinda of Marietta, Georgia, is making some selvage items for guild holiday exchanges. This
table runner is for the Allatoona Guild. She's planning to use a striped fabric for the binding. I think that will be perfect. Don't you love that big polka dot in the middle? All those red prints are so cheery and festive, and the lime green splashes look great. Nice job, Melinda!


Here's what Melinda had to say about her selvage apron:

"I put premade bias binding around the edges and used Moda twill tape from jelly rolls and fat quarter packs as the ties. It is done unless I decide to add a pocket – not sure if I want to add one but it is ready to swap, with or without a pocket."

See her blog at: http://melinful.blogspot.com/.

"That Book is Good...

...Which Puts Me in a Thinking Mood." -Emerson

The Gunn Memorial Library in Washington, CT is an absolutely beautiful place designed by architect Erich Rossiter. This is just a smidgen of the wonderful murals they have.

I'm looking for some good books to read. Fiction, non-fiction, anything uplifting, good food for thought. Who doesn't love a good story? Any suggestions?

I'll go first. Right now I'm reading "What the Dog Saw" by Malcom Gladwell. I'm liking it. It's a series of his essays that appeared in "The New Yorker" magazine. One is about the development of the birth control pill which is very interesting. Another is about why there are lots of different kinds of mustard, but only one ketchup. Okay, now your turn.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This weekend we had our first snowfall in Litchfield, Connecticut! Not enough to shovel, just enough to make everything pure white. My husband and I went for a ride early in the morning to get some photos before it melted, but by nightfall the snow was still on each little branch. It was only 24 degrees. That's why the photo below was taken from inside the car! Isn't it beautiful?

Advertising on Sidewalk Columns

Are these creative advertising ideas, or what? The photo on the left was an ad campaign in Germany promoting inflatable beach toys for Toys-R-Us. The other two are more self-explanatory! To see more ads on comums, visit:

http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/11/24/creative-advertising-on-columns/

Have a very creative day!

What's Jill Up To? Cornices.

Jill in New Jersey is starting a new selvage project and she wants you to guess what she's up to.
Take a guess and tell her on her blog:
http://cre8fmomquilts.blogspot.com/2009/12/anyone-care-to-venture-guess.html Jill will have a prize for the best guesser. I've already entered and I have to say I'm feeling very good about my guess.
UPDATE: JILL IS MAKING CORNICES FOR THE WINDOWS IN THEIR PLAYROOM.
She'll send photos when she's finished.

Quilts in Times Square!

Here's the (abridged) scoop from The City Quilter in NYC:

Quilts are back in Times Square, courtesy of Panasonic's 28' X 38' foot Astrovision screen! The quilts will appear four times each hour from now until New Year's Eve. So quilts will be visible in Times Square during the Macy's Day Parade (I can only hope for a network camera shot!). I'm amazed and pleased...I was just so struck by how great it was to see these giant quilts in this American nexus of arts and culture.

The quilts are: Judy Doenias' "Carmen Miranda," Anita Solomon Grossman's "Key West Beauty," "In Our Time" by Judy Doenias, Diane Rode Schneck's "Dear Jane," Ellen Yamaguchi's "New York City Lights," and Cathy Izzo's "Batik Schoolhouse." - The City Quilter

The photo above is from a previous year. The quilt is called "Kitschin Jane," by Any Ronis. I hope to visit Times Square this month and update the photo. I can't wait to see it!

Visit The City Quilter at: http://www.cityquilter.com/.

Field Trip Part 2: Utah

The first three photos were taken at or near Zion National Park in southern Utah. The trees here are so different from what I'm used to.

This is the view from the porch of our hotel room (below). We checked in after dark and woke to this breath-taking scene in the morning.

These sand dunes are in Death Valley National Park. We got up before sunrise to take photos here. I'm not a "morning person," but for this, it was worth it!

Field Trip to Death Valley!

My husband and I recently visited Death Valley National Park in California. Out in the middle of nowhere we saw an intersection called "Teakettle Junction," and I had to stop and take this photo to show you. Unfortunately we didn't have a teakettle to add to the collection. Some people signed and dated their contribution. Evidently someone had a spare pair of shoes to add to the mix!

I haven't seen one of these in a while! The cell coverage isn't very good out there, so a "real" phone comes in handy. These were in the "town" of Stovepipe Wells. I like the names.

The Salt Flats area (above) at Badwater, is 282 feet below sea level. It's the lowest spot in the western hemisphere. Also noteworthy is the complete silence here. Just an occasional airplane.

In the summer it's blistering hot, but it was very comfortable this time of the year. We even had a little rain! Very rare indeed. Oh yeah, we got a flat tire way out on a dirt road, but my very capable husband saved the day. Yayy, Jason!

See Part 2 tomorrow.

Jewel's Selvage Tumbler Quilt

Jewel is a quilter in the South San Francisco Bay area of California. She made this stunning selvage tumbler quilt using batik precuts that she bought from Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works: http://cvquiltworks.blogspot.com/. I love the bright colors, and the color windows stand out nicely too. Great job, Jewel! See her blog at: http://jewelsarmcandy.blogspot.com/.

And thank you to Judith for telling me about this quilt! If it's got selvages, we hear about it pretty fast at the Selvage Blog. :)

Do you want to read more about folks who live waaay up North? Take a look at this blog from Alaska: http://alaskaatlast-rach.blogspot.com/ Thank you to rainylakechic for this link. And of course she has a blog too. I think you'd like it: http://rainylakechick.blogspot.com/

Do You Know Anyone at the North Pole?

Other than Mr. and Mrs. Claus, that is. Ros at http://rosa-munda.blogspot.com/ who lives in London, emailed me about "Arctic Mum," a blogger who lives close to the North Pole. I didn't know anyone lived there! Mum blogs about the Arctic lifestyle, the Northern lights, family, craft projects, etc.

And look at two of her photos (above) - aren't they beautiful and interesting? You have to check this out: http://arcticmum.blogspot.com/ Let's all say "Hi!" to Arctic Mum on her blog today.

Northern Lights

This photo of the Northern Lights in Alaska is from http://www.alaskastock.com/. I'd love to see this in person. Isn't this breathtaking?

Would You Write a Review on Amazon?

If you've enjoyed my selvage book, would you write a review on Amazon? I'd really appreciate it. (Nothing fancy, just tell what you liked.) Thanks.

Here's a quick link: http://www.amazon.com/Quilts-Selvage-Edge-Karen-Griska/dp/157432957X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top Click on "Customer Reviews" to the right of the stars, or scroll down and look on the right for: "Create Your Own Review."
(I think you have to have purchased something in the past on Amazon for the review to show up.)

Jill's Selvage Placemats

Jill Bunis from New Jersey made a set of 5 pretty selvage placemats. She used wide selvage strips so the colorful prints show. A nice touch since she included lots of food fabrics. The backing fabric features garlic!

Take a look at Jill's blog to see the other placemats and some amazing boxes that she bought at T.J.Maxx: http://cre8fmomquilts.blogspot.com/. Also see the header at the top of her blog: it's a Black and White Zinger! Check it out.

Julie's "Jeans" Zinger In Progress

Quilt Diva Julie in Memphis, TN is making this Zinger for her son using jeans and a charcoal brown as the solid fabrics. Some of you contributed selvages featuring dogs, and this is where she's using them. This quilt is going to have 4 borders! I can't wait to see the finished quilt! Follow along on Julie's blog: http://www.quiltdivajulie.blogspot.com/ .