Sew Bee it - in Ringgold, Georgia

After years of hearing about this wonderful quilt shop in Ringgold, GA (just minutes from Chattanooga, TN) I finally visited. And I wasn't disappointed! This is a wonderful shop, chock full of beautiful fabrics, books and notions. Many gorgeous finished quilts are hung all around the shop. The people are so friendly too. The owner, Gloria, takes time to chat then leaves you to browse to your heart's content.

They are located at 6103 Alabama Highway, Ringgold, Georgia, (706) 937-9142. Or you can visit their website at: http://www.sew-bee-it.com/.

They even have a husband's corner with a sofa and TV (below). Now that's a great idea!

Karen Jones' Selvage Bra - First Prize!

Karen Jones of New Zealand made this selvage bra/tote bag for a guild challenge. We see many unique selvage items on this blog, but this is the first selvage bra! Note the selvages were chosen for their appropriate messages.

Karen won First Prize at the Capital Quilters Exhibition in Wellington! Congratulation, Karen!

See more about it on her blog: http://myfatquarter.blogspot.com.

New Blog! Quilt du Jour!

Tired of looking at quilts? I didn't think so!

Visit my new blog: www.quiltdujour.blogspot.com,

then visit the Online Quilt Museum.

Have a great day.

Susan's Needlemagic - Zinger Variation

Susan from Berne, IN decided to do a demo for her local club showing how to create with selvages. These are some of her first projects. She made the purse in one afternoon. Pretty good!

I really like her blocks that look like a Red Zinger variation.

Susan is a long arm quilter, and she likes to knit wool socks for her husband. Her very interesting blog is: http://www.sneedlemagic.blogspot.com/.

And the Winners Are...

(Drumroll please.) Dr. Numbers from Random.org approaches the stage with 2 little envelopes:

1. Char from Hatfield, Pennsylvania


2. Vicki @ Dotty Jane in Middle Tennessee

Congratulations! Quiltmaker's Special Issue: "Small Quilts" will go out to you tomorrow, or as soon as I get your mailing addresses. I wish I had 120 copies to send to everybody!

Mayleen's Little Red Zinger

Mayleen in Kansas made this little Red Zinger. Each block is 3 1/2" square! There are four blocks in each X. Mayleen cut her selvages very narrow, so she added narrow strips of fabric to get some color. Didn't she do a beautiful job? See her blog for more about this quilt: www.qisforquilt.blogspot.com.

Quiltmaker's Small Quilts: Give-Away

Why 2 copies? Because I'm having a Give-Away! Leave a comment to enter. Two names will be chosen at random tomorrow to receive a copy of this new Special Issue of Quiltmaker's "Small Quilts."

The team at Quiltmaker magazine asked me to review "Small Quilts," and they provided the two copies to give away. They are very nice folks.

So I made a cup of tea and took a look. They've come up with a nice variety of quilts, some traditional like the two quilts above, and some modern "light and airy" designs that would be very quick to make. There's even a nice Amish style quilt with bright colors on a black background. They always show the quilts in an alternate color arrangement to help get the creativity going. They'd all be great done in scraps too.

If you have some baby quilts to make this summer, you're sure to find some good ideas to get you started. I find that it always recharges my battery to browse and study the clever quilts that these quilters come up with. So, I say take a look at this issue. It could be the start of some summer fun!

Show this to someone you love! Poison ivy.

Doesn't this photo give you the creeps? Poison ivy! "Leaves of 3, let it be."
Maybe you know someone who could learn to avoid it the easy way. Show them this pohto!

Meet Barb from Houston

Barb Paliatsos of Houston, Texas made this colorful selvage bag for a "Green" challenge with her guild. Note the "Bag Lady" selvage at the top of the bag. I like the way the selvages make concentric diamonds too.

This is Barb's selvage stash of over 800 selvages! I think she's headed for a major selvage quilt!

Quilters who live in Houston are so lucky. Just drive downtown for the show. Easy as that. :)

Anya's Selvage Sewing Roll

What a delightful selvage creation by Anya of Pennsylvania. Now she can travel in style when she takes her sewing on the road. Nice job, Anya! Visit her blog at: http://www.hillscreekquilter.blogspot.com/ and www.randomactsofstitching.blogspot.com.

Visit Kate & Co. in OZ

Yesterday while exchanging links, I met a lovely quilter/blogger: Kate in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She takes photos of things that inspire her creativity and posts them on her blog, of course. :) These were taken at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. Look at the size of that trumpet vine!

Visit Kate's blog at: http://kateoz.blogspot.com/.

Exchange Links?

If you'd link to the Online Quilt Museum on your blog, let me know and I'll put your blog (or quilt shop) on the Links page on the Museum. Thanks!

Use the logo above. Just right click on the logo and click on "Save As." You know this, right? The link is: http://www.onlinequiltmuseum.com.

Selvage Bag from Norway

I sent some selvages to my friend May Britt from Norway recently, and she made this charming purse for on-the-go projects. What a nice job she did! I like the red zippered opening and her mostly-white selvage layout.

Check out her blog: http://www.abyquilt.blogspot.com/. Have you ever wanted to attend a gathering of quilters in Norway? Well you can take a virtual trip on her blog.

Grand Opening Today: Online Quilt Museum!

Welcome to the new Online Quilt Museum!

Virtual luncheon. Please choose a seat.

This is a brand new cyber venue which not only features quilting Exhibits, but it's a place where you can have your own Gallery to feature your quilts. You'll also find free online Workshops, a Big Quilt Glossary for newbies, and there's a Quilt Challenge going on already.

When you have your own Gallery, you log in and enter as many quilt photos and as much text as you like. It's very user friendly. It may energize your creative journey to see all your quilts in one place. Friends and relatives can easily view them too. You may find that it draws traffic to your blog, website, Etsy or eBay sites. You may indicate if a quilt is available for sale. Include your email so people can contact you. This elegant worldwide quilt show is open 24/7. Free to visit; $4.95/month via PayPal to have a Gallery.

So I invite you to get a big cup of coffee or tea, and enjoy your first of many visits to the Online Quilt Museum: http://www.onlinequiltmuseum.com/. For the companion newspage and Quilter's Lounge visit: http://www.quiltersmuse.blogspot.com/.

There are 678 photos for starters. Yes, I've been working on this for years.

Comment here or in the Lounge. I can't wait to hear what you think!

Do you know what this is?

This is the "Quilter's Lounge." Come back tomorrow for a visit. Don't forget. Big surprise waiting for you!

Lizzy House Has Made Just One Selvage Project, So Far!

Lizzy House of Texas made this charming little woven selvage purse! You can see more photos and read what she has to say about making this on her blog: http://lizzyhouse.typepad.com . This idea is so creative!

I love her blog, and I bought her e-book. I had to smile when I read that she doesn't have the time or inclination to make stuff with selvages. (Of course, Lizzy.) She says, "It's not gonna happen." (Right. We hear you.) Then she goes on to describe the clever way she made this and how much fun it was to make. Just sewing for fun. Hey, that's great Lizzy! :)

But if you do make something else, send us a photo.

Thank you to Viki in Australia who alerted me to this great project.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope your day is a sweet one. Maybe you can treat yourself to some good quilting time!

Zippered Flower by Kate Cusack

Here's a little Mother's Day flower for you. This zippered flower was made by Kate Cusack and she has a tutorial for it on: http://tinyurl.com/2ebard3. Would this qualify as "steampunk style jewelry?"

Thanks to Carla Barret who had this on her blog: http://www.featheredfibers.wordpress.com/.

Bluebonnets and Blue Zinger!

Kathy Wilcox lives in the hill country of Texas and this is the view from her sewing machine! The conditions are perfect this year for sunbonnets, the Texas state flower. Oh, I love it!

Wow, take a look at Kathy's new Blue Zinger! This is fantastic. And she did some stunning quilting too: feathers in the blue wedges and meandering on the selvages. She did this with her Bernina 440. Yayyy, Kathy! As my son would say, "Sweet!"

Kathy has made other selvage items too: a tote bag, pot holders, and tissue holders, but this takes the cake!

No Job Too Big for Sweet Home Quilt Co!

Can you believe your eyes? You are looking at 49 selvage bags made by the Sweet Home Quilt Co. in Conyers, GA. They co-sponsored a bus trip to the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, KY and owner Melissa Morrison and her crew made a selvage bag/name tag for each of the participants!

The bags have a vinyl pocket for a name tag on the front, a pocket on the back, and a fancy button closure on top. We are so impressed! This goes in the Selvage Blog Hall of Fame. (Note to self: make a SBHF.)

Visit their online sites: http://www.sweethomequiltco.com/, and www.sweethomequiltco.com/weblog. If you live in the area, visit: Sweet Home Quilt Co., 1004 Green St. SW, Conyers, GA. 30012

Phone (678) 413-1611.

Today is the 59th Annual National Day of Prayer

Today we are observing the National Day of Prayer in my town of Litchfield, CT. The Bible says that if we will humble ourselves and pray, He will heal our land. I think we need it. We'll meet at the flagpole on the Green at noon and pray. I'll let you know how it goes.

Connecticut is the only state in the nation where this event will be observed in every town. Cool.

Today is also our 32nd wedding anniversary! We're going out for a nice lunch I think.

Mary Poppins Selvage Bag!

Meet Val in the UK. She created this lovely selvage travel bag, and recently took it on a one-week trip to Oxfordshire. She calls it her Mary Poppins Travel Bag. See all the beautiful photos on her blog: http://blog.bellabag.co.uk/. By the way, Bella is the name of her little dog. Nice job, Val!

Little Red Quilt House in Ohio

If you live near Medina, Ohio, check out the Little Red Quilt House and say hi to Karen Benke. They have their own quilt guild, they offer long arm quilting lessons (and you can use their long arm machines after you have taken the class), classes on lots of other quilting topics, and they make custom memory quilts for customers.

They also sell Moda Scrap Bags (3" strips), most of which have the selvage. They cost $11.99. Moda has great new selvages (color windows with interesting shapes). You knew that. :)

Sounds like a real dynamic place!

Prize-Winners Announced!

Here are the winners of the selvage packages!

1. Debbie in Jerusalem
2. Sew Cal Gal in California
3. Thelma of Cupcakes 'n Daisies in Indiana
4. Mary Grace in New England
5. Kay Jay in New Zealand
6. Kelly in Kansas, WhatUpDuck.com
7. Daryl Perry, Editor, The Ragweed in New Mexico
8. Robin at rsislandcrafts in Florida
9. Sara, Life at the Covered Bridge, Pennsylvania
10. Debi, Quilting With Debi in Rockwall, Texas
    

I will email you to get your mailing address. Packages shipped this week. :)

Field Trip!

You are just in time to depart on the Selvage Blog Surprise Field Trip! Hop aboard. We've been saving a seat especially for you. Would you care for some iced tea? Fruit or chocolates?

The first stop is Iguazu National Park, on the border of Brazil and Argentina. Feel the spray in your face? Next, a little bit of wildlife. I wonder if these parrots speak Spanish.

Isn't this a gorgeous passion flower? There are many varities in South America. Some are blue.

Now for some sewing time in Carol Taylor's quilting studio in upstate New York. It was so nice of her to get it ready for us today.

Ready for a break? Is your neck stiff from all that sewing? It's time for a little rest in the Carribean.

The evening's entertainment is a Beatles concert, specifically the last performance on Ed Sullivan. Special requests anyone?

Followed by dinner at the Grand Hyatt in Beijing, China. I wish this was a bigger photo. It looks like a nice place. These chefs said they'll make whatever we want.

Did you have a good time? Sweet dreams. Oh that looks very comfy! Nice view of Beijing too.

Tomorrow the 10 winners of the selvage packs will be announced.

See Kathi Price's Selvage Fabric Bins!

Kathi Price of Texas makes the most charming selvage items! Now she's making fabric bins. These 3 photos are all the same bin: front, back and inside-out. The fabric with all the words (Sweetwater by Moda) goes perfectly with the selvages, doesn't it?

Kathi is all over the web! She sells her kreations too. See them at:

http://kathip22.etsy.com/

http://kathiskreations.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/rathip22

Birthday party prize winners (packs of interesting new selvages) announced tomorrow! Scroll down to enter the drawing. (April 29 post)

Patty Altier's Jumbo Selvage Pin Cushion

Patty Altier of Akron, Ohio says "Go big, or go home!" This pin cushion is made from her African fabrics and selvages, and it measures 8" x 5 1/4!" Well okay then. Take a look at the big bead in the middle, perfect!

Patty is a big thinker. She's making a Millennium Charm Quilt using 2,000 different fabrics from the 1900's. She's also making a stone wall in her front yard, and she recently decided to move it 4 feet. I thinking I need a nap!

Take a look at her blog: http://www.thequiltlady.blogspot.com/.