Meet Peggy McGeary of NJ

After the recent quilt show in NYC I stopped at a sandwich shop on 6th Ave. I noticed that the lady sitting in front of me was wearing a nice vest and I knew she must be a quilter. Before I could say anything, she picked me out as a quilter too (I forget that I'm wearing my selvage vest sometimes!). We had the nicest conversation, as if we had known each other for a long time.

Peggy has an online quilt shop at: http://www.milesquarefabricstudio.com/. The fabrics above are on her site. Read the "About Me" page there. She tells her bio, and it's quite a story!

Meet Marquerite from the Netherlands

I love this quilt by Marquerite van Eijck, a friend of Joke van der Veen, both of the Netherlands. She is a very creative quilt artist, isn't she? She says she made this quilt after looking at my book, but she is just being nice. I never would have thought of this! Her quilt makes me want to do my happy dance! Wonderful job, Marquerite!!

Selvage Purses by Jodie Carleton

You already know Jodie Carleton of Ballarat, Australia, maker of THE selvage dress and the awesome selvage chair. She brought lots of exciting wares to a show recently, including these selvage purses. She has patterns to go with them. She made two so she could show different ways to arrange selvages. Note the "very poufy frou frou selvage do-dad." She has the magic touch, doesn't she?
See her website at: http://www.vintagericrac.blogspot.com/. Lots of inspiration there!

Kathi Price Invents Selvage Applique!

Take a look at this awesome selvage wall hanging by Kathi Price of Frisco, Texas. She bought the little girl fabric from an etsy seller in Japan, and I love how she used it on this quilt: selvage quilt applique! Another great moment in selvage quilt history. And I like how she made a variety of selvage block arrangements, a sort of Gee's Bend style. Such a creative quilt!

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See more of Kathi's work:

http://kathiskreations.blogspot.com/

http://kathip22.etsy.com/

http://kathiskreations.artfire.com/

Julia Wood's Green Zinger!

Julia Wood of Birmingham, Alabama made this "Green Zinger." Isn't it fantastic? I love the green fabric with the subtle stripe and shading. This is just beautiful. (It measures 43" x 43.")

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Julia has vowed to abstain from buying any fabric, patterns, books etc. for a whole year. Each month she's making a stash quilt. She says the first month was a little tough, but now it's not hard at all. See Julia's blog at: http://www.greenquilts.blogspot.com/

Julia is the author of Fabric Photo Play, published in 2005 by AQS. It's about making portrait quilts. Pretty talented lady!

Elephants in NYC!

I was in New York City with my sister Eileen on Saturday. She was visiting from Rhode Island and we went to hear author Jennifer Chiaverini speak to my guild, Empire Quilters. While standing on Seventh Avenue, suddenly a dozen elephants came walking down the street! They were attached, trunk to tail. I have no idea why they were there. Everyone pulled out their cameras. (The orange and white fence was for construction work, not the elephants.) What a surprise!

Then we had a delicious lunch at Le Pain Quotidien at 60 West 65th Street near Columbus Ave. I like how they displayed these yummy looking breadsticks. We each had chicken curry salad with cranberry chutney, and tea. The bill came to $30 plus tip, which seemed reasonable. And check out those quilts on the wall. They made the room so inviting for two quilters!

Similar Selvage Quilt in the Works in Tennessee

Quilt Diva Julie of Memphis, Tennessee is also making a selvage quilt. It's similar to Linda's (see previous post), but you can see how their personal styles differ. I was surfing the Internet tonight (getting my exercise) and I noticed these two quilts in the works. I like them both.

Julie plans to use this quilt as a topper for their kitchen table. She says this is just a "side project," and she did all this in just a couple of evenings. Very nice Julie!

See Julie's blog at: http://quiltdivajulie.blogspot.com/2009/03/side-project.html

Australian Selvage Quilt In-Progress

Remember Linda Robertus, from the Netherlands but now living in Australia? She has started making a beautiful selvage quilt for their queen size bed. Since she doesn't want to quilt such a thing, she is using a quilt-as-you-go method that she links to in her blog post. Visit: http://q-linda.blogspot.com/2009/03/selvedge-quilt.html.

I really like how she has arranged her colors. You need a mighty big stash to do that! Her friends in the Netherlands are sending her their selvages. What a nice idea to sleep under a pretty quilt made from bits of fabric from your far-away friends.

Quilt historians are going to have such an easy time dating these quilts! But determining where the quilt was made could be pretty tricky in this case!

Melinda's Selvage Cup

Melinda of Marietta, Georgia is a longarm quilter and quilt teacher. She also likes other fiber arts and paper arts. This is her first selvage project. I like this cup!

At a recent quilt retreat she put out a basket and collected selvages from everyone. Now that's thinking!

See Melinda's blog at: http://www.melinful.blogspot.com/. Her sister Robin is a quilter too. You saw Robin's selvage notepad cover the day before yesterday.

Have You Ever Seen a Selvage House?

Jill Buckley, talented fabric artist from Canada has done it again! Take a look at her latest selvage creation: a selvage house! Isn't this amazing? Go to her blog to see what she put inside this house: www.thequiltrat.blogspot.com. She also shows how to make one for yourself. Thanks, Jill. :)

Dana W. Fisher's Knitted Selvage Quilt!

Dana Warner Fisher of Greensboro, NC is a teacher librarian, a quilt artist, and an occasional actress. She made this knitted selvage quilt in 2006. Using selvages appeals to her artistic and frugal sensibilities. (Audience applauds in agreement here!) Bravo, Dana!

See more at Dana's blog: http://danawarnerfisher.blogspot.com/

Meet Eliza Mae, a Selvage Garden Lady

Can you believe this? Stephanie from Pickerington, Ohio created "Eliza Mae." You can read all about her on Stephanie's blog: http://loftcreations.blogspot.com/2009/03/please-meet-eliza-mae.html. Check out those sneakers! And her socks too. I love this! Yayyy, Stephanie!

Stephanie says "Life is too short to be boring." Well, okay!

Robin Gallagher's Pretty Selvage Notepad

Front shown above. Back shown below.

Robin Gallagher of California wanted to make something that was easy, fun and rewarding. So she made her first selvage project, and what a pretty one it is! I really like this.
Check out Robin's blog: www.robingallagher.blogspot.com

and her website: www.twowackywomen.com.

Robin does guild programs too.

Jen Duncan's Selvage Stash

Jen Duncan has been taking a look at her selvages. She has such an interesting collection! Take a look at the little "Pac Man" color windows! Um, Jen, your selvages are still attached. Do you have to pet this pile a little longer before you get out the scissors? We understand.
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Take a look at Jen's blog at: http://jenduncan.typepad.com/whats_new/2009/03/its-a-great-day.html#comments

Attention All Quilt Shop Owners!

Do you have selvages left over from making quilt kits? Do you throw them away?

Selvage quilters need them! If you cut your strips about 1 1/2 inches wide x any length, stuff them in a gallon size zip-lock bag, and sell them for, say $6. Is that fair? Whaddyathink?

If you are interested in selling your selvage strips, email me at karengriska@optonline.net and I'll post your email or website on the sidebar so selvage quilters can find you. We'll see what happens.
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Note - Moda Scrap Bags: You can buy these from http://www.unitednotions.com/ or from some quilt shops, but please check first to make sure they are selvages.

Springtime in New York City

Isn't this the most beautiful scene? It makes my heart happy to visit the New York Botanical Garden in the springtime. This feeds my creative spirit immensely! Happy spring.

Selvage Tote Among Friends!

Susan McConnell made this beautiful selvage tote bag. It's 18" wide x 12" tall and has lots of pockets on the inside. Perfect for a quilt show, she says. She'd better hold on tight! I love the basketweave effect and the sprinkling of black selvages; very sharp. I also like that little selvage tie looped around the button. Nice job Susan!

She and Anya are good friends. They live in Wellsboro, PA. (You've seen Anya's selvage creations here before.) You will enjoy these bantering posts on Susan's blog:

http://hangingonbyaneedleandthread.blogspot.com/2009/03/slevage-bag-of-my-own.html http://hangingonbyaneedleandthread.blogspot.com/2009/03/under-influence.html http://hangingonbyaneedleandthread.blogspot.com/2009/03/who-influenced-whom.html

Carla Barrett's Selvage Bowls

Take a look at this awesome selvage bowl by Carla Barrett. Try and "click to enlarge," and see her black thread zig-zagging. Carla plans to embellish this, but I have no idea how she'll do that. I like it "as is."
See her blog at: http://www.featheredfibers.wordpress.com/. (This link has been corrected.)
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See Kathi Price's selvage bowls today too. (Below)
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Also see the Charm Girl Quilt Show photos posted today in the next 6 posts.
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Eight posts in one day - I didn't really mean to make this an April Fool's Day event, but maybe it is!

Kathi Price's Selvage Bowls

Kathi Price of Frisco, Texas is really getting into making selvage bowls! She sure does a beautiful job too! She wraps selvage strips around clothesline and coils it into bowls. See Kathi's blog for lots of great photos of her work. She also sells the bowls at very reasonable prices in her etsy store. I may have to buy one of these for my future quilt studio. Wouldn't that look stunning?

Check out these links:

http://kathiskreations.blogspot.com/
http://kathip22.etsy.com
http://kathiskreations.artfire.com

Charm Girls Quilt Show - Part 1 of 6

This weekend my friends and I held a benefit quilt show at the Pearl S. Buck International Historic Estate in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. The Barn where the show was held is shown above.

Our Charm Girl Quilters group has six members: Helen Wolf, Barbara Harrison, Stephanie Berk, Ellen W. Johnson, Linda Eichhorn and me. We have been meeting monthly for about 4 years. Look at these smiles; this whole group is easy to love! Barbara and Ellen are shown below (l to r).


We exhibited 87 quilts, raffled a quilt made by Helen Wolf, and had a silent auction of 6 small quilts. We had a Boutique offering handbags made by Stephanie, framed textile art and notecards by Ellen and my mini quilt cabinets, pin cushions, and selvage books. We had a quilt appraiser, Dawn Heefner, who studied some fabulous quilts brought in by visitors. There were lectures about quilting in literature, lots of door prizes, and a cafe with delicious sandwiches and tea. We had over three hundred visitors, including possibly some young future quilters!

Quilt below by Linda Eichhorn. Linda has traveled to Singapore and many other places. She is an active volunteer in her church and community.

"Blue Willow" by Stephanie Berk. She made this for her parents who own a large collection of blue willow plates. She used a plate to design this quilt. It's hand appliqued and hand quilted. The quilt hangs in their dining room.