Another Selvage Quilt by Ann Marie Cowley

Here is yet another beautiful selvage quilt by prolific quilter Ann Marie Cowley of Hillsboro, Oregon. Ann Marie also hikes with her family, participates in Boy Scout activities, and much more. See her blog: http://www.runandsewuilts.wordpress.com/. How does she do it all you ask? Here's part of the answer: multi-tasking. She sewed the binding while riding in the car!

I love this quilt. It has such a profusion of selvages. It would be fun to browse through all these blocks. I bet we'd recognize many of those fabrics, don't you think?

World's Widest Selvage!

Diane Rode Schneck, a member of Empire Quilters in NYC brought the world's widest selvage to our last meeting. It's 5 inches wide! Look at the size of those color windows. Under each window is "OK - (Not?) OK." Someone wrote "No" on this selvage. There's even an arrow pointing in the direction of the warp. You wouldn't need many of these babies to make a selvage quilt!

Ann Marie's "Cartwheels" Selvage Quilt

Ann Marie Cowley of Hillsboro, Oregon made this gorgeous "Cartwheels" quilt. Here's her story:

"I have the book "Material Obsession" (http://materialobsession.typepad.com/material_obsession/). In the back is a great string quilt that I used as a guide for my latest selvage quilt, "Cartwheels" I absolutely LOVE it! My brother in Kentucky made the flag case out of an old chestnut barn from the early 1900's and the little picture box on the right. He is a fabulous wood worker."

Ann Marie is also the maker of the Red Zinger that recently won a red ribbon at the Oregon State Fair (and a blue Viewer's Choice ribbon). See sidebar. Also see her blog at: http://www.runandsewuilts.wordpress.com/.

Short Arm Quilting Machine

"Can't afford a long arm quilting machine? Want that hand quilted look without spending all the time? The short-arm QUILTER is for you. This machine can hand quilt a king size quilt in minutes at over 3.5 sps (stitches per second).

Adjustable built in stitch regulator determines the stitch length. Choose from these 5 settings:
Import . . . 2 stitches per inch
10ft test . . 6 stitches per inch
Grandma. . 8 stitches per inch
Amish . . . 12 stitches per inch
Husband . . Inconsistant"

This was on Quilter's Warehouse, April Fool's Day 2008. Here is the link: http://quilterswarehouse.com/p-12098-short-arm-quilter-april-fools-08-by-af-enterprises.aspx

Thank you to Highway Cottage for telling us about this. Her blog is: http://www.highwaycottage.wordpress.com/.

Today's Cartoon

This cartoon by Theresa McCracken of Waldport, Oregon made me chuckle. Here is her link: http://www.mchumor.com/sewing2_bframe.html.

P.S. How do you like that quilt?

Do You Have Advice for Stephanie?

Yesterday Stephanie posted a comment telling how her new printer eats the fabric she tries to print. We can't have this! Any suggestions?

"I have a new Canon printer. I could run fabric through my old printer but for some reason this one just doesn't like it. I iron the fabric to freezer paper and make sure the edges are neatly trimmed but this printer just eats it. If there are tips I'm not aware of that might help I'd certainly appreciate it." --Stephanie

Quilt Label Features Selvages

This label was made by Vicki Bellino of Bloom Creek for a quilt she designed using Aunt Grace Classics. The Marcus Brothers blog featured this pretty selvage label (see http://www.marcusbrothers.com/blog/ May 26, 2009 post).

Thank you to Debbie Frey from Logansport, Indiana for the heads up!

Ideal Sewing Machine - 1920

Wow! All the interesting sewing machines you can find on the Internet! I'm choosing some of the best ones to show you. This one was made by the Ideal Sewing Machine Company Ltd. (UK) in 1920. It was patented by Leslie Salter. The spool of thread hangs horizontally on the rear of the arm. It has a clean modern look, doesn't it?

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sewing+machine+factories+in+China+filterui%3aimagesize-large&qpvt=sewing+machine+factories+in+China&FORM=R5FD2#focal=105a9e973b2f023d37ee02cd93656371&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sewmuse.co.uk%2Fwarwick.jpg

Hold the Phone! Fabulous Wearables

Can you believe this twirly sweater-dress created by Katwise? I love this! That lime green splash along the bottom edge is gorgeous, but the icing on the cake is the hood. See the fringe that would frame your face (and cover your eyes, yeah yeah I know) and the long hood? Oh, this is so cool.

Be sure to visit: http://www.katwise.com/. Click on "About." She has an Etsy store too.

Thank you to Junky Chicken for blogging about Katwise. Stay tuned to read about her soon.

Visit Kay in South Dakota

This is a morning view from Kay Peterson's backyard in Trent, South Dakota. Wow, that's so beautiful! Thanks for sharing your neighborhood with us.

Kay hasn't taken the plunge with selvages yet, but she does hang out at the Selvage Blog. That's the first step, right? Check out her blog: http://www.myolivebranch.wordpress.com/

Joyful Art!

JoAnne in southern California writes:

"My husband and I recently visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and this really fascinated me. What's pictured is a hanging "sculpture". There was no sign telling about it or giving anyone credit for making it. It's made of all kinds of different plastic bowls, baskets and containers hanging from fishing line or something like that. They swayed in the breeze and children were having fun running through it. You have shared some unusual things with us so I wanted to share this with you. Enjoy!"

Thank you, JoAnne! I love this sculpture, and it must make an interesting sound when kids run through it too. So clever!

Greetings and hugs to all our visitors from France and Texas today!

Wanna See My New Old Sewing Machine?

If you've been reading the Selvage Blog lately you probably knew this was going to happen: I just bought this charming little sewing machine on eBay! You are the first one I'm telling! It's cast iron and measures only 7" x 7." They say the handle turns and it works, but I think I'll still use my Juki 98Q.

More Selvage Bags from Fernanda in Portugal

Today we're looking at more creative selvage bags by Fernanda Gomes of Portugal. Above and below, she uses selvages and ribbons sparingly to add little messages and design flair.

I have a warm place in my heart for "Dick, Jane and Sally" (see the fabric on the left in the photo below) because I learned to read using that series of books. Somehow, reading "Run, run, run." wasn't boring, it was reassuring. :) I like the little cartoons on the pink background too.

Using selvages this way is so clever. I like the light and airy look she has created. And look at those handles!

Having a small selvage stash is no longer a reason not to make a selvage bag.

Wonderful job, Fernanda! Thank you for all the inspiration. It makes me want to head to my sewing machine right now.

Remember, you can see her blog at: http://owlmania.blogspot.com/

Greetings and hugs to all our visitors from Portugal today!

Meet Fernanda Gomes from Portugal!

Fernanda Gomes from Portugal has made a stunning collection of selvage bags. These 4 bags were made by applying selvages and fabric squares with machine zig-zag stitching. What a creative idea!

Fernanda has such a carefree improvisational style! Bravo, Fernanda! I like the fabric with the little Russian dolls (on the white background above, and on the brown background 2 photos up).

What a beautiful blast of color in the bag above. See more of her work tomorrow too!

Visit Fernanda's blog at http://owlmania.blogspot.com/

Antique or New - Just Can't Decide?

This is definitely a one-of-a-kind sewing machine! Just the thing for the quilter who has a warm place in her heart for the old Singers, but no, wait, maybe she wants a new machine. I found this photo on the Internet - just an attention grabber with lots of ads posted near it.
http://www.freakingnews.com/Sewing-Machine-Pictures-34886.asp

Cindy Cooksey's Selvage Quilt

Cindy Cooksey of Orange County, California made this pretty little selvage quilt. Here's her story:

"Earlier this year, before I knew about you, I made a selvedge quilt, too. It's called "15 Selvedges," and it's in the "Edges" special exhibit that was at Quilt Festival Long Beach this summer. It'll be at Quilt Festival Houston. "

Thanks, Cindy. Nice job! I especially like the row of black dots near the bottom. Notice her personal selvage style: the fabrics sing, and there's very little writing and no color windows.

Visit Cindy's blog at: www.cookseyville.blogspot.com/ and her website at http://www.cindycooksey.com/. Keep an eye out for Cindy's quilt if you're going to Houston.

Gretchen Thompson Gets Started with Selvages

Gretchen Thompson of Spicewood, Texas writes:

"I am new to the selvage game and a friend turned me onto your site and blog. Attached is a pic of my first (but not last!) selvage project. I love your site, thanks so much for the inspiration!"

Thanks for sharing this little selvage chick with us Gretchen! Very cute:) I love all the ribbons. Is that little black eye a color window or a button?

JodieFlowers Artwork

JodieFlowers has some delightful artwork on Flickr. These are wall leg vases. They don't have flat feet, but duh, they are "wall" vases so they don't need a flat base. It took me a minute to process this. That's part of why I like them. Also see her colorful Wall Monsters. Very clever. This kind of stuff gets my creative juices flowing.

Click here for more: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22453362@N06/3386316478/

Quilter Found on Mars?

No, this is Erica Spinks' neighborhood at 6:45am yesterday in Australia. They are having a dust storm and this is the exact color of the sky. This is some of the best weather I've ever heard of for quilting. (Tough on farmers and people with athsma, though.) Check out Erica's blog: http://creativedabbling.blogspot.com/. Other Australian bloggers have photos too.

Antique European Toy Sewing Machines

When I saw Sylvie's toy sewing machines (see next post) I decided to take a look at some antiques. Where else can you see an instant collection but eBay? These are all currently up for auction. The green one is in Bulgaria, the black one is in the Netherlands, and the blue one is in the US (but made in Germany).

Can't you just imagine the many happy hours that were spent playing with these sewing machines? I'm thinking that an old toy sewing machine would look charming in my quilt studio. But so far, I'm just looking.