Candy Wrapper Bags and Novelty Knits

These are candy wrapper bags by Nahui Ollin. The bag above is all UPC codes! Pretty clever, but I like the colorful candy wrappers below better. The price tag says $109. Pretty labor-intensive I guess. Their site is: http://www.nahuiollin.com/.

This booth full of knitted hats, scarves and mittens was lots of fun. Something for everyone.

Metal Sculpture

This booth was full of smaller figures made of metal, but these two familiar characters were "big-as-life" and very eye-catching in this busy place. Something for everyone. (I know Yoda, but what's the name of the guy above? I just can't remember!)

Apparel Too

The collection of textiles from India in this booth were a real feast for the eyes. These jackets (very soft, more like sweaters) were covered with the most beautiful embroidery, some done by hand, and some by machine. Most of it looked like a tiny chain stitch.

The jacket above was priced at $500, and the one below at $700. Okay, just looking.

The patchwork skirts below and the felted bags were in a different booth. They also had necklaces of felted balls which were really nice.

Mini Evening Gowns

Okay, just one more. (Are your feet getting tired?) This girly display of evening dresses and frilly stuff really caught me eye. They were priced at about $30 each. Lots of detail in these arrangements: hats, jewelry, ribbons etc.

Thanks for coming on this little outing with me. It's fun to go shopping with you via blog. Have a great day.

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.