Fabric Winner Announced!

A SPECIAL NOTE FROM VALERIE OF comfort and joy fabrics:Thank you so much for participating in comfort and joy fabric's Tanya Whelan fat quarter giveaway here at the Selvage Blog! I will be starting a comfort and joy blog and an email list in the near future to keep you informed about new fabrics, sales, coupon codes and specials. There will be interviews with people you want to hear from including Bonnie Christine of Art Gallery Fabrics. She's the designer of the Sweet as Honey line that I carry! I'll also interview Karen Griska and more! 

I would love to have you join me! 
Want to be included? Email Valerie at Valerie@comfortandjoyhandmade.com          Thanks!  -Valerie

And now....drum roll please!The Winner of the comfort and joy fabrics is.......
Jane B! 

Yayy, Jane! The photo above isn't Jane. It's just how I imagine she's feeling today. Haha.

Thank you to Valerie for providing this generous prize for our give away!

We wish you the very best as you begin your new Etsy shop!

 ("Birch Farm" by Joel Dewberry, in stock)

Happy Independence Day!

I hope you all enjoy the day! I think our fireworks may get rained out, but we'll have a good one anyway.

Thank you to all who serve our country!

Fine Lines Switcheroo!

This quilt reminds me of my Fine Lines quilt pattern, except that instead of colored lines on white, it has white lines on colored backgrounds. I never thought of this! I really like it.

Made by yadykates. Her blog is Quilter's Pastiche. 

Ranunculus Flowers

When you were browsing the fabrics at comfort and joy fabrics this week, did you notice the fabric line called "Ranunculus?" Well this flower is called ranunculus! I didn't know that.  But they're not all green and white. Take a look at the variety below! So beautiful!

Interesting Bikes That You Can't Ride

Food art. Isn't this creative? Take a look at the chain! Sadly there was no info about this photo on Pinterest. Sometimes a photo links to spam, so the re-pinner just deletes the link. 

This is The Walking Bike. Follow the link to see a video of it not working very well. Haha.

Taxi Quilt Pattern!

Here it is! My newest quilt pattern: TAXI. Thank you all so much for helping me decide which name and photo to use. I included a picture of a New York City taxi in the pattern for those who are unfamiliar with them. Thanks for all your input. It really helps to hear from you.

I've been busy making quilt patterns lately. I love doing that. The next pattern is almost done. It's a Trip Around the World variation using the tube method. It pairs low volume prints with solid red. The working title is "Tube Trip." 

After that pattern is finished, I want to make some more challenging ones. Scrappy optical illusions with spider webs and fans and tumbling blocks. Can't wait!

Need Your Opinion on This

#1

#2

#3

I'm making the "front cover" for a new pattern. This is how it will look on Etsy.

Do you prefer #1 or #2 or #3?

(In the upper left corner, Etsy puts a symbol that says "Instant Download" so I leave space for that.)

The design reminds me of taxi cabs. But I'm also considering the title: "Fair and Square."

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Gorgeous Giveaway from comfort and joy fabrics!

Yes, you could win this entire collection of 8 Tanya Whelan ROSEY fat quarters! Aren't they beautiful? 

Valerie Ralston from Washington has a brand new fabric shop on Etsy: comfort and joy fabrics.

Your Comment is your entry in this GIVEAWAY. Tell us which fabric in her shop is your favorite. That's it!

Random winner will be announced next Saturday.

Valerie will be reading the Comments this week, so say hello. You will love her. 

P.S. If you also Pin, Like, Favorite, Follow, or whatever, then you may enter a 2nd Comment.

Valerie

Clothespin Sculpture

Giant Clothespin sculpture designed by Turkish artist and professor Mehmet Ali Uysal. It's located in Liege, Belgium. This is so clever. 

I wonder how many 20-somethings don't recognize this object! I have to admit that when I hear "clothes-pin" lately, I think of fashion boards on Pinterest. And I'm glad. 

Giveaway coming soon: Gorgeous package of 8 fat quarters from Comfort and Joy Fabrics on Etsy. Stay tuned!

Colorful String Quilt

"Crow Country" by Monica McGregor. She named this quilt in honor of quilter Nancy Crow.

 Interesting how the light X blocks are surrounded with dark sashing, and the dark X blocks are surrounded by light sashing. Very nice!

Thank you to Bridget for telling me who made this quilt!

Jersey Boys Movie!

This is the best movie I've seen in a long time! Directed by Clint Eastwood, the story is so well told. 

The acting is wonderful and the music stayed with me for days. See the trailer here. 

I think the movie is better than the Broadway version. Go see it. I'm planning to see it again, 

and I almost never see a movie twice. 

Moisturize My Cutting Mat?

Have you ever heard of such a thing as moisturizing your cutting mat? I found this on Generations Quilt Patterns. Here's what she had to say:

To soak it, put your mat in a bathtub or large container (would have to be large so it can lay flat) and soak it for 15-20 minutes in a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar to every gallon of cool water. Let me repeat, cool water. Do this every so often to help extend its useful life.

Then use a squirt of mild dishwashing soap (Ivory) and clean the mat with a mushroom brush (soft is the key word here). The purpose of this gentle scouring is to remove the fibers that get trapped in the cuts marks preventing the cuts from "healing".

Keep 'em clean, keep 'em moist, keep 'em flat and NO heat. Your cutting mat is not a coffee cup coaster!

Arm Knitting!

Have you ever seen someone arm knitting? This is a first for me! From Not Quite Snow White.

Here's a good video showing how to arm knit from Simply Maggie.

Here's another video by Maggie showing how to arm knit a blanket in 1 hour.

There are more arm knitting videos out there, but Maggie's are the easiest to follow.

Thank you to my friend Barbara at Amber Studios for finding this!

Happy First Day of Summer!

If I had to have a tattoo, this would be the one. This must be a temporary painting, with all those colors. I found it on Pinterest, but the link didn't go anywhere. Too bad. I'd like to know the story here.

Visit my Pinterest page and Follow me. I'm finding so many remarkable quilts!

Pinterest is such a rich source of inspiration for quilts (and food, gardening, travel, books...).

I hope you have a wonderful summer filled with all your favorite things.

Hugs to all the quilters down under too. 

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt by Masako

This beautiful Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt is the creation of Masako. It was featured on the Postcards from Panama blog. I like how the flower centers stand out. Very nice colors.

Patchwork Dining Room Chairs

Anna Maria Horner covered these dining room chairs with some extra quilt blocks that she bought a while back. See her blog for more.

Comfort and Joy Fabrics on Etsy!

There is a new fabric shop on Etsy where you can get the latest gorgeous fabrics for $4.75/ half yard! 

I just found it yesterday: comfort and joy fabrics. Valerie Ralston, the owner, is very nice too. 

The fabric in the photo is by Jennifer Paganelli.

Tiny Houses Quilt - Amazing!

Jeanneke from the Netherlands led a group of quilters in making lots of scrap house quilts. You can see photos of all the quilts at BuildingHousesFromScraps. They used rubber stamps to mark the fabrics. These houses are tiny! They measure 3" square! (Thanks for that info in your Comments.)

Helle's Crocheted Coral Garden Hat!

This crocheted coral garden hat was made by Helle Jorgensen of Gooseflesh in Australia. She loves to witness the expressions of surprise people have when they first see it. Isn't this amazing? Go Helle!

Very Red Quilt

Found on Pinterest, you can see the pattern for this quilt here. I would not have thought to combine these bright red Westminster prints with solid red. Maybe ivory, or light green, or pale aqua. But it really works. 

I love these prints. The newest batch from Westminster is beautiful too.