Selvages in "Down Under Quilts" Magazine

Have you seen the new issue of Down Under Quilts from Australia? They're featuring selvages! Erica Spinks' authored the articles, and her beautiful selvage quilt is on the front cover. She used a solid beige fabric with her selvages, and she added hand quilting with black thread to echo the selvages. Terrific idea. This is the first selvage quilt to appear on the cover of a magazine!

Above, do you recognize my Tree of Life selvage quilt and Jodie Carleton's selvage frock? They also show Jodie's selvage chair on another page. Below see the selvage shopping sack by Linda Robertus.

Below, see my "Twilight Star" selvage quilt (left) and Linda Robertus' "Salvaged Selvedges" (right).

You can get a free digital edition of this magazine at: http://www.creativelivingmedia.com.au/.

Terisa's Christmas Dress

I am so lucky! I just found "Running With Scissors," a blog by Terisa Brooks-Huddleston who lives in Napa Valley, California. You are going to love this blog! Make a new cup of coffee or tea, and click here: http://sabiiwabii.blogspot.com/ What a feast!

The photo above is "White Queen" by Nicole Marnati, Art Direction and Styling by Marcel Wardens Studio, Make-up by Palapa. I found this photo on Flickr and "Running With Scissors."

I was going to wear this dress for Christmas too, but it was too loose in the waist.

Meet Michele Hardy

Michele Hardy is a very talented art quilter. You can get a peek at some of her quilts in this photo, but to see more visit her website:
http://michelehardy.com/DirectionsGallery.html . Michelle sells her quilts at prices ranging from about $600-$5,000. Nice work, Michele!

Knifty-Knitter Flower Loom

When I saw this "Knifty-Knitter Flower Loom" it brought back memories of craft projects that I loved as a kid like weaving pot holders and making a long tube with yarn on a wooden spool that had little nails around the top.

I found this photo on Heather Bailey's blog: http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/. I bet you could find something like this at JoAnn or Michaels. Wouldn't this make a great stocking-stuffer (with some colorful yarn, of course)!

Remember when we used to call fabric "material?" Why did we do that?

Selvage Candy Cane Ornament

This candy cane ornament was made by Mrs. Schmenkman. She used Mod Podge. I'm going to ponder this; I feel some new ideas starting to percolate! Nice work, Mrs. S! See her blog at:

http://mrsschmenkmanquilts.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/scrap-tastic-ornaments/

Thanks to Brenda at www.scrapsandstrings.blogspot.com for telling me about this!

Christmas in NYC

On Saturday I went to NYC for the Empire Quilters meeting. Afterwards I walked around taking some photos to show you. Above you can see the tall art-deco Chrysler Building. Grand Central Station (my destination) is lit brightly above the big taxi. This is 42nd Street looking East. If I turned around and walked West, I'd be in Times Square.

Above, you can see Bryant Park. This is behind the New York Public Library (Fifth Ave. & 42nd). The vendors booths were loaded with tempting merchandise. I'll show you some. The crowds were everywhere on Saturday, but it's a polite crowd and you get used to it.

I like Russian dolls; they remind me of my Lithuanian grandmother. The ornament below made me chuckle. This vendor had ornaments that he would customize for you with names or the date. I wonder what you would write on the ornament below.

Mola Shoes!

Can you believe this? Mola shoes and boots. This vendor is "Mama Shaman, Briniging You the Wonders of the World." Natalia Swanson's websites are: http://www.mamashaman.com/ and http://www.kunaprints.com/. Her card says: "Unique Eco-Fashion, Hand Made, Fair Trade, Vegan." So there you go, all you need to know about the products. :)

I think I like these shoes (above). But I was in a "just looking" mode.

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.

You can read about it on their blog: http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2009/11/25/interesting-quilter-interesting-quilts/.

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.