Summer Inspiration

Kym from Fabric Fascination was kind enough to feature my Selvage Bath Mat in her blog post today!

You can find the post here.  The bath mat is part of a nice collection of summer inspired items.

 Naturally, I think the Selvage Bath Mat looks great year round, not just in the summer.  But that's just my opinion, of course.


On her blog is also an interesting collection of "Fun and Free Tutes" with some really nice items to make!  And her fabric store on Etsy has a lovely selection of the latest fabrics. (Check it out here).

Thanks for the feature Kym!


In other news:

I've been plowing through the blocks of my Scrappy Trip Along quilt.  You'll recall that this is a custom order being constructed out of men's striped shirts, plus my own fabrics.

46 blocks completed, 24 to go!  It's going to be a generously sized queen size quilt, with 8 rows across, 9 rows down.  The blocks have a finished size of approximately 12".




Under the needle this morning:

The Design Opportunity Quilt.

(I'm eventually going to have to think of another name for this!)

The panels with the print fabrics are already pretty busy looking, so a few days ago they received a simple wavy quilting line, done on my sewing machine with the walking foot.

  The solid green panels seemed to want something just a little more elaborate, so I did kind of a looping vine on the Sweet 16. I think it echoes the vertical pattern of the print fabrics.

A Sneak Peek

I mentioned in this post that one of my selvage items was going to be featured in an upcoming issue of Sew-it. . . today magazine.

Here it is!   It's the February/March 2013 issue, not yet available on newsstands, but the editors were kind enough to send me an advance copy.

And there it is, at the top of the "Gathering Inspiration" page at the back of the magazine, along with some other lovely projects from various readers. 

That's pretty neat!

That selvage dress is something, isn't it?  It was made by Jodie Carleton of Australia.  I can't imagine how she got it to drape so well.  I'm thinking it might be a little stiff and heavy to wear, but even so-- I'd wear it in a heartbeat.

Also in the issue:  a selvage rug, made using a MUCH more complicated technique than my selvage bath mat.

And you can't go wrong with yo-yos!

Getting Ready

I will barely have time to digest my Thanksgiving turkey before getting ready for a BIG day on Saturday:



I did this show last year (my first indoor show ever!) and it was a blast, so I can't wait for this one!

      
    

(That's my table runner, being used as part of the publicity campaign for this event)

As you can see from the pictures, it's a fun and eclectic mix of artist/vendors, a lot different than the markets I usually do.

And finally:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

I'm Featured!

Some exciting news:  one of my items is going to be featured in the February/March issue of Sew It Today magazine!

One of the editors contacted me about about an article they'll be doing about projects made with fabric selvage.

ready for its closeup!

   The selvage eyeglass case is going to have its moment of glory!

   

It's not hard to understand why this particular magazine would be doing a selvage feature if you look at this month's cover.

"Recycle and Repurpose"

"Sew Gifts for Pennies"













The eyeglass case is going to be on their "Gathering Inspiration" page, and will be shown with a number of selvage items from other quilters.
It's maybe not as prestigious as, for example, having a project on the cover of Quilter's Newsletter.  But I've never had anything of mine published before in ANY format.  So I'm pretty thrilled!

First Day of School

Well, not really school.  After a long summer break, The Florida Orchestra started rehearsals today for this weekends season-opening concerts (more information here).

I usually lead up to the season with a lot of violin practicing at home, of course, and a predictable slew of anxiety-related dreams.  Last night I dreamed that I was walking on stage for a performance, and suddenly realized that I had forgotten to practice the piece I was about to perform AND I had lost the music for the rest of the performance.  I've been playing violin since I was 4, and can tell you:  performance anxiety never leaves you.  For the record:  in real life I'm a focused and calm performer.  I guess I get all the angst out elsewhere!

There was a surprise in the Tampa Bay Times last Sunday:

A big article about the orchestra's search for a music director.  We'll be seeing 12 different conductors this season who will be auditioning for the job.  (Click here for the article)

The article was NOT the surprise.

But that picture sure was a surprise!

It's the first time in 25 years that I've been in an orchestra picture that WASN'T a posed "whole orchestra" shot.

Well.   I am a Very Serious Violin Player.

In retrospect, perhaps it's true that Some Things Never Change.

My Quilt is in this pretty Etsy Treasury!

'Colors in the morning' by TildaSA

Lap Quilt Pastel Summer TheQuiltingVi... $175.00	Little Blue Birds Earri... IrenkaR $18.00	Hairpins "Flower F... RykhlinskaART... $50.00	5 Pastels Felted Easter... SunshineFelt $15.00
Long charm berry beaded... NataBondareva $32.00	Freshcut, Refreshing an... WestCoastQuil... $145.00	Sale Today - Kids Woode... TheEnchantedC... $25.20	Handmade Cotton Colorfu... MagicSunday $13.00
Original spring crochet... ArsiArt $25.00	Beige and Pink crochet ... JanesBeautySt... $45.00	Deciduous - Nice green ... LuthienEf $8.00	Pink Vintage Floral Fri... cartersafari $12.00
mothers day, spring, sp... trekkerjen $30.00	Butterfly Brooch Pin, F... katuasha $18.00	Lilac blossom fine art ... PinkPinkPeony $20.00	SALE - Origami paper ba... Waveoflight $30.00

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

I'm featured!

I continued to be amazed and impressed by the generosity of my fellow bloggers.  What a great surprise to glance at my blog sidebar today and see my own selvage bath mat featured on The Selvage Blog!

Thanks to Selvage Goddess Karen for starting my day off on a great note!

SELVAGE BLOG

                       FOR EXTREME SCRAP QUILTERS. ALSO VISIT ETSY.COM/SHOP/KARENGRISKAQUILTS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2012

Selvage Bath Mat!

I'm guessing that you don't already have a selvage bath mat. Here's one made by Linda Hall, the Quilting Violinist from Florida. Didn't she do a nice job? It looks like colorful rain showers. She pieced the selvages onto a towel. This is so clever! It's for sale on Etsy where she offers an interesting collection of selvage items. Good thinking, Linda!

Today's Featured Artist is. . .

The fine folks at St. Pete Craft Heroes have been running blog and Facebook features on the vendors for Holizaar IV (my first indoor, All-handmade show, more details here) and wasn't it a big surprise to find out who today's Featured Artist is!

You can read the full blog post here.

Oh, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!