Adventures of a Novelty Fabric and Selvage Obsessed Quilter

Glad you stopped by!

I am a busy wife and the mom of 19 year old twins, a boy and a girl who are Sophomores at Syracuse University.

I have been quilting since the spring of 2008. I love novelty fabrics, colorful and unique.

Selvage quilting is addictive! Who knew the "junk" we cut off and threw out would be what I now save! I started a new tradition when I travel--visiting quilt stores! I particularly enjoy going to stores that have been named in the Quilt Sampler Featured Shop Lists-




Friday, October 30, 2009

Aussie selvages!

HM found my blog and has generously offered to send some selvages from down under. Can't wait to see them!!!!!!!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

College Night at FRHSD

Someone please tell me how my kids are old enought to go to a college fair? They were just in pre-school :)
Interesting evening, nice to see some faces from years past!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Pumpkin Bread


Fall really hasn't arrived until I have baked my aunt's pumpkin bread! My house smells amazing, and my family is enjoying the bread already :) They are baked in coffee cans, and taste great with some cream cheese.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Awesome Selvages Arrived!

As someone who has been bitten hard by the selvage bug, I found myself thinking outside the box for ways to boost my selvage stash. Recently, I approached a few people thru Ebay and Etsy. I have offered to cover postage costs in exchange for their selvages. I have hit the jackpot, so to speak, with several ladies taking me up on my request. PW's selvages arrived, and I was blown away! It was as if I selected the fabrics myself! FABULOUS! I can't thank you enough, and I assure you that they will be put to good use.

If anyone else has selvages they aren't going to use, feel free to leave a coment and I will get back in touch with you. Thanks!

Here is a sample of what she sent: Sorry it is blurry!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Shopping Bag Quilt

My favorite of the quilts from the online quilt festival is Kay Mackenzie's :
http://www.allaboutapplique.net/2009/10/09/danas-choice/

I was inspired enough to track down the issue of American Quilter magazine FALL 2005, in which the quilt was featured. I was lucky enough to find it listed on ebay last week.


 It arrived today, and I know I will make a version!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Tote Bag

Made this last spring for my DD.

We couldn't find any pre quilted fabric we loved, so we made our own!

She normally doesn't have a big orange circle on her face :)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Binding for selvage quilt?

I think I may have found something to bind my selvage zinger with...




http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item--i-AH-6826-H

Friday, October 23, 2009

No sewing today, but a visit to the Container Store!

After dropping the kids off for their camp reunion, we stopped by the Container Store.
Why is the closest one to my house 1 1/2 hours away?
Picked up a few little things.
Love the container Store! <3

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Authentic by Moda

Don't know what I am going to make with it yet, but had to have this charm pack! Suggestions?


Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Labels, finished

I sewed borders onto the labels I printed yesterday. Lesson learned- I need to leave more of a border around the label so that sewing the borders on is easier. But, overall I am pleased with how they came out. Now, I need to sew them onto the back of my quilts!


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Printed Treasures

Todays project was using Printed Treasures 8.5x11 Inkjet Printable Fabric Sew-On: White
to print labels for my completed quilts. Highly recommended! Very easy to use, and the labels look great!

I bought them locally at Mouse Creek Quilts, but here is a link to Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Printed-Treasures-8-5x11-Inkjet-Printable/dp/B001C1W9LY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1256069117&sr=8-2

Monday, October 19, 2009

What is on top of the pile on my nightstand now......

My next project will be based on this book. It has so many great quilts to chose from!

A bold and unconventional tribute to artistic collaboration by two internationally recognized, award-winning authors. Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston have made beautiful quilts together despite their physical distance from each other—the stunning photos of their many creations prove it. They reveal the secrets of their success, including how to bridge style differences and use each person’s strengths to best advantage. Freddy, an expert in color, discusses her specialty, while Gwen talks about design principles. In addition, each artist offers ten personal tips and structured and unstructured projects to try, as well as ideas for putting them all together. A gorgeous gallery of quilts is sure to inspire needleworkers to combine forces.



http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Collaborative-Quilting/Freddy-Moran/e/9781402730436


Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sunday at home!

Spending a cold, rainy Sunday puttering around the house.
Working on a dance costume for my daughter,
some selvage placemats, and surfing the net!
Work in progress:

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Update to the Quilt Festival

The participants list has been combined, so I am now # 403 out of an astounding 683!!!!!!!
Congtrats to Amy on an amazing accomplishment!
Have a great day!
http://parkcitygirl.blogspot.com/2009/10/quilt-festival-fall-2009.html

Friday, October 16, 2009

Tradition

Today I am posting about a sample I made for my local quilt store this summer:

http://www.mousecreekquilts.com/
I purchased this pattern in the spring;

http://www.faynicolljudaicadesigns.com/tradition.html

I made a much larger version based on this quilt, but that will wait for another day.

Claire asked me to make a sample for the store, and I love how it came out!



Thursday, October 15, 2009

My First Quilt- Strips N Curves, and now, a label too!

The first quilt I made was a Strips N Curves quilt by Louisa Smith.

http://www.quiltescapes.com/index.html

This quilt was along time in the making. The book was published at the end of 2001, so I assume I got it sometime the next year. I signed up to take a class for it, but that never happened for whatever reason. It didn't stop me from gathering fabrics, however.

My husband has an Aunt who sews, so while she was visiting us from Las Vegas, I showed her the book She ordered the book, and made her quilt. We went to Las Vegas to visit, and saw her beautiful quilt. Still, nothing finished on my end. Life got in the way.

I then proceeded to lose my copy of the book. I ordered another copy. This was the summer of 2006.

Fast forward to 2008. I was determined to make this quilt! I really began getting fabrics together, and to my delight, a quilt store opened up 5 minutes from my house! With Claire's help, I was ready to start making my strata! The rest is history, and my first quilt top was completed in June of 2008. Off it went to the longarm, and returned in September to be bound and hung above our mantle in the family room! I love how it came out!




I have begun designing quilt labels in Print Shop for all of my completed projects.
Here is the label I created today:



Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Quilt Label!

Today I finally got around to creating a quilt label. I recently made a selvage quilt, so I decided to base it on the color wheels. Ready for printing!


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Shoe Quilt!

Here is the story of my entry in the festival:


I began collecting Just the Right Shoe by Raine miniature shoes a few years ago. I have my collection displayed in the entrance hall to my home in Bertby cabinets by Ikea.

Once I began quilting, I knew that I had to make a shoe quilt to hang in the foyer.

I searched the internet, and luck was on my side when I found this:

http://www.quiltmaker.com/webextras/patt113.pdf

Here is my version:

I added a "buckle" embelishment to each shoe.


Enjoy!



Welcome!

I have decided to join the wonderful world of blogging in celebration of http://parkcitygirl.blogspot.com/2009/10/quilt-festival-fall-2009.html and the fall quilt festival. I am excited to be taking part among so many talented quilters. Now, on to choose my favorite!