Progress on strata-gizing

I was able to work on my strata-gizing yesterday.

I need to work the left side of the curve

to make it smoother, but overall I am

happy with how it "sewed in"

Curves are always interesting!

I originally wasn't going to put the background

fabric along the bottom, but i think it needs it.

Now I need to decide how big to make it.

Also, the question is how to quilt it?

Thoughts are straight lines following the background pattern,

rays continuing out from the half circle,

circles out from the half circle?

I think I will stich in the ditch for the half circle.

I welcome any and all ideas!

Selvages in the mail!

Pat, whom I buy selvages from,

sent me this amazing collection of selvages!

Perfect timing, as I hope to start working

on recovering the chair this week!

She also sent me great info on her favorite

fabric stores near Lancaster, PA.

I will be heading there in March for the AQS show,

and will also spend a day fabric hunting!

Giving new life to an old chair

This chair was in my in my inlaws

bedroom for years.

It has spent the last 10 years in our

basement, doing nothing.

I am going to upholster it in selvages

and putting it in our playroom!

Alexander Henry Bag Lady

I just won an auction on ebay,

literally moments ago,

for a yard of this fabulous fabric!

Just look at that awesome selvage!

I always seem to be drawn

to the Alexander Henry fabrics.

Do you have any favorite fabric lines?

Cool find at Joann's

I was at Joann's yesterday to pick up

chartreuse thread for the bag I'm making.

I saw this fabric, and knew I had to get some.

I have used this type of fabric in the past.

It is really simple. It is purchased by the inch.

You sew up an edge,

and instant sundress/coverup.

I was thinking I would make this for me,

but my daughter took one look

at the pattern, and now it is for her.

45 cents an inch and a 50% off

coupon , so it cost less than $10!

A milestone!

Today is the 100th post since

 I started blogging this fall!

I really enjoy this, and have already

made some great friends along the way!

I appreciate all the comments,

and am thrilled that people

have chosen to follow me!

I love sharing my creative journey.

Similar to what they say at the end

of the Sex and the City movie

"To the next 100 (thousand)"!

Flora and Fauna by Patty Young for Michael Miller!

My DD and I headed over to Mouse Creek yesterday

to select fabric for her BFF's birthday gift

I will be making her the same tote that I made my DD.

I love her fabric selections,

and again, awesome selvages for me!

You Got The Notions by Project Runway for Kaufman Fabrics

I recently won this fantastic

fabric on an ebay auction.

It arrived yesterday, and I love it!

It has incredible selvages!

Fabrics for strata-gizing project

click to enlarge

I went to Mouse Creek Quilt shop

yesterday to select fabrics.

I am making it into a rectangular wall hanging,

so I needed a piece for the center, and the background.

I realized that I already had a piece of the

fabric we liked for the center in my stash,

Now to get it sewn, and put a backing on it!

more lime green bins!

My husband went to another Target,

and they still had plenty! Now they are on sale. BONUS!

I got 8 more, probably more than I need,

But better safe than sorry!

I need to adjust the shelf spacing,

and then will see what else I can fit.

There is always the top shelf.

I spent some time yesterday

arranging the fabrics by color.

I love diving into my stash and re-visiting

all the great fabrics I have collected!

Matzoh cover

Once I made the stars quilt for my dining room,

I wanted to make something out of this

 awesome fabric I had hunted down on the internet!

A matzoh cover is used during the

Passover seder, festive meal.

It has 3 compartments, each which

you place a board of matzoh into.

The middle board is broken during the meal,

and becomes the afikomen or dessert,

Traditionally, children steal it and hide it, then

bargaining for some type of treat

before it is returned to the seder leader.

3 compartments:

Stars

Quilting Corner left a comment on

Monday's entry liking my star quilt.

I realized that I never have blogged about it.

It is a pattern called Tradition by Fay Nicholl Designs.

http://www.faynicolljudaicadesigns.com/patterns/ttttttradition.html

which was only 4 stars, so I added my own spin on it!

Back fabric,
which inspired the colors in the quilt:
(sorry for the weird angle!)

Selvages!

I have bought selvages from Shannon before,

and this new batch certaintly didn't disappoint!

I love her taste in fabric, and I am excited to put

them to use in my next selvage project!

Getting organized!

I have been working to get my sewing

area (aka dining room a few days a year)

organized over the last little while.

I got this shelf at Costco today,

which my son put together for me

I bought a few white bins at the Container Store,

and then the green bins at Target.

The white bins have my selvages,

and the green one have my stash.

The pink containers have my batting

and pellon interfacing.

I went back to Target today, and

the green bins are sold out!

I'll try another one tomorrow.

I still need to sort the fabrics in my stash by color, but

I feel like I accomplished alot today!

Selvage blog, today! <3

I am honored to be featured again on the Selvage blog!

If your visiting from there, thanks for stopping by!

If you like what you see, follow me!

If anyone can help me in how I should

trim my circle, leave a comment!

New fabric!

Sue at alderwood quilts recently offered

these beauties as a giveaway on her blog.

I didn't win, but she now has them for sale!

The fabric on the left was free- she includes a free

FQ with every order!

The only small negative: these are selvage-less fabrics,

no color circles, no writing- what a shame!

for my friend Carolynn

I saw this fabric and

knew I had to get it and make something for you.

Don't know what yet, but it will be fantastic!

Selvage work in progress

After Saturday's Strata-gizing class,

I wondered how it would translate to selvages.

I wanted to make a small circle, that I

could use as a challah (bread) cover.

I was somewhat limited because I

wanted to use selvages that were a continuos piece.

I sewed together a strata:

close up:

I cut out the wedges,

and set up a mock up.

The result is much larger than I anticipated,

and not at all right for the use I intended.

So I played a little, overlapping until I

got something more like what I pictured.

now to figure out the angle to trim off one side

of each wedge to make it work!

Any suggestions??

Matthew and Marisa

My children were inducted into the

National Honor Society last night, and

we couldn't be prouder!

They work very hard, and

it is wonderful to see results like this!

Here is a picture of them

with our dog, Babe after the ceremony

A Selvage Story

While I was at my local library this past July,

I happened to notice a very

cool piece of fabric being used as a tablecloth.

I was in the midst of gathering quantities

of selvages for my Zinger.

Of course, my wheels started turning,

wondering if I could cut just an inch and a half

off the selvage edge from this fabric.

I went over to the desk, and said

“I have a really strange request for you”

and went on to explain what I was after.

The librarian referred me over to another librarian,

Veronica, who is in charge of the table displays.

I explained my request to her, and told her I

would come back with my rotary cutter and ruler,

to make a nice even cut from the fabric.

She was wonderful, and didn’t hesitate to give me a YES!

Then, she said “wait just a moment”, and had

me follow her into a storage room.

She then proceeded to show me 10

or so other fabrics, and told me I was

welcome to those as well!!!!!!!!!!!

I went back a few days later,

with the Selvage Edge book so I could show her

what I intended to use the selvages for,

and left with a bag full of selvages!

I have gotten to know the librarians

well over the past few months,

always asking about the progress

I was making on the quilt, and me

promising to bring in my

completed Zinger for them to see.

I went in this past Friday, and they

were so excited to see it!

They were having such fun locating

"their" selvages that Veronica had shared with me.

Thank you again!

The moral of my story is that you never know

where you will find selvages and make new friends!

Give-away winners have been picked!

I have my winners and have notified them

by email to send me their mailing address.

Thanks do much for all the wonderful comments!

I truly love hearing what you have to say!

If you don't have an email attached to your

profile, please update it today.

Unfortunately, many wonderful people who left

comments had no reply emails.

Strata Gizing class!

Yesterday, I took a class at mouse creek quilts

It was great fun, and reminded me how much I enjoy

taking classes and learning new techniques!

Some photos:

First you sew together a strata:

The ruler is on the left side of the picture.

You cut wedges, alternating from top and bottom

I chose to make a half circle:

The classes finished projects!

The class was taught by Maria Sendzik.

She was terrific and I know I will

take more classes with her.

Claire, the owner of Mouse Creek, was in the class with us.

She looked at me and asked

"I wonder what this would look like out of selvages?"

We will soon find out!!!!!!!!!!!!

An unexpected gift, just 'cause!

My husband and I work together, and decided to take

a walk during lunch yesterday at the mall.

We went into Brighton just to take a look.

Recently, the Brighton bracelet I have worn for years broke,

and they were unable to repair it.

I wear it with my Pandora bracelet, so

I needed to find something that coordinates with it.

Imagine my delight when I spotted this beautiful bracelet:

and here it is with my pandora ( and my caribbean tan):

I love it, and I love him for saying he'get it for me just 'cause!

Featured on the selvage blog today! GIVEAWAY!

Anyone who leaves a comment about my Zinger
over the next few days will

be entered to win one of 3 small package of selvages!

I will randomly pick the winners this Sunday!

Be sure to have contact info (email) available in your profile!

background fabric:

Almost finished!

(click to enlarge)

close up of the quilting:

I got the binding sewn on today, so all I have left

to do is sew on the label and hand

sew the binding to the back!

I can't wait to snuggle under it!

Almost finished with vacation laundry!

I promised myself I wouldn't start the binding on my

Black and White Selvage Zinger

until the laundry was done.

Thankfully, the last load is in the dryer;

I did go ahead and cut the strips of fabric.

Tomorrow, it will be all about the binding!

Here are a few close ups of the squares

as I worked on this project:

Art on Independence of the Seas!

We cruised the same time last year on

Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas.

I was thrilled when we booked again for this

year so that I could see this fabulous work of art again!

It contains spools of thread and measures 11.75' Hx 15.25' W.

It is installed in the aft atrium of
"Independence of the Seas" cruise ship

with wall behind the thread spool
installation painted two shades of blue

alluding to the actual ocean and sky visible
through the windows directly above the installation.

Click on the photos to enlarge!

"After Magritte" by Devorah Sperber utilizes
20,800 spools of thread to make a mosaic
inspired by the Belgian surrelaist Rene Magritte.

http://www.devorahsperber.com/commissions_html_pages/rccl_index.htm

Thread works

When you see it in person, you really can't believe

it is constructed from spools of thread!

If you ever have the opportunity
to cruise on Independence of the Seas,
you will not be disappointed by this
and the many other amazing works of art around the ship.