Salvaging Selvages

Hi all.  Apparently this “facelift” isn’t going to happen right off.  SIL told me last night it could take up to a week before we can move forward so I’m going to post until told to stop by SIL.  It will happen, just not immediately.  He’s jumping through all the hoops; I’m just waiting.  😉

 

Salvaging Selvages

Salvage:  (verb) “saving possessions from being lost”; rescuing from destruction

Selvage:  Wikipedia says the selvage is is the term for the self-finished edges of fabric. The selvages keep the fabric from unraveling or fraying.   The selvages are a result of how the fabric is created. In woven fabric, selvages are the edges that run parallel to the warp (the longitudinal threads that run the entire length of the fabric), and are created by the weft thread looping back at the end of each row.

Did you also know that selvages can also give you information about the manufacturer, designer and even the various colors included in a fabric?  Those lovely little dots can help you choose coordinating fabrics once you’ve selected a focus fabric.

 

These are some of the selvages that my cousin, Nina, let me cut from her fabrics.  She doesn’t use them and so generously let me go through her tubs of fabric and trim off the selvages.  It was very exciting to have these to add to my growing collection of selvages!

More selvages!

And more selvages!

I was disappointed to miss out on a swap, actually a gallon-sized bag of selvages, just by days!   I would l0ve to have had a chance to win those!!!  The gal said she will be cutting more fabric in the weeks ahead (won’t we all, we hope?) and will perhaps do it again.

When I go for fat quarters at shops where they will cut a FQ for you from yardage, I always ask for the piece that has the selvage edge as I’ve noticed most shop-keepers will try to give you the other FQ without the selvage.  Remember that if you keep selvages and if you don’t, I’m not going to try to talk you in to it.  People either like the looks of selvages pieced or they don’t.  I do!   If you ever want to get rid of any, I’m your gal!!

Here’s the whole stack Nina gave me.  What a windfall!

I’ve only made a few bags with selvages so far, and a eye glass case but I’m looking forward to using more of these now that I have a better supply.  Thanks, Nina!

Tomorrow, stop by and I’ll give you a new recipe.

Marsha

Busy Work

Now sometimes when you hear “busy work” you think it’s just something that’s not really necessary but made up just to keep someone from being idle.  In this household, that’s usually the case.  Busy work here means there’s plenty going on.

Jack and Grandpa “figuring”

Grandson Jack is visiting for a sleepover.  He and Grandpa have big plans, or at least they are making big plans.  About a week ago they went to a tractor pull together and apparently there was discussion of building something.

Today, the two of them are busy with designing and planning a go-kart.   Grandpa’s idea is to make a “bare bones” go-kart with wheels, wood and rope.  The idea is that the two of them will continue to add things to it as Jack gets older, enclosing the front end in, etc.   Today they have drawn up what they think they want the beginning go-kart to look like.  Now they are doing the math!  This is great practice for Jack and he’s going to learn a great deal from his grandfather, I can promise you.   They are talking about the size of 2x’s   and how many 2×4’s it takes to make 2×20 and what other combinations of wood (2×6/2×8) it will take to get what they need.   They are talking about where wheels should go, how many wheels to have, how to attach the wheels and how to make sure they don’t fall off.  There’s a lot of learning going on, and most important, a lot of memory making for both of them.

Without their direct knowledge, I’m going to be keeping a record of these get-togethers and someday they will each enjoy looking these photo records over and remembering what he said, and what he said, etc.

Now don’t think I’m just sitting here today twiddling thumbs.  Anyone who knows me personally, and a number of my readers do, I don’t usually “just sit”.  Right now I’m sitting here writing this down for you, but before Jack arrived I was busy making a few swap items.  I have two swaps current right now.  One is part of an on-going Cupcake ATC Swap.  Swap #1 was Pink Cupcake.  #2 Cupcake Swap is Chocolate Cupcake ATC.   This morning I decided what I wanted to do and made my ATC.

Chocolate Cupcake ATC

Since Chocolate is the theme, I decided to make my ATC with a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar wrapper from our last s’mores evening and a whole lot of dark chocolate miniature bars.  I folded a few of the mini wrappers to make the bottom of the cupcake, then just used a collage method to put all the small wrapper pieces together, then cut out the shape of the cupcake top.  I put a few layers of ModPodge over it and then attached a few hearts. After all, who doesn’t love chocolate?  This all gets attached to my signature card with some spray adhesive.  It’s ready to go!

This is basically what my signature ATC card looks like. I adhere all my ATCs to something similar to this:

 

Slivers and other strips to make a fabric

And here is the Christmas mug rug I used it for.

Christmas Mug Rug

 

I have plenty more of the Christmas stripes to use for a variety of other Christmas items.  I really have very little here in the way of Christmas material.  Madame Samm is talking about a Christmas in July Blog Hop but  I just don’t have a enough fabric with me to do enough blocks to make it worth while, and since I have a lot of Christmas fabric in storage at Anita’s in Alabama, I decided I’ll be passing on that blog hop.

Last night I did work for several hours on a paper-pieced block for the Red/White and Blue Blog Hop coming soon.  I’ll show you a few pieces but not the finished 12″ block.

They really make up into a gorgeous block.  I can’t wait to show you!!!  But I want to keep it a secret until the Blog Hop!   Oh, this will be a test to see how good I can be at keeping this from you.

 

The “boys” have gone to Tractor Supply to look for parts for the go-kart, so I have a few minutes to myself.  I guess I’ll take advantage of that and do a little reconaisnnance to find some more cool blocks to do for the Blog Hop.  See you all tomorrow.

Marsha

 

 

 

 

A Completed Project

A completed project I can wipe off my WIP list.  That’s great!   I think one always feels great when one project can be removed from the list because there are always SEW many more that we want to add on.  Every time I go to look at a new blog I find something else I’d like to make.  My “bookmarks” list on my computer is HUGE.  I just saw three things at Quilting by the River I want to make!  Yikes.  We all know we aren’t going to live long enough to do all the projects we’d like to, but that’s not going to stop us from adding it our list, is it?

First I want to show you my finished project.  I was in the bank last week and ready to leave with the young lady who waited on us noticed my Selvage Bag.  She asked where she could get one and I quickly told her “from me” so she ordered one.  She said she wore a lot of blue so anything with lots of blue in it would work for her.

Last night I dug out my slivers and selvages to see what I had in blues.  Quite a few it turns out.

That’s Side 1.  I purposely make both sides different so that the owner has a choice of which she displays.

Side 2

The bag has “trim” straps, rather than fabric.  I used this on my own selvage bag and find I like the lightweight feel of the trim and it seems to stay in place on my shoulder better.  You can just see the blue trim on the right edge of the bag in the above photo.  It’s navy blue and shiny.  I unraveled about 2″ at the bottom, combed them out and left it as tassels.

I did make pockets for the inside, 8 to be exact.  I always love to have a couple of narrow pockets for pens and then wider ones to hold the cell phone or camera and whatever else is necessary. Below is the one I made first, for myself.

Here’s the other side of mine.

I made some changes to the bag I made for Juliana.  After stitching the selvages and slivers to a foundation of batting, I stitched the lining and the outer bag together at the top edge, right sides together.  Then I stitched all around the entire thing, leaving just a small opening to turn it right side out.  Then I just stuffed the lining down into the bag.  If this is too confusing and you seriously need to know what I mean, let me know and I’ll make a sample and take photos.   Doing it the way I just described makes a much more professional looking bag, inside.

Now that Juliana’s bag is done, I’m thinking I might use selvages and slivers to make a mug rug for a swap I’m doing in June.  The coordinator said “add a strip” to the mug rug and she means (I emailed to check) to use a stripe or two (or more) in the process of making the mug rug.  I’d enjoy a selvage mug rug so I may do that for my swap partner.  Once the partner is assigned, I will check her profile to see what her likes/dislikes are and try to use colors she’d enjoy.  Maybe I’ll applique something to it to make it summer-y.  You’ll be sure to find out as I’ll show ithere before I mail it out.

Now for a few things I wanted to tell you about.  First, if you like to make needle-keeps or cases, you might like to see this.  There are tutorials for 26 different styles of needle cases.  Some are really adorable.  Linda P…are you reading?  I thought of you immediately!

Next, and you have to hurry on this one.  There are free Block of the Month offers for this Memorial Day weekend only.   You sign up for free this weekend and then you can use the classes whenever you find time, not just this weekend.  Check it out here.

If you are interested in “modern” quilting patterns, here is a website to visit.  They are the creation of Jenny Pedigo and I think they are so cool!

I read another book this week.  I know.  I’m reading a lot.  I always do when I’m not quilting and summers are my “prime time” to read.  They always have been.  We are very lucky to have a wonderful little library about 2  miles from us, maybe not even that far.  They have a wonderful selection of newer books, not something you always find in a small country library.

I finished When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt yesterday.  I adored it!   It is a look into the life of Irma Vitale, an Italian seamstress who has no chance of marrying in her tiny town in Italy because she is…. too plain.   She flees her home and travels in the steerage section of a ship, risking life and limb, for a new start in America.  She goes there to find her brother Carlos who is supposed to be in Cleveland, Illinois.  Her life takes some scary turns and some very interesting turns.  This book is a wonderful look into the life of a young, single woman who has nothing but her sewing skills to fall back on.   This book shows something that we all find among our quilting friends, a common bond strong enough to build a life on. It’s available at http://www.amazon.com as well.

Now I’m reading another great book.  Lots of Candles andPlent of Cake by Anna Quindlen is a woman’s book written by a very insightful woman, her  memoir.  New York Times says she is “America’s Resident Sane Person”.   I love it!!!  She says thing that you and I have thought, time and again, about ourselves, our mothers, our sisters, our marriages and life itself.  This is a book you keep saying, “Yes!” to almost every page!

Okay, so enough dribs and drabs of my life.  I’m off to read more of Anna Quindlen’s amazing insights and scream “Yes!” a few more times.

Happy Days!

Marsha

 

Here’s one thing Anna Quindlen has to say that we will all agree with. This is about memory loss, that aggravating thing that we all encounter as we move along through the years.

“Here’s what it comes down to, really: there is now so much stuff in my head, so many years, so many memories, that it’s taken the place of primacy away from the things in the bedrooms, on the porch. My doctor says that, contrary to conventional wisdom, she doesn’t believe our memories flag because of a drop in estrogen but because of how crowded it is in the drawers of our minds. Between the stuff at work and the stuff at home, the appointments and the news and the gossip and the rest, the past and the present and the plans for the future, the filing cabinets in our heads are not only full, they’re overflowing.”

I guarantee you will love Anna Quindlen’s book.  I am enjoying it so much I want to go read other things she’s written.