a quick selvage project

Okay, so two of my favorite quilting trends right now are selvages and 'wonky quilts'. I decided to put the two together and came up with this...It's just a hot pad, sorry if I got you excited! I constructed it just like a log cabin block, except I used scrap selvages and uneven angles. It turned out pretty fun. I made it for my mom's friend who has generously been saving her selvages for me, as a little thank you.

My interest (obsession) in selvages started last year when I came across this post on the Moda Bake Shop Blog; it kept growing when I started following the Selvage Blog. I actually have a selvage quilt in progress, you can check it out here! I'd say I owe my 'wonky' obsession to Elizabeth Hartman from the Oh! Fransson blog. I love her work. She's a quilt rockstar as far as I am concerned!

If you want to jump on the selvage train, check out the selvage blog I mentioned above. I suggest starting with a small project, like a hot pad!

Denim Bracelet Tutorial!

I am always so inspired by all the tutorials I see out in blogland. This tutorial is painfully simple, but something I came up with all on my own, (and I think it's pretty cute ;) so I thought I'd share!
So, It's kind of cute and cheezy and cool all at once! A fun little denim bracelet that can be worn with almost anything! The idea for the bracelet formulated after I had altered some denim pants into shorts. I had cut the seam off first and tossed it aside. Later I came back to it and thought...huh, that might make something kind of cute! So...on with the tutorial. (This is SUPER simple, and would be a fun project to do with your tweens or teens.)

Denim Bracelet Tutorial:

First you will need:
*an old pair of denim pants or shorts
*a good, sharp pair of scissors
*a button
*a ruler
*sewing machine

Step 1: Cut off a seam from your scrap denim. I like to turn the denim to the wrong side so that I can use the seam as my cutting guide. Cut just to the right of the folded/stitched seam.

Step 2: Determine how long you want your bracelet to be. I have found that most adult bracelets are somewhere between 7 to 8 inches long. I cut mine at 7.75" Cut seam to wrist size.
Step 3: Add a button hole to one edge of the cut piece. Make sure your button hole is large enough for your selected button.
Step 4: Add a button to the side of the denim that does not have the button hole.
Make your slit in the space you created your button hole, slip your button through the hole, and VOILA! You have yourself a cute, trendy little denim bracelet! Because of all the fun buttons available, and all the different widths of denim seams, the possibilities are endless! Here are just a few of the bracelets that I've made. I've already given a bunch of them away too. I wore mine one Sunday to church, and all the teenagers thought it was super cool, so I hooked them up!

I think the one frayed edge gives it that grunge charm that people pay so much for today. Kind of fun!

selvage quilt update...

So when I started this quilt I knew that it was going to be a long term project. Something to sit down and do when I didn't have the bug to do something else. I am loving the process. Below are the blocks I have done so far...34 down and only 14 to go! I could stop with only two more, but I want a bit of a larger quilt. I don't know what it is about playing with a big stash of selvages that makes me happy. I can't wait to have it all finished.

My next dilemma is going to be figuring out how I want to quilt it. Any ideas?

the first few blocks

I was hoping to have a few more blocks done by this point, but this is what I have so far...
Selvage quilting is as fun as I hoped it would be. I'm a huge 'shabby-sheik' fan, and I think this totally falls in that category. If nothing else, it's 'green'! (using up the part of the fabric that is always discarded.) So, I've got four down, and 44 to go. Whew! Oh, and I am loving the aqua color as my base, I think it's going to look pretty cool once it's all sewn and put together.

On a different note, I'm leaving on Thursday for a vacation (if you can call it that, it's just me and my two boys - hubby has to stay and work) to Utah. All my family lives there, I can't wait to see them! I consider Utah one of the crafting/quilting mecca's of the US. Seriously, there are at least five quilt/sewing shops within ten miles of my parents house. I won't be doing a lot of sewing or crafting while I'm there (although sometimes my mom and I play around a bit) but I do plan to visit my favorite quilt shops. I figure I'll do a mini quilt shop hop and take you along for the ride! Photos and tidbits about my favorite Utah quilt shops. Stay tuned!