Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Customized

By now it's no secret about how much I love selvages. Besides my obsession with the clever names of fabric lines and the beautiful array of color registration dots, I have the most fun putting the different selvages together to create some kind of a theme.

Friends have been generous in donating selvages to help me out. In return, I like to make them something a little special as well, customized just for them.

Ashley credits Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt with sparking her entry into the quilting world. If you follow her blog, then you know how that has turned out for her. And if you are a FMF lover, you know how hard that fabric is to find these days. Ashley was one of the first to send me a huge bag of selvages, all neatly trimmed and tied together. I made her a pincushion as a thank you. She emailed me a few weeks ago and wondered if I could make another pincushion so she would have one on each side of her sewing room. She requested that I make it out of FMF selvages, and generously offered to throw in some scraps for me as well.

I wanted to use as many selvages and color registration dots as possible, so I made it a little larger than usual.


I think Elizabeth found me via Bloggers Quilt Festival and generously sent a bag of selvages. She had been working on a quilt using a collection of French fabrics. But she also included some selvages from fabric I had never seen in my fifteen years of quilting, and they were amazing! To thank her for inspiring some new ideas, I made her a pincushion from her French selvages.



If you take a lot of pictures (and what blogger doesn't?), then you really need to check out
Amy Priddy Creations. Amy was another generous donator to the cause and this pincushion will be on its way to her doorstep later today.


Of course I had to add her name by using an Amy Butler selvage. And the cute camera fabric by Enchino for the back:


My good friend, Katie, loves all things Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, FMF, etc. Well, you get the picture. She also has a darling son, Henry, who was born last year. So thanks to Alexander Henry, and to Heather Bailey for printing the year on her selvage, I made this pincushion for Katie:


I'm quite sure Henry will grow up to be a Free Spirit, so I couldn't go wrong with that selvage.

How about you? Do you have a favorite color, a favorite designer, special hobby? I'd love to customize something special just for you.

10 comments:

05 08
Ashley said... #

Oh Cindy! This couldn't be more perfect! You did such a fantastic job and I'm totally smitten with it already! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

A.S.K.-P. said... #

I am SOOO IN LOVE with your pin cushions!

Terriaw said... #

These are so wonderful! I love learning the story behind each one too! I adore all things Anna Maria Horner, and I have a shoebox full of a variety selvages from the past five years that I haven't figured out what to do with yet. Want some?

Grandma G said... #

I think the customized pincushions are soooo neat! Especially the one you made for me from my favorite designer! :)

Jen said... #

These are all so wonderful! You are so sweet to make personalized pin cushions for your friends!

Threads of Inspiration said... #

Your pincushions are darling and your use of selvages is amazing. How many interesting selvages have gone in the trash....

Jennifer said... #

Those are all so pretty! You have such a knack for personalizing your quilts and pincushions. Nicely done!

Jennifer :)

Katie said... #

LOVE LOVE LOVE my pincushion! I may have to consider naming any future children after fabric lines & designers so I can have a pincushion for each kid... :) You are the best!

Letterpress said... #

I just got home from Canada, mail delivered late yesterday afternoon and WOWSERS! a little treat from you in the mail. I LOVE my little pincushion and so glad you made one for me. I have it out on my sewing room desk, just looking at it for now. A proper note will come in the mail, but for now, thank you! thank you!

Elizabeth
P.S. I switched all my quilty stuff over to a new blog at: http://occasionalpiece.wordpress.com if you want to link to that address.

trish said... #

Would you like more selveges? How far into the fabric would you need cut? I would be happy to mail some to you. :o)
Sincerely ~ Tricia