Read all about it!

See these pincushions? They have been on a journey. So have I, but they actually got to do the traveling. It started back in March when I was searching for a name for my new etsy shop for items made with selvages. I posted several times about the trouble I was having with finding a name, like this  one. I got a lot of good input, and finally settled on Sewing on the Edge, with the awesome tag line of "selvaging my sanity one stitch at a time." One of the people who commented later contacted me and wondered if I would be interested in having my pincushions in a magazine. Uh, seriously? Seriously??

Turns out she is assistant editor with the Quilting Arts group of magazines. So my pincushions got shipped off to New York and I got to write instructions on how to make them.

I think they had more fun than I did. Well, you just saw the picture I took of them.

Look what happened when they were in the hands of professionals:

They made it to the cover. They are COVER GIRLS!!

A little closer:

The Table of Contents:

Wanna see the whole page? Sure you do...

See those two pictures above the pincushions? I'm sharing the page with Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson! and Ashley Newcomb of Film in the Fridge! Kinda like being in the company of rock stars. Eeek!!!

So turning to page 72....a two-page spread! Sorry if I keep showing you the same picture over and over. I know for some of you, being published is kind of same old, same old, but not for me, that's for sure.

Okay. Last time. Promise.

Didn't they photograph well? They will all be going into the etsy shop this weekend.

Working with Pippa Eccles from Quilting Arts was an amazing experience. Thanks so much, Pippa!

Anyone want some free fabric? Six fat quarters from Valori Wells' line, Sole.

Anyone want a free copy of International Quilt Festival? The cover looks like this (just in case you forgot...)

They officially hit the newsstands on the 26th and I get a couple of complimentary copies. They haven't been shipped quite yet, but when they arrive on my doorstop, I'll send one of them over to the winner's doorstep.

So leave a comment and let me know if you have ever been to the International Quilt Festival in Houston or if you save selvages. I'll pick two winners on Monday, October 25, at noon PST.

Customized--Award-Winning Speech Edition

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to make one of those acceptance speeches, you know, like "First I'd like to thank the Academy..."

When I got an email from Kristin Link of Sew, Mama, Sew, asking me to make a pincushion for her friend, Mo Bodell, well, it sorta felt like being nominated for a major award.

I love Mo's fabric, Party Dress, and making a pincushion from this fabric was really fun. I hope she likes it.

*gasp* They just called me name. (trying not to stumble over my designer dress from Target as I go up the steps to make my speech....)

"First, I would like to thank the director (I mean, fabric designer)  for such beautiful designs. Your talent is amazing. I would like to thank  the producer (uh, fabric manufacturer) for giving me such great 'material" to work with. It makes my job so easy. I would like to especially thank the script writers for all the wonderful information you put on the selvages. Without you, it would be a lot harder to 'selvage my sanity.'

I would like to thank my fellow bloggers, who are a constant source of inspiration. This one is for you, Amanda Jean.

 I would like to thank the supporting actors who made this pincushion possible, especially  Robert Kaufman for designing "Crazy for Dots and Stripes," MoMo for allowing me to use just part of your name, and "Quilts," wherever you are--and you know who you are (because I don't remember...)

Further, I would like to thank Jennifer Paganelli, for having the most amazing selvages, and using lots of names in her fabric lines--Jennifer, without you it would be a lot harder to customize. And to Jean Ray Laury. You are a legend in the quilting community--a lot of newer quilters may not be familiar with you, but you followed your own path and made some amazing contributions, including designing six lines of fabric for FreeSpirit and having a quilt included in the 20th Century's 100 Best Quilts. And you come from central California, right where I live.

Finally, I want to thank my husband, Mark. You give me unwavering encouragement and support. Without you, none of this would be possible.

(Hope you all heard that last part, because they just cued the music for me to get.off.the.stage.)

Round 2

First of all, thanks for all the great feedback and suggestions on my etsy shop naming dilemma yesterday. Here is the update:

After elpf did an etsy search, she found there was already a seller by the name of "Selvedged." That happens to be the British spelling, by the way. But for my purposes of trying to have a unique seller name, it knocked "Selvaged" right out of the ring.

Then my niece, Becky, sent me an email with the suggestion of "Sew Edgy." As soon as I read that name, I knew that was it!!! So I was already writing my blog post in my head when I thought, hmmm, maybe I should do an etsy search on that name. Bah. There's an etsy seller named "Sew Edgy Designs." So that became a non contender as well.

But Becky had another good suggestion.

So in one ring, we have the reigning champion, weighing in at 17 characters,

                                                      Selvaging My Sanity

And new to the fight, in the other corner, we have the new contender, weighing in at 15 characters,

                                                      Sewing on the Edge

I like them both a lot, although maybe questioning my sanity is not good from a business standpoint. On the other hand, sewing actually saves my sanity.

I also like the other name because it incorporates the idea of selvages while at the same time leaving product options wide open.

Same rules as yesterday. The pincushion is still up for grabs. If you commented yesterday, go ahead and comment again today. That way you will have two votes thrown into the ring for the prize.