Selvedge Madness (or, What You’ll Never See Me Sew)

Look at this amaaaaaaaazing selvedge quilt sewed up by Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studios!

Good gracious! Jacquie's Selvedge Quilt

As with every quilt she makes, the results are gorgeous and inspiring… but…  people, do you understand what a selvedge quilt is?  What it requires?  What teeny, vanishingly small bits of fabric you’re working into blocks?

Close-up of Jacquie's Selvedge Quilt--the madness of it all!

Yeah, as much as I love selvedges and quilting, and as much as I love saving and using every obnoxiously small scrap I create, you will NEVER see me make one of these.  My need for satisfyingly-paced projects would never permit it.  Jacquie, I salute you and your glorious quilt.  Well done!

My first post(card)…

So… hmmm…  how does one start a blog?  I suppose some explanation is in order…

First, the name:  the selvedge is the self-finished edges of fabric which prevent unraveling.

the selvedge of a terribly boring-looking woven fabric

All fabric has some sort of selvedge bordering its long, uncut sides.  In essence, it’s the edge.  And it’s absolutely useless to some degree–most selvedge is removed before the fabric is used–and yet so completely vital.  Without the selvedge, we’d be left with a mess of tangled fibers and nothing more.

(And, yes, I prefer the British spelling.  I like that it retains the “edge” that our American spelling has dropped.)

Back in the 80s, Carrie Fisher (whom I find absolutely divine and with whom I happen to share a first name) wrote a semi-autobiographical novel entitled, “Postcards from the Edge”.

"Postcards from the Edge", first edition, 1987

This blog has nothing to do with that, other than I envision it as a series of  little snapshot-type offerings, providing a window into my creative life here and there.  A postcard, if you will.   And since my creative life currently revolves around fabric and all that I make with it, I give you…  “Postcards from the Selvedge.”

So perhaps we’ll call this a post?  My first?  Just ’til I get my literary and photographic act together, so to speak, and figure out what I have to say (and show) that’s worth sharing here.  Sound good?  Good.  Goooooooood.