Monday, December 31, 2012

Is It Legal?

 Is it legal to start playing with 
Christmas fabrics
on December 31st?
Will the quilt police
hunt me down,
slap my hands
and tell me
it's time to pull out the
Valentine fabrics
instead?
 No more pawing
through
and petting
the reds and greens
with Santas
Holly
and
Candy Canes?
Uh Oh
(I haven't touched my machine
in a over a week
and
my fingers
are just itching
to get going again)


Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Christmas Story

This is the true meaning of Christmas!
The Christmas Story
presented by
the Children
of St. Paul's Church
Auckland, New Zealand.
*which one is your favorite character?

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Stuffed Animal Pajama Pants Tutorial

 It's quite easy to make little pajama pants
for a stuffed animal.
My thanks to
Susan Barker
for drafting the pattern!
 This pattern fits the
16-inch plushed toys purchased
but can be adapted for any stuffed animal.
7 1/2" across at the top
10" across at the middle sections that fan out
8 1/2" across at the bottom
11" vertically down from the top to the bottom.
Cut two pieces of fabric.
 With right sides together,
sew the front and back curved sections.
 Open up the inside, matching the seams
to look like this.
Pin the inner leg area.
 Stitch the inner leg area 1/4th inch from the edge.
 Turn right side out.
At the top, turn down 1/4th inch and press.
I used 3/4 inch elastic, that I pre-measured to each stuffed animal waist.
Turn down 1-inch at the top to make a casing.
Pin.
 Stitch all away around the top ,
leaving an opening to insert the elastic.
 I like to pin a large safety pin
at the end of the elastic
to use as guide to push the elastic through
the casing.
Make sure one end of the elastic stays outside the casing.
Once you have threaded through the other
end of the elastic
match the two ends together.
 Overlap and sew the ends together.
 Pull taut around the waist to even the gathers,
and the elastic will snap into place inside the casing
Continue sewing the rest of the seam down.
 Hem the pants to the desired length.
Many stuffed animals have tails.
Susan used a buttonhole stitch to create an opening for her
pajama pants.
 I opted to open up a section of the back seam,
 and then stitched around the inside to keep
the edges from fraying.
Plenty of room for
Kami the Kangaroo's,
and Austin the Alligator's tails.


Friday, December 21, 2012

Stuffed Animal Pajamas

 As I have mentioned before
I work at a wonderful bookstore called
One day, a fellow employee
Susan Barker
showed me the
pajama bottoms
she had made for some of the
stuffed animals we sell
at the store.
I loved them!
And knew I  had to make them, too!
So, I borrowed the PJ pattern
that Susan had sketched,
pulled out some fabric scraps
and began sewing away.
Kami the Kangaroo
Austin the Alligator
and Kayla the Koala
are all decked out and
 ready for Christmas morning.
I especially loved Susan's idea
of making matching PJ's
for each of the grand children to wear
as they carry their stuffed animal.
Susan's pattern even allowed
special accommodations
for things like
for an alligators tail.
Too cute!

 Kami the Kangaroo
needed something to highlight her pouch,
 so she is stuffed with a
Santa Pez
and candy.
 I left the tags naming each stuffed animal
for a few special reasons.
Our grand daughter Kayla
will receive
Kayla the Koala
and with each toy purchased
100% of the proceeds 
 go to
a Deseret Book Initiative that
has already sent
50,000 much needed books
to children
around the world.
*Thank you Susan for sharing your pattern and ideas!
Tomorrow I will offer
a small tutorial
showing how easy it
is to make PJ's for
a stuffed animal.


Thursday, December 20, 2012

The Best Part of Christmas

 Better than Tchaikovsky's
Nutcracker or Swan Lake
performed by the
San Francisco Ballet
Is watching our grand daughter
Kayla
dance
 in her first
Christmas
 recital.
 With her hair braided like a true ballerina,
keeping in step with other 2 and 3 year olds.
(you just gotta love those outfits!)
 A slice of Heaven
(she looks so much like her mother at that age!)
 Better than
attending
a top
Broadway musical
in the heart of Manhattan, New York,
is watching
Noah
sing his heart out
to
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
and glancing
at his parents
every few seconds
to make sure they
could see him.
wave, wave
Big smile
Hi Mom!
Hi Dad!
and seeing
every child on the stage
 do the same :)
The Best Part of Christmas

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Kaffe Zig Zag Quilt

 A small Show and Tell
at the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild
Christmas party.
Made by Lisa?
Love this big
Zig Zag
quilt
made with
Kaffe fabrics.
Love those Kaffes!


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Autographed Books, CD's and DVD's by Jane Seymour

 Looking for a last minute
Christmas present?
When I went into work yesterday,
at the
I noticed we had a table full of
autographed books
CD's
and DVD's
all signed by Jane Seymour!
If you would like an autographed copy,
Deseret Book
is happy to mail your
order to you!
 The book
Good King Wenceslas
(includes DVD)
reg 21.99
on sale for $14.49
Complete with sticker showing it's an autographed copy.

 The DVD
Once Upon A Christmas
Reg. 24.98
On Sale $12.99!
* Blue Ray $14.99
 
 The CD is also available
Reg. 18.98
On Sale $9.99!
 All orders come with a free
Advent Calendar
Estimated shipping costs in the United States:
One book= $8
Two books =$10
with
Standard Overnight available too.
Orders can be taken over the phone
1-480-899-5469

Monday, December 17, 2012

To The Stars Through Difficulties

 We were recently invited to a
Christmas Party
in Scottsdale, Arizona
where Mr. Cactus does
some consulting work.
Right as we walked in,
glancing past all of the lovely food on display,
I immediately noticed
an exquisite quilt
that was the center
of attention on
one of the board room walls.
(I must be a quilter:)
 Ad Astra
Per Aspra
in Latin
translates
To the Stars Through Difficulties
Made by Art Quilter and
Fiber Artist
Linda McCurray
Gilbert, Arizona 2003
 Linda is a previous employee of
Ledgerwood Associates
and made this quilt as a gift
at the completion of
their office building in Scottsdale.
 All of the fabrics are hand dyed
with skillfull machine quilting.
 Roman Triumphal arches
dot the exterior of the building
and served as inspriation
for Linda's design.
Linda is an award winning quilter
and a member of
Studio Art Quilters Association
and Arizona Quilt Guild.
To view more of her work
make sure to visit her
web site