These are a few of my favorite things . . .

Ask my family and friends. Blue and Brown are my favorite color combination. I'm going to be in serious trouble when this color scheme goes out of style.



I had a rare chance this weekend to do some sewing just for me this weekend. Most of my sewing projects end up as a display of some sort for the store or as a pattern to publish somewhere. This time I was able to take my current favorite fabric line, Figgy Pudding, from Basic Grey for Moda - and make my favorite quilt pattern - the Fat Quarter Fashionista (designed by me, of course!)



Even better - I found these glorious blue, silver, and brown ornaments and snowflakes while out shopping on Wednesday. And . . . . drumroll please . .. . flannel sheets that are brown with blue and white snowflakes. What more can a girl ask for?

Sources:

Blue and Silver round ornaments: Target

http://www.target.com/28-Ct-Glass-Ornament-Tub/dp/B002BIVTAO/ref=br_1_25?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=2054098011&node=2054098011&searchRank=salesrank&searchPage=1&searchSize=30&id=28%20Ct%20Glass%20Ornament%20Tub

Blue, Silver, and Brown snowflakes: Shopko (I think . . . I was shopping lots of places)

Brown Snowflake Sheets: Target

Quilt Top: Made from Figgy Pudding by Basic Grey for Moda


Fat Quarter Fashionista Pattern: Designed by Julie Gegier for Prairie Point Junction

Available HERE:
www.prairiepointjunction.com/patterns.htm


Now to just get a tree so I can decorate . . .

For This I Am Thankful

The week fly by way too fast, but I did get to take a few moments to appreciate time with family.

Last Sunday night we attended a community Thanksgiving church service. I'm so proud of my "guys" for their roles in the service. It has been amazing to see how my husband, Jon, has grown in his comfort level and musical abilities as he serves our church. I'm blessed by his giving spirit.

Landry also had a surprise role in the service too. He was asked, and agreed to read a prayer during the service. He willing stepped up in front of a room full of people and read like he had practice for days - instead of just for a few minutes. I'm amazed daily by his creativity and love of learning.


Thanksgiving night we moved a small light next to Landry's bed. He has been reading Junie B Jones books non-stop for days this week. He was so thrilled by the special opportunity to stay up later reading by himself in his bed. It warms my heart to see him share my passion for reading. Keep up the great work!

What are you thankful for this week? Be sure to take a moment to let those in your life know what you appreciate about them. Life changes too fast in the blink of an eye.

Snowman Table Runner - Customer Profile

From time to time we like to post entries to celebrate the talents of our customers.

Jackie from Maple Valley, Washington, sent us this picture of her clever version combining two of our favorite winter patterns.

That is what I love about quilting and crafts - you can start with a pattern for a little inspiration and then can customize the details to make it your own. Or as my friend Gwen and I always say, "We like things the same - but different!"

Here's a little info about Jackie:

I've only done wool felt for about a month or so, but I have done crafts all my life. I've done crochet, a little knitting, cross stitch, embroidery, stamping, scrapbooking, photography and many odds and ends of crafts. I work on projects mostly in the evening to melt away the stress from work. It really works. I enjoy wool felt and the finished results. A very satisfying craft. I have to say thank you to Prairie Point Junction for the quality merchandise and quick and efficient service. You are a pleasure to do business with.

The runner is slightly larger than the original pattern (BUN195 - Season's Greetings by Bunny Hugs). I changed the background from red to blue. I combined this pattern with the Snowflakes pattern (HC550 - Snowflakes by Homespun Charm) instead of using the stars on the original pattern.

Want to make your own version of this runner? Patterns can be ordered on our site at

http://www.prairiepointjunction.com/woolfeltpatterns.html#winter .

Would you like to see your project featured on our website? We love show and tell. Submit your creations to prairiepointjunction@yahoo.com. Be sure to put "Wool Felt Central Blog" in your subject.

Our Friends at Wee Folk Art

We are so jazzed to participate in a Give-Away with our friends over at http://www.weefolkart.com/. Kimara and Michelle have designed this brilliant Advent Calendar. This is a great project that could easily be worked on by kids too. Let the little ones paint the buttons while you sew the tree. Older kiddos could easily sew on the buttons too.

What a great idea for a creative little project. Maybe if your family is looking for a little craft to do after the big Thanksgiving feast - you could work together to make this. How about letting the kids each make a small little version of the tree out of felt to decorate as they wish. Buttons, beads, lace, fun foam - you name it! The gals at Wee Folk Art also have a wealth of plenty of other ideas to keep you busy. Head on over there to be inspired.

Check out the details on their website from November 4th-10th. Be sure to leave us some love here in the comments section to earn an extra entry in their drawing for 2 free kits from us.

We'll also have all the supplies available for purchase on our site HERE: www.woolfeltcentral.com/woolfeltpatterns.html

Here is a little interview with the gals at Wee Folk Art:

We are a mother/daughter team (Kimara/Michelle) with a mutual love of crafting and the gentle art of homemaking. With the "wee folks" in mind, most of our crafting is focused on children. We do, however, throw in crafts for the home, self, or yummy recipes just to keep it interesting. Kimara has degrees in home economics and education. She is in her element when crafting and children collide! Michelle has a degree in photography and graphic arts. She is homeschooling her three children ages 6, 5, and 3 and shares many of their experiences on Wee Folk Activities. (http://www.weefolkactivities.com/)

We do a wide range of crafts including clothing and accessories for children, wooden toys, gnome and fairy crafting, household decorating and our specialty . . . applique blocks, made from felt, but adaptable to many other materials. All of our patterns, over 100 and growing, are offered for FREE. Why do we do this? Our rationale is simple. We are trying to simplify our lives and become more responsible consumers. We know there are a lot of other people out there trying to do the same thing, and we support their efforts. By offering free directions and patterns, we hope to encourage and support others that want safe, natural, inexpensive and high quality items for their children and their homes. So, it is our plan to never sell patterns on our site, and to continue to share projects that enhance our lives, and hopefully those of others. Join us for some crafty goodness.

Now Prairie Point Junction/Wool Felt Central fans . . . . Head on over to those amazing gals at http://www.weefolkart.com/ and check out their inspiring site. Be sure to tell them we sent you . . .

Christmas Ornament Contest

Hard to believe that Christmas is only 7 weeks away. Last I knew it was still August. Since the holidays are coming whether we are ready or not, lets get a jump start and have some fun.

One of my favorite parts about the holidays are digging out my boxes of decorations. I love to reminisce about all the memories that go along with my collection of ornaments. Would you believe I still have some of the ornaments that I received in grade school when we would exchange with our classmates? One of my favorite ornaments is a felt stocking that was made by by cousin Marilyn when I was just a small girl. As soon as I get my boxes of Christmas decorations down, I'll be sure to show you.

That leads me to our ornament challenge . . .

Send us a picture of your favorite hand-crafted ornament to prairiepointjunction@yahoo.com by November 25th. Be sure to put "Ornament Challenge" in the subject. Let us know which category you are entering your ornament in.

We'll choose our favorite ornament from each category and the lucky winner will receive a $10.00 gift certificate to use on our site -- plus will have the honor of having their ornament picture posted on our blog. Enter as many ornaments in as many categories as you want.

Cozy Christmas Ornament by Bits and Pieces by Joan)
Order HERE: www.woolfeltcentral.com/woolfeltpatterns.html#xmas

Ornament Challenge Categories:

Wool Felt Ornament - Original Design
Wool Felt Ornament - Made from another designers pattern.
Ornament - Any Material, Original Design
Ornament - Any Material, Made from another designers pattern


Would you like to see your blog/etsy shop/flicker stream/designs featured on our site? We'd like to feature several sites that offer ornament inspiration. Let us know if you have a site that you'd like us to consider. E-mail prairiepointjunction@yahoo.com with "Featured Site" as the subject.

Now for a little inspiration . . . Here are some of our favorite ornament patterns available for purchase on our website:

Christmas Classic Ornaments by Bird Brain Designs

Order Kit HERE:

www.woolfeltcentral.com/woolfeltpatterns.html#xmas

Christmas Ornaments by Under the Garden Moon

Order Pattern or Bitty Bundle HERE:

www.woolfeltcentral.com/woolfeltpatterns.html#moon

Indiana Jones, Wool Felt, and Random Trivia

Isn't it amazing what kids can come up with? My 6 year old boy is very much into Indiana Jones (as if you couldn't tell from the photo's below). We eat sleep, breathe, and play Indiana Jones all day long. During a sewing day with a few friends, my sweet boy was bored and wanted to sew along. I set out my grand tub of wool felt and let him have at it. This Indiana Jones banner (plus seven others, with Indiana Jones character names that slip my over-taxed-mind at the moment) is the result of his handi-work. I see a budding fabric artist, don't you? At least he'll have something to fall back on if the golf career his dad dreams about falls through.

The moral of the story? Wool Felt is a great creative outlet for kids. (Plus it allows you to get some sewing and chatting done with your friends too).



As if that wool felt treasure wasn't enough, guess what we made a few days later for Halloween? Presto! An Indiana Jones pouch and jacket. Nothing fancy, we just cut around an Oshgosh hooded zip-up sweathshirt for a general pattern for the body and sleeves. Those days of garment sewing two decades ago in 4-H actually came in handy after all. The pouch, though, was the talk of the street. Everyone thought it was perfect for carrying trick-or-treat loot. No plastic pumpkin required.

We had a great time out and about in the neighborhood. The 8 inches of snow from the day before didn't even stand in our way. 60 degree temps melted most of what fell.

Left a perfect evening to ring some bells and go on an adventure that Indy would be proud of.