Today was the children’s Christmas pageant at church, an annual event that warms the heart of parents, grandparents, godparents, aunts and uncles (who beam and cheer)—and older siblings (who snicker and sneer).

It includes off-key carols sung with gusto. Wise men fidgeting beneath the weight of their crowns. Wide-eyed shepherds and pint-size angels with bobbing pigtails made their way down the aisle to the cardboard stable, followed by herds of reluctant lambs and a covey of white-feathered dancing doves.

The brown-spotted cow forgot his lines and one small rabbit made a hasty retreat when he saw rows of cameras and video cams pointed at him.

There was a moment of concern when an over-enthusiastic angel turned abruptly and swept two of the smallest children off their feet.

The gray donkey will most likely recover from the unfortunate accident when the camel stepped on his tail.

Every child who wanted to participate was included in the seemingly endless stream of luminous little faces cloaked in adorable costumes.

No matter that the youthful pianist played so fast the cherub choir couldn’t keep up, or the little drummer boy lost his place and repeated the same line over and over! These little ones reminded us that what matters is the grace and joy in the gift of perfect love.

Holiday Giveaway

Well, I am finally taking the plunge with this holiday giveaway.

The signed handbag is a funky little accessory, 6" x 8 1/2" (excluding the handle).

Both fabrics on the outer shell are rust-dyed cotton. The darker fabric has been further treated with tannin and the lighter fabric has surface design applied with Paintsticks. The lining fabric and tassels have also been rust-dyed. Black piping outlines the bag and emphasizes the piecing.

Free-motion stitching is worked on the shell, front and back, in copper metallic and black rayon threads.

This sassy little bag is perfect for party or everyday.

Please leave a comment for me on today’s post and the winner will be chosen on Friday December 19th. I’ll be glad to pay postage within the states. :-)

Also, I just opened a shop on the 1,000 Markets website. Please visit my new shop at:
http://www.1000markets.com/shops/muttonhead

Instructions for this adorable CD case have been uploaded to C&T Publishing’s new blog site:
http://www.ctpubblog.com/

I’ve worked with a lot of publishing companies in the quilting, craft, and sewing industries and have to say working with C&T has been a delightful experience. They are extremely professional and thorough—and do a wonderful job of promoting and distributing books.

They are the publishers for Altered Photo Artistry as well as my new book, to be released July 2009. In February, I can post a photo of the cover and reveal the subject—and I can’t wait!!!

You'll notice some new links along the side of the posting today. New additions will include blogrings and links to some of my favorite charity/funraising projects.

All the fabric postcards went out today to Holiday Mail for Heroes, sponsored by the American Red Cross. I'm so glad they are spearheading this effort to send greetings from plain old US citizen me to a service person who will be away from home for the December holidays. It was heartwarming to be able to reach out and send a little fabric hug to someone far away.

Now, back to the fabric collages for Collage Mania!

Can you stand one more snippet experiment? This is a photo of a tree printed on rust-dyed fabric (a white-on-white print). It has been thread painted with a YUMMY variegated thread from Linda Palaisy. The leaves are snippets of several different fabrics, stitched down with a very fine bobbin thread from Wonderfil.

It's a little busy, but I like the 3-d effect of the snippets.

It's been snowing here all day and it's beginning to pile up. I love sitting in front of the fireplace, wrapped in a quilt, sipping hot tea and watching the snow fly by the window. Cozy!

This little piece is for Holiday Mail for Heroes, sponsored by the American Red Cross. Here is the URL, if you'd like to know more:

http://www.redcross.org/email/saf/

Details for the give away are almost complete. So, stay tuned!

I delivered four holiday postcards to Artlink yesterday. They have more than 200 entries for this exhibit! Deb Washler the executive director said this was an experiment and they are thrilled by the response. The "hallway" gallery had been designated for this exhibit and next year they will dedicate the main gallery to it! Cool!

Well, I think I finally have a handle on the snippet technique. This vintage Father Christmas is printed on silk and framed with snippets.

Compare it with the Winter Bouquet, which is also printed on silk and framed with snippets. In Winter Bouquet it looks like the background is all one fabric; in Father Christmas the background is obviously more than one piece.

Tips:
1. Use larger pieces
2. Use fabrics with greater contrast
3. Stitch with larger thread
4. Stitch with less density

This is all in readiness for a major piece I'll be donating to my church just before Easter 2009.