Maxine, the clothes hound, goes back to school...

-- shopping that is…It’s her favorite thing about back to school. She is wearing her favorite denim skirt and a new animal print top. Her dangle earrings and heart pendant are also new. Don’t you just love those little(?) slip on shoes? Maxine has a hard time finding shoes because her feet are so big.
When she is done shopping, Maxine will do her next favorite thing…model her new clothes for you.

Bear Fanny Pack Pattern

It has been suggested that I post the instuctions for turning a purchased fanny or belt pack into a bear or critter pack. These make great gifts, especially to Teddy Bear collectors and children.

The link for the pattern is on my website links page.

Materials:
12” x 12” piece mohair (smaller if just doing head & arms—I think it looks like the bear is climbing out of the fanny pack this way)
Pair of eyes – your choice (use safety eyes if for a child)
Set of 10 joint discs & hardware (6 if only making head & arms)
Matching paw pad material
Purchased fanny pack


Sew head & arms as if making a regular bear. Leg-leave top open for jointing. Put disc & bolt (I use glue method) into head. Stitch around opening and pull tight leaving bolt sticking out.
Measure to the middle of the top of the fanny pack and mark. Measure about 2” on either side of center mark and mark. Using awl poke holes at the marks and joint head & arms just like jointing to a regular body.
If adding the legs, stuff them to the top. I left a small opening in the back seam to add more stuffing if needed. Gather the top just like the head. Put your disc w/glued bolt in the top, gather and leave bolt sticking out. Make 2 marks on the bottom of the fanny pack equal distance from the center. Pole a hole with your awl and attach just like the head.
You can find the pattern on my website links page, but any bear pattern for an 8” – 12” bear will work. The legs just need to altered.
You can use different ears for a dog, cat, or bunnie.

1st Annual Softie Thanksgiving Day Parade

This is another one of Lisa's, from Twin Cubs, great ideas. It sounds like great fun and I am already ruminating on an idea for my contribution. A lot of artists have agreed to participate. You can find out more about it on her Q. D. Patooties blog at http://qdpatooties.blogspot.com/2007/08/1st-annual-softie-thanksgiving-day.html

Come join us... even if you are not putting something in the parade it will be something to see! Mark your calendar.

Home again

We hit the road on the 8th and headed north. It was a whirlwind trip to visit friends and family in Virginia. Bill, Lexi, and I arrived in Fredericksburg Thursday afternoon. After a short visit with a Anita Walton, a veterinarian, I used to work for- we headed for our friends place. We stayed with Sheryl and Jim McGehee for two nights. They have a very nice townhouse on the southern end of Fredericksburg. We hadn't been there in 6 yrs and the area has grown tremendously. We had a too short visit with my sister and her kids in Culpeper, which has also grown. My neices and nephew have grown too as I had not seen them in 6 yrs and they are now 14, 16, and 18. Dinner with more old friends Friday night.

Saturday morning a nice detour to Washington, DC and the Doll & Bear Expo. I wish I had more time to look around but I am glad I at least got to meet Lisa of Twin Cubs.

We left Washington(OH! The traffic) and headed SW to the mountains. Bill's sister has a home on Smith Mountain Lake. There is a view of the lake from every room in the house. 1 1/2 days relaxing on the lake.

On the road Monday morning and home to Florida by 10:30PM Monday night. WHEW!

Get along little doggies!

Well, I finished my dog for the Edinburgh Forum challenge "Dog Days of Summer". Meet Myrna the Beach Doggie. Since I usually make semi realistic dogs I decided to try something different. I was the first to post my dog on the forum but I am hoping for a lot more competition. I realize a lot of artists are busy getting ready for shows and a lot of moms are getting ready for back to school but this is for a $25 gift certificate from Edinburgh Imports.

In hopes of more doggies, I am making my basic dog pattern available. It's a pretty easy pattern but I wouldn't call it beginners. It allows for 1/4" seams except the paws which I always hand stitch and are more like 1/8". Don't forget to get pattern page 2. It has extra ears and a supply list. The dog is about 6 1/2" tall when finished.

The only way I could figure out to get you to the pattern is to put a link on the links page of my website http://www.dogpatchcritters.com/ .