What Goes Under the Turkey? Top Your Table With Peace & Safety

Do you fear gouges in your heirloom wooden dining table? Are you tired of trying to figure out how to get cranberry and who knows what out of your best tablecloth? Pacific Fabrics to the rescue! You'll find these terrific products at all our stores.

We have wonderful Table Felt or Table Padding (above - left side & middle) to protect that special table and Clear Vinyl to go over the holiday table cloth. Think of it as an investment in your peace of mind and the peace of your Thanksgiving gathering. Or you may want to pick up some Vinyl Lace or Oilcloth (shown above on the right) for the table. Let the kids (big and small) spill and pound all they like - you've got it covered!

 And if your silver looks a wee bit tarnished when you bring it out, plan to stitch up some Pacific Silvercloth (above) covers before you pack it up again. This fabulous fabric is impregnated with a solution that keeps your silver shiny and you can easily make storage bags for those seldom used serving pieces. Another peace of mind investment!
So there you go - now you can relax!  ~ Annette

Adventures with Evie: My European Grand Tour

Hey there human buddies -  I'm just in from a FABULOUS European cruise and a bit breathless, but I know you're all dieing to hear about my latest adventure!

Tracy knit me this incredibly continental Debbie Bliss sweater coat and matching beret. I was SO in style as we left Barcelona on the Norwegian Jade and met new sock friends at the so-fab Bon Voyage party. Their outfits were nowhere near as chic as mine, though.

Sydney, my traveling companion and personal couturier, brought me out on deck to sip my morning coffee. A little caffeine and some brisk morning air really perked up my stuffing before we docked in Monte Carlo. I do think I look a tad bit like Princess Grace here, don't you? Her aura was everywhere and I thought the rakish tilt of the hat over my ear was very, very Grace.

The darling ship crew delivered a clever towel animal to my room every night. Mr.White Elephant, my new sock friends and I attended dinner together. He was such a party animal and quite handsome in his formal whiteness. I, of course, looked ravishing in my lace edged silk chemise.

I aired out on deck then visited Pisa wearing my adorable pink quilted jacket with the heart shaped button. I look so fabulous in pink - it really brings out my button eyes! It was comfortable, yet stylish with my black fleece pants when I went shopping with my friends in Rome the next day. I heard quite a few fluffy whistles from the Italian sock boys! Sydney made me a little purse, too, and I shopped 'til my tail dropped.

Traveling can be exhausting, my sock was stretched to the limit and I wasn't feeling quite in the 'pink'. So I enjoyed relaxing in the cabin with my new towel friend Mr. White Rabbit while I was in Naples. He's a bit bland for my taste, but he was a good friend to lean on.

As the cruise wound down, I 'hung' out on my deck before our last stop at Palma, Mallorca.  I loved my Grand Tour, but really missed my home girls back in Everett. I've made so many friends and my Christmas gift list is now as long as a sock tail! After I rest up, maybe I'll take some classes so I can make gifts. I wonder if there's a staff primate discount?

Best to everyone  ~ Evie

(Evie is a pink sock monkey who lives at our Everett store - when she's not traveling. Sydney is one of Everett's extraordinary quilters, teachers and staff members. Tracy leads the Everett Knitalong, teaches knitting and is rarely found without needles and yarn in her hands.)

Tuesday Tip: Knitting in the round - closing the gap!

(If you did Leah's Warm for Winter hat, you might have noticed this little trick - one of my favorites, and so easy!)

Whether using a circular needle or a set of double-points, when you join your stitches so you can knit in the round, there is often an ugly gap that appears where the stitches have been joined.  To prevent this, try this easy step:
1. Cast on one more stitch than called for.
2. Slip this stitch from the end to the beginning of the round.
3. Knit together the stitch you slipped and the one that should have been the first stitch on the needle.
That's it! No more gap! So simple, and so much nicer looking!

 - Anna-Beth

Faux Fur Frenzy

Check out all the fur we have at the Outlet on 4th! You'll find a great new selection at all our stores, but since I work at the Outlet, I thought I'd tell you what's been going on in our Fur Department. Click on the picture to see a larger image.

It's been busy! Super Grover was in to pick up fur for a new coat. Then there's the group of six going to a couple of Halloween parties as characters from a video game. (At least I think that's what they said.) From what they picked out, I know they are going to be a colorful group. And I enjoyed hearing about the stuffed bear being made out of Husky fur for a school auction. The lucky bear will be wearing a hand knit sweater as well. Our customers are so creative!

The fur is literally flying here at the Outlet on 4th (and at all our stores, from what I hear). Don't wait - come on in and get what you need to complete your Halloween costume!

~ Mary

(Mary is a totally awesome knitter and quilter who works at our Outlet on 4th store. You'll find her leading our Block of the Month Club there, too!)

Maison de Garance - New in Our Stores

Just one collection this week, but it's so stunning that it can easily stand on it's own. Click on the picture to see a larger image. Introducing . . . Maison de Garance!

Kaari Meng of French General designed this lovely old world style group for Moda. You'll find it in Tea, Ivory, Old Brown and Turkey Red colorways now at our Bellevue, Everett and Northgate stores and soon at our Puyallup store, too. Perfect for Home Decor, Kaari has included solids and prints in 100% Cotton along with lovely 55% Linen/45% cotton solids to go with.

And wonderful Moda has provided a quilt design, too. Click here to download a PDF of the pattern, then enjoy my little history lesson below:

What's a Garance and why did Kaari name her collection after it, I wondered? According to http://www.urbandictionary.com/, I found that it's a small, rounded flower in very deep intense red - the color used until recently by the French Army. Moda tells us that in the 18th Century, the House of Garance was one of the only dye houses in France to cultivate all the colors of the Garance flower - from deep red to chocolate brown. To show off their color selection, the walls of the dye house were adorned with hand-painted leaves in Garance hues and now Kaari has designed a collection that allows us to show off these beautiful hues, too.

 ~ Annette

There's still time to make this super quick Rustic Pumpkin Runner!

With Halloween just around the corner, it might seem that there isn't any time to create a festive seasonal table that speaks to the season. Don't despair, though! Northgate's own Wendy has designed a fabulous quick runner that can be made up in less than an hour, and is super cute!

Wendy's Rustic Pumpkin Runner is made of Burlap, cotton, and a bit of trim, and is made extra quick with the wonders of fusible adhesive (I heart Heat-N-Bond!)

You can download a free pattern here, pick up what you need at any Pacific Fabrics store, and have your table all decked out before you can say "Boo!"

Thanks Wendy, and Happy Halloween to all.

~ Anna-Beth
 
(Wendy is the Assistant Manager at our Northgate store. She is a phenomentally talented seamstress, specializing in Bridal and costume wear.  She is also the mother of adorable Aiden, who she has made many incredible Halloween costumes for - he was a flying monkey one memorable year!)

Tuesday Tip: A Time Saving Tool for this Holiday Season

I have been sewing and crafting since I was 12 years old and making quilts for a few years now. It makes me embarrassed to admit that I had never used a tool that many others would consider so basic. It is a bias tape maker! They have been around for years but I never thought of using one until this summer as I was preparing our Christmas in July presentation and now I can’t live without it!


I was making a fabric Christmas ornament called “The Coiled Fabric Snowflake Ornaments” by Designs to Share with You. The pattern mentioned using fabric strips with the bias tape maker and Steam a Seam fusible tape to create these beautiful snow flakes. By guiding the fabric through the bias tape maker it was so easy to press the fabric and create the perfectly folded strips to coil into the snowflake shapes.

Coiled Fabric Snowflake Ornaments

I was so impressed with my new found tool that I then used it to complete some placemats I was making. Instead of merely using “ready-made,” packaged bias tape, I bought coordinating fabric and made my own bias tape to bind my placemats. What a difference it made in the finished look of my project!

The Bias Tape Makers are made by CLOVER and come complete with instructions in five sizes; from ¼ inch to 2 inches (I now own them all!). I am using them for all my Christmas gifts that call for bias tape or binding, everything from quilts to pot holders. What a time saver during this busy time of year, my only regret is that I didn’t discover them sooner!

Clover Bias Tape Makers in all 5 sizes

~ Chris
(Our Asst Manager at the Everett store, resident Demo Queen and company spokesperson)