I Heart Strange Flowers!

Good afternoon!

Wow, it's so hard to concentrate on such a sunny, mellow day here in Orlando!  Going to keep this short as I have a whole lot of gardening to catch up on...

Here are a few pics from my porch and yard:

Lifesaver Cactus

Turmeric Plant

Dog Tail Cactus.  We call her 'Medusa.'

Lithops, or 'Living Stone' succulent

Baby pineapple

I have a big crush on this guy. We call him Jerry Garcia!

Macho fern.  We call him Jimmi Hendrix.

Impatiens

Mexican Petunia

Caladium 'Love Everlasting'.  Corny, I know.  And yes, I partly bought them because of the name...

In addition to growing cool plants, I love to study them as well- have you seen the La Todera Pinterest board called Strange Flowers?  It's kind of like a wishlist for my garden and patterns :)

I consider gardening not only good for my mental health, but it is ALWAYS providing my new inspiration for fabric flower, pincushion, and other types of pattern designs.  In fact, I consider plants and flowers a business expense!

Pinwheel Present Pocket- a free project

Hi peeps,
I've gotten quite a few emails about a project I did on Quilting Arts TV- The Pinwheel Present Pocket.  People were looking to get the template and instructions.  What? You can't sew as fast as we made it on the edited TV segment??  Just kidding!

So I've made it easy for you.  Here is the linky-loo.  If you have any trouble, the secret to finding any of the free projects on Quilting Arts is that you have to log in to the site.  Signing up is free and easy if you don't have an account.

Let me know how you like this project!  The Present Pockets whip up so easily.  Great to gussy up a gift card or make that cash gift just a little more special.  They are reusable, so it's the gift that keeps on giving.  Why not make up a bunch to have on hand for those last minute gifts?

Have a blessed day,
Julie

PDF Patterns in the House!! (Ok, in the online store!)

Did you know that U.S. Postal have increased yet again???

That was my last push to convert La Todera patterns available on my website and etsy site to PDF form. No more shipping costs for you, and no more stamp chasing for me!

Truth be told, I've gotten hundreds of requests for PDF patterns from far flung fans around the globe.  Not everyone lives near a quilt shop, and not everyone lives in a place where the postal system is, well, ...trustworthy.

And then there are those, (like me!!) that when they want a pattern, THEY  WANT IT NOW!!

Same patterns in a similar, familiar format, 'cept now you can have instant gratification with an instant download!

Why not treat yourself to a few of the patterns you've been wanting to try?

Get 10% off your order from www.latodera.com 
this week (through 2/2/16) 

with code: INSTANT.

Still prefer the hard copy patterns? You can find the paper patterns in your favorite quilt shop.

Here are a just a few of my favorite quilt shops:

Sewitup.com

The Quilt Asylum

SewMuchFun.com

BellaRoseQuilts.com