Monday 12 January 2015

Challenge Accepted

Last month, in the lead up to Christmas, my team decided we should do a Secret Santa. Historically and anecdotally, office Secret Santa gift exchanges can be pretty lame, but we decided if it was just within our team of six, and everyone had enthusiastically opted in, then we could all walk away with something not shit.

I suggested that everyone write their name on a sticky note, with two or more general suggestions of things they might like that could be bought within the $20 spend limit. For example, I wrote "craft beer" and "vanilla".

secret_santa_post_it
Wouldn't you guess it, I drew my team leader! And not only that, it soon became clear that he was using the Secret Santa scheme as a personal shopper for his three year old daughter! If you can't read the hand writing the note says:
  • Frozen
  • Plush goat... maybe patchwork
  • Toys => make bubbles
  • Modern architecture
So he wanted a gift for his daughter, hey? Challenge. Accepted.
frozen_full_front
I found some Frozen themed quilting fabric at my local quilting store to make this unique little cushion just for Alana.
frozen_elsa_close_up
I did some fussy cuts to get the four feature panels of the characters from Frozen. The rest of the fabric came from scraps and my stash, as did the batting. Maybe that's a bit of a cheat, but it did ensure I kept to the $20 budget!
frozen_front_flat
frozen_centre_close_up
For the back of the cushion I just used the rest of my 30cm yardage, and some aqua gingham scrap leftover from Olivia's quilt. I fastened the cover with colourful snaps from my collection, as has been my habit ever since my improvisation for Georgia's retro floppy disk cushions.
frozen_full_back
The final personal touch was to machine embroider Alana's name onto the back of her cushion, with little snowflakes. This cushion is no mass produced Frozen merchandise, and it's definitely not for daddy!
frozen_back_alana

Sorry Dyl, looks like you're buying your own architecture books. :D

Happy new year!

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