An Evening at the Ballet

Hi Fellow Quilters,

July is here, and many of us begin planning our projects for Christmas gifts or decorations. Since we at Ms P are also celebrating Christmas in July, I’d like to introduce you to our Nutcracker-themed Christmas quilt. The hardest part of designing this little quilt was deciding which characters would make the final cut! Would I choose Uncle Drosselmeyer? I have always loved the mechanical dolls, harlequins, and Spanish dancers! Even though it is early July, if I close my eyes, I can hear the music and it makes me smile!

Here is a snapshot of my Nutcracker Ballet quilt:

Who shows more grace and style than a beautiful beaver wearing her rosebud costume? It was fun adding Swarovski crystals to accent her dress and the delicate rosebuds that adorn her headdress and skirt!

Watch out! The evil mouse king has made his entrance! Will he prevail this time or be conquered by our brave nutcracker?

None of this would have been possible if sweet Clara deer hadn’t dreamed about nutcrackers! Here she is, dancing by the Christmas tree and, as you can see, the Nutcracker has not yet come to life!

Freddy fox was delighted to be chosen for the role of Nutcracker! His mask is so cleaver that you can’t tell where Freddy ends and the mask begins. Dance Freddy! I know that you can conquer the bad old Mouse King.

Just for fun, the casting director chose this zany zebra to be the Sugar Plum Fairy. If I could play any role in the ballet, this would be it! I love how she smiles with joy as she flits effortlessly across the stage.

If you could chose any of the other Nutcracker characters, who would you want to see? Mother Ginger? Mirliton dancers? Buffoons? If you’d like to purchase any of the patterns shown here, just click on their photos to visit our Christmas patterns shop!

Here’s a little music to put you in the mood for Christmas in July: