Sandy Gervais on Zippity Doo Dah

No need for a double take -- Sandy Gervais is back with us again with her SECOND line just out, the celebratory Zippity Doo Dah! (Wonderful for you Sandy G. fanatics out there ;)) Shifting gears to that time-honored American holiday, she's transformed the usual Americana tones of deep red, deep navy, and antiqued white with her pop of contemporary -- fun florals, trailing stars, scattered jacks, and gusts of confetti, with the added zing of teal! Make sure to leave a comment before we announce our giveaway winner tomorrow!

Zippity Doo Dah! I love how that rolls off your tongue. This is the name of my “Americana” line for 2009. Although the panel shouts America, the rest of the fabrics are great no-nothing prints, plaids, stripes and polka dots in a color palette of red, cream, navy, teal, and khaki for anytime of the year.

When our kids were little - they are now 29 and 27 - we would always celebrate the 4th of July in a big way. Families would gather at Phil and JoAnn’s farm, which happened to have a man-made pond complete with a homemade pontoon boat.

The kids could run wild – and that they did. They swam, fished, pushed each other off inner tubes, and paddled around in the pontoon boat. The adults just pulled up a lawn chair on the beach and relaxed all day constantly eating the various potluck picnic items that everyone brought, stopping only occasionally to slather on some sunscreen.

Joann always had something for the kids – 3-D sunglasses to make the fireworks even more awesome, snap bracelets (remember these?) in red, white, and blue. There were tons and tons of sparklers, water balloons, and a never ending supply of ingredients to make S’mores.

After a big day of frolicking by the pond we would have a huge fireworks show. Our friend Eddie was always in charge of setting off the fireworks. We thought he was the best choice because he was one of Algona’s volunteer fire fighters. Don’t really know why that mattered as we were in the country with no fire truck, no fire hose, or fire hydrant??? But, we felt safest with him. In the many years that we celebrated we never had a mishap.

After the fireworks we would drag our tired butts home. Everyone always slept the best on that night – all that fresh air and activity made everyone tired.

We no longer celebrate in such a big way. The kids have grown, Phil has passed on and JoAnn has moved away. Maybe someday in the future, when we have grandchildren, we will celebrate in a big way once again. I’m looking forward to that time of my life, although I do not think it is in the near future.

It is not exactly picnic weather here today. We are having a blizzard. No, not the kind that you buy at your local Dairy Queen, but the kind that has 25° below zero temperatures with 50 mile an hour winds. It is snowing sideways, and you cannot see across the street. This is a good day to hunker down and get some quilting done.

If you start now, you can have all the projects completed by the time warm weather rolls around. I have designed 8 patterns for you to stitch up using this line of fabric. There is a pattern for the panel and each of the pre-cuts. You can buy all of these patterns and kits right here at Fat Quarter Shop. Order now and get your stitching done early.

From My Heart,
Sandy Gervais

P.S. I forgot to mention! – check out the vinyl coated cloth to use for picnic cloths, rain coats, tote bags or anything else that you might want to create.

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