Sewalong PJ top done! Plus more Christmas stuff

Yea, I'm done with the shirt for Ann's sewalong! Currently I'm the only person modeling her pjs in the Thanksgiving Weekend 2010 Pajama Sewalong Flickr pool, though some pinned theirs to their dress forms. Did I miss a rule somewhere?

The top is McCall's 3006, a well-loved, oft-sewn pattern. I like to wear layers under my pj tops so I don't mind that it's such a roomy, big shirt. I lengthened it a little this time to be like a tunic and added side slits. In case you missed it, here's a closeup of the sweatshirt fabric:


Sewing time was only an hour and a half. I twin needle stitched the sleeve and shirt hems.

I made the PJ pants out of another pattern this past spring. So now I have a matched set, though I probably won't ever wear them together after the photo shoot!

So yesterday I showed you my tree and lights.
Today, here's my duck; she's wearing her holiday best:


I thought about making her new PJs and posting them in the sewalong, but I don't think it's going to happen with 24 hours remaining....(and yes I actually own a pattern for duck pjs and have made them previously...)

Here's the mantle:



Mushywear, you get to see some of my Hawaiianna! The framed fabric is from a craft shop in Lahaina, the Mele Kalikimaka stocking is from a souvenir shop in Lahaina, the two wooden puzzle boxes are from the International Market Place in Waikiki, the gardenia is from a craft fair by the Honolulu Zoo, the Santa hat-wearing Turtle is from Long's in Kehei, and the wooden postcards are from a gift shop in Kauai. The Aloha postcard is one Antoinette sent me!

Ok, I'll continue the tour of my other Christmas goodies during the week.

Oh, but here's the story with my solar lights. I've always wanted to put lights outside but never had an outdoor electrical outlet. Last year I found these solar panel lights at target.com. They charge on their own and turn themselves on when it gets dark and off when they run out of power (on rainy days, they're out by 7pm but on bright clear sunny days, they are still going strong even at 9 or 10pm). Then the next day they charge back up again! No timers, no electricity, no plugs. Just the solar panels. Each tree has one string of 50 and 4 strings of 25:

I took a walk around 4:10 and when I came back it was around 4:55, starting to get dark out. As I approached my house the strings of lights came on one by one! It was like a little ballet. Some strings came on, went out, came back on again, and I just watched for a while until they were all continuously on! Very cool.

Good night!