A White Christmas

I love a White Christmas and especially love it when the snow falls gently as opposed to a blizzard, when the snow covers enough to be pretty but not so deep we become stranded, when the snow starts early in the morning, falls all day making the day magical and then stops at the stroke of midnight so the next day is manageable.
I woke up early Christmas morning - no snow even though it was predicted - bummer! But then it started at 8 am - a soft beautiful snow, coming down steady but not hard. I took some photos during the day as it started to accumulate quickly. The prediction of 1-3 inches was changing rapidly. An early morning dusting at @ 8:30 showed the promise of things to come.
And an hour later I'm thinking a good thing I bought sleds the day before.

And by noon, it was perfect, okay now it can slow down or stop for a while!

But it just kept coming.

When I went to bed at midnight - still coming down!

But so pretty

So we're stranded but we're well stocked with food and fabric - what more could I ask for!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Molly's house - she lets me live with her, to Yours!

The Christmas Plates

Last year, I hosted a holiday luncheon for my PTA group, took lots of pictures and yesterday happened to come upon them again. In the background of 1 picture, I saw the Plates - The Christmas Plates, hanging on the wall as they've always done in all my homes and before that, my mother's home. Have you ever been asked - "if you had to leave your home and could only take one thing - what would it be"? - well putting my quilts aside, it would be these plates. They've been around a long time and have lots of sentimental value.
They're really just ceramic plates with a pretty winter scene, not Christmas-y but such a sweet story behind them. There are 2 small and 1 large one which is displayed in the center.

I remember years ago, how my mom went on and on about these plates. She wanted them so badly for Christmas and as a small child, I wanted to be the one to give her the biggest and the best one...

the big round one in the center. I saved and saved until I was able to count out 99 cents in coins - mostly pennies but a few dimes and nickels. I was very proud of my accomplishment. Big Beautiful Plate, here I come! My dad took me to the nursery where they were displayed and where he knew all the employees. I proudly counted out the coins to the lady as she wrapped up my plate. I was about to give my mom her most favorite Christmas present.

I was beyond excited and as the big day approached, I was unable to contain my enthusiasm. On Christmas morning, my mom opened her gifts and loved the plates - the best! - especially the big round one! For years after, everytime I saw those plates, it reminded me of this particular Christmas. It wasn't until many, many years later, I found out that my dad standing behind me in line, slipped the lady the remainder of the money to make up the difference. It made me laugh so hard but also left me with a warm fuzzy heart at the thought of my innocence - and that of all children.

I'm so glad to have these plates in my family, to be able to pass them on to my daughter as a reminder of the wonders of childhood at this magical time of year.

Enjoy the magic with all the little people in your life!

Running a Million Miles an Hour

This time of year is crazy, I know for everyone but want to share a couple of things. Last week, we had our annual PTA Christmas party at the home of Georgia Bonesteel. Her home was magical and filled with the holiday spirit. The food divine and the company as always just the best. What a great group of ladies always ready for lots of laughs and good fun. After the eating, visiting etc. we had our Yankee swap/white elephant - it goes by lots of names but basically you wrap up something you don't want anymore. Someone picks it from the pile or can take another gift already opened. There's always a couple that are favorites - something everyone wants. Another thing we did which was great fun was inspiration stories from old Saturday Evening Posts Georgia had laminated. We were each given 4-5 covers for inspiration and were to come up with a story from our past to share. It was great fun and a great memory jogger. The picture below was one I had to work with - some good old babysitting stories came out of this cover.
And as far as the White Elephant swap, I got the prize. Actually, my good pal Mary Berry wound up with them, but knowing how much I wanted them, she presented them to me at the end of the day. What a sweetie! Are you wondering what they are?

Georgia put these in the swap; they were given to her by an Eskimo while in Alaska some time ago. They are hand blown glass balls used as buoys to keep the fishing nets afloat. I fell in love with them and am so glad for such nice friends to A. put them in a Yankee swap to begin with and B. having a friend who is nice enough to give them to me!

A Happy day.

6 X 37 cents = Amazing!!

Last year, shortly after the holidays, my son brought home some Christmas Cactus; they were on clearance at a greatly reduced price - 37 cents each. He called beforehand to say he was bringing home 6 teeny, tiny plants that didn't need much care. Everyone in my family knows I'm the one without the green thumb, but these little darlings just thrived in my care! I forget to water them, so in this case, they're happy as can be. Around Thanksgiving time, the buds were coming and starting to bloom - hope they make it to Christmas so they can live up to their name of the Christmas Cactus!
Six of these tiny plants were put in a huge pot We had no idea what mix of colors were together, so we waited with anticipation and then the flowers started to come - just a splattering at first.

Which got better each day. I like it - a good mix of red and pink.

I'm off today to visit my daught in Atlanta for 2 days to shop til we drop, talk to you soon.

The Jacket

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything....just so caught up in the holidays...decorating and such. It's something I love to do and everything else seems to go by the wayside. Last month while teaching in Greenville, NY at the Hudson River Valley Workshops, one of my students - Sheila, started a jacket made with fabric she designed herself and then had printed through a company called Spoonflowers. The fabric was based on a picture she took of her garden - how cool is that! The fabric in and of itself was beautiful but the combination of other fabric and design elements that she used made it fabulous! Sheila also did some beautiful thread work using metallics for just a hint of glitz. She just sent me the results of her finished piece - this is a beauty!
I love the dimension Sheila gets by adding flowers above the horizon.

The pocket detail on the jacket is wonderful. Sheila did some screenprinting on a sheer fabric and used it as an overlay along with more of the flower print. It was very subtle and affective.

And a close-up of the back and beautiful stitching!

Sheila works full time and does this in her spare moments. In just a month, she completed this wonderful piece.  Can you imagine what she'll accomplish when she retires? Way to go Sheila!