Christmas Archives - Page 4 of 11

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree

December 11, 2012 jennifer Christmas books

Robert Barry’s Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree was originally published in 1963, then updated in 2000.

It is a delightful tale of Mr. Willowby’s fine tree, “Full and fresh and glistening green – The biggest tree he had ever seen.”

It’s delivered on a pink truck, but when it arrives in the house, the tree is too tall. What follows is the tale of the top of a Christmas tree and how it gets snipped and moved from house to house, leaving joy in each place.

We love the rhyming text which is easy to read and even to memorize. My children also love the idea of a tree that gets smaller with each cut, and yet is the perfect size for yet another creature every time.

And the final location of the tip of the tree? Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

With happy colors, great illustrations and a fun vintage feel, this is one of our absolute favorites. I’m usually asked to re-read it several times when we get it out. This year we chose Mr. Willowby’s Christmas tree as our evening story on the day we put up our own Christmas tree. This book was a special gift from a dear friend years ago and oh, how we’ve loved it over the years. I highly recommend it!

Christmas Star Quilt

December 10, 2012 jennifer Christmas, Quilting and Sewing

In addition to my Scrappy Swoon quilt , the Vintage Holiday quilt , and my Chevron Christmas pillow , I also made a Christmas quilt for my mom. It’s a Christmas take on the Turquoise Star quilt I made this year along with the Made in Cherry Quilt along.

Once again, I made the 60 inch square size quilt. The squares are 3 1/2 inches unfinished and I had fun cutting into Christmas fabric I’ve had for years to make this quilt. My mom likes traditional Christmas colors and I hope she loves it as much as I loved making it for her.

For the backing I used a large piece of fabric I had which coordinates with most of the fabrics in the quilt. If I remember correctly it’s an April Cornell collection from years ago. I added a red floral and a green floral to complete it.

The stripe is a pretty holly pattern which I’ve always liked.

For a binding I opted for a low volume fabric, one that adds a hint of color while mostly blending with the cream background of the quilt.

And so it’s done. A bright, crisp, traditional yet modern Christmas quilt.

It went home with my Mom on a plane last week to be part of the holiday festivities where I grew up. I hope very much that it contributes to a feeling of warmth and love there in the next few weeks. Much as I’m happy to be in my own house with my own large family for the holidays, there is always a brief wave of homesickness that washes over me when I think of who’s gathered there, a wish to join them, to somehow be in both places at once, a longing for those safe happy Christmases of my childhood where the days and hours flowed perfectly because I was a child and my Mom was hard at work. I miss it and I long for it, and then I look around and realize I’m still living it, just on the other end, the giving end, and that it’s part of life’s great circle for me to be where I am. And I wasn’t making quilts then, either. I’m not sure I could give that up.:)

Isn’t it wonderful the memories we can wrap ourselves in while warm quilts warm our toes?

Merry Christmas!
Jennifer

It’s Christmas Time!

December 8, 2012 jennifer Christmas

The wind howls outside and the Christmas music is blasting within. A plate of orange rolls sits on the counter and boxes clutter the couch. The lights twinkle and the children laugh and plan as they take over the task of decorating the tree.

We all sing aloud and smile with recognition as familiar ornaments are removed from the box, especially those they made themselves. My six year old laughs at the ornament he made last year in kindergarten. They save a few and scurry upstairs to decorate miniature trees in their rooms.

It’s a happy day, one that feels like the holidays are here and promises they’re going to be fabulous.
We are so very blessed.

Jennifer