Hello Friends! I hope this finds you all ready for Christmas! Is all your shopping and decorating done? Would you believe that I have not started shopping? I did buy one gift for my Daughters stocking yesterday. And I did make my husband a quilt! What is the age when most people don't have stockings for grown children? Ha ha! I thought I would tell you all about my favorite family traditions!
The first tradition is when I was growing up! Our family went out to the woods to get a tree every year. I have four siblings, a brother and 3 sisters. We also had a dog, and it was the only time we saw Mom touch the dog! She would pick her up so someone could wipe her feet to put her in the station wagon after running through the woods! Its amazing "Tippy" never ran away at the tree farms, because anytime you opened the door at home, she was gone in a flash! We always sang in the car together, the whole family! We put out tree up on Christmas eve. Mom worked in the kitchen making our Ham for after Christmas eve service. After the tree was all decorated, she would come in and put her special cotton spun pear ornament on the tree! She gave me the pear a few years ago to add to my old glass ornament collection. I told her I would only take it now under one condition. That is if she puts it on my tree every year! So when our family all gets together at the next tradition I'll tell you about, she puts it on my tree! Here are a few pictures!
This is Me (on right) and Gretchen (who took this picture?) at Christmas in about 1978! How about those feetsie Pajamas! The doggie was our second pet, Sonny! He was so soft!
This picture, is us three Primitive Quilts magazine owners: Judy on left, Me in the middle, and Gretchen on the right! The baby is Leah, our office manager! She is who you usually talk to if you call the Magazine! Leah is Judy's daughter! How about that sweater I'm wearing! Ha ha! I think this picture was taken around 1985, you probably guessed that by Gretchen's hair and my sweater though!
This is Moms cotton spun pear ornament! I love it, but unfortunately Chester my dog loves it too! When we were shooting the Winter issue 2012 at my house this summer, I had it in a couple shots on the tree's in my house. I had laid it on the table after the shot, and Chester who was just a year old, jumped up and had it in his mouth! Now one side of it is a little yucky. Darn it! I was so sad. Needless to say, it isn't out at all, until Mom puts it up high on the tree this Friday! Which leads me to the next tradition and my favorite of all now!
About 20 years ago, my sister Sally and I decided to start a tradition our kids would look forward to. Everyone in our family sings and plays an instrument. Mostly guitars! So we had our little kids at the time decorate construction paper song book covers, and Sally typed all the songs up with guitar chords, for every Christmas song we could think of! We use them every year, when everyone comes to my house for the "Annual Falcsik (my maiden name) Family, Potluck dinner, Sing-a-long Christmas party! Everyone brings an instrument, and we sing, sing and eat! This year is our 20th annual party! Here are a few pictures! I wish they were better!
We sure have a lot of fun! Our party is this coming Friday night, and I am really looking forward to it! I'll take some new shots for a new post this weekend!
Okay, on to the ornament pattern for you, and the recipe!
This recipe was given to me by my sister-in-law, Kasondra. Her Mother-in-Law gave it to her! It is now my husbands favorite! The batch I made for the blog hop photo is now gone! I will have to make more this evening for our party on Friday! I hope you enjoy it, and that it becomes your favorite also!
YUM!!!!
Now for the ornament! I played around with this idea, and I hope you will like it! It is a cute little sheep ornament made from a Christmas carol scanned onto Cotton fabric to put through your ink jet printer! I have it all scanned and made, you just print it out on Cotton fabric, cut and sew! The song is Silent Night, from a very very old Sunday School book I found at an antique store! After I made my sheep, I aged him with some strong coffee spray! My sheep is wearing a red wool collar with a tiny key hanging from it! The "key" to remember this season, is the Lamb of God was born Christmas night!
I have another sheep ornament pattern on the Primitive Quilts and Projects website. It is smaller in size, and made from wool. There are also other ornament patterns to download there! Remember to print this pattern out on Computer cotton fabric, and use tiny stitches on your machine, because it is pretty thin fabric, and it will make it easier to turn inside out once you sew it! Save the pattern picture to your computer documents, then print. If you just print from the blog, it will come out smaller. (if for some reason the pattern doesn't download, I'll fix it when I get to the shop today, where Gretchen, will help me!)
Have a wonderful Christmas!!!
Be sure to check out the next stop on the blog hop on Wednesday! Lisa Bongean, Primitive Gatherings!
Have a Very Merry Christmas!!!
Jeni
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