A Tiny Little Bear Project

The few days before Christmas, I needed to work on a little project between batches of cookies.  This little fella is from a kit that I purchased years ago from Edinburgh Imports that included the Tattered & True pattern by Pam Holton.   He didn't end up looking exactly like the picture on the pattern, but I think he's pretty cute for someone who is just 5" tall!

 

Merry Christmas

You, O Bethlehem...who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel.  Michah 5:2 

For unto us a Child is born.

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6 

Wishing Everyone the Joy and Peace of the assurance of our salvation

as we celebrate the birth of our Lord.

Merry Christmas! 

Snowman

The kids aren't tired of the snow yet!  They built a huge snowman in the front yard near the sidewalk late yesterday afternoon.

 

They also built a snow "cave", but Daddy made them crash it in after pictures were taken.  We didn't want any neighborhood kids to play there and have it collapse on them and get hurt!!

 

Last but not least, our little schipperke saw that our foxhound mixed breed shelter dog made the blog this week and didn't want to be left out.  He has finally conquered his fear of being put on top of huge snow piles and posed for his picture:

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Snow:

 

Sheep:

 

Candycanes:

 

The tree:

 

And now we wait:

 

Queen Anne's Lace Pillowcases

While browsing blogs last week, I came across this pattern on Posie Gets Cozy.  Since I love doing embroidery, but haven't done it in way too long, I decided that I must make these pillowcases as a special Christmas gift.  I hope the intended recipient isn't peeking!  Fun!

Starting to Decorate for Christmas

This year, the Christmas decorations are coming out very slowly.  The kitchen is almost done. My snowman collection is on display on the wall shelf.   Over the years. the kids have made some, I've bought others, and still others were gifts.

As my parents went through their big move to a new house, they gave us their hutch (over 40 years old) and their kitchen table and chairs.  It all fit in quite nicely in our kitchen.  The hutch is "decorated" for Christmas, except for the nativity scene that will go in the center space between the radio and silver chest.  I'll be getting that out this weekend.

A close up of my Hummel Christmas angels.  These were all Christmas gifts from my parents.  The olive wood nativity was hand carved by Christians in Bethlehem.  Each fall, a representative brings their carvings to our church to sell to help enable the Christians to stay in Bethlehem when tourism has slowly been decreasing.

My little Hummel boy with the bunnies is surrounded by little bunnies that came in boxes of Red Rose tea.  He is joined by my 2 Christmas Boyds figurines.

Did you notice my rose/pink walls?  We've decided that color scheme and wallpaper border are due for replacement.  More than 15 years is enough!  We are hoping to repaint the kitchen between Christmas and New Year's, if all goes well.

The 11 Month Afghan!

I bought the yarn (Lion Brand Vanna's Choice) for this afghan on January 1st, 2009.  I started working on it that day. Each stripe is 2 rows of double crochet.  I worked on it off an on all year, with a long pause in the summer.  I finally finished it the week before Thanksgiving!  I am enjoying it as an extra layer to sleep under when W. decides to turn on the ceiling fan!

Some New Fuzzy Friends

A few weeks ago, on a sunny, warm November afternoon, I took a lunch break to visit the Savage Mill mall.  There are several shops I really like to browse in:  Bearing Gifts, And Sew It Goes,  Lucy and Ethel's, and The Polish Pottery Mart.  There are always so many things to see and enjoy, but I don't always make a purchase when I visit.  Just getting out of the office and seeing something different can be a real treat during a tough week. 

On my last visit, I found a special little bear.  She is an Angel bear with a pine halo, and country style wings and a necklace with her name:  Faith.  She will join my Christmas bears for the next few weeks.  Rather than hibernating after Christmas, I think I'm going to see if I can remove her halo and wings and make them a seasonal costume so that I can enjoy her year round.

Today, a new friend arrived.  His name is Benjamin.  He is a pogo from The Pogoshop on Etsy.  He was made from an upcycled beige lambswool sweater and is stuffed with bamboo fiberfill.  I think he'd like to go out and play in the woods, but since it is cold and rainy outside, he's happy to stay inside and visit. 

Benjamin brought his own special heather green wool sleepsack to cuddle into for nice cozy naps: