Choir practice

What does sock knitting have to do with choir practice?  If you are the church pianist (like I am) and the choir is singing the Christmas music to a CD, you tend to have less to do closer to the performance. 

When they started to work on the music a couple of months ago, I had plenty of parts to play in rehearsal, but now that they know the music I am just "on call" to help with a measure or two now and then.

The best part today was that I got to sit and listen (and knit!), both to the choir and to the drama.  This is a small church in a small community and yet, there is an amazing amount of talent here.  It is a joy to be a part of it.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas decorating

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is our traditional day to decorate the house for Christmas. The fall stuff gets packed away for the year and the spring decor gets shifted from the fall boxes to the Christmas boxes. That way, when January gets here, I'm all set to pack up Christmas and decorate for spring. It's all a big switcharoo!

I can hardly believe that there are just three and a half weeks until Christmas. Still so much to do, cookies to bake, gifts to wrap, socks to knit...

My Christmas Story

This may be a controversial blog topic, but I'm going to risk it.  Here goes:  I like the movie A Christmas Story, the one about Ralphie and his quest for a Red Ryder BB gun.  Okay, I really, really, like A Christmas Story.  As in, it has become my favorite Christmas movie.  I relate to the mom.  She tries to keep up the house (in spite of her husband's taste in lamps), make dinner every night, get her boys to school on time and see to it that Christmas is a happy day for her family.  And keep Ralphie from shooting his eye out.

Back in November, I heard that A Christmas Story was being produced as a Broadway musical.  I called Andy, my husband, at work and said, "I know what I want for Christmas.  You should fly me to New York to see a Broadway show."  And then we had a good laugh.

Well, I laughed.  Apparently, Andy's reaction was to call a travel agent and arrange a trip on the day after Christmas.  We flew to New York, stayed at the Millennium Broadway hotel at Times Square, spent as afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the evening at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where we saw A Christmas Story.

The show was wonderful and the afternoon at the Met was an amazing experience.  Thank you for an unforgettable Christmas gift, sweetie!

Christmas in Review

I finished my son's rag quilt just in time. Here it is, after a washing and drying. You can see that the ragging/fraying process is started. The seams end up with a sort of chenille look.

Here we are, with the annual reading of the Christmas story by the Cousin-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Quite possibly the best Christmas gift I've ever given him. Swords and shields for everyone!And, here's our traditional Christmas breakfast--cornmeal mush. It's delicious. Honest.
So, how was your Christmas?

Shhh! Don't tell!

I'm working on a rag quilt for my son for Christmas. I spent an afternoon or two cutting up his old blue jeans into squares as well as cutting new flannel.

A rag quilt is made by having the seams exposed on one side of the quilt. The exposed raw edges are clipped close to the stiching. Then, the whole thing is washed and dried (probably at a laundromat) to start the fraying process. The finished quilt will have one side with traditional seams, the other will have frayed edges that look a bit like chenille.

Remind me to post a picture of the finished quilt. I hope he likes it!

My Halls Are Decked

In spite of a nasty case of sniffles which seems to be going around my family (I'm blaming the teenager--she started it), we managed to get our Christmas decorations put up today.

Our tree is in its usual spot, with it's blue ribbon and big bow on the top. The children put the decorations on it and they are nicely arranged, the decorations that is. Now that the children are a little older, the decorations manage to make it all the way up the tree. When they were smaller, there was quite a concentration of ornaments around the lower half.

I also put up a wreath in my kitchen. It's pieced, a bit like a Dresden plate quilt block, in Christmas fabrics. My mother made it many years ago and it's nice to have something of hers to keep me company this year.

This is also the one time of the year that I load up the top of the piano with decorations. I usually resist putting anything there. It's a musical instrument, not a shelf, but a few well-chosen, and padded items are allowed to rest there for a few weeks.

I'll try to get some pictures soon. It's a bit late today and the light is terrible, so you'll have to use your imagination. Actually, your imagination is probably better than the reality, so I may just let that suffice.

Have you done any decorating yet?

Our Christmas

Our Christmas tree, with it's blue holly bow--

Snuggling with Daddy on Christmas Eve--

Hot chocolate, anyone?

Yes, that's my daughter, very excited about getting her very own copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Nothing says "Christmas" like a wild-eyed cousin--

So, how was your Christmas?

New in the Etsy Shop

I've had the best time working on new Christmas stockings for Bede Sisters. These may be my all time favorite project. Recently I found an old quilt for sale on Etsy, from DesignsforReta. It was past it's prime as a quilt, but with a gorgeous softness that only comes from loving use. I took a deep breath and ...made the first cut.

I'm so glad I did, because these stockings are beautiful! They are lined with new muslin, trimmed with new lace and have a grosgrain ribbon loop for hanging by the fireplace .

Getting the Etsy Shop Ready for Christmas

I've been busy getting the Bede Sisters etsy shop ready for Christmas. We have 18 Christmas stockings now available, most made from vintage quilt tops.

Lori found several really funky old quilt tops at an auction and I've been looking for the perfect use for them. Last week, it hit me--OOAK (One-Of-A-Kind) Christmas stockings!

We also have stockings available in red and white toile and black and white toile--elegant, beautiful, classic.

We are also having a Black Friday sale, starting at midnight Thanksgiving night. (Take that, retail stores!) And you don't have to go out and fight the crowds; you can shop Bede Sisters in the comfort of your pajamas with a warm cup of coffee in your hands.

Have I painted an irresistible picture for you, yet?

Great weekend!

Lori and I had a wonderful time at the 39th Annual Christmas Craft Show in Aiken, SC. There were so many amazing crafters there, from woodwork to metal craft to quilts. Our reversible aprons got lots of attention, as did the bamboo scarves. Unfortunately, the jewelry slots were already full when we applied, so we didn't get to bring Lori's charm pendants. We'll have them with us next week, though, at the West Columbia, SC leisure center show.

We had an interesting afternoon out yesterday. The four-year-old stayed with her oldest sister, while the rest of us went shopping and to the movies. Yikes, $47 dollars just for the tickets! But it was just about worth it. We saw A Christmas Carol, with Jim Carrey. He did a fantastic job as Scrooge and the animation was amazing. Some of the scenes were a little intense, even for our eight-year-old, but he liked it anyway. If you are looking for a movie to get you in the Christmas spirit, do give this one a chance.

Virtual Open House

The Bede Sisters are participating in a virtual open house for the Christmas season. It's the brain child of Audrey at audreyscountrycrafts.blogspot. Eleven online shops will offer special deals from November 15-30, 2009. Each shop will also offer an item for a giveaway on Audrey's blog.




I'll update later this week about what the Bede Sisters will give away and exactly what our special promotion will be. Any opinions? Would you prefer a bag or jewelry?

See you at the open house!