Christmas gatherings

This Christmas Eve like most of the Northeast we were loaded, loaded with snow, it is beautiful! Luckily our power was still on (thousands in Michigan didn't), with 18 coming we needed electricity.

The lights under the snow looked magical.

This wasn't planned but my grandson was dressed like his picture he drew of the Grinch.

Also, "Grinch" fruit sticks were on the menu.

On a toothpick you put a green grape (Grinch's face), then a thin slice of banana (hat fur), strawberry for the hat with a mini-marshmallow for the tassel..
This idea came from Pinterest.

My grandson also made his own grape/marshmallow man.

On the buffet table this year I made "hot chocolate" cupcakes.
I believe this came from the Better Homes and Gardens website.
The Santa hot cocoa pitcher is from 1960, I also have 4 Santa mugs with the set. They were filled with small candy canes.

Homemade buttermilk chocolate cake with vanilla frosting swirled to look like whip cream on top of the "cocoa cup". A candy cane handle for the cup.
Edible clear glitter made the frosting sparkle and peppermint marshmallows topped it off.

I also made cream de menth brownies but they didn't make the picture.

Christmas day I put the lamb and pork loin (I had 10 for Christmas) in the oven and off we went on a hike through our back woods.

How refreshing to get out of the house.

The boys love the snow. Here they are with their big brother.

The creeks deep enough it never really freezes over.

Everything was beautiful.

A few little red berries left on an ice coated branch.

Orginal Silver Tree - 1962

I saw this cute snowman idea on a TV show, it wasn't talked about but was in the background picture. It's a snowman made with old bike parts. Perfect to hang on our garage for the winter. This turned out to be a group project with all the guys contributing "parts" to it. Fist I spray painted white two old bike tires and rims, with Chevy orange spray paint the snowman had a nose. My husband zip tied the body parts together.

 

Jason cut out a hat from old sheet metal and painted it black.

We added wire arms and old work gloves stuffed with plastic bags. The only thing I bought were the LED lights, We hung this on the front of our building.

Last night our son had us over to his house for a holiday gathering, We brought my parents, imagine their surprise when their old silver tree from 1962 was up, complete with the rotating colored light.

We've had it in our attic for years and years and he dug it out and put it up. It was in its original box with the original wrappers for the branches.

A lot of fun, nostalgia memories were recalled last night.

And speaking of vintage, I found this cute vintage dotted swiss apron,

complete with little rick-rack music pattern.

I hope you have a Wonderful Holiday Season. See you next week!

Christmas Quilt Exchange

Last week I met with my quilt bee at one of our members home, and what a home it is! Her and her husband built the home several years ago using old barn beams from New England. (there's so much more to this homes story and I'm sure I'm not saying it right but you get the point).
Their tree is beautiful especially with her new antique quilt hanging on the next floor up on the balcony. She just purchased this quilt it's from the late 1800's for $50.00! It is wonderful.
(she's not sharing!)

The quilt doesn't have batting in it, it does have a back though.

All appliqued with a sewing machine.

Another beautiful tree in her balcony.
So last year at our Christmas bee party we put all our names in a hat and each drew one. Whom ever name you drew you make that person a nice size finished lap quilt by our next Christmas party. Of course you had a whole year but most of us (including me) were still sewing at the last minute. But, we all made it and each quilt looked just like the person it was made for. So lets take a look.

Little Deb hiding behind her quilt. Deb loves civil war reproduction fabrics, so she loved this piece made for her by Judy..

A beautiful quilt for Judy made for her by Deb.

Martha with her quilt made for her by Mary.

Beautiful piecing.

Mary with her quilt made for her by Kay.

Wonderful pieced blocks with a great paisley boarder.

I made my friend Kay (who's always cold) a toasty warm flannel quilt.

Close up, most of the flannels looked like wool.

My friend Martha made me this wonderful black, tans and gold batik quilt. I love, love batiks (and of course wool)!

This is a better picture of it at home. You can see it's perfect for my living room.
That was a fun party!

A few years ago all my bee members and I spent the year making our grandchildren/children Christmas quilts. Mary who's already made 10 or more had 2 more to make this year, this is one of them. It's a spit rail fence pattern made with alot of her left over Christmas fabrics.

What makes it so cute is all the outside "logs" are this great white with red and green dot fabric.

Christmas Greens Arrangements

My friend stopped at our favorite little second hand store and found us another "cutter" quilt to share. Its a beautiful indigo blue and white in the Irish Chain pattern.

Quite old with cotton batting,

and hand quilted. We didn't cut up the blocks, just divided it in half lengthwise.
More on this later.
 

Last week was I gathered with my friends from my Herb Society at P.J.'s art studio to create fresh arrangements for our Holiday tables. There was a great variety of greens.

Rose hip and dried flowers.

Dried teasel and seed pods waiting to be painted with gold and silver spray.

A basket full of fresh berries and box wood greens to choose from.

These are a few of the finished arrangements, Santa sitting on dried reindeer moss with greens in the back of his sleigh.

An old tin can becomes a great piece with greens, pine cones and silver pods.

P.J.s beautiful arrangement with candy canes, photographed on one of her stools the students sit on to paint (love them).

This piece will have a tall candle in the back of Santa.

One of my pieces I arranged for a friend in a blue canning jar.

Another piece in a little  wooden crate using the teasel and spray snow.

The piece I made for myself using a clay flower pot I spray painted creamy white and hot glued on vintage buttons years ago. I put a plastic insert inside to hold the water then filled it with oasis and a variety of greens.

And back home I folded the quilt lengthwise for my table and added the arrangement.

Fresh rose hips and a candy cane candle.

Finished with spray snow.

And my last winter arrangement is on my porch. I put this together every year the first of November with fresh greens, rose hips, and red dogwood branches from our walks in the woods. Also, fresh cut holly branches from our shrubs. This will stay nice until middle of  March.
(I keep the soil in the pot left over from summer and add a big pot of water to the arrangement).

This was suppose to be the first picture on this weeks blog but some how ended up at the end, what a great piece.