To all my friends in Crochetland: Have a wonderful Christmas Holiday and a very Happy New Year! January will bring some new original patterns as well as my usual crafty projects and commentary on all and sundry.
Tag Archives: Christmas
Visions of Sugarplums…
At our house we follow the German tradition of making “Bunte Teller” or colorful plates. Each family member receives a plate filled with cookies and traditional German Christmas candies: good luck pigs, chimney sweeps, ladybugs, and tiny chocolate bottles filled with cognac. Unfortunately, since most family members must travel on Christmas Eve, we now make up boxes instead of plates.
Our wonderful traditional candies and chocolates come from Josie’s in Mechanicsburg, PA. My husband Paul and I recently enjoyed a productive morning exploring Josie’s candies and deli products. We plan to return after the holidays to have lunch there and to sample Josie’s sauerbraten.
Decking The Halls
No time for crochet! It’s time to get the Christmas decorations out and to put up the tree. This year I decided to display my small collection of nutcrackers and smokers in the base of the antique cabinet.
Last year we bought our first-ever artificial pre-lighted tree. What a blessing! No more fighting with strings of lights, sweeping up falling needles, or crawling on the floor to force a little water into the tree stand thereby spilling half of it onto the floor. Well, maybe we don’t have that nice pine aroma but that can be quickly remedied by bringing in some pine boughs from the yard.
We have to give a nod to Florida since we are accustomed to spending the winter in Palm Beach County.
Paul is busy making German Christmas stollen from my mother’s recipe. Once the stollen are done, they must rest for three weeks before they are ready to eat. Paul’s version features a marzipan center and at my request, no little green citrus bits please!
9TH Sunday Giveaway
GROUP I
There are 4 loose patterns in Group I. They have all been collected from magazines. The bear pattern has a knit and a crochet version. The little dress is for sizes 12 mos to 4 yrs. Two pretty afghan patterns round out this collection.
GROUP II
Group II consists of two booklets. The Mirabella jacket by Carolyn Christmas can be made in several versions. Pattern Play Crochet includes 5 patterns for afghans, pillows, and a beautiful jacket.
Please let me know which group you would like. Make a comment on my blog. If you have previously received a free item, please give somebody else a chance.
Finally my stash of unwanted items is beginning to dwindle. I think that I have enough for two more giveaways after today. Then I will have to get busy and actually crochet something! Spring and summer are not big crochet months for me. I’ve already resolved to get away from making clothing and try my hand at other projects. What to make…
Merry Chrsitmas and Happy New Year!
Now that we are only a few days from Christmas, I will take this opportunity to wish all fellow crocheters, and indeed, everyone else too, a very Merry Christmas. My projects are on hold for the time being. I am having a new oven delivered today just in time for Christmas cooking. And on the 28th my sweet little granddaughter, Erika, is having her 4th birthday party. We have been particularly blessed this year. I hope that all of you have been similarly blessed and will continue to be so in the new year.
The Christmas Baking is Finished
We made 9 tins of cookies this year! In addition, there is a container of apricot squares in the refrigerator. Add the imported German Lebkuchen that my sister Karen sent us and we are ready for the holidays. Each year I make up “Bunte Teller”. This is a German tradition and means “colorful plates”. Years ago, the plates would contain apples, oranges, nuts, cookies, and confections. Over time we have dispensed with the fruit and nuts and gone straight to the cookies and confections! Each plate also has a little bag of gold chocolate coins as well as molded candies and marzipan. There is a plate for each member of the family. The plates are not readied until the morning of Christmas Eve.
At 4 PM the German Christmas holiday begins with coffee and cookies. After dark, all good children must go for a ride to look at Christmas decorations. In the meantime, Santa gets busy and arranges the gifts beneath the tree. When the children return, they must pause inside the door to sing Silent Night. After that, they are free to open their gifts. Later on in the evening, a casual supper is served.
On Christmas Day, friends and family gather for the big dinner, often a duck or a goose. The children play with their toys and the adults enjoy conversation. If anyone is musically inclined, a family sing-along ensues. Christmas in Germany is not generally a time for merry-making. The holiday is quiet and usually a bit reverent. Most German Christmas songs are about the Christ Child and not about Santa. It is a wonderful holiday with time for reflection and thanksgiving.
Ready for Christmas
Our home is decorated inside and out for the holidays. This is our first Christmas in our new home. As luck would have it, we had a beautiful wet snowfall last weekend just in time for cookie baking.
I will not be making any crochet gifts for Christmas. No one in my family has really expressed an interest in my hobby so I continue to work on projects to please myself. Presently, I am trying my hand at designing a “no sew” sweater. It is worked from the bottom up and, with the exception of buttons, there will be no sewing required to construct the sweater. It is taking me a while since I continue to make changes in the pattern as I go along. Watch this space for my next free pattern.
Crocheted Christmas Carolers
Paul’s Aunt Marge made these carolers in the 1980′s. The set includes an evergreen tree bedecked with holly, a street lamp with a tiny wreath, a Dad and Mom and two little girls. Each one is holding a paper song book. The facial features are made of felt and the tiny buttons on the coats are gold straight pins. My mother-in-law, Cathy, gave me the carolers when she and Dad moved into a retirement home two years ago. I keep them in my craft room so that I can enjoy looking at them each morning during the holiday season. I just did a Google search and found the pattern here.
