'Tis the Season

Whether it's serendipity at the shopping center when you come across a junior high band playing holiday music dressed in their finest;
Or a planned evening to hear Middle Ages Christmas songs performed by Kemper Crabb , there is something special about the Christmas season. Look for Kemper and his band in your PBS line-up. His special "Downe in Yon Forrest" features many interesting songs played with traditional instruments of the period. Or maybe, you find a live nativity scene on your local church grounds--complete with donkeys, sheep, cows and goats grazing peacefully as shepherds and angels attend the birth of the Christ child....... The season is definitely magic and alive with spirit of joy, peace and love.

Believe!

Yes, I Believe!

Elves, Elves and More Elves

Beginning in 2002, elves have been busy at Reliant Center during the month of December. There is hustle and bustle as volunteers from all communities gather to assemble bikes that will be distributed to children who live in poverty. This is under the leadership of Elves & More

"A few years ago, we made an important discovery. We learned that by giving bicycles to impoverished children we could dramatically change their lives by helping them stay in school and out of trouble while improving their health"

Here are the guidelines that each child must follow:

First, working with school administrators, bicycles are used as incentives for children to achieve.
•To earn a bicycle, a child must first enter into a contract with his or her teacher or school.
•That contract requires each child to meet at least one of five criteria: 1) attend school regularly, and be on time, 2) behave well in class, 3) attend tutoring classes or Saturday school where necessary, 4) improve their grades in one or more areas or 5) whatever else the teacher believes a particular child needs to improve upon.
•The specific target area and level of performance required by each child is established by the teacher or school counselor, agreed upon by the student, and approved by the child's parent(s).
•Once the teacher determines that a child has met the terms of the Contract, the child is rewarded with a new bicycle.

This year is no exception for our family members as they journey to the vast Reliant Center, Houston, to work with tools and hands, to build bikes. In 2008 Elves & More had delivered 90,000 bikes! In 2009 Elves and More will give away their 100,000th bike. All this through the effort of volunteers!

Past Comes Alive

While rearranging the guest bedroom closet for upcoming guests, my eyes spied a quilt that was long forgotten. It was buried under loads of holiday decorations. And bringing this work out into the light, brought back memories of the days of years gone by. Memory comes into play as this was made for the first grandchild, born in 1990. What fun it was to savor this pattern again!
Oh, there are many handstitching errors, but who cares? It brings back memories of the grandbaby lying on the quilt to play or sleep under for warmth and comfort. You see this grandbaby was born right before Christmas. So, it was perfect to find it again at this time of year.
This was the first applique quilt done by these hands. And look it's tied! not quilted by machine or hand. If you stop to think about time, nineteen years seems like a long time but then sometimes, it seems like it was yesterday. When this grand(child)adult has her own family, this quilt will be handed to her along with the memories.

Rounding out Hat Knitting 2009

The latest to the collection of hats is finished, packed in a box and heading on its merry way. Dare, we mention that this is the latest in the hat saga, not the last! There will be a hiatus of hat knitting until the holidays pass and all family members have departed to their homeland. And who's to say that the hat excitement will continue into 2010. Only time will tell--although there have been some wonderful hat patterns spied in the knitting magazines and ezines.
Green head was unavailable to model so a glass hurricane container was pressed into service. It doesn't complain either. But, it doesn't have a round 'head'. Isn't this the most wonderful hat? Lots of leftover sock yarns were used for this basic hat pattern. A baker dozen hats were loaded into USPS priority mail box, postage was paid online (just love that option!) and the box was dropped at the local contract station. Our wonderful mail carrier would have been happy to pick up at the door but we were already out and about so it was easy to avoid the lines and drop in the mail box.
Okay, we are not actually devoid of knitting......as the next project on the needles is a good use for this handspun, which was plied with a silk thread. For three of the skeins, beads were added on the plying yarn. Now, plying with beads gives an added problem; not only, are you trying to control the plying yarn but you are also pushing up a bead.When plying, there is a rhythm to treadling and pushing up the bead. And it's necessary to place the bead at different intervals or else the beads will all line up when you are knitting. This is a challenge that has not been overcome. Here is the pattern from the Ravelry group Basket Whip Cowl KAL. This is a free pattern by Laura Patterson and can be found at Classic Elite Yarns An easy pattern to knit.

4 for the Season!

Red berries on green wreaths!
Small Chapels for prayers of thanks!
Decorated trees in large shopping malls!
Lights! Lights! Lights!

Ongoing Quilt Research

During my tenure as Education Coordinator at Magnolia Mound Plantation Baton Rouge, LA, we sponsored a quilt research program. During the year we had hundreds of quilts brought to our attention. We noted the history, origin, technique, color, fabric, name of pattern, etc. Anything the owner could tell us about the quilt was noted. All this information went into The Louisiana Quilt Documentation Project . Now, there isn't a quilt that can be passed up. Saturday night as we attended Christmas in Rosenberg, a small town that boasts many an antique shop, one window display presented a lovely red and white bowtie quilt. Of course, the quilter might have a different name for the quilt and since it was after hours, no questions could be asked about the quilt.
In my stash are a couple of wonderful 'antique' quilts--and like most of these blankets of past eras there is no knowledge of the quilt maker or origin of the pattern. This quilt was found at a California garage sale and only $15 was asked for this piece of history.
Some parts of the quilt are in sad shape; maybe due to use or maybe due to fabric dyes. In some of the blocks you can clearly see the hand carded cotton that was used for the batting. More research on my part is needed to give a name to this pattern. This lovely work of art is hand stitched and quilted.
The nine patch wonder was a 'freebie', can you believe? It definitely was used for warmth as the batting is thick and lumpy, but it still has eye appeal. It is hand stitched but machine quilted.
The one quilt in our possession that was lovingly handstitched and hand quilted by hubby's grandmother is the best example of workwomanship. Not necessarily an antique (yet!)this quilt spent many a night bringing love and warmth to our bodies. It suffered smoke damage during a house fire, but it was rescued and remains sheltered from light and other damage now. " Trip Around the World" is the name of quilt --tiny blocks, handpieced with love. And like so many quilts this reminds us of the many quilter hands that worked their magic with scraps of fabric, needle and thread.