Holy Jolly!!

 We are at the beginning of December!  Holy jolly!!  How did we get here so fast?  

It’s our granddaughter’s birthday! So one good reason to celebrate the start of Holy month.  

We kick off the day with reading of chapter one of the book of Luke in the Bible.  Each day this month, we’ll read a chapter.  There are 24 chapters, taking us right up to the birth of Jesus in chapter 24.

There are several textile adventures waiting for us  as well—maybe, we can finish by December 25 if other plans don't interfere.

Jen Daly Quilts once again is offering this special holiday quilt.  Her past designs have been added to my quilt memories.  So join in for this year's quilt.

The Glad Tidings Quilt-Along will begin on Monday, November 28th and will continue every Monday and Thursday until December 22nd. Here’s the schedule for your reference:
–  Monday, November 28th – Intro/Cutting
–  Thursday, December 1st – Rows 1, 2, and 3
–  Monday, December 5th – Row 4
–  Thursday, December 8th – Row 5
–  Monday, December 12th – Row 6
–  Thursday, December 15th – Rows 7 and 8
–  Monday, December 19th – Assembly
–  Thursday, December 22 – Finishing

The Glad Tidings Quilt-Along is free to all and there’s no need to sign up. As we progress, she’ll make each set of instructions available on the QAL page and on her blog. If you’re on her mailing list, you’ll receive emails containing links to each day’s instructions ). The instruction sheets will be available through the end of December.

And don’t forget this one!  The first clue went up November 25 and continues through December—be sure to download the clues for future reference. 

Fort Worth Fabric Studio has their new sew along begins December 19–Frozen Memories

Join  Artesanitarium Designs, Mary E Rose , Tanja Luescher on Instagram to knit these advent socks!

Once again, I'm jumping into knitting another advent scarf with Tricia Weatherstone.  The scarf will be a long rectangle shape and is a geometric design. The theme this year is basketweave stitches and using the intarsia technique to achieve the design wanted. 

I’m really punishing or is it pushing myself to think I can do all these projects at once!  This one is from Talvi-knits

After all, I’ll need something to knit while movie watching!

Today! Is The Day!

 Yes!! We have arrived! The day after Turkey day! While others are out shopping till they drop—Today is the day we begin bingeing on Christmas movies! Oh yes!! And we’re not just watching movies but playing bingo as well!  This game is called Christmas movie bingo!  Last year it was Hallmark Christmas Bingo but this year it is any Christmas movie since some of our participants don’t have Hallmark Channel. 

You generate your own bingo card from several different sites—e.g. Bingo Baker or https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/11/24/turn-your-christmas-tv-movie-binge-watching-into-bingo-game/892087001/

We’ll begin on this day to watch and mark our cards—hopefully! The stakes are high!  Losers pay winner 5 bucks!  

I’ve got my shirt from last year’s contest, which we cancelled when one of our friends became very ill—we just couldn’t  go on without her.  But, she’s  well and chomping on the bite to beat us this year!  

The first movie I want to watch—? So many to choose from, so many streaming services.  Where do we start? 

And I can accomplish some knitting or stitching as the movie plays on!  

Look at me—I’m multi—tasking!!

Maybe, I can shout “ BINGO!” Soon!!

Gobble! Gobble!! Gobble!

OH -- Junk!

 The other day, as we tried to tidy up the house in preparation for Thanksgiving (still no idea whose turn it is to host, but we’ll be prepared if it’s our turn) someone was looking for scissors--not my good sewing scissors please!!!  The voice could be heard from the other side of the house--"look in the junk drawer".   Pull out the designated drawer and there were the all purpose scissors--right there in the Junk Drawer!  

Doesn't everyone have a junk drawer?? What's a junk drawer, you may ask? Then you don`t have a designated place to put your odds and ends of small stuff—

Indeed!  A drawer filled with “junk”—odds and ends of stuff that we might need sometime in the future.  For instance, a padlock with no key! Flashlight, no batteries; glue (that’s probably dried up),  rubber bands—at one time there was a rubber band ball (wonder where that went!?) matches AND a fire stick, of course when one doesn’t work, there is the other! 

There’s string and wire, sticky things to hang pictures on the wall; and don’t forget the batteries!! Probably no good but we saved them in the Junk drawer!  And you can’t have a junk drawer without duct or packing tape! 

Not only do we have a junk drawer, the BOWL is ready to be nominated for the next junk location!  The Bowl, which holds the garage door opener, contains billfolds, keys, pocket knife, business cards, zip tie, reading glasses container—NOT reading glasses!! Loose screws, of course! Oh and least we forget, the car touch up paint pen! 

Every once and awhile, the junk bowl becomes over crowded and spills into the junk drawer. 

Heaven forbid, we get rid of anything or move to another location—we couldn’t find any of that junk—who knows 

When we’ll need a padlock with no key! 

Boy!  I thought we had a messy junk drawer.  Daughter has not one but three junk drawers!! 

WOW!!

Whew!!

 The wedding is over!  We sweated about the weather—but, thank goodness, there were no storms!  No rain! cool temperatures, which was fine. We had heaters for the outdoor ceremony.  It was a beautiful wedding under the oak trees, covered with twinkling lights! 

The wedding and groom cake were centered stage

Bride’s nephew carried this satin pillow that first used in bride’s great grandmother’s 1940 wedding

After wedding clean up, there is a let down feeling—all that planning, shopping, friends/family departing—it is time rest and be ready for another day. 

Life continues—always moving fast! Never a dull moment as we move through our days of adventures.  Here is a progress of my fiber creations.  I'm trying to keep myself grounded--especially, with the holidays fast approaching.  One day at a time, one foot in front of the other.  I'm deciding whether to start on Bonnie Hunter's 2022 mystery, which begins day after Thanksgiving.  The color selections are on her website.  I will save all the clues and decide in the new year.

Fat Quarter Shop is hosting Sewcialites.  Each Friday a different pattern is released from a designer.  This is second pattern--I'm trying patriotic colors for now.

This is the first pattern.

This stack of stars have been staring me in the face for months--finally, I did it!!

I started putting them together!

Scrappy Stars by Kathleen Tracy

It's a start--just need seven more stars to complete the last two rows. Not sure I like the green squares-- but finishing up will be a bonus.  Another thing off my table stacked high with projects!  

Log cabin blocks made with scrap strips—didn’t matter size of strip,  just started in the center and work out till you have at least 12” block. If larger just square up.  

Once the blocks were together, I thought it needed a border.  A friend suggested piano keys—back to the strips sewn and cut to 2.5” length. 

The top still needed something else to make it complete— 

4” black border and ta da!  Finished!

What you reading?

 

Shannon Bream has this lovely book "The Women of the Bible Speak".  A great read!!  She has also written

"The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak", which will be my next read.

I've always enjoyed Lisa See's books--this is interesting tale of how women can conquer the sea for their lively hood.  This book is about Korean women in their daily chores of the sea.

My Florida friend (formerly from Louisiana) has bragged about this book for months.  She says it is drop down hilarious—I finally succumbed to reading it—I’m not sure I would say hilarious, but it is light hearted enough to read between serious reads. 

Book one of three about Murphy Shepard—I’ve read “When Crickets Sing” by Charles Martin and found it to quite readable.  So, now I’m on the journey to learn about his character Murphy. 

Just finished listening to “The Hunting Party” guests arrive on a remote island for a wedding.  What can go wrong?  Many twists and turns in this one to keep you Interested.  When I do handwork, my ears are tuned to a book. 

Book sale!!!  OM!  Our local library had book sale one Saturday—would I miss it it?  Definitely NOT! Tables and tables of books!!

What are you reading?

 

Traditions!

 As we fast approach our granddaughter’s wedding, I’ve thought about wedding traditions and wondered about some of those special traditions.  Are these traditions still practiced anymore?

At the bridal shower, given by her friends, no one thought of making a rehearsal bouquet with gift ribbons; except the older generation.  The younger gals had never heard of such a thing.  She didn’t have many gifts with bows, so I did the best I could. 

But, they did know that all special events have a balloon arch!!  Lots and lots of balloons decorate the stairway railing—how on earth do you get rid of all those balloons ( some filled with confetti)?  You can’t pop them! So, the “arch” still rests on our stairway.  A suggestion was to leave it up through Christmas and New Year! 

Anyway, back to traditions—the bride to be is gathering something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue—where did that come from? 

Something old represents continuity; something new means a positive outlook on the future; something borrowed is a symbol of borrowed happiness; and something blue symbolizes fidelity, purity, and love. A sixpence in your shoe is of British influence. This timeless saying is a tradition where small charms are given and carried before walking down the aisle. 

 In the 17th century, wedding desserts were made in pairs — a bride’s cake and a groom’s cake, which was typically a small fruitcake. Instead of being served at the reception, the groom’s cake was cut up, packaged and given to guests as favors. The tradition of groom’s cakes actually died out for a while, but recently resurged in the U.S. "

What about the exchange of rings:  The circle represents eternity, because it doesn’t have a beginning or an end. During ancient times, women would wear rings made of papyrus around their wrists and ankles. Romans then began to substitute the material with iron, which ultimately led to the use of gold to make the first betrothal rings. The tradition of a diamond engagement ring was started by Archduke Maximilian of Austria when he proposed to Mary of Burgundy. Like circles, diamonds have long been considered as symbols of eternity because they are the hardest gems on earth. The placement of the ring on the fourth finger came from the Egyptians who believed that it was the finger that contained the vein that connects to the heart.

When doing research on this topic, more tradtions popped up; some I never even thought about.  Go HERE to learn about other traditions in other countries.

And here is a tradition I didn't think about--

• During the ceremony, the bride and groom typically stand across from each other, clasping hands or wrists, and the binding material is looped around their wrists. The Officiant then explains that the rope represents the couple being bound by their love and commitment and that they, like the cord, are two individual ends that are also one.

We will be looking for that perfect wedding cake and Jordan almonds to be served. 

• The bitterness of the almonds represents life, and the sweet coating represents marriage. Jordan almonds should only be distributed in odd numbers at weddings, as this represents the couple's indivisible bond and shared life together. Italians call Jordan almonds 'confetti.' Greeks call the same treats 'koufeta.'
• 
  The Ring Bearer, nephew of the bride, will carry the rings on a pillow that was first used in the wedding of the bride's great grandmother in 1940.
• Traditions, either new or old, carry through generations.  Most don’t stop to think—why are we doing this? There are reasons for what traditions we do. 
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