CQI Christmas Cracker Swap

I posted photos of the Christmas crackers I made previously and now it is time to post about the ones I received.  So, in the order I received them - here goes!

This was the first one I received and it is from Ritva!  I have admired Ritva's exquisite stitching so much, especially the gorgeous seams she does each week for the BAS (Build a Seam) Challenge, so I was thrilled to bits to receive a lovely sample of her work to treasure!

Look at all the wonderful goodies Ritva managed to pack inside this little tube!  I especially cannot wait to use the lovely piece of vintage lace.

This elegant cracker came from Connie.  The fabrics are so beautiful and it had a tiny bee charm holding the cracker closed.  I can't wait to build myself a bullion knot beehive so this little charm can hover above it.

The inside of the cracker from Connie was packed with the greatest goodies - ribbons, lace, silkies, beads, buttons, and the most lucious fabrics!  So many beautiful fabrics!

The third and last cracker to arrive in the mail came from Juli.  I just love the fabrics she used to piece this block!

So many treasures inside of this cracker from Juli!  The contents all matched the Asian theme of the block too!  It will be so much fun to use them all on an Asian themed block or two.  Juli included a multitude of silkies, ribbons, lace, thread, beads, buttons and fabric.  It is all just glorious!

I almost forgot to mention these extra pressies I got that didn't fit in the cracker.  This hat pincushion is beautifully made and will sit by my new stitching spot so that I won't be sucking up needles in the vacuum cleaner anymore, lol!  The string of beads is great too - I love reds and golds.

I appreciate all the generous gifts I have received and would like to say thank you to all these ladies again!  Thank you also to Debbie who ran the CQI Christmas Cracker swap this year and to everyone who participated in it!

Tree of Life - a Gift from Lynn

Isn't this exquisite?  This is a beautiful Tree of Life created and gifted to me by my dear friend and stitching buddy, Lynn in Southern California.  I received this wonderful surprise in the mail and was so patient, waiting for Christmas morning before I opened it.  I was glad I waited because my husband and daughter were both there to share in my delight and excitement.  They "oohed" and "ahhed" with me.
Lynn is so clever to create this and so kind to share it with me.  Thank you Lynn!

A Big Day!

We enjoyed Christmas dinner this year at the home of my son, Sean, and Bobbi and were able to celebrate more than just the holiday!  During a toast my son made, he went to one knee and proposed to Bobbi - happily she accepted and now we are looking forward to a wedding in 2010!  I feel so lucky and I could never ask for a more wonderful woman to have as a daughter-in-law than Bobbi.  We all adore her almost as much as Sean does.

The wedding and engagement rings are a family heirloom from Bobbi's family, worn by both her mother and grandmother.  How special is that?  And for his wedding band, Sean is chosing to use the ring my father always wore.  I am just tickled pink about everything!

I feel like we have been blessed this Christmas in so many ways!

Nativity Scenes

I am wishing everyone a Merry little Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am sharing photos here of an event that puts me into the Christmas spirit each year. One of the local churches holds a display of nativity scenes over the first weekend in December each year. These are a few of the two to three hundred shown for you to enjoy!

Climbing Santa - a little tradition from my house

This is a little tradition we have had at our house for over twenty years and I felt like sharing it with you.  In the photo, you will see a little Hallmark ornament - we call him Climbing Santa.  Since my children were small, we used Climbing Santa to keep track of how close Christmas was.  Each year he started out hung at the bottom of the tree.  Every day or two one of the kids would move him up a couple branches and when he finally reached the top of the tree it meant Christmas had arrived!  Just a bit of silliness really but he remains a special little part of Christmas to us all.

My best Christmas present!

I just got my best Christmas present of this year today! lol - no, I haven't opened what's under the tree, but I know this is the best. I send out Christmas cards still even though it has fallen out of fashion and nowadays I include my email as well in the card. Sometimes someone gets back in touch that I have fallen out of touch with and it makes my day. Well, this one made my year! My very best friend in the world, Ann, has just emailed me. I am delirious with joy! Ann and Graham moved away a few years ago now, returning to England after about 30 years here in Canada. Somehow emailing did not work - they kept bouncing one way or another and we could never connect. This time worked!!! I am all teary with joy at the thought of being in touch with them again. So, to the powers that be that make all these little cyber connections possible - thank you! This is my very own little Christmas miracle.

BAS Hiatus

I am going to skip the BAS Challenge for this week - things are just getting a little overwhelming with the before-Christmas rush of last minute things.
Everyone have a very Merry Christmas and all the best of everything in 2010!