First Christmas in our New House

No tree for us this year, but I am fortunate to have a hearth for Christmas decorations. Decorating was both sweet and sad as I remembered loved ones who have gone on before.

The Christmas Village houses had come from John's mother.

And these are angels which I had crocheted for my own mother...

...and her tatted Nativity set.

Best wishes to you all, whichever holiday you celebrate. May your new year bring joy.

This Year's Christmas Ornament

I traditionally give my coworkers a Christmas ornament. I was looking for something a bit quicker than usual, and decided my Big Sister Angel from Playing with Picots would just about fit the bangles if worked in size 30. I added a few beads and some picots to use for attaching. I felt just a little guilty that I did not make one of Jane's beautiful bead intensive ornaments like usual, but they seemed grateful anyway.

Strangely enough, I'm the only one who has remembered to bring in Christmas CDs, so they have to listen to what I like :)
I recommend Connie Dover's The Holly and the Ivy (Lovely folk singer/music historian, one of my favorite musicians) and
Mary Chapin Carpenter's Come Darkness, Come Light and
Cherish the Ladies' On Christmas Night --Christmas carols interspersed with Irish jigs and reels.

Merry Christmas to All!

In case you were wondering, yes, I did fall off the face of the earth. Or maybe it just feels that way.

Despite all the real world fiascos I won't bore you with, I did get in a little Christmas tatting. For the girls at work, I made Jane's Flurry Snowflake set in bangle bracelets. I forgot to take pictures of them, oops. I admired the pattern from the start, but did not realize how really clever the constuction was until I made some of them.

For some other friends, I made the teapot above. It didn't start out as a Christmas pattern, but the Christmas colors adapted rather well, I think. There were several versions, but I forgot to take pictures of them too, except this one. Organization has not been my strong point lately, and I was in a big hurry to get them in the mail. Some should reach their destinations by Christmas, and others will arrive late, I am sure. The pattern is destined for an upcoming issue of Tatting Times.

I wish everyone peace of mind, hope for the future, comfort of friends and family.

Holiday Tatting--Motifs 13 & 14--Revised

After finishing all those white snowflakes, I've been enjoying some holiday tatting in green and red. Here is Mark Myer's wonderful Holly & Berries design featuring the half ring braid technique. I love this technique; I love this pattern.



This design is called "Christmas Berry Wreath", by LaRae Mikulecky. Thank you to everyone who helped track it down. The pattern is from an old Geocities site that isn't there anymore, but you can find a copy
here. According to my printout, I downloaded this from the web on 11/25/99 and only now, more than ten years later got around to making it. This is made in one pass with one green and one red shuttle, and features lots of Josephine knots.