So the lovely Jo gave everyone taking part a question to answer...
Decorations - do you have a favourite decoration
you must have on display every year,
maybe an heirloom, one the children made
or something with a special story behind it?
That's an easy question.....yes I do! But not just one favourite decoration....several! When my children were growing up we started a tradition that they could choose and buy an ornament for the tree. Every year they would get some money and we would walk into town and go to a certain shop and there they could buy any ornament that they liked. They had to go to the cash register themselves and hand over their cash (usually the lofty sum of £1....and in those days it was a paper note!) We would then go for hot chocolate and walk back home. I still remember their faces as their chubby little hands held onto the bag that held their treasured ornaments. Even to this day, every Christmas these decorations hold so many memories and they each discuss which one belongs to who....and why oh why do we have two of the same one? (Of course, I cannot remember the reason why!) I would never trade these cheap and tacky ornaments for anything....I LOVE them :)
My daughter loves the tradition even although we couldn't carry on doing it when we moved to the US. Years later, when she was traveling in Europe she brought back a hand made wooden ornament from Austria for me so that we could keep the tradition alive.....how sweet! Here's the one she picked for me...
Hopefully it's a tradition that they might carry on with their own children one day. And yes.... I admit it, I'm a sentimental old fool :)
As for Christmas stitching.....well I seem to be working on Christmas stitching all year round! As many of you know, I design cross stitch charts so that means starting thinking about Christmas designs very early in the year! So if I'm not thinking of Christmas stitching, I'm designing Christmas stitching....and by the time that's all over with, it's time to start my own Christmas stitching. Which is why I am often singing Christmas carols in the middle of summer!!!
Here's one Christmas piece that I stitched a few years ago.....
And one of my own designs that I just completed a few months ago, but still has to be finished...
Finishing is definitely not my strength, as you have probably gathered by now if you are a regular reader :)
Please pop over to Jo's blog and check out all those taking part in the blog hop. A big thank you, of course, for Jo for organizing this.
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas/Yule/winter season....whatever you celebrate.
Until next time....happy stitching!
Rhona