Saturday, November 26, 2011

Christmas Past

You may not know it to read my blog but I am a rather reclusive soul.  There are many reasons for this but it has not always been so.  Even just a few years ago I was quite the social butterfly & very involved in various things in the towns in which we lived.  This was probably never more so than when we lived in Bismarck, North Dakota.  It was a very social, very involved, & very productive time of my life.  One particular year in Bismarck I decided that my husband & I needed new Christmas stockings & that we also needed some Christmas wallhangings to enhance our holiday decor.  I then went to work.  


I was very involved in quilting back then (among other things) & here are just a few quilted Christmas things I made that year.  

This first photo shows the new stockings I made for me & my husband.  His is on the left (tied) & mine is on the right (hand quilted).  I came up with the designs on my own.    


The following 3 photos show a few of the wallhangings I made that year.  I actually made extras of these which I sold at Christmas open houses.  My friend Mary, who taught me how to do folk art painting & bobbin lacemaking, always held 3 Christmas open house craft shows in her home each year.  There were also years that we would participate in craft shows in our town & the neighboring one.  I really miss those times!  I apologize for the rather poor quality of these photos.  I took them a year ago with an old camera which did not take the best of pictures.  Unfortunately I don't remember the pattern designer.



       
Every year since ... & it's been about 15 years now ... these items come out of their storage containers & make their appearance in our home.  Oh wait ... there was one year that they did not make an appearance.  That was the year we moved from one state to another on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.  

I hope you have enjoyed seeing these things   : )   Somewhere I have a photo taken when Mary & I were working a Christmas craft show in that neighboring town.  I'll share it with you if I run across it   : )      

9 comments:

Angela said...

Shirlee, Love all your handiwork. The stockings are cute but I love the wall hangings. Had to be hours upon hours of hard work to complete those. I don't blame you, I would make sure these items were on display in my home as well. Have a great day
Angela

TheCrankyCrow said...

Wow...you truly are a mistress of all trades aren't you! Cute creations - especially the stockings. Gotta tell you, though, that pangs of guilt started coursing through me as I was reading about the stockings....I decided that almost two years ago and decided I was going to hook us all new stockings - well, I finished the first up this summer finally - and haven't even started the others....my bad.
Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

annie said...

I love your quilted things, no matter the age, they are wonderful.

Jessica said...

You're a quilter too?!! I just love your stockings and wall hangings.

It's after the holiday and our guests have gone home so I am finally able to visit and say hello!

Thank you so much for the surprise Christmas giveaway package! I love everything and am in awe with your generosity! HUGS!

Kaisievic said...

Lovely quilty christmas ornaments and treasures, Shirlee.
You commented on my Christmas Ornie post recently - the design is a Shepherd's Bush on that is in the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments 2011 magazine. You should be able to order a copy over the internet if your local newsagent doesn't have a copy.

Thanks for becoming a follower of my blog - I am just about to become a follower of yours - love your chrissy theme.

Hugs, Kaye
http://kittenstitching.blogspot.com

Faye Henry said...

So nice every year to pull out old favorites that we have put so much care into..
They are lovely..
Blessings..

Faye said...

wow!! Such an array of beauties~~ I love the wall hangings especially.. You surely have a God given talent! Always, Faye

bettyj said...

You sure are a talented lady. Those wall hangings are wonderful. I always appreciate the quilted pieces.You do beautiful work.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Your quilts are so beautiful! It's so nice to have special treasures for the holidays! ♥