Monday, November 29, 2010

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Harv and I won't be traveling anywhere this Christmas for obvious reasons so we actually bought a Christmas tree for the first time in several years.  We're normally in Connecticut or Minnesota for the holidays and working hard right up until it's time leave so the Christmas cheer gets put on hold and the decorations stay in storage. 

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But since we're going to stay home this year I wanted to make sure we made the season last as long as possible!

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I'm the oldest of four and when I went off to college my family started buying a Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The whole family was together then and wouldn't be again until Christmas break.  The tradition has stuck, even now that the youngest in the family has graduated (yipes!) so I was quite open to getting things started as soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers were in the fridge.  Of course it's much less idyllic picking a bundled up, pre-cut tree from the lot in front of Lowe's than it is taking a sleigh ride out into the middle of a Connecticut tree farm and tromping through the snow to find the perfect tree, then cutting it down yourself.  But hey, we live in Southern California, what choice do we have?  We actually did go to a Christmas tree "farm" our first winter out here.  It was underwhelming to say the least.  The trees were crazy expensive, growing in a dirt lot not too far from the freeway and you didn't even get to cut them down yourself!  Not worth it.

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We also dug out plenty of other decorations including this somewhat sad little tree that last made an appearance in my craft room.  I'm not sure where he'll end up but he's working as a centerpiece for right now.  This little guy and the grand master tree are both in need of tree skirts so I'm putting that near the top of my list.

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I want to say I'll give a prize to anyone who was reading this blog when I made these pillows but all I have to offer is Christmas cheer.  I hadn't quite worked out my style back then.  This was me trying to be Denyse Schmidt-like and not really succeeding.  But they're out on the couch anyway.  As I've learned from decorating our tree with every single ornament Harv was given or made as a child (his mom has long since moved on to a color coordinated tree) Christmas decorations are as much about memories and sentimentalism as they are about style.

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But I have finished a Christmas quilt top that is more my style, using my Mod Beads pattern.  As I was designing it I knew it would make a great Christmas quilt and I can't wait to finish it up to show you.

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And last but not least, if you live near a Trader Joe's go buy these right now.  They are so good.  I'm a real sucker for seasonal treats and these babies do not disappoint.

7 comments:

  1. Always inspiring!
    And Trader Joe's? Oh, are they ever the masters of seasonal treats! I keep boxes of Peppermint Joe-Joe's by the front door as gifts for the mail-fedex-ups-delivery folks.

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  2. no! i don't need any other seasonal treats from trader joe's! the fudge covered peppermint joe-joe's are my weakness. they're AMAZING! i got inspired to make curtains for christmas, however, i don't have time to make them (and i'm really not supposed to buy any more fabric), so that'll be a project i work on for next year. but i'll need a quilt to go with them, so maybe your mod beads? it looks great in christmas colors!

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  3. Are you using that Merry Moderns fabric as your quilt back? I love that fabric.

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  4. I love that Alexander Henry Christmas print! I've used all mine and my source is sold out. EEK!

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  5. Cozy cozy cozy!! I need to get our tree. The quilt looks great!!

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  6. Very nice - love the little ornaments.

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  7. Its really awesome post, I like most that pillows fabrics design, its awesome.wonderful blog, I glad to used it.

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