Sadly, no kids for Christmas at my house.

But....when I finally found out that my own family wasn't coming, I accepted an invitation from my dear friend, Darleene. 

I enjoyed laughter, hugs, good conversation, and a killer mustard potato salad !  What a precious gift to be allowed to squeeze into another family's Christmas celebration.

And Mama Jo was very pleased with her Dresden Plate table topper.

I hope your holiday was happy, and that the new year brings you closer to them and to the Lord who blessed you with them in the first place !

What did YOU get ?

Merry Christmas to all ! 

I got the most wonderful gift this morning !
God woke me up and told me that He loves me with an EVERLASTING LOVE ! He even wrote it down in a book so that I could NEVER DOUBT IT or FORGET IT !
He said He's trying to give this gift to people all over the world, but not everyone recognizes that it is THEIRS.
So what doesn't get claimed today, He is putting into an open account with a lifetime guarantee of availabilty. Turns out, no matter what stage of life you are in when you accept it, the gift is THE SAME; no bigger, no smaller. I DIDN'T WAIT TOO LATE AFTER ALL ! (But I sure could have used it earlier if I had been smart enough to realize what I was missing!)

 This book He left me says that He loved the world (who knew that was ME?) so much that He gave His own Son a human body to come and tell the world that God wanted them to live forever with HIM (in THIS life AND the next. God gave Him a human voice to tell us that we had hope in the middle of our greatest challenges, and that no matter how many people we had to part with in this life, we would never be alone !
That book says that this son, named Jesus, whose birth, coincidentally, we celebrate today, even laid down HIS own life to save ours !

(You've got to read this book--it'll LITERALLY change your LIFE !) It's called 'The Bible', and you can find it almost anywhere.....actually, you may have one in your own home and didn't know it or have forgotten it was there!)
Sorrowfully, this book even says that some wouldn't believe this truth even if someone rose from the dead to tell them. (His Son did that very thing !)
That's a hard fact and yet I recognize the truth of it. I kindof knew it was true, but didn't choose to live like I knew it for most of my life.

But, I know that He meant what He told me this morning, because He chased me down like a love-starved teenager, pursuing me until I had no choice but to surrender or know forever that I was making the BIGGEST mistake of my life.

Anyway, I couldn't go on and enjoy this day without sharing the knowledge of that GIFT with all of you. I hope that you've opened yours!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Jo's table-topper

Another dear friend asked if I would be willing to take on a small commission for her.  She wanted a table-topper made to coordinate with the drapes that hang in her living room.  Seeing a Dresden Plate topper on my own table, she said that she would be happy with something similar.

I visited her and took this photo of her drapes, and then I set about trying to 'shop' my stash for coordinates.  I think that I did pretty well in matching her colors.  The navy is a bit darker than I'd prefer, but it worked.

I wrapped the finished quilty and gave it to her at church yesterday (no charge), but she's waiting until Christmas Eve (tomorrow evening) to open it.  I hope that she is pleased with the finished product.

**************************************

On another note, I reminded Facebook friends of a couple of baby quilts that I had for sale, and a friend spoke up for this one.

When she came to pick it up, she saw the second one,

 and asked if I could make her a deal for the two, together.  We worked it out.  
She has a baby and a toddler grandchild who will receive them for Christmas, and she AND I had big smiles on our faces when she rode away with both quilts !

Merry Christmas to ALL !

More (Nolah's) Cardinals

In my last post, I shared photos of a little Cardinal quilty that I used as my Christmas gift at the widows' luncheon.  Well, that quilt was originally started with the idea of giving it to one particular friend/widow.   When she saw it, and didn't WIN it, she was very disappointed at her loss, and asked me if I would make another to sell to her.

Well, that didn't seem right since she had been the original inspiration, so I got busy, unbeknownst to her, and designed a second one JUST FOR HER.

I presented it to her at Church this morning, and she was SO SURPRISED !  It was heartwarming to see her response..........just exactly why I treasure this gift of quiltmaking that the LORD has blessed me with.

So here is Nolah's tablerunner, and the original sketch for it's making.  Feel free to use it to make one of your own.

                               MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF MY BLOGGING FRIENDS !

May the sight of a Cardinal this Christmas season bring wonderful memories
 of your loved ones
 who have gone on before you

CARDINALS at Widows' Luncheon 2019

Today was our annual Widows' Luncheon.  Our church has a ministry for the widows of our congregation, and they have some sort of get-together for us about once a month.  This time of year they always treat us to lunch at the Junkyard Dog restaurant, where we have a big room all to ourselves.  We eat, and talk, and laugh, and just generally enjoy each other's company.   For this Christmas Luncheon, we all bring a wrapped gift, and we play what THEY call Dirty Christmas.

For a change, I decided to make a gift rather than purchase one.  I'd be happy if ALL Christmas gifts had to be handmade/homemade.

Anyway, I rolled it up on a cardboard tube, wrapped it in foil paper, and tied the ends with ribbon, like a big candy roll.  It went totally ignored/picked-over until the very last participant got their turn..........I felt like it was kickball time on the playground again, and I was last to be picked !

But, when it was opened and the lady was heading back to her seat, she was stopped multiple times for people to ooh and ah and make a fuss over the quilty.  Several people suspected that it was my work, and they asked and I nodded, yes.

Many people associate the sighting of a Cardinal with an angelic visit from a passed loved one.  I don't, but do find it a nice reminder of someone who's  passed.  But, for whatever reason, gifts with Cardinal representations are very popular with our group, and I saw more than one gift containing them.

In fact, the ironic thing was, the lady that got my quilty had 'stolen' a candle/lantern containing a cardinal from another player, and when it was later 'stolen' from her, she chose my 'candy roll', and was happy to have Cardinals after all.

(NEXT YEAR, I THINK I'LL PUT MY CONTRIBUTION IN A GIANT GIFT BAG.  THEY GET CHOSEN FIRST ! ! ! ! )