All Dressed for Christmas

My first Christmas in my new home

...sigh...

I have discovered

this sweet house decorates very nicely for the holidays!

What fun to pull out old favorites

and find new holiday homes for them.

With all its green accents,

the dining room is especially festive.

My Christmas elves are hovering above the dining table and...

...my current gift of flowers from M.

Here is an early gift from my 

sister in law Terry,

who is a paper artist.

This hanging ball was made from

thirty separate pieces that interlock together.

Terry tells me that she made fifty of these

between July and November.

I feel very fortunate to be the

recipient of one of them.

 Previous gifts... 

...from Terry.

Isn't this one lovely hanging on one of my

beautiful glass doorknob?

The upstairs landing's window seat

has become the perfect spot 

for my little sheep tree.

One of three little Christmas elves

hanging above my bed

and keeping dreams of sugar plums 

in my head!

Coming or going,

Buttermilk Cottage

is all decked out and ready!

Hope you are as well

and are now enjoying the 

holiday season to it's fullest!

My Quilted Pillow Holiday Collection

(Today I am repeating part of a previous post.
It was originally published December 20, 2010.
You can find the original post here.
I'll explain why at the end.)

I adore quilts.

In my "next" life,

I might even become a quilter.

However, knitting is my passion in this life.

Therefore, I don't make quilts.

I have made a couple in the past, so I know what

a major project one is.

Thus, I've contented myself with making quilted

pillows instead of full sized quilts.

I've limited my quilted pillows to Christmas ones.

Several years ago I decided

I would make one new design each year,

then in a few years time,

I would have a lovely collection

to bring out at holiday time.

This is the first one I did.

I always quilted the year the pillow was made

somewhere on it,
so I can tell you without a doubt, 
this one is from 1991.

Here is 1993's pillow.

Unfortunately, I did not continue the tradition to present,

but, I did do it enough years to accrue a nice collection of
Christmas pillows.

This Celtic braid pillow is from 1994.
That was the first year I was part owner in a yarn shop
with four other dear friends.
Each of them got one of these pillows that year.
(That was almost like making a full quilt!)

This is one of my favorites.
You can see the year, 1995,
quilted in the center.

Now,  my reason for reposting...
I love my collection of quilted holiday pillows.
However, these days I am in a smaller house
and find my holiday decorating has
become a bit more streamlined.
These pillows are too special
to keep packed away,
so I have decided to let them go.
So, if you'd like to purchase 
one of them, please visit my
Etsy shop
and read about each one.
Perhaps each one will find
a new home to help decorate
at holiday time! 

Merry Christmas to Ewe!

Wool is my favorite fiber when knitting.

Thus, I feel a certain affinity with sheep.

I design, knit and sew sheep!

So, it's a given I'd be attracted

to sheep holiday ornaments.

So much so,

I have an entire tree

devoted to them!



Two of my favorites are these two little guys,

one stringing lights,

the other bringing a gift.

This iced "sugar cookie" was a gift from

my sister Nancy several years ago.

One of a pair, this little girl always hangs next to...

...her constant companion.

My daughter Kate made this little leaping sheep from clay for me.

This very delicate blue ceramic sheep was the start of my collection.

Check out this gal's pretty holiday pumps!

Of all my sheep ornaments,

my favorite doesn't hang on the tree.

It is another of Kate's creation,

and it wouldn't be the holiday season for me

without it!

Wishing all of you the merriest of holidays!

Join me at Etsy Cottage Style this week

for their Twelve Days of Christmas. 

Holiday Shopping, Wrapping, Tagging...All Done!



NOT...

But, this picture of my window seat

was just now snapped.

These are actually empty boxes,

wrapped in holiday fabric

and will be used to decorate

the front porch for the upcoming

holiday season. 

(The ONLY thing I have a jump on

this year.)

Wishful thinking on my part...

Inspired!

Several years ago I made this quilted table runner.

I used it on my dining table for many years.

However, once I moved to Buttermilk Cottage

I needed something on my table that

reflected at bit more light.

I still like the runner but where to use it???

I have this very useful little side chair in my living room.

I like it because it's easy to move from place to place

as needed for seating.

However, it's a bit blah, particularly for the holidays.

Earlier this week, I got an inspired idea!
Why not use the runner on the chair?
Simply by draping the runner across the chair,
then tucking in the excess...


I got a nicely covered side chair!!!


Now my little chair is all dressed for the season!



And all I had to do was work with what I already had!

This week please join with me as I party with
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
All Things Heart & Home
Hooked on Houses
Cheap Chic Home
The Shabby Chic Cottage
and
French Country Cottage

Treasured Ornaments

A special joy for me at holiday time is unwrapping treasured ornaments.

After many years of acquiring them, I have several collections.

But none are more dear than my little

"Santas on Animals"

created and made by my daughter Kate.

I began collecting ornaments which featured

Santa riding different animals.

(I'll share those another time.)

I loved these ornaments, but could never find

my favorite animal,

a sheep,

with Santa perched on his back.

Kate surprised me one year with one she had made herself!

She is now grown and following her dreams in NYC,

but since she was a little girl,

Kate has been especially talented in molding clay.

For several years she has surprised me each year

with a new one to add to my collection.

One particular favorite is the Kitty Kat.

Can't you just hear him purring?

This little canine was inspired by my, now gone, dachshund, Lizzy.

What would Christmas be without a red cardinal?

Kate's Santas are always serious.

This is last year's creation.

"When pigs fly..." always pops into my head when I see it.

Hang on Santa!

All during her childhood, Kate had a favored stuffed bunny

which was always called "Brown Rabbit."

I wonder if he's the inspiration for this little guy?

The Christmas Parade at Buttermilk Cottage!

Santa IS coming!

My "favorite."

Thank you, darling girl Kate,

for my beautiful collection

and

memories!

This week I'm liking up with parties at

Between Naps on the Porch for Deck the Halls

Savvy Southern Style for Boring to Better

A Stroll thru Life for the Christmas Cloche Party

All Things Heart & Home for All Things Merry & Brite

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Holiday

and

Favorite Things Saturday