Finished!

Yeah! I am so happy! I was worried because of course there was a time issue. 

I have written about this before but here it is in a nutshell again. After all, all three are totally different. Each on is special.

It's a third Advent Calendar of this kind I made for my church St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Richmond, VA. The church ladies (ECW) is going to raffle it off. I think 1 ticket is $5 or 3 tickets are $10. 

Every day you choose one Chrismon to add for the day starting December 1. I think it is a German thing because I grew up with having an advent calendar every December.  It's the count down to Christmas. In my childhood time of course it was just a paper one with little doors to see a picture behind.

The cross-stitched Chrismons were all stitched by my sister-in-law Jane in Windsor, England. Great big Thank-You to her!

Each Chrismon has its explanation on the back. Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season! The idea is that each family member can have a turn to pick the one for the day. May be there can be even a little discussion about the meaning of it?

Want a ticket? 

And now on to the next thing on the to-do-list!!!

The quilt Adventcalendar with Lace Ornaments

I can't believe it but I never posted my whole Adventcalendar here. I had to take these photos in May because somebody in Germany needed them.

The quilt itself is very easy. Different squares of green and beige fabric 5 x 5 inches, some HST. That's all. Oh yes, the stem and the border. After sewing the squares are 4.5 x 4.5 inches which made the quilt about 53.5 x 59 inches. If one wants a different size quilt, just calculate the size of the squares.

The dots in the photos are 24 round faceted glass beads sewn on to tie the ornaments to. I left them there for the rest of the year because they look a little like dew.

Circles have the numbers 1 to 24 ironed on.

Starting on December 1 the circle with the number of the day is turned around. My advent calendar gives me great joy every year.

These 24 ornaments are all Chrismons, Christian Symbols. The majority of the designs are from my friend Brigitte Bellon. Her name is known by all lacemakers world-wide. This project took me several years... while I also was working on the beaded ornaments. Brigitte supplied me with another design every so often.

Christmas is going to be here quicker than we think. So I thought I share this with you. Just in case ....

With great happiness did I learn that the patterns are going to be published by the
Deutscher Klöppelverband e. V.That's why my photo was needed for the front page. I can't wait to see it when it is finished.

In the meantime, Brigitte had given me permission to publish. And of course, some of the designs are my own. You can find them all HERE!

If you have any questions or you are going to use any of the designs, I would be very happy to hear from you.

Church Raffle 2017 ... done

I can't wait to give it to the church ladies Tuesday evening (monthly meeting) and check this project off my to-do list.

Yes, another Adventcalendar!

Starting on the first of each December you select which Chrismon you want to add. 

Family members or visiting guests might take turns selecting it. 

The Adventcalendar will look different every year. 

Each Christian Symbol has its meaning printed on fabric on its back.



HUGE THANK YOU again to my sister-in-law JANE in Windsor, England, for stitching all the Chrismons ... like she did two years ago for this project (see here)

Now comes the question: since this whole thing is my original design, I had to come up with a way to keep the Chrismons ready for selection. 

My first idea was this "hanging basket". I used two pieces of plastic crossstitch canvas for the bottom, back and front. I had a heck of a time making it and gave up half way through.

I decided that this pouch might be a better solution. Again, no pattern or measurements but here it is:

I wasn't sure that I liked the pouch that much and (as you can see on the earlier photo) continued with the hanging basket and finally found a way to finish it (yes, glueing fabric can be a solution).

So, which one is better?

If there is enough interest in how I made the calendar and each Chrismon, I will concider writing the instructions.