Silent Night

Silent Night... All is calm, all is bright... 

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

We’ve been without internet for days, so I’ve missed several themes in My Cozy Winter Home. 

Today we’ll just go ahead and wrap up with 
‘Sparkle,’ 

...some ‘Tradition,’ 

...‘Nativity,’ 

and ‘Stockings’ all at once!

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas with your loved ones!

Fuzzy Chickens Made to Roost

Our grandprincess loves the funky ceramic chickens perched on the top of the hutch in our kitchen, and always wishes she could get her hands on them. 

Thanks to the stuffed chicken pattern I found on aokcorral.com, she’ll soon have some to carry around! 

I used fleece, and did stitched eyes to replace the buttons and fused sportweight fabrics for the beak, comb, and waddle instead of felt to make these kid-friendly and washable.

Trees, Trees, and More Trees

I can post my 2nd tree quilt of the season, since my daughter and son-in-law received and opened it today! 

I wanted to do a different look for this one using the same pieced trees as in the one I posted earlier this month in These Trees are Off the Wall!










This quilt is more modern, I think, with the wide stripes, no border, and edge-to-edge machine quilting (free-handed waves done while using the Brother Dream Machine's Muvit walking foot). This was a much faster quilting technique than hooping and quilting with embroidery designs, and I think it's just as attractive, just different.  I love it.  

Most quilters run their quilting lines much closer together.  But as long as I knew I was within the spacing specifications required by the batting I used,  I decided to invoke artistic license.  I felt these wider lines were in keeping with the scale of the overall design.

I used a flannel sheet as backing for some cozy cuddling.

Make This

Day 17 of My Cozy Winter Home: Make This.

I made these holiday pillow covers (and the table runner you can see in posts on Day 3 and Day 9) using kitchen towels and tablecloths I found at a discount department store, and cut into pieces, as needed. 

This gave me more yardage and in a good variety for less money than I would’ve spent at the fabric store, and included some embellishments, like embroidery and appliqué I would’ve had to add myself. 

If you’re at all hesitant about combining prints, using an already-coordinated set, like the towels, can give you a good start. I’ve sewn for years, but the runner and these pillows would be very beginner friendly with their straight seams and quick result. 


My favorite pillow is the one with the lettering. I closed that one with a zipper partly camouflaged in the plaid on the back. For others I used an even easier method... The backs are in 2 pieces, each about 2/3 the size of the back, set so they overlap. The pillow slips in, then the overlap keeps the pillow inside with no extra closure necessary.

Layered

This is the first time in 32 years of marriage that I’ve thought to change up our bedroom for Christmas. 

Also, I’m new at layering, but I like it and would like to be better at it. Nowhere to go but up from this beginner’s effort. 

Day 16 of My Cozy Winter Home: Layered.

Christmas Tree

My Cozy Winter Home, Day 15, is supposed to be “Christmas Tree.” 

Since I prematurely showed our actual Christmas tree on “Evergreen” day, it seemed right to share this vintage 1985 tree I made for my in-laws... the partner to the fabric wreath I posted on “Wreath” day.

This Ornament Flew in to Surprise Me

Ornament. 
Day 14 of My Cozy Winter Home. 

I had planned to share antique ornaments that had belonged to my grandparents, until this guy appeared on our tree. 

My maternal grandmother loved hummingbirds. After she was gone, they were my mom’s favorite, too. After my mom passed away and it was becoming evident our dad couldn’t stay in their home, my sister was helping him into the car to go visit a retirement center he and my mom had visited when planning for future needs. Both were feeling sad, and neither were comfortable with this step they were taking. But a hummingbird suddenly flew in and looped around above their heads. 

 - In the garage. 

 - And at a time of year hummingbirds weren’t seen. 

They felt this couldn’t have been just a coincidence. 

As Christians we don’t believe it was my mom in the form of a bird, or anything like that. But we do believe the Lord knows us, knows what we need, and sends comfort to us in many forms, and this was perfect for my dad and sister in that moment. A reminder that God was with us every step of the way, and that the love of, and for, my mom went with my dad, wherever he lived. 

My daughter snuck this beautiful hummingbird onto my tree this week, knowing how I’d love to see something that represented the spirit of Grandma in our Christmas. Being together at the holidays was so important to her.