Christmas and more Christmas

Christmas this year is coming in installments.  We had the first installment with our son and his friends in London at the beginning of December.  It was great timing!  We could enjoy all the fun London holiday decorations without being caught up in the major crowds that happen later in the month.

Not sure if this little guy counts as "Christmas decor," but I thought he was pretty cute anyway!

The next installment was the 3rd (I guess you could call it annual at this point) Sewing Friends Holiday Luncheon...at my place!  My co-conspirator hosts our monthly gatherings throughout the year because her place is more central and more easily accessible for most of the group.  But, once a year the group makes the trek to my house, which is no small feat.  Country roads, an impossible driveway and no parking!  I am very grateful that they make the journey and let me get all Martha Stewart-y once a year.  I have fun thinking up a fun table arrangement with some kind of fabric/sewing theme, and planning a meal with all the recipes I've been wanting to try.  

This year the menu included selections from my new Ina Garten cookbook...I know that her recipes will turn out and be delicious, and she didn't let me down.  I also had fun making little bird tree ornaments with scraps of wool.  They are so simple, but, IMHO really cute!

        

         

        

I was having so much fun with all my buds that I completely forgot to get a group picture....but I did take a quick snap before they arrived!

The next X-mas gathering will be on the 25th...imagine that...with the 'local' clan.  We have had a long tradition of making our holiday gifts.  There were several years when we made gifts for each family member and the kids all helped with gifts for each other...it was pretty daunting, but so worth it when we were all sharing homemade treats and treasures.  With even more folks as kids have started getting married and having more kids, we have toned it down a bit.  We have a fun white elephant game and anyone who feels the need to "get their crafty on" makes simple gifts.  I think that the tradition of making our presents for each other has kept the spirit without so much attention on the $$.  

This year I wanted to try a project that has been on my 'to-do' list.  On our two trips to England this past year, I was very aware of the 'single use plastic' problem.  We hear about in the US, but in Britain it has really gone crazy.  Finding alternatives is a very big deal.  I was seeing waxed cotton used to wrap food instead of plastic bags.  Sooooo....

I collected several Batik fabrics...I figured they had already been waxed once!

I scattered beeswax beads....

Put a second piece of fabric on top...covered both with parchment paper and 'pressed' them until the beeswax had saturated the fabrics...

Hung them to dry....

And folded them into little bundles.

I made some for wrapping sandwiches or cheese, some round ones to cover bowls or jars...the warmth of your hands molds the wax and helps make a seal.

They are supposed to last for about a year, and then you can re-wax them.  We'll see.

Our other son will be spending the holiday with friends in San Fransisco, so we will be having Gizmo here for Christmas....she is a rescue dog and hasn't been without her boy before...I hope she does OK....

 

We will have our final Christmas celebration when Gizmo's boy returns next week...I'm excited to share some other Christmas sewing then.

This is the never ending Christmas....

Ho, Ho, Ho!

🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅