Christmas Eve

Thanks to dear customer Joan for this lovely, peaceful photo showing how she's displaying the Poinsettia Mat I made. I know the day ahead will be filled with activity--work, ushering at two services, wrapping a final gift or two, preparing some food for tomorrow's feast and finally attending an 11pm service at another church where my son's quintet is playing. Throughout all this busyness I hope to keep the real reason for tomorrow's celebration at the forefront of my mind. Wishing you a Christmas filled with peace and joy.

Simple Christmas

It's way too easy for me to feel frazzled and Scrooge-like at this time of year.  Days are filled with shopping, decorating and special events on top of work and I feel like I'm rushing from one thing to another. What a joy it was to attend Alicia's open house in Orrick, Missouri last weekend and enjoy the beauty and peace of Christmas through simple, natural decorating touches.

 

Even the bathtub had festive touches!

Photos above from Alicia's Home

I also attended a craft show and reconnected with some wonderful, artistic friends. Business was booming at their booths but I was fortunate to come home with a few handcrafted treasures to enjoy.

Santa and greenery from Dana of the Stone Rabbit; tree skirt a previous purchase from Shirley Weymeyer

Pincushion from Shirley Weymeyer

Just looking at these simple vignettes reminds me to take the time to remember and appreciate the kindness and love all around me and I have a lot to be thankful in that regard.  A dear volunteer friend treated me to a wonderful lunch at her home last week and my Bunco group surprised me with dinner out at a trendy restaurant after I announced that, after 17 years I'm stepping down as leader of the group. I know some of my friends are going through tough times with family and personal illnesses and job losses, but I hope everyone has some special moments during this holiday season that provide hope and joy. 

After writing this I came across this pin which sums up what I'm trying to do this season!

Thanksgiving Finishes

One of the simple pleasures of a long weekend is having the time to sit and stitch! I love everything about this new design from Nan of Threadwork Primitives and really enjoyed stitching it this month. I will enjoy it for a few days before the turkeys go away and is replaced by Christmas decor.

Even the back is cute!

Tis the season for lighting ceremonies! Thanksgiving evening we mingled with thousands to see the amazing Plaza lighting ceremony, a wonderful Christmas tradition!

Last night we attended the Mayor's Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Crown Center and were very thrilled that Mark's quintet was part of the pre-lighting entertainment.

Photo from Mingle Kansas City

The weather wasn't bad and there was a huge turn-out for the ceremony. The tree is very beautiful and serves as a fundraiser for a variety of charities that help families in need have a happy holiday. 

After the ceremony the performers and city officials were invited to attend a party at the American Restaurant at the top of Crown Center. I was not expecting that and certainly wasn't dressed for the occasion but you don't get a chance like that every day so I went!

Photo from Trip Advisor-View from the American Restaurant

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving blessings to you! I hope this finds you enjoying the holiday! I will be reflecting on my many blessings including my blogging friends who encourage and inspire me. Thank you for reading my blog. It means a lot to me when you take the time to comment and I appreciate the opportunity to get to know you!

I love the old paper mache turkeys and this year Leslie surprised me with two awesome additions for my collection. Thanks dear friend!

Antique Shows - Arthur and Tuscola

In addition to many great primitive dealers at the various shows there are several wonderful artisans and for the first time this year Maggie Bononomi took part. I already had her most recent book but seeing the projects in person is really inspiring. This piece looked amazing on its vintage feedsack background.

 

 Maggie suggested using vintage document boxes as gift containers--neat idea! Here are some of the little things that came home with me... 

A quilt remnant from Maggie and great little sewing box lined with old newspaper pages.

 

The colors and stitching in this little pincushion spoke to me. Both the pincushion and little buttonhole scissors came from the same Indiana dealer.

 

I couldn't pass up this tole painted box. I've been trying to find out more about these boxes and what I've learned indicates that these were probably sold by peddlers in the early to mid 1800's. Most feature a colorful design on a black background. I don't know if they followed patterns but I've seen many boxes with similar designs. I can only imagine what a treasure this little box must have been to its original owner to have survived mostly intact for so many years.

Kansas Primitives

Prayers to all those affected by the storms in the midwest. You aren't surprised by snow storms at this time of year but certainly don't expect tornados. Hope you and yours are safe and escaped the worst.

 I do still plan to post photos of the little treasures I picked up in Illinois but am out of town for a few days and don't have access to those so I'll have to post them when I return. Friday evening I had the pleasure of taking part in Leslie's annual show. I wasn't able to take photos before the show started this year, but here are a few from the end of the busy preview evening.

Santa and Pillow by Joann

 

Bird by Joann

 

 

Rug by Deloris Bush

I'm a bit discouraged at this point about chances for reunification of my CASA family. Mom has lots of excuses for why she can't visit her oldest son who has been placed with Grandma and Grandpa and why she can't carry through with the services ordered by the court such as parent training. The last time I paid her a scheduled visit she had to be woken up, even though it was almost 11:30am and she spent the entire time checking her phone for texts. The court ordered placement to continue on as it is and hopefully she'll wake up, so to speak, and take things more seriously.

Arcola, Arthur and Tuscola Primitives Show

Leslie and I attended two shows Friday afternoon when we arrived in Arthur, then bounced between the three towns that host shows on Saturday.

You know I love the toleware boxes and there were some beauties at the show!

 Lots of unusual forged pieces...

 

I didn't see as many paper mache boxes this year but I thought this one was really special.

Fabulous quilts...

 

  Great folk art pieces.

 

 

I brought home a few small treasures and will post those as well.