Needle Felting

I have always wanted to learn needle felting but had no idea where to start- I found this online tutorial that seems pretty good- adding a needle felted applique to a purchased felted item.
http://www.nicolehindes.com/2006/12/02/needle-felting-a-tutorial/

My Aunt Nellie- 1894

I received this picture from a cousin a few days ago.

It is my Grandma Temple's half sister Nellie

Nellie was born in 1894. After her mother died her father remarried my great grandmother Zilla Dow- they had two children Temple and Harry- thus the half sister status with Aunt Nellie. I do no think they thought of themselves as being half sisters as my grandma & Nellie were very close.

Note the long shaggy rug she is on- I did not know they had anything like that in those days!!

Hanging Kitchen Towel Tutorial

I was searching the web for some quick & easy craft ideas and found this link
http://corinnaquilts.blogspot.com/2008/10/kitchen-towel-tutorial.html
It says it can be made in 20 minutes- my kind of craft!
I think I will try to find a solid red pot holder & make the towel part out of red ticking for a more prim look.

Make a Cranberry/Peanut Garland

Maybe now that Christmas is over ( almost!) I will finally find the time to make one of these garlnds- I have wanted to for quite some time now. I think it would make a great primitive garland for a fire place mantle.
I could not find a picture of one but did find instructions:
Grab a bag of cranberries and a bag of peanuts (still in their shells).
. Next you will need a needle and some heavy cotton thread. Make a great garland of cranberries, by stringing them on a doubled length of thread. Make a delicious peanut garland by stringing whole peanuts on a doubled length of thread- just push the needle through the center of the peanuts. You can hang your creations on a branch- the birds will love it!
I plan on alternating the peanuts & cranberries.
If you happen to make one before I do- send a pic & I will post it here.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of my blog readers!

Peace on Earth, Good will toward men.

Pilgrims & Pioneers

The Birth Of Christ

7And she ( Mary) brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

BRRR! It's freezing here!

Old Man Winter has arrived with a vengeance! It was-6 here last night with 25 mile an hour winds- had some drifting! It only got to 0 degrees for the high.
Tonight it is going to get down to -13 degrees!
I made 3 rice cozies tonight! 2 are for gifts- the other one is for myself! Goig to take it to bed with me tonight!
If you do not know what a rice cozy is - it is a rectangular fabric filled bag filled with rice and then heated in the microwave for 45 seconds- make a great portable, moldable heating pad- put it on cold feet, a sore shoulder or knee- any where you need heat!

St Lucia Day

St. Lucia day marks the start of the Swedish Christmas" God Jul" celebration that lasts until the 13th oh January.

The eldest daughter in the house hold portrays the "Queen of Light" to help dispel the long dark winter days.

She is dressed in a white robe, with a wreath of leaves, berries and candles ( battery operated candles are now used) and she brings coffee & sweet treats to the other family mebers in bed.

Usually St. Lucia buns are one of the sweets. A yeast bun infused with Saffron and includes two raisins on the top of the bun.

Santa comes on December 24th in Sweden and the tree & decorations stay up until Jan.13th.

The Dala Horse- a Swedish Tradition

I have mainly posted about my English ancestors here- but my great grandparents are Swedish -coming in 1841 to America from Kristianstadt, Sweden.

In wanting to add to my genealogy items about them, I had asked a friend of mine that was going to Bishop Hill- A historic Swedish settlement- to see if she could find a Dala horse for me.

Today she came bearing a Chrtistmas gift- a Dala Horse!

This is the Dala Horse history:

A small horse, hand-carved from a scrap of wood during the winter evenings by the fire perhaps 300 years ago in Dalarna, in the Swedish parish of Mora,was the beginning.
The carving of Dala horses is thought to have started in the village of Bergkarlas, though the nearby "horse" villages of Risa, Vattnas and Nusnas were also centers of horse making. The villages were involved in the art of furniture and clock-making, and it is likely the leftover scraps of wood were at first whittled into toy horses for children as a winter pastime.
But the art of carving and painting the small horses quickly flourished in the 1800's, as economic hardship in the region inspired greater production of the little horses, and they became an important item of barter. Horse-making may have started as something to while away the hours during the long winter months but soon the Dala horses were traded in exhange for household goods and their carving and painting blossomed into a full-fledged cottage industry. The rural families depended on horse production to help keep food on the table, as the skills of horse carving and painting were passed from one generation to the next.
The decoration on the Dala horse (the first horses were not painted or were only one color) has its roots in furniture painting and was perfected over the years. Perhaps the most famous decorator was Mora artist Stika Erik Hansson from Risa, the first of the horse painters to paint with two colors on the brush at one time.

1796 Mince Meat Pie Recipe

Four pound boil’d beef, chopped fine, and salted; six pound of raw apple chopped also, one pound beef suet, one quart of Wine or rich sweet cyder, one ounce mace, and cinnamon, a nutmeg, two pounds raisins, bake in paste, three fourths of an hour.Observations : All meat pies require a hotter and brisker oven than fruit pies, in good cookeries, all raisins should be stoned.

Courtesy of www.pilgrimhall.org

The Yule Log Tradition of Long Ago

The Yule log was frequently associated with winter celebrations until Christianity became widespread. As Christianity grew, the yule log became more commonly associated with Christmas celebrations and Christianity adopted the Yule log tradition. For centuries, Christians cut their own yule logs at Christmas time or they would try to find a yule log to burn. During the 1700s and 1800s, it was a regular Christmas tradition for men to go an expedition to find a yule log. Many European countries had somewhat different traditions surrounding the Yule log, but a Yule log was burned either in the days preceding Christmas or possibly on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Help for Hope

As most of you know I am a big dog lover. I am so sensitive to abuse of animals that I try to steer clear of any mention of it.
But of course steering clear of it does not help the animals.
I first learned about this poor dog named Hope for my friend Patty's blog
http://tailsfromthedogpatch.blogspot.com -
Hope has been severely abused & neglected. She is in a foster home but has heartworm & money need to be raised for her treatment or she will die.
I am going to donate 10% of my sales on my website www.brandyannescandlesandprims.com for the next three weeks towards her care. Hopefully others will take up the cause & she will survive.
Donations for her treatment can be sent to:
APLMC, P.O. Box 663, Celina OH 45822. Please mark that is it for HOPE!!

More Vintage Santa's

Right cliick and save to your hard drive!

Free Vintage Santa Graphics

Right click & save to your hard drive. Enjoy!

The History of the Victorian Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree tradition began in the Victorian era, with the custom of a lighted evergreen (Tannenbaum) originating in Germany. German-born Prince Albert, Consort of Queen Victoria, brought the idea to England and by the mid-19th century, Christmas Trees at Windsor Castle were decorated with wax candles and laden with presents. As citizens copying the Royal tradition spread this custom, the Christmas Tree soon became a popular English tradition.
It was (and still is) considered bad luck to remove the Christmas Tree and other Christmas decorations before Twelfth Night (6th January). Superstition stated that it was also bad luck to put up a Christmas Tree before Christmas Eve, although other Christmas decorations might appear some time before Christmas.