Flutterby Patch

It always snows on Christmas cards (mostly)

A friend of mine phoned me at the end of October and told me that 2 inches of snow had fallen overnight. "It looks just like Christmas" she said. This amused me a lot because we very rarely have snow at Christmas here in England. What she meant was that it looked just like Christmas when it is depicted on 90% of Christmas cards.

I have a confession... I never throw away Christmas cards. They are so pretty and packed with so many memories it would feel like throwing away Christmas itself. My mother kept all her cards as well and so now I have many thousands (hers and mine) all sitting in bags and all labelled with the appropriate date. Most of them depict snow.

Apparently our fixation for snow at Christmas can be blamed on Charles Dickens. His Pickwick Papers describing jolly rosy-cheeked gentlemen sitting atop stage coaches that bumped along the icy lanes of Victorian England have become engraved on our memories. Above is a small example of 1970s cards that illustrate the point!

We've seen the film and (maybe) read the book by Dickens' about miserly Mr Scrooge. He abhorred Christmas but after much ghostly persuasion relented and discovered the happiness a family Christmas can bring. Christmas Carol is a story that has left its mark on us all since the mid 1800s. The card above (now in the V & A Museum) dates from that time. A real Dickensian family Christmas!

I have a scrap book containing several dozen cards dating from the early 1900s and amazingly the style is very different. Pastel shades and pretty flowers predominate.

Pictures of pansies like this were enormously popular

Summer scenes with bluebirds bringing happy messages are popular as well. But by the 1920s the pastel pretties had disappeared and cheery seasonal scenes were back in fashion.

 
For me the only bird I like to see on a Christmas card is a robin (perched on a snowy twig of course). Dickensian sentiment and lots of red and green have always said 'Christmas' to me.

But I'm wondering if styles are beginning to change as well over half the cards I received last year were predominantly blue in colour (sample above). I'm not sure that blue has the same Christmasy feel as traditional red and green. But after all it's the thought that counts and as long as there's plenty of snow I'm happy!

Christmases past and early snow

An elderly neighbour gave me this Nicholas Thomas book when I was six years old and as you can see it has been well loved. I always enjoyed reading the story about Christmas.

The chapter entitled 'The Special Christmas Tree' starts with Mummy saying to Nicholas and Timothy "Now is the time to dress the Christmas tree. Pop up to the attic and bring the decorations down." 

And just look at their excited faces when they open the box.

When I was a girl the decorations were stored in the loft which was reached via a rather rickety ladder that my mother would climb whilst we children watched nervously from below. What excitement when the box was set safely down. You hadn't set eyes on its contents for a full year and seeing all those shiny baubles and festive trinkets brought memories of past Christmases flooding back.

Unlike the characters in the book I won't be trimming our tree just yet but when I do I'll spare a thought for poor old Woolworths who recently went into administration after 77 years trading in the UK. Their first shop opened in Liverpool in 1931 and it proved so popular that very quickly every town had a Woolworth store. Their baubles, tinsel, and paper chains have decorated millions of homes around Britain for decades and many of their vintage bits and pieces will doubtless be seeing the light of day once again this year. When I was young 'Woolies' was the only shop selling Christmas trimmings, but now the competition is enormous which, of course, is part of the reason for their downfall.

I can remember Woolworths at Christmas time had several huge counters overflowing with inexpensive decorations. Items like these crepe paper garlands that I found amongst my Granny's things. She carefully stored them away each year in a crumpled Woolworth's bag. Why did grannies always store things in the bags they brought them home in?

And here's an unopened bag of Woolworth's festoon garlands dating from the 1970s (55p according to the label). 

And who remembers this cheap and cheerful wrapping paper? This is some that Granny will have carefully smoothed and put away for another year!

And the little tree with baubles that are now covered in several decades of sticky fingers prints. Crackers and a Santa disappearing down a chimney, and a plastic trumpet that made an ear piercing din and was blown by young brothers throughout Christmas just to annoy everyone.

And best of all, this little Santa with a concertina tummy. I remember him from being very young. He lost a leg many years ago but still makes an appearance every Christmas as it wouldn't be the same without his jolly grin.

And here is the story tree trimmed with all kinds of edible goodies. It has drawn quite a crowd of hungry animals. Timothy and Nicholas feel so sorry for the little animals outside in the snow that they hatch a plan.

They trim a tree with edible decorations for the animals in the garden. I doubt the hungry animals will have obeyed the instructions!

The story concludes with rabbits carrying away armsful of carrots and mice scampering home with biscuits. I love happy endings!

These pics are for you Michele at Cowboys and Custard because I know you are a really big fan of Nicholas Thomas books. Michele has a passion for vintage toys and ephemera so do pay her a visit.

And finally

We rarely see snow before Christmas but on Thursday I drew back the bedroom curtains to be greeted by this wintry scene.

The sky was grey and heavy giving the impression there was more snow to come so I was happy to spend the day snug and warm indoors.

Although I feed the wild birds regularly I can't help feeling especially sorry them on days like this. A robin watched my husband put more food on the bird table.

Needless to say he was first to the food as soon as hubby's back was turned. Amazingly this chirpy chap will hop around your feet when you are digging the garden in the summer but aim a camera at him through a kitchen window (as I'm doing here) and he's decidedly nervous and on his guard. 

The snow started to melt after lunch but the slushy remains quickly froze again as the sun went down and today is not a day for venturing far. Wonder if I should start writing the Christmas cards!

December and there's still plenty to do.

I was born into a family that knitted. My mum, granny, aunts and cousins always 'had something on the go'. If they were sitting they were usually knitting and I never remember a Christmas when my sister and I didn't receive knitted dolls' clothes or a pretty sweater and hat from at least one of our relations. Most of the knitting relatives I remember from my childhood have now sadly gone but they have hopefully found a happy place to knit and natter together as they did in life. I'm sure they would be pleased to know that their enthusiasm for all things woolly has rubbed off on me and over the years I have amassed a large selection of yarn into which I frequently dip.

 
Nothing is wasted and I always squirrel away the smallest lengths of yarn. I'm particularly fond of odd balls like these. Dozens of different colours which provide dozens of different knitting possibilities. Here are just a few examples that I can show you.

Striped gloves with extra long cuffs, just right for chilly days. 

Striped shawl with multicoloured tassels, warm and cosy.

Striped jumper and woolly beret for teddy. You wouldn't think he'd need it with all that fur but he assures me he does.

 
Traditional  Fairisle. I always like use 'traditional' real wool for this. Shetland wool is my favourite.

A crochet blanket. I have to confess I did buy the black yarn for this as I needed more than the amount I had in my woolly stash. It was great fun to make, one square at a time in any colour combination that took my fancy.

 
From very large to very tiny. These knitted toys are for a dolls house and measure 4 cm (just over an inch). The arms and legs only required 4 stitches. I used my finest yarn (4 ply) and and my finest needles. Fiddly but fun!

I prefer making something just a bit larger than 4 cm. These two friends measure approx 12 cm (just under 5 ins)

 
And these happy sailors are about the same height (the teddy is shop bought but his togs are handmade).

 
And for Christmas, what better than Santa bringing a tiny doll for a little girl in a red dress, woolly coat and beret. Doesn't she look pleased.

Time to make the Christmas cake, but first the rum must be poured over the fruit and left overnight. It looks like there is no lack of volunteers for the rum pouring! Santa takes charge... "Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum".