Flutterby Patch

Festive blue and white

Yesterday afternoon a bitterly cold northerly wind was blowing across our normally mild region and as this can often herald a fall of snow we decided to opt for a bit of festive retail activity.

We enjoy travelling on the open roads at this time of year as the summer holiday-makers have all gone home and locals have the place more or less to themselves. The higher hills were dusted with snow and as we travelled the clouds gathered ominously in a previously clear blue sky.

We passed the lake that feeds our house and many others in north west England with water and it was easy to see why our water it is always so very icy cold.

After 20 miles or so we reached the pretty Lake District town of Keswick. Christmas lights, twinkling blue and white, were strung across the busy street and the sound of carols filled the air. It all looked lovely but I'm afraid I was just a little disappointed as I do so love to see coloured lights at this time of year. I love traditional reds, green and golds but unfortunately for little old me, blue and white (clear glass) lights seem very popular these days and finding other colours is growing increasingly difficult.

As the icy cold northerly wind chilled the shoppers the sight of every shop window strung with blue and white lights did nothing to warm us.

Then happily I spotted some warmth coming from a shop window glowing with red and gold.

Call me old fashioned but this is my kind of Christmas window display.

After buying a number of 'must have' gifts for the family we made our way home.

As we returned to our town we were greeted by more blue and white. I'd love to know if lights in these colours have become the tradition everywhere or if it's just peculiar to our region?

In our house we never bring out the decorations until the weekend before Christmas and so next time you visit I hope my two trees will be festooned with ........colour...... Lots of colour!

Until next time
Eli

My four nativities

As a child I was always fascinated by the variety of Christmas nativity scenes I saw at school, in shop windows and of course in churches.

I was about fourteen when I was inspired to make a tiny scene of my own from odd scraps of fabric and pipe cleaners. My first nativity can be seen above and has witnessed many Christmases. The figures are about 3 ins (cm) tall.

A few years later at college I created a second one (below).

I was a little more creative this time as I had more fabric at my disposal but again used simple cardboard tubes and cones for the bases which were easy to cover.

After I left college I lived at home with my parents for a couple of years and as they had a large niche in their library I was inspired to create a third nativity to fill it. This time my figures were about 9 in (22 cm) tall and they each had smiles and black bead eyes.

I notice I used vintage lace for the baby's gown!

I had great fun making all the figures for this scene and even found some woolly sheep which were just the right size for my shepherds.

Two of the kings were dressed in brocade and the third had a gown made from fabric that I tied and dyed and then embroidered.

The kings came bearing gifts that were made from match boxes and a scent bottle. They were all covered in shiny chocolate wrappers.

Soon after that I met and married my husband and we had a home of our own. I left my three nativities at my parents' house and set about making number four which you can see below.

Its amazing what you can do with a few tubes (made from thick paper) covered in stripy fabric.

Heads are made from circles of felt gathered and stuffed to form ball shapes. Hair and beards are wool.

The kings are made from cones covered in brocade and decorated with beads. Their gifts are fancy fastenings from vintage necklaces.

This was my fourth and final nativity and it puts in an appearance every year even though it is now looking somewhat tired. Since my parents passed away I have all four nativities in my possession once again. They don't all get displayed these days but finding them every year amongst the Christmas decorations brings back endless happy memories of Christmases past.

If you or your children feel inspired to make a nativity scene I can promise you the design is a simple one. Simply make cardboard tubes or cones to the size you require and then choose suitable fabrics to glue on. Then the fun bit comes in finding just the right trims that will make your figures look like lowly shepherds or wealthy kings.

I trust all your Christmas preparations are going well.

Until next time,

Eli

Trees for Christmas

This afternoon was fine and, as a watery sun had put in a rare appearance, we decided to visit our local Christmas tree farm.

Nestling in the shadow of the Lakeland hills, we travel to the farm every year to select a suitable tree for the sitting room.

At one time we delayed our visit until the week before Christmas but these days, if you don't get there in early December you can be left with a poor sad specimen that has been rejected by everyone else and has been trampled underfoot for a couple of weeks or more.

I don't like to see trees in this sorry state. I much prefer them looking healthy with their roots in the soil. But Christmas is approaching fast and so I have to put my emotions to one side for a while.

We chose a tall, plump fellow who will hopefully hold a good many decorations and fit nicely in the sitting room corner. I also gave a home to his smaller companion as I took pity on him (typical of me!) Apparently he was considered too thin and would be rejected as no one would want him. I on the other hand thought he looked a really cute fellow that would fit nicely at the foot of our stairs so without delay offered to give him a good home.

With both trees securely netted, we queued up to pay.
 

Then onto the car roof-rack they were hoisted and we headed for home.

The two trees are now behind the garage with their trunks in buckets of water to keep them fresh until Christmas. Next time you see them they will (hopefully) be standing proud and dripping with festive colour.

Until next time
Eli