Day 11 of the 12 Days of Christmas

I love snowmen! Any size, any shape.....any snowman. Today's snowman is made from an old sweater and some stuffing.

You will need:

The sleeve of a white or off-white sweater

A large needle

Heavy button and carpet thread

Five or six black buttons

Scrap of fleece or Christmas flannel

Stuffing

A small piece of orange felt or a small plastic carrot

Cut the sleeve off the sweater at about 18" and turn it inside out. Thread the needle with a length of thread and sew a running stitch around the cut edge of the sweater sleeve. When you get back to the place you started, pull the stitches up tight and wrap the thread around the stitching about 3 or 4 times and tie a tight knot. Turn the sleeve right side out and the gathered place is now the snowman's bottom.

Stuff the sleeve, not too loose and not too tight. (If you put a rock or some rice in the bottom before you stuff the sleeve, the snowman will sit better.) Run another row of running stitches about 4" down from the end of the sleeve. Again, pull the stitches tight, wrap and tie. Now cut a length of thread and wrap it around the snowman to form the head. Don't wrap it too tight, or your snowman's head will be wobbly. Wrap 3 or 4 times, tie a knot and trim the ends short.

Fold down the end of the sleeve to form a hat and make few stitches if needed to keep it in place. Glue buttons for his eyes and for the buttons down the front. Roll a little triangle of orange felt into a cone and glue it on for the nose, or use a little plastic carrot. (I find them at Easter and put them away until I need them.) I didn't have felt or a carrot so I used a button, just like in the song.

Now finish him with a scarf cut from the fabric scrap. Fringe the ends for a cute look. You can also make a yarn pom-pom for his hat. You can also quickly crochet a little scarf in no time at all. Just chain until you have the length you want and single crochet about 4 rows, then add fringe. Or you can finger-crochet one, like the one in the photo. I used a fat, loopy yarn and did the finger-crochet loose and then put a little fringe on the ends. I made it long enough to wrap around his neck three times, to give it some volume. If you like, you can add twig arms, but they tend to get broken easily, so plan to replace them a few times.

Now he's ready to display. Put him on some pulled out stuffing, which looks more like real snow than batting. Add a few Styrofoam balls for snowballs, some sparkly snowflakes, or maybe a little sign that says "All my friends are flakes."

These are so fast and easy to make that you can make a dozen! Give them away or keep them all for yourself. Make them in all different sizes and shades of white and off-white. They'll make a perfect centerpiece to a holiday table or a cute snow village underneath the tree.

Christmas is a time for loving and giving and sharing with others. Two of my grandkids told me a few days ago that they don't believe in Santa anymore. I told them when they stop believing, they get underwear. Then I proceeded to tell them that Santa may not one real person, but he is the embodiment of the spirit of Christmas. He represents the good things we all want for ourselves and those we love. If we keep that spirit in our hearts, we will always believe in Santa. Someone once said that if you don't have Christmas in your heart, you certainly won't find it under the tree.

May you all have Santa in your hearts, at the same time remembering the reason for the season....the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. 'Night, Gramma G.

Whew! Game over!

Well, the holidays are over, except for New Year's, and that is just plain fun, so it doesn't count on the stress-o-meter. I hope your holidays were as nice as mine. I actually had the gifts for the family that's here in Montana done a couple of days before Christmas, and I have those that have to be mailed almost finished. I know that's backwards, but my family knows that's the way I work. Every year, I swear that I will have them ALL ready by the 1st of December, but it has only happened once! This year, I am going to try it again, and because I will be reporting to you, maybe it will get done!

I have twelve living grandchildren, so if I do one a month, I will have them all done but the last one by the end of November. Then I just have one to do at the beginning of December, and I'm done. Sounds like a good plan, but we'll see how it goes. In the same month as I do the kids, I can do the parents, too, and REALLY be done! Wow! I'm on a roll here......

Well, this is just a short note to wish you all the best, and to show you what Christmas in Montana looks like.

Snow in the air

long before the first flakes

started their long fall from the heavens

snow in the feel, the smell,

the texture of the air

feeling the falling barometer

the shift in the weather

Falling lightly at first, while

I stood at the sink,

mesmerized, watching

their dance downward

Go upstairs, roust the girls,

hear the excitement, the joy

at the first real snowfall

Accumulating white, flake by flake

on the ground, the cars,

still quiet snow, light and airy

a film of white, cell by cell

cleaning the world

in white

by Raymond A. Foss

Wishing you all the best for the coming year. May all your dreams come true. Gramma G.

Day Ten of the Twelve Days of Christmas

I love snowmen. The more the merrier! I like them short or tall, fat or skinny. So today's project is a snowman. He's the tall, rather skinny sort, and he's made from PVC pipe. You need a piece of 2" PVC(inside measurement) anywhere from 4" to 8" long, and it's kind of fun to make one of each and group them together. Clean the writing and markings off the pipe with the appropriate type of cleaner. Your friendly hardware guy can help you there. Then measure around the pipe and cut a piece of fabric or fleece or flannel an inch wider than that measurement, and anywhere from 8" to 12" long. The difference is to adjust for the height of the snowman and how long the hat will hang down. The snowman in the picture is 6" tall and his hat is 10". You can see that if it were much longer, it would touch the table, and that's OK if that's what you want, but I don't. Make adjustments according to your own preferences.

Next, make a seam the length of the hat, starting with 1/2" width and tapering it to a point at one end. Trim excess fabric away and turn right side out. Turn up about 1/2" to 3/4" for the cuff of the hat and set it aside. Cut a piece of matching or coordinating fabric 1" wide and the length you need to tie it around the snowman for a scarf. I made mine 16". Fringe the ends and set this aside also.

Now it's time to give him a face. I have included the pattern that was used on mine, but you can give him any face you like. Acrylic paints are good for this and so are paints pens. Spray him with a little crystal glitter spray and then a clear acrylic and let him dry. When he is good and dry, put his hat on his head and tie his scarf around the bottom of the pipe. and you have a very easy, very cute little snowman!

Here's an old, child's fingerplay:

A chubby little snowman (arms make a fat tummy)

Had a carrot nose. (fists out in front of nose)

Along came a bunny, (hold up tow fingers, hop hand)

And what do you suppose? (shake pointer finger)

that hungry little bunny, (rub tummy)

Looking for his lunch, (shade eyes and look around)

Ate the snowman's carrot nose (fist in front of nose)

Nibble, nibble, crunch! (open and close fist twice, grab nose with fist moving toward nose)

Some of my best friends are flakes, so guard your noses, everyone, and good night to all. Gramma G.

P.S. Sometimes this blogging is so frustrating. This program just decides sometimes that it won't put spaces where I want them!