So, I've previously talked about the Christmas presents past, but now that Christmas day is over, I can talk of the presents made this year. This year's present for my Brother (and Sister In Law) and Sister (and Brother in Law) was a book pillow. Book pillows are very on trend this year, but I first saw them late last year. The concept is easy; a pillow with a pocket at the front which is designed to hold the book you are reading. They also often have a loop at the top to act as a handle, so that you can carry them from one cosy place to another. I had been wandering over on Spoonflower. It's a fantastic site where people can upload their drawings and illustrations to create print on demand fabric, wallpaper, bedding and other fabric-based items. You can order fabric on different materials and anything from a 20x20cm swatch, a fat quarter or by the metre. We have an in-family joke regarding Jane Austen. We are distantly related to her on our paternal side. She is our 2nd cousin 6x removed. So, when I have the opportunity, I include something Janite related. I found two fabrics that I particularly liked. One was covered in quotes and the other was filled with drawings of book covers. At the time of writing, a metre of cotton poplin is just under £20. I decided to order a metre of each. The fabric takes around 8 - 10 days to be printed and is 106cm wide. I ordered on 2nd October and it was delivered just 11 days later on 13th. Shipping for the two metres was just over £5. I was happy to pay for the print on demand fabric as I would make the cushions unique. Add to this that I got the back panels as ready made (with the zips already inserted) in the closing down sale at Colemans, earlier in the year, I felt it was worth being a little indulgent for the main fabric. I used a good quality quilting calico as the lining for the pocket to give some weight to the pocket and hopefully stop it from sagging over time. In all, it took longer to iron the fabric pieces, once cut out, than it did to sew them all up. I found a great tutorial on the 'Hello Sewing' blog with a guide to fabric sizes. I made the pocket a little shorter than recommended, but that was just a personal preference. There is also a video tutorial by the same blogger.
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Once again, Desborough & Toller URCs published an advent booklet with a reading for each day, written by a member of the congregation. This year, each day took its inspiration from a line of the carol 'Once in Royal David's City'. Here is one of the two that I wrote. I was just 18 when I took that school trip. We had travelled over 4 hours, by coach, to a remote kibbutz before heading to Bethlehem, which at that time was still within Israel. The land was undulating, and in the distance, the hills has a smattering of snow. As we drove through the countryside, we saw burnt out tanks, relics of the 6 days war. With the dry, arid environment, they looked as fresh as the day they had been hit, over 17 years earlier. The coach was filled with young teenagers who were boisterous; laughing and chatting whilst at the back, I and my friend were feeling bleak from the landscape we had driven through. The Church of the Nativity, as we arrived, was a plain solemn looking building. Set in a courtyard, we stayed back from the loud tourist hoards and walked in silence towards the entrance. Nothing could have prepared me for the inside. The far end of the church, directly in front of us, was ornate and gilded. The smell of incense was overwhelming. This seemed a world away from the Bethlehem of the Bible. We waited until everyone else from the group had finished and then went through a doorway. Carefully, we wound our way down the steps to the Grotto of the Nativity. It was the four of us. Myself, my friend, my teacher and a guide from the Church. The grotto was so quiet after the noise of the coach and church. The guide pulled us towards the altar and showed us, underneath the fourteen-point silver star, marking where Jesus was born. He looked around, conspiratorially, and beckoned us over, indicating for us to touch it. We three leaned in and placed our hands there, together. As we did this, I looked up at the cave we were in, below the church that was bustling, and in that quiet, sacred space, I connected with something bigger than myself. Have you heard about Jólabókaflóð (or Jolabokaflod)?
Jolabokaflod or the 'Christmas Book Flood', is an Icelandic holiday tradition in which books are given as gifts on Christmas Eve and then enjoyed that evening, and the rest of the holiday season. Thought to have started in the 1940s, when paperbacks, first became widely available in Iceland, people began giving books as affordable and personal gifts. Today, Jolabokaflod has become an important part of Icelandic culture. Many families exchanging books on Christmas Eve a tradition. They then spend the evening reading together. Recently, Jolabokaflod has also gained popularity outside of Iceland, with people around the world participating in Christmas Eve book giving as a way to celebrate the joy of reading and the holiday season. |
Why the Christmas Lace Notes?2023 has come along and this is the second year of my lace notes. All kicks off on 15th November with the first of this year's Chrismas movies. One a day, every day until Christmas. Archives
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