Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Christmas Flowers


Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.
 ~Peg Bracken

Have you all made it through the seemingly endless list of giveaways the last couple of days?  I'm not even half way through Quilting Gallery's Party Blog Hop with Giveaways and have barely put a dent in Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day.  There's just not enough hours in the day!  I have found some 'new to me' blogs that I have begun following that look like a lot of fun.  I'm way behind on responding to comments left for my giveaways.  Where was my brain when I decided to run two giveaways at the same time?  And once those are through, I have another giveaway coming up for the Traveling Stash.  Oh my! 

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Candy Canes

One of the most often seen symbols of Christmas is the candy cane. Not only are candy canes used as a sweet Christmastime treat but they are also used for decoration. How did this seasonal candy get its familiar shape, and when did it become part of Christmas tradition?
When the practice of using Christmas trees to celebrate Christmas became popular in Europe the people there began making decorations for their trees. Many of the decorations were food items including cookies and candy. Our modern candy cane appeared at about this time in the seventeenth century. These were straight, white sticks of sugar candy.
Part of the Christmas celebration at the Cologne Cathedral were pageants of living creches. In about 1670 the choirmaster there had sticks of candy bent into the shape of a shepherd’s crook and passed them out to children who attended the ceremonies. This became a popular tradition, and eventually the practice of passing out the sugar canes at living creche ceremonies spread throughout Europe.
The use of candy canes on Christmas trees made its way to America by the 1800′s, however during this time they were still pure white. They are represented this way on Christmas cards made before 1900, and it is not until the early 20th century that they appear with their familiar red stripes.
Many people have given religious meaning to the shape and form of the candy cane. It is said that its shape is like the letter “J” in Jesus’ name. It is also in the shape of the shepherds’ crook, symbolic of how Jesus, like the “Good Shepherd” watches over his children like little lambs. It is a hard candy, solid like a “rock”, the foundation of the Church. The flavor of peppermint is similar to another member of the mint family, hyssop. In the Old Testament hyssop was used for purification and sacrifice, and this is said to symbolize the purity of Jesus and the sacrifice he made.

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FINAL CHRISTMAS FLOWERS

I  have decided after these two flowers, I am not going to make anymore Christmas flowers.  After all, this isn't a Christmas quilt.

This flower is ablaze with Christmas candles.  It could almost be a Halloween flower with the colors that are in it.

Since we have two miniature dachshunds as part of our family, I just couldn't pass up the fabric with the doxie wearing a Santa hat.  This pup reminds me of our very first mini doxie, Schnitzel.  He was a red, short haired and oh so very smart.
Karen (over at Journey of a Quilter) has organized One Flower Wednesday and provides a linky for all of to share our hexagon flowers.  If you would like to see more flowers out there in blogland, just click HERE.

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I will continue working on my Gardener's Journal

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GIVEAWAYS

Want It, Need It, Quilt is having a giveaway.  You could win a California Girl Layer Cake by Fig Tree Quilts.  This giveaway ends Saturday, December 31.

Jolly Jabber is having a giveaway.  You could win Blackbird Designs’s Designer Select Fat Quarter Bundle.  This giveaway ends Friday, December 16.

Sew Kiki is having a giveaway.  You could win a $25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop.  This giveaway ends Monday, December 19.

The Jolly Jabber is having a giveaway.  You could win a mini mason jar pincushion sewing kits from Caroline Simas.  This giveaway ends Saturday, December 17.

Annie's Ruby Slipperz is having her Mystery Monday giveaway.  You could win 5 fat quarters and a pattern by Rosalie Asby.  This giveaway ends Saturday, December 17, at midnight MT.

I currently have two giveaways running.  First click HERE for a chance at a table runner kit from Connecting Threads.  Then click HERE for a chance at a Pure charm pack.

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FINAL THOUGHT

Posted by Bonnie of Quiltville on FB 12/10/11......



23 comments:

beaquilter said...

I went thru all the blog hop blogs this weekend, PHEW it was pretty much two days all day! not doing anymore.
I love the store of the candy cane- heard it before, really cool!

Becky said...

Love the dachshund block. I've not seen this print.Do you remember the fabric line or company? Lots of wonderful sharing in blogland!

Sunnybec said...

Nearly done the blog hops but boy wasn't there a lot!! I am exhausted. Love the little dogs on the hexies. Linda

Maria said...

WOW!!!! Your flowers are just fabulous this week.

PolkaDotClassic said...

Ha ha thats me! in the cartoon begging for money :P
Lovely flowers
Have a nice day
Marta

Sue Daurio said...

Your flower blocks are wonderful! And loved your final thoughts. Made me laugh this morning

Debbie said...

Love the cartoon....just opened my bag of 27 yards of fabric. What was I thinking? It was on big time sale of course.
Love your doggie block...it is so cute.

sunny said...

Cute hexies! and I love your final thought.....

sunny said...

Cute hexies! and I love your final thought.....

Bethany said...

Love that doxie block! It looks like they're all in some Christmassy conga line (circle?) Too cute!

Linda in Calif. said...

We decorate our tree with candy canes. It's such a nice touch. I love the doxie hexie. And the candle one doesn't look to Christmasy.

Quiltingranny said...

I am pretty much giving up on the blog giveaways this week. It just seems so many of them have to many requirements this year...post a comment, do this, do that, follow here, go there and simply have no energy. So I am doing what I can, but as someone here earlier said,it can take days to follow them all! Love your post today!

WoolenSails said...

Love that candle piece, lots of possibilities with that piece. Always love reading your fun facts, things we see all the time and never think about, where they came from.

Debbie

Debbie said...

I have a giveaway today- ending Friday morning:
http://debaeremaeker.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-lights-and-birthday-giveaway.html

rubyslipperz1052 said...

blog hoppin' can wear you out...but, darn it all...it doesn't seem to wear off meee big ol' tush!

As always, your hexies are all adorable!

And, thanks for the wonderful info about Candy Canes. =)

hugZ,
annie m.
anniesrubyslipperz.com

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

How did you get a photo of me begging for fabric money????

Giggle.....love the weenie dogs.

Susan said...

I so love seeing what each of your hexies will be. I love the fabrics you find, and today in the Bernina store, I found myself looking at some elephants and giraffes thinking, "How would I cut those for hexagons?" LOL

marina said...

gorgeous hexie flowers!!
always find your facts very interesting.

Barbara said...

I am so with you on the giveaways. I've entered so many that I can't stand it anymore, and I've barely dented it. I'll tell you what though. You can just send the traveling stash to me and I'll handle everything! See how helpful I am?

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What great blocks, love the little dachshunds, that is what my mother-in-law has and last year I had to search ebay to get some fabric to make her something. The blog hops are fun, but I'm glad I didn't do both like you......can't keep up! Cute cartoon!!!!

Rosa said...

Your flowers blocks are very cute.I love come and look your new hexies.

Thanks for the info about candy canes.Here we eat "Turrón", I don´t know if you´ve heard about it.

Quiltjane said...

I really love your Christmas Hexies. So festive and cute.

Miss Hillbilly said...

Every single week I think I almost tell you that this is my favorite flower yet..but that candle one caught my breath!

Nope...didn't make it to either hop. One was enough to keep me busy answering comments alone. Look how far behind I am in blog reading!!

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