Swedelicious!

This Christmas I decided to make some Swedish themed decor... Every Xmas Eve in my life has been spent at my Swedish grandmother's (and non-Swedish grandpa, but you know, he didn't decorate) house, until this year (Chris & I have decided to start switching locations year to year instead of trying to do both family celebrations). Anyway, I decided to have a brunch for my family before we leave town to make up for it, and thought I needed some Sweden in the house for it...

Swedish Hearts

Wool felt with blanket stitch edging.

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This year's Christmas Cards

I carved a block for printing these and finished them with stardust pen details.

For non-Swedes, the Julbock (or Yule-goat):

"is a ubiquitous symbol of the winter holidays in Scandinavian countries"... continue at Altreligion

Now, it's mostly thought of just as a cute Xmas decoration, though...

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Lucia Doll

This is the first doll I've made with yarn hair, which was a bit tricky, but she really have to have the braids. The crown-wreath is loop knotted yarn with felt/tiny pom-pom candles. And she's even got Dala horses on her tights!

"Lucia Day, December 13th, initiates the Christmas season by marking the beginning of brighter days to come in Sweden. It is customary that the eldest daughter as Lucia... dresses in a long white gown with a red sash around her waist and wears a crown entwined with sprigs of myrtle greens on her head. Five or seven lighted candles in the crown spread a luminous glow around her."
-American Swedish Institute
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Next year, I'll make some tomte... I just ran out of time...

First of many...

I have a few things lined up to post, but you know how it goes...
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Here I have some pics of the purse I made for my wedding. Well, my wedding was 2 years ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting these pics... actually, I just got around to taking them. Anyway:

It's in the shadowbox I made for wedding stuff: there's a photo, a bird wreath that was part if the table centerpieces, Chris's boutonnière, and a butterfly my little brother Tyman found after the ceremony (don't worry, it was already dead). I used Inspirations Magazine (the embroidery one, not the stamping one) Bridal Issue for the placement of the vines on the purse, but changed the individual elements & made it monochromatic (there are subtle color changes). The stawberries are for our name (Fraser), the thistle is for Scotland (land of the Frasers), and the pomegranate, rose, and bird are all traditionally associated with weddings. I got additional for these instructions from Jane Nicholas's books (Except for the bird, which I winged. Pun intended.).

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All our wedding photos are posted here.