Merry Christmas

Now my house are ready for the ariving of Santa Clause. It are cleaned and decorated as well as I can do it. I made this picture some years ago and I don't ever think I will be doing all this cross-stitch ever again.
Here are some of my realy old Santas (Nisser). The one with the bell are the oldes. My hoseband got it on his first Christmas in 1955.How old the one with the basket and the one with the fiddle are I don't know, but they have been celebrating some Christmas with us.
Our tree are decorated and the gifts are beginning to fill up under it. You can see the gift I got from my Secred Santa partner , not opened yet..... ;-)
The birds outside has got there Christmas fedding, a Christmas sheaf. (jule-nek)
At last Jacob and the old Nisse-couple, Santa and his wife ,want to wish you all A Merry Christmas !
And a big hug to you all from me. Have a great time and enjoy.

LAILA

Almost Christmas

To day are the darkest day of the year. But now it is only going to be lighter untill summer-time ,when the sun shine almost all through the night.I took this photo about nine o'clock this morning. It was 20 degrees below zero. You can see my neighbours are having a fire.
To day I have been cleaning my house and to morow I will be decorating the hole house for Christmas. I use not to do that untill the 23. but this year I'll do it "early" because Nemo ,her boyfriend and her older sister are comming home for Christmas on Sunday,and I want every thing to be ready so we can just relax and enjoy ourselves.

To day I have made the last Christmas present. It is a kitchen-towel for my mother-in-law. She has got one , but whish one more.Now I have only a few more gifts to wrap up. And to morrow I will put all the gifts under the Christmas tree after I have decorate it. The gift I got from my Secred Santa Christmas partner will be laying there too....I'm looking forward to open it. ;-) But before I can do so I have to decorate my house with all my Christmas items. I got a lot of Santas, angels , tablerunners, Norwegian Santas (Nisser) and you name it..... My house are going to shine... After all the cleaning to day it only happen to sparkle a little now and then...

The bird-house out side are full of sunflower-seed and the balls are other birds food. I love to watch the birds comming and going to get food.They are so elegant . My favorite are the Bullfinch, the male are so red and beautifull. It is the Christmas-bird of them all I think.
Jacob are keeping an eye on my cleaning. May-be he are looking after the "dust-rabbits" I have catched a lot of them. Once I was thinking of setting them up for adoption...but I don't belive I'm the only one who has a lot of them...;-) But now they are spending the Christmas gathering in my vacuum-cleaner.

Unill next time take care and remember the child in you . I hope to chare some photos of my house when I have decorated it for Christmas..... ;-)

Christmas traditions

I have been asked about the Christmas traditions in Norway. Donna wondred why we opened our Christmas gifts on the 24. Well, I have asked some peoples and done a lot of thinking my self. And I belive it has to do with the Vikings and the Christnening of Norway. The Vikings had a big celebrating ( blot) on the 24. It was the darkes night of the year and the scaries one. So they gather to celebrate that the darkes time was over and it only was getting lighter.The candel - light was shining all through the night because of ,what they belive, all the dead people who was outside trying to get inside to hurt someone. So when Norway was Christned they allready got a great night to celebright and tok it as Christi birthday.I realy did not realize how mutch of the old traditions we realy have her in Norway. The hollyday peace began at 5 pm when all the church-bell starts to ring all over the country. And in our family we put on our best clothes and sit down to eat dinner at six'o clock.We will eat rib,meat-cakes and sosisses with vegetables and some tradisjonell bread called lefse. (It is made of potatos and flour for the most.) After the dinner all the dishes must be clened and the kitchen steady. As vell as the hole house must be clean and shining. THen we can sit down and open our gift, one by one. and every one have to see what we got. So this can take some time. We use to have coffe and cakes while opening the gifts. It "must" be at least seven different kind of cakes. Some are traditional and some are new one found in magasines or I got the recepi from someone...
I will try to show some of my traditions before Christmas. I have cleaned almost all over my house and baked most of the cakes. No I have to do the last gifts and wrap it in...
Yesterday some quilting girls did another tradition....we went on a trip to Oslo to look at the Christmas decorations and visit some stores. Her are a new tradition for me: A Christmas marked . I'm not use to that in Norway. It was fun to visit but, hard to get the Christmas spirit. Pure daylight and no snow... It was a lot of angels this year. You could see them all over the town. I think they are beautiful.
Here you can see what Oslo looks like....almost spring. No snow and a sunny weather...

Here are the ladies of our big destinations....Katrines Quilte Stue. We spent a great time looking and buying there.
Here you can see my buyings. A pattern from Chinderberry Stitches , a Japanese book and one fabricks. I have a meaning with the fabrics ,the other was somthing "must have" items.
We also went to Panduro. I wanted to buy some felt so I could make slippers from the new Tilda book. I made them to day,and learned that the felt didn't look the same on both sides..... I allways get some surprises in different light Good it is for me self. ;-)
We didn't meet the Nobel peace price winners Al Gore and Rajendra Pachauri. But we saw a lot of verry clean cars and this bus. They are in Oslo this weekend to get the price.
As you cuold see there was almost no winter in Oslo, but I can tell you we got it in Trysil. Just now it is 19 degrees below zero. Cold but beautiful day.

Now I have tryed to tell a little about how I celebrate Christmas. I hope you all have a wonderful Advent. Remember to let the child in you have some fun.

Ps. I have got my SSCS present. I got it from Tracey and I have not open it.....;-)

Advent......

On the first sunday in Advent I put my Advent table-cloth and the Advent-candel on the table. And start to count down untill Christmas.
I alsow has some quilts I must hang on the walls. The first are from Art to Heart .I made it some years ago.
And the second are Yule tide Joy from Quakertown Quilts. I just love these quilts and they are so CHRISTMAS to me. So now I can start to make everything ready for Christmas. I'm going to make gifts and make some Christmas cakes this week.....
To day I made two smal purses from the new Tilda book. (Tildas julehus) Fun and easy to make. I have more gift plans from this book. ;-)
Yester day and to day I got mail. More to make. The Julius pattern and the tied up fabrics are a Designer abonnement from Nothern Quilts . The Stocking patten with the other fabrics I got from Katrines Quiltestue. The pattern are from Bird Brain Design. I love to start making them...

This evening I went to meet some of my quilting friends . We had a lovely evening just talking and "organize the world". ;-) I was clever and sew bindings on one and a half little table-cloth. Vigdis had to take a photo just so I could show how clever I was. She had done som bindings herself ,but I did not get a photo of hers. She has to blog them herself.
Here you can see all three of the table-cloths. I make all three at the same time. Three 30 cm of fabrics make three stars. so quick and easy....Just cut and put together...Almost....
One lady in the quiltgrup has made this of felted wool. The goat has not got his horn yet but I think it is great. And the guy with the red hat.... WOW. In Norway we call him a "nisse" It is not the same as the Santa . He brings no presents, but stays about looking after the house and the animals. I don't know if you "out in the world" has somthing like him? He must be a kind of a lovely elf, if you treat him well.
I must show you how different my life has been the last weeks....Here outside Nice it was so lovely, warm wether , about 20 degrees , sunny and so golden...
And back home.....Blue and cold weather . Abouth 15 degrees below zero. And I love every part of the difference.... It is soon Christmas and it means winter to me.... And I must have snow.

Have some great Advent-days...

Have fun and remember to relax.... ;-)