Making New Friends (Martina) and Christmas Eating in Europe a FANTASTIC Adventure! Coming home to Love

I thought that this darling boy with fresh bread in France was one of the neatest signs I have ever seen. Everything about it is wonderful.

One of the best things about visiting Heidelberg is meeting a Quilting friend who is wonderful in everyway. Here is Candy Woods who traveled with me and Martina. Martina wrote to ask if we could meet and I wasnt cute because I really didn't know the schedule in Heidelberg...then I found out we could. She gave me a darling "smoker" nutcracker type toy that my Grandchildren are enchanted with. I am so happy to have met her and have invited her to come and visit the US. The four of us girls are sending her fabric that is bright as she says it is hard to find there. We have an abundance and love to share with such a nice girl.

I am holding the beautiful pink wrapping she gave me with the gift in it.

I love Orangina...buy it for a treat once in awhile here in town. This dish is from a Department store in Switzerland. It is a bread bottom, with delicious cheese potatoes, ham and herbs. Not for weight watchers but sensational all the same. 

 In Germnay there is a Brandy that is wonderful. They soak a sugar cube with the brandy and a bit more and light it on fire, then the sugar carmelizes and they pour hot coffee and milk over it and add sugar sprinkles. It is delicious. Really. In this restaurant they serve it with checkerboard cookies. This was wonderful for me as my Swedish Grandmother made these every year and I had forgotten. I am making them next week. Will post the delicious recipe.

 This was a beef dish at a lovely restaurant in Baden Baden. What a lovely area that is! Friendly people and lovely buildings and good shopping.

Dried Fruits and nuts of every kind!

 More of those delicious pastries...and I do mean delicious.

 These are jars of goose and vegetables or pork and vegetables...I guess it is their version of Campbells soup only richer. I saw many people buying these.

 

Here is Molly with loaves of bread that were about five or six feet long! They took them and cut a chunk and sold them. They must have a HUGE oven! Delisious bread, naturally, German's have fabulous breads and pastries and well, everything they do is delicious. 

So, I thought the cakes and pastries in this Switzerland shop were amazing! 

Lovely melt in your mouth chocolates in Europe....unbeilieable to your mouth. SO smooth and never ever waxy. 

The photo above is of all kinds of chocolate with all kinds of toppings and nuts...rich and decadent!  

Ber you would never guess that the candy above is licorace. Isn't it pretty?

Here are the four of us ready to eat and talk quilts and images and ideas in a beautiful city in Germany.

How do you like the I Love YOU bus? This was taken in Basel Switzerland. A wonderful city with wonderful shops and people.

This was a dream trip for me and made me so appreciate Europe and it's wonderful people, beauty, clean clean cities, lovely way they dress, darling children, friendly people who ask "where are you from?" and they help you with luggage and they are just all together wonderful. SO nice to get to know the people in other parts of the world. I have to say that more than once I saw people from where I live acting rudely. Sigh.

We all agreed that we could all get along well if there were no politicians.

I loved seeing the laughter, the smiling faces, the sharing, the caring, the kindess and everyone having so much fun sharing in the many Christmas Markets. We lost count on just how many we attended.

Christmas is a happy time of year for people all over the world.

I am bringing some of this happiness home to my little house and my husband who missed me. And I missed him too.

Beautiful Christmas Quilt called "A Grandmother's Gift"

Today I received this nice letter from Taffy who lives in Georgia. Now when I teach a story quilt class I do not insist on hand applique although I do like it when people do this because I think it lasts longer and no stiff pieced in the quilt.
Taffy wrote-

I took two classes from you through the East Cobb Quilt Guild in Marietta, GA, probably in 2009, just before Out of the Box was published. You had "Christmas Quilt" with you. I can't remember what the class was supposed to be, but I wanted a Christmas quilt. I made the hoochy mama border and appliqued the tree over night with quarter inch stitches.  You insisted that I do it by hand and since it was your class, I decided to do it your way.

Four years later, my quilt, "A Grandmother's Gift" is hanging for Christmas. I plan more crystals and beads after the season.  It might never end.

But I wanted to thank you for the inspiration and for insisting on hand applique.

Merry Christmas.

--
Taffy

A Mouse for good luck on the top of the tree. Fun!

I can tell that Taffy took my Christmas quilt for inspiration but made it hers. I think this is darling and it is a wonderful gift by a Grandmother or from a Grandmother. A lovely piece of history and a wonderful heirloom.

Isn't this wonderful? Each piece carefully done and look at the wheels here and the little tree. I know what she means by never being done. I feel like this with some of my quilts too.
      This coming year I will be teaching Christmas trees and wreaths with darling things on them. I will be showing how to do little yoyo people, things with buttons and how to add rick rack in a fun way. I have a new Christmas tree and am cutting one out this week to put German things on. Then I hope to do a French one etc.
I promised myself this is the year of the Nativity scene also.
     If you would like to have a class, contact me. These are so much fun and aren't they a wonderful thing for your family?
Taffy made my year when she sent this to me. I love it.

Europe provides New friends, Laughter, Glugwine and great food and sites!!!

Above is food for sale at the Market...cookies and candies for sale are everywhere!

This past 12 days I have been in Europe.

I left on Thanksgiving. Normally now with my husband who is ill, I would never be able to go. But almost three years ago I started paying on this trip and in two years it was paid for.  My hsuabdn wanted me to go and it was hard anyway to find someone who could come up with all of the cash at the last minute. I did not know if I could have a good time but it was so wonderful and the emphasis of all of this is on Christ's birthday and that made it all the more happy. I was lucky and went with three good friends who like to laugh, are interested in design and ideas and color and who enjoy people like I do. We had alot of laughing and sharing and enjoying every single minute.

It is 3:30 am now and I have been up since midnight because I am on the wrong time zone. I have to get it switched around for all of the housework I need to do!

Below is the most wonderful cathedral in Colgne. They say it was not bombed during the war because it was a landmark. I am so glad because it is wonderful. Europe is charming because it as the mix of old and new.

This gives you a little idea of the people around the beautiful cathedral and going into the Christmas Market. It is funny to see such a OLD building and Mickey Mouse in the photo.

What a welcome into this beautiful Christmas Market

The lights in front of the Cathedral were fantastic and made the whole experience even more beautiful.

Lights were everywhere and on everything....we don't have anything quite as spectacular, I don't think.

Here are three of us in this little train going off to another Market. There were twn in Cologne...we made it to five or six of them....

Gnome Market and the top of a nice little booth.

We loved this market below because the theme was gnomes and they were so adorable! We bought a darling one to bring home in another city. I brought a nice mug with one of the gnomes on it. Fun! Eurpean's love gnomes and faries and good witches

Below are my gal pals that shared this wonderful experience. Molly, Tina and Candy. We all agreed it was the trip of a lifetime and for a designer it was over the top! Here they are standing in front of just one of the many markets in Cologne. Look at the fabulous Cathedral in the background. It was started in 400 ad...and it is HUGE with many many fabulous stain glass windows and scultures....I was so inspired to see God lives in such a beautiful place in Cologne.

I thought the moss on the roof of this darling booth was wonderful. Each booth was decorated to the nines and all had fabulous things for sale and happy happy people. I took so many photos. I had a smile on my face the entire time.

 

Hungry anyone- food, food, food everywhere and delicious. The Germans really know how to eat and rink! My goodness Glugwine is every ten steops and hundreds of people are drinking it. It was not my favorite. My Grandmother from Sweden would make it for holidays. Spicy and sweet. I chose hotchocolate when I could. Each beautiful Market has their own destinctive mug that has a picture painted on it to match the theme of the market. I came home with eight mugs and left two glasses in the hotel room.

Delicious strudels for sale...all kinds!

If you like Pretzels, this is YOUR place! Germans' make great breads, pretzels and pastries...and their brots and sauerkraut is amazing!

I took the pig (named Piggy) that the Grandkids all sleep with. I thought photos of him would make them smile. Here Piggy waits in the room for us to come back.

The dearest angels are everywhere in Europe. I LOVE angels as most of you know.

I plan to do an angel wreath or tree. I am going to be doing a series of patterns of Christmas trees (German, toys and othe themes) and wreaths in both cotton and wool and other fun surprises. I will start teaching this next year.

I am going to add more later on this week with a couple of nice recipes from Europe that are delicious. I tried them!
Thank you for visiting and ordering my books. I am glad to be home and in touch with you again.

Don't Give This Recipe to Anyone FUDGE- and Trips to Europe for those who work and save

I just LOVE this image of an angel that spreads glitter and good wishes  (photo taken in Germany) -the passage below is what I am reminded of....

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love -  and good works

Heb 10:24

 

I love this billboard I took a photo of in Switzerland in 2006. It says that Santa shops at this store...pretty funny.
    So next week is Thanksgiving and I will be on my way to Amsterdam and then Cologne Germany with friends and other people that will hopefully be new friends.
Two years ago when everything was peachy in my life I worked hard to pay for another trip to Germany, Austria and Switzerland to visit the Christmas Markets.
              I had it paid for long ago thanks to quilting classes and saving my money.
Then as you know we found out Mark (my husband was ill). I hoped to sell my ticket which proved difficult as it was last minute and alot of money for one person to come up with all at once. My husband insisted I go and have a lovely time. This is the way he is...thoughtful and generous. In my mind this money could have been better used for a new furnace and water heater but I am spending it on the trip. :0)                                   
                  Mark will be spending Thanksgiving with my kids and we will be having another turkey dinner here on Sunday before I leave. I love getting together with my kids and Grandkids! What a blessing to be able to be together to share in what we are thankful for...mostly each other.
       I am going to take LOTS of photos and enjoy the trip as much as anything I could purchase. Photos last forever  There are some things that are affordable (cheap) and fun. I thought I might share some photos here of what I saw the last time at the Markets in Germany.
     If you are interested here is the trip I will be taking and the itinerary.
http://www.tauck.com/tours/europe-tours/central-and-eastern-europe-tours/christmas-market-tours-rcn-2013.aspx
     I think it will be very exciting next week as it gets closer. I need a warm undershirt, a warm hat and some warm gloves. I have everything else.
    I am using this trip for more inspiration for workshops, and perhaps a Christmas book or patterns I will be doing next year. I just completed another super Christmas tree quilt , and two wreaths and will be doing a pattern of them for workshops. I have one Christmas tree workshop booked because as soon as the girls saw it, they signed up! If you would be interested in a Christmas tree workshop later next year or the year after, please contact me. I am crazy for Christmas and all of the beautiful things that can symbolize this loving time of the year.
Here are photos from my last trip.

This is sideways but it is the bottom of the roof of a building...amazing. Wouldn't this make an awesome quilt?

This is someone's house

I love angels and this is a church that was simply filled with them...even ones we could not see

This is the Annuciation when the angel Gabriel told Mary she would be having a baby....it was so pretty in real life and look at all of the designs in the background

A bakery sign...so cool!

VERY folksy and fun!

Handmade holiday chocolates

All colors and all flavors...delisious and melt in your mouth...

 

It's hard to imagine these are people's homes...I would want all angels outside my house - how about you?

Christmas ornaments! Beauty everywhere you turn

 

 

Below is just one of hundreds of booths and they are all different and all filled to the brim with ornaments, hats, candies, wreaths, doo dads etc. I have deleted alot of those photos I am sorry to say so I will be getting more this trip around.

 

 

One of the things I loved best about Germany was the beautiful lights that hung and lighted up the streets. I focused alot of parents or grandparents and children and the excitement in their faces. I would love for my Grandchildren to see what I saw when I was little that is in Germany. They have many store front windows with scenes of Santa or family around the tree or elves making toys etc. I remember that when I was small. Now it is to expensive I guess to do what they did back then.

It just adds to the wonder and excitement of Christmas and the Holidays!

 

 

 

 

Here Santa haulds shoppers here and there and everywhere-darling trolley

 

 

Stollen and giner cookies and pepperneuse and candies and cookies and....

 

The prettiest ornaments ever!

 

 

My most favorite below...I did not buy any of these but love the photos

 

Can you see why it is hard to choose what to buy at the Markets???

Below is someone else's home...love the fruit

 

The poot man's way of decorating their house (below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To buy good stuff for Christmas in the US, I adore this quilt shop...it has everyone a GOOD shop needs to have including a friendly, happy staff...every one of them! That is the sign of a good shop owner~

 

 My Aunts "Don't Give This Recipe to ANYONE Fudge -shhhhh don't tell her, this stuff is divine and worth the trouble!

4 cups sugar

4 cups cream

1 cup Karo

1 cup  real butter

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

2 cups of walnuts or pecans

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine sugar, karo butter, chocolate, and 2 cups of cream. Boil 15 minutes, Next slowly add 2 more cups of cream and boil to soft ball stage- 1hour hour or more...worth the time and effort, honest. I stir with a wooden spoon off and on throughout this process. Add Vanilla and then beat until thick. Add nuts and put into a greased pan. Enjoy. People love this fudge!

My Granddaughter's turkey-is there anything more fun than a child's drawing? I don't think so.

This might be a good time to order my Angel Block of the Month to sew for the coming year. it is really fun to embellish and to personalize too