Christmas is a time for family to gather. When we lose a member of our family, that loss seems most vivid at Christmas. The empty chair at the table. The stocking you almost hang...then remember that person won't be with you this year. There are ways to keep the memory of those we've lost with us. A dear friend of mine gives a Lenox Cross ornament to her friends who've lost a loved one during the past year. Here is the cross she gave me when I lost my mother.
Each year when I hang it on my Christmas tree I always think of my mom, as well as my friend, Cindy, who gave me the cross. What a thoughtful gift, and what a wonderful way to keep my mother's memory alive each Christmas.
I lost my mother three years ago. She loved rocking horses and had quite a collection. As my sisters and I sorted through her possessions, each of us took rocking horses in varying forms as a remembrance of our mom and the joy she brought to each of us. She had several rocking horse broaches and I took several of them and created this framed 'art' piece for my daughter, Hilary. I pinned the broaches onto fabric into the shape of a Christmas tree, then stretched and framed the fabric. Here's how it looked when completed...
I've promised my sisters I would make them something from the costume jewelry we inherited from our mother and grandmothers. I haven't completed them yet, but here is one that I'm currently working on...
My great-aunt's hobbies were fabric painting and needlework. Years after her death, I received a tablecloth that she had started beading, but hadn't finished. Constructed of felt, it hadn't weathered the years well. There were lots of moth holes and stains. Hoping to save at least some of the cloth, I marked off sections where she had completed designs. There was a one design of Santa with his bag of toys over his shoulder, poinsettias, and along one long side a nativity. Areas of fabric around the nativity were stained, but I worked until I came up with a method of cutting it out that was free of flaws. After cutting it out, I sewed a band of brown braid around the edge and hung it over the French doors in my guest room. I wish I was a better photographer, because this is such a beautiful piece! There are hundreds of sequins and beads carefully stitched within each design.
What Christmas decorations or traditions remind you of family?
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