Christmas Tree

“I want to emphasize that I have no quarrel with that well-fed gentleman with the red suit and the white whiskers. He was very generous to me when I was a boy, and we are looking forward with great anticipation to his visit at our home.” – Boyd K. Packer

“In the land of my birth there was no Santa Claus, but a little goat was shoved into the room, carrying with it a basket of Christmas toys and gifts. The goat of itself counted for nothing; but the Christmas spirit, which it symbolized, counted for a tremendous lot.” – John A. Widtsoe, who was born in Norway

“Like all children, we suffered terrible anticipation at Christmastime – until, that is, we happened onto the Santa Claus costume in the bottom of an old trunk. Suddenly the secret was out. So that was why Father was always out doing chores when Santa came on Christmas morning.” – Ezra Taft Benson

Frayed Sawtooth Star

A year ago I accepted Kathryn Kerr’s 365 Quilt Bock Challenge, and I’ve nearly finished it! Each day a block pattern shows up in my email, and each day I make that block, or something like it. Almost all of them were 3” or 6” finished, and I have little use for those sizes. Unless they’re destined for miniature quilts, tiny blocks make the finished product impossibly heavy and busy. So, while I did make some blocks in the prescribed sizes, many were 8”, 9” or 12”. A lot of the challenge blocks will never show up here, because I wanted to display other projects and because so many are just plain ugly. The biggest surprise has been that very few of the challenge blocks are repeats of blocks I’ve already made. I’d have thought, with more than 1600 blocks under my belt, it would be tough to find 365 I haven’t already done.

Carrie Nation

This year the block-of-the-month class at Quilts Etc. is called You Go Girl. Each month we’re given two 9” finished block patterns and fabric to finish one. The blocks are named for women in history who exemplified courage. We’ve considered the contributions of Anne Sullivan, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton and others. My one disappointment is Quilts Etc. has simply renamed existing traditional quilt blocks and presented them with the names of these women. There was no need to do that, since several amazing women already have quilt blocks named for them, like: Martha Washington, Mrs. Keller’s 9-Patch, and today’s block named for a radical member of the temperance movement. At the very least they could have chosen blocks that carry the same first names of prominent women, like Crazy Annie or Black-Eyed Susan. There’s even a lovely 4-patch block called Clara Barton. I should show it to you someday.

Squared Chain

She was born in Encino, California on May 26, 1951. After high school Sally Ride went to Stanford University where she earned degrees in physics. NASA began looking for women astronauts in 1977. Sally saw an ad in her school newspaper inviting women to join the astronaut program. She decided to apply for the job. June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space. After leaving NASA, Sally taught at the University of California in San Diego. She started looking for ways to help women and girls who wanted to study science and mathematics. In 2003, she was added to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Until her death in 2012, Sally Ride helped students - especially girls - study science and mathematics.

White Square

I love Christmas music, but sometimes it feels like there are really only about a dozen Christmas songs out there. The same tunes keep playing and replaying, at the grocer’s, throughout the mall, in elevators and on the radio. When I finally hear something new (or new to me) it’s so refreshing. A few years ago I served as MC for a group of cloggers that danced to George Strait’s Christmas Cookies. It was the first time I’d heard it, and I thought it was adorable. This year my biggest surprise was Zat You, Santa Claus? It played two weeks ago as we waited for a table at Cheesecake Factory. It’s a delightful blues number by Louis Armstrong; and older than I am. But I swear I’ve never heard it before this year. Where has this one been hiding all my life, while I’ve been stuck hearing same dozen Christmas songs over and over?

Fred's Spools

“Our hope is to capture the true spirit of Christmas for ourselves and for those we love. That spirit is characterized by peace—not political peace, for the Savior was born at a time of fear and unrest so great that His family had to flee as refugees into Egypt; not economic peace, for He was born in a stable and laid in a humble manger; and not even the peace that comes when all the packages are wrapped, the trees decorated, and the table set, because that peace is only momentary. The peace of Christmas is “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” It is the peace that the Apostle Paul promised would “keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” And Paul was right. That peace we seek is only through and because of Jesus Christ.” – President Henry B. Eyring