Ok ... we know Christmas isn't all about getting gifts ... but it sure is a fun part of the holidays! And there's nothing better than a gift that has a lot of thought behind it. That's why the Cross Country Christmas is so cool ... you can make the perfect present and get the double enjoyment of thinking of that person and imagining their reaction as you do it. I know Terry has something fun on her blog today that you'll be able to whip up in minutes! Ok ok ... hours!

 
I grew up in Lake Elmo MN ... a suburb of St Paul now but on the edge of the earth when we were growing up. Our nearest neighbor to the north was a quarter mile away on the other side of the orchard. But the ones I knew the best were the Armstrongs ... up the hill to the south past huge fields of varying crops. They were four siblings who lived together and farmed their parents land after they passed away. Julia was my favorite ... she always had special treats for us at Halloween and cookies in her jar if Mom sent us up on an errand. It was a long walk back home, you know!

Except for the traditional exchange of baked goods at Christmas, I don't remember her giving any of us kids gifts. Until the year I went into first grade. It was an especially tough time for me. My sister, Mary Jane, had left for the convent late in the Summer and I missed her terribly. And then I started first grade at Transfiguration complete with all the trauma of getting to know 60+ classmates and a semi-stern Sister Carolinda at the front of the classroom. (And the dreaded Sister Emerita waiting for me in the second grade room!!) Plus right in the middle of all the holiday baking, my mom severly cut her hand ... with me standing right next to her. Somehow I remember the phrase "she's been such a good little helper" attached to me after that incident.

Julia saw all of this and a few days before Christmas, she walked down with a gift ... just for me. The biggest Christmas miracle is that my Mom let me open it! I loved it then and I still love it today. Julia knew I was excited about learning to read so this Mother Goose book was just perfect.

The illustrations are adorable and so brightly colored ... totally opposite of traditional Mother Goose books. The copyright is MCMXL ... so what does that tell you about how old I am?? It's in pretty good shape considering I read it from cover to cover over and over again. I keep it in the hideout if you want to see it sometime. I can't remember Julia's face any longer but I remember her!

 
There were other memorable gifts growing up ... like the baby doll that fit into this dress my Mom made for her. Or the bride doll that Santa brought just days after me seeing it in the variety store in downtown North St Paul!

And who can forget the ant farm I got during the cousin's exchange one year ... or the weeks of fretting on my Mom's part that they would get out! That issue vanished shortly after I lost interest and forgot to feed them.  Or my first new-mom Christmas when my darling eight month old Robbie crawled for the first time ... right under the tree. Didn't need that one wrapped up with a bow on top!!

Christmas. I guess it is sort of about the gifts, isn't it. But it's a lot about the remembering!

Today it's Sandy's turn from Pieces From My Heart. You probably know Sandy from her Moda fabric lines but she also has a ton of patterns. Our store favorite is Field of Flowers. Can't wait to see what she's done for the blog hop!

When the first of my sisters got married, my mom switched things up for Christmas. Instead of having a meal later in the day, she decided to have breakfast so the newlyweds could go to his family's home as well. From that time on, that was our family tradition ... we met at Mom and Dad's at 10am ... the place smelled like baked ham and poppy seed roll and egg bake ... mingled with pine from a tree cut in our field and cold Winter air. Gifts were opened after everyone was done eating and as grandkids came along, it was hard to contain the energy!

My mom made everything ... she refused to let anyone bring something to share until finally, one year she caved. That was the year I brought French Toast Strata and from then on, that was the tradition for every holiday in all of our houses. It's the recipe we share with our friends ... the one that even my boys know how to make! I'm not sure of the origin but I know the list of ingredients looked good and the directions were simple. And it made a LOT!! You have to make the syrup that goes with it ... it's just ordinary food if you don't. I know you'll love it and just maybe it'll become your tradition?

FRENCH TOAST STRATA

Well here it is ... the first day of the Cross Country Christmas blog hop and Gudrun has a wonderful quilt-as-you-go project for you. Maybe you'll be able to start crossing some names off your gift list?

At our home here in  White Bear Lake, the holidays begin when we pull out the Dept 56 houses! Bob's mom gave me the first piece shortly after we were married and our collection has grown quite a bit. We don't always put out all them but we do put out the North Pole village each year.
The fall Teddy was a year and a half old, my mom died. Around Thanksgiving, my dad gave us kids some money from one of her accounts. Part of me knew I should put it in the bank but the other part of me wanted to spend it on something really fun. I didn't want it to be just anything ... something that would remind me of my mom and all the special Christmases she had given us.

Dept 56 had introduced the North Pole series earlier in the year. Bachman's was doing some special pricing for purchasing the whole group. Yike ... I was so torn ... three little kids at home and I should be practical ... but boy that set was sooooo cute! My best friend, Fay, came up with the perfect solution that satisfied both needs. Off I went (by myself) to the store!

 

With those three boys it was easiest for us to go to the early Mass at St Mary's on Christmas Eve. Kids in the car and I had to quick run back into the house ... with Bob tapping his fingers on the steering wheel waiting. 

While we were in church trying to keep the boys in line and still maintain a Christmasy feeling, Fay and her family let themselves into our house ... carefully unpacked all of the North Pole pieces ... layed out the scene on a cabinet ... lit them up ... turned on the tree lights ... and then took off for their own church service. Did I mention she vacumned before they left?

When we pulled back in the drive Bob just couldn't believe that 'someone' forgot to unplug the Christmas tree before we left. Ha ... the tree was on just so I could see the faces of the boys as they spied the North Pole village on the table. Shock. And awe. And magic! The elves that often visited in those weeks before Christmas really outdid themselves. I'll tell ya ... I get weepy just remembering!!Neither Fay or I realized what a priceless gift her idea would give me. Of course, the fact that I pulled something off without Bob knowing is also part of the fun. Not easy when you consider that everything from Bachman's was packed in purple bags. 

We've put the village out every year since then ... adding to it a little bit as more pieces were introduced. I can still see the magic in Teddy's eyes ...  standing on a chair to peek inside the windows of the workshop ... Santa's elves really were inside building toys you know!

Shortly after the following Christmas,  Fay died from cancer, right before her 40th birthday. She was such a great pal ... suggesting I put part of the money from my mom toward the North Pole set and the rest in my savings account for a rainy day. And then offering to pull off the surprise for my family at the busiest time of the year. I think of her ... and my mom ... often but especially each time I remember that Christmas!

Well here she is ... all grown up but still a Scottie dog lover! And she still has that mischievous glint in her eye. She's up to something ... I can feel it!

The last time I saw Pam was just about a month ago at Quilt Market in Houston ... she made me laugh with her red velvet armadillo cake ... except when I saw it it looked more like armadillo road kill. Read all about it on her October 15th blog! I'm on pins and needles wondering what kind of hijinx she'll be up to when she comes to Minneapolis for Quilt Market next Spring!

I read through all of your guesses to see who knew that this was Pam Kitty Morning. A bunch of you did but there was a whole 'nother bunch who were way off course! And really ... those of you who guessed me ... did you really think we'd make things that easy for you???

The winner from all of those who guessed right is Melissa ... she posted "I think this looks like Pam Kitty Morning!" on November 4 at 8:24 am. Melissa ... email me your address ... my pals at OLFA have given me a boat load of prizes for the blog hop ... I've got some fun things to send to you!

There will be prizes galore for the rest of you during the hop ... make sure you comment on all twelve designer's projects to get your name in for the grand prize at the end.

The blog hop officially starts on Monday, November 9th. Come to my blog each day and I'll link you to the featured designer. And don't forget to read everyone else's blog too ... we'll have recipes, decorating ideas, stories and memories to share with you. It's going to be a ton of fun ... can't wait to start!

Look at that shy little smile ... but behind all of that we know lurks a mischievous little designer in the making! She's probably thinking she needs to whip up a cute bandana for her darling scottie dog. Or maybe a doggy quilt for her next design. Wow ... look at her ... she could maybe be my sister!

I actually knew this girl before I knew she was a designer ... she'd come into the Cottage once in awhile and load up on things and then I wouldn't see for a bit. I loved how much fun it was to have her visit.  After a few times, I began to realize she didn't live in the neighborhood. 

A few years later I got hooked on this terrific blog ... couldn't start my day without seeing what the writer had going on in her quilting world. Sometime later ... I'd left a comment on someone else's blog ... and as it turns out she was great friends with that writer. I could hear her squealing through cyberspace ... Roseann! Is that you??? We'd found each other again.

Now I get to see her online but also in person at Quilt Market several times a year. She never fails to make me laugh ... she makes me jealous with her fabulous work. And it's making me smile to think about her as I write this.

So ... do you know who she is?

Send me your guesses in the comments area between now and Saturday night. On Sunday, I'll look and see who  guessed right and will pick someone for a prize. Check back here then to see if it's you!!

Make sure you look around at the pix on the other blogs, too. Can you figure out which one is Little Rosebud? My kids didn't even know. 

Don't forget that the blog hop officially begins on Monday, November 9th. Gudrun leads us off for an exciting 12 days of quilting. I can't wait!!

I'm so excited to be part of another designer blog hop ... this one devoted completely to making gifts for the holidays! Just like our Minnesota designer blog hop in June, this one will feature six quilt designers from the land of 10,000 lakes and six more from other fun places across the country. You're in for a treat because there's a wide variety of styles with this group!

Below is the list of designers for the hop ... check them out ahead of time just to see what they're up to. Then on November 9th, the fun begins! You'll find a terrific project to make on the blog of the 'designer of the day'. On the rest of our blogs each day, we'll all be talking about our Christmas memories, things we do to decorate, recipes of dishes our families expect to see on the table ... just all of the stuff that makes Christmas meaningful to each of us.

Nov 9 - Gudrun of GE Designs from Minnesota leads us off

Nov 10 - Sandy from Pieces of My Heart out of Iowa

Nov 11 - Terry of Atkinson Designs ... also from Minnesota

Nov 12 - Pat Sloan ... she's from Virginia 

Nov 13 - Heather of Anka's Treasures ... another treasure from Minnesota

Nov 14 - Pam from Pam Kitty Morning ... she's from California but has really strong ties to Minnesota

Nov 15 - Kari of New Leaf Stitches ... she's in western Minnesota

Nov 16 - Terri from Whimsicals in Indiana

Nov 17 - Sherri of This and That ... another Minnesota home girl

Nov 18 - Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company ... I know she's from someplace warm

Nov 19 - yikes ... ME ... very obviously from Minnesota

Nov 20 - Linda  ... from New Jersey just outside of NYC

See? Isn't this a cool list? I can't wait to check out what everyone comes up with.

But the fun begins a little bit early. Come back to view our photo's on Wednesday. See if you can match up the little girl photos with the adults we've all become! I've seen a few of the pix ... this could be an impossible task!

Whether your holidays are spent in the cold like us here in Minnesota ... or the warmth like our friends 'down under' ... I know you'll find something on the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop that will inspire your gift giving ... either during the holidays or for special gifts through out the year. Are you ready?