Traditions

Today is Holiday in the Highlands. It's a tour of four homes decorated for Christmas along with a Holiday Market. The event is sponsored by the Lake Highlands Women's League and the funds raised fron the home tour and the "Market" sales will benefit various Lake Highlands neighborhood projects and high school seniors. (My nieces each received a scholarship from the Lake Highlands Women's League.) This is one of those holiday events that I look forward to each year. Especially the delicious lunch made by the ladies of the Women's League...and served by their husbands (dressed in tuxedos!)

This is the 32nd year for the Holiday Tour, and for the past 28 December's my mom and I have attended the Lake Highlands home tour. Before I moved back to this area my mom and her very good friend Nell enjoyed the yearly Holiday Tour, and it was their ritual to go each year! When I returned to Texas, they included me that very first year I was home.

Since then it has become our Christmas "tradition." A part of that yearly tradition was the gift Miss Nell gave us to “commemorate” our day together. It was never a big gift, as gifts go, but always a special treasure she found on her travels, or a little something she made that she thought we would enjoy. Each gift was a memento of our day together and the sentiment was always the same...a celebration of our friendship.

As each season has passed others joined our small group; my sister upon her return to the area and my sister-in-laws as they have joined our family! It’s always been fun and interesting…but sadly Miss Nell passed away a few years ago. We have continued the yearly Holiday Tour tradition, but each year she is sadly missed…

This year, in honor of Miss Nell, I decided the “gift” tradition should be re-instituted! I wanted something handmade that would remind each of us of our day spent together. I decided on Christmas tassels.

Here is a picture of my “little finds” before they became tassels. I've been looking for "small" ornaments for a couple of weeks now.

I pulled out my baskets (yes plural) of left over ribbons and trims from other sewing projects.  Of course, I had to throw even the smallest pieces away. (And I was able to use some of those very small left over pieces to make the tassels.)

Next, I fire up the glue gun and begin the gluing!  It was fun to decide what trim and ribbon to mix and match on each ornament. (For more infomation on creating tassels check out Nesting Place Blog.  Miss Nester sells "The Ultimate Tassel Guide".)

Once I finished the tassels I decided to make a muslin bag for each one.

I stitched the edges in red and turned under the top to make a casing for the ribbon tie.

I printed some vintage 1950 Christmas stickers onto iron on fabric and ironed them to the front of my bags.

I liked that the way the bags turned out...they look very vintage!

Here are just a few of the tassels I completed.  Of course, I made many more...and I still have plenty of trim left over for "other projects"

The gifts are all ready for our annual Holiday Home Tour. I hope the girls will like them.

So here's to you Miss Nell!  We miss you...but we know you are celebrating this Christmas with the angels!

Till tomorrow...
debi