Day 6 of our Home for the Holidays Blog Hop

Welcome back everyone to Day 6, on our Home for the Holidays Blog Hop!  In case you didn't click "refresh" in your browser and didn't get Gail Pan's darling little runner pattern, here is the direct link.  http://gailpandesigns.typepad.com/.  Clicking the home button on a blog or clicking "refresh" gets you back to their current page/blog post!  I try to do as much as I can for you... but once I get you there, you may have to do the above!!!

Speaking of the lovely Gail Pan, here is a pic of her project she created for the hop!!  How cute is this!!  She even used her new fabric line in it!!!

Today I'm sharing something sweet with you!  It's gumdrops!  Each Holiday Season my great grandma and I would go to the dime store and buy Christmas candy!  Gumdrops were always on top of the list!  First, we loved them and second... we needed them for the gumdrop tree!  Grandma had an old fashioned glass candy dish, unique in style and with a glass cover (of course) to hold the gumdrops.  The gumdrop tree was clear & plastic.  We put the gumdrops on the ends to look like ornaments!  Extras were placed on the bottom section to be replace the gumdrops that we are!  Such good memories!!!  Did any of you have a gumdrop tree growing up?

I also have a fun Gumdrop Fudge recipe for you!  I thought this would be a pretty addition to your cookie & candy plates this Holiday Season!!  Here is the link to the recipe!  Enjoy!  http://www.shugarysweets.com/2013/12/gumdrop-fudge

Let's continue hopping, shall we....  Today on our hop features Debbie, from Wooden Spool Designs.  I'll be seeing Debbie tomorrow, as I fly out to teach with her and a few others at Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe in Oregon!  Should be fun!  I'm excited to see what she stitched up for the hop!  Let's head over there and see!!!

http://woodenspooldesigns.blogspot.com/?m=1

See you tomorrow from Oregon!!!!!  Stacy 

Day 5 of our Home for the Holidays Blog Hop

Hello!  Welcome to Day 5 of our Home for the Holidays Blog Hop!  I am loving all the projects on this year's hop!  Great job everyone!!!  This could be our most exciting blog hop yet!!!  Whoo Hoo!!!

Remember, if you miss a day, you can always go back to view it on the blog and click the designer links!  Here is a pic of yesterday's project from Tracy, Plum Cute Designs!  I love how she added the ruffle at the bottom!  Adorable!

Today I'm sharing some fun Christmas tree facts from the University of Illinois Extention!!   I should have know Thomas Edison's assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas tree!   

Great Moments in Christmas Tree History

• The use of evergreen trees to celebrate the winter season occurred before the birth of Christ.
• The first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510.
• The first printed reference to Christmas trees appeared in Germany in 1531.
• Besides evergreens, other types of trees such as cherry and hawthorns were used as Christmas trees in the past.
• Using small candles to light a Christmas tree dates back to the middle of the 17th century.
• Thomas Edison's assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882. Christmas tree lights were first mass-produced in 1890.
• In 1900, large stores started to erect big illuminated Christmas trees.
• The tradition of an official Chicago Christmas tree was initiated in 1913 when one was first lit by Mayor Carter H. Harrison in Grant Park.
• The official Christmas tree tradition at Rockefeller Center began in 1933. Since 2004 the tree has been topped with a 550-pound Swarovski Crystal star. And since 2007, the tree has been lit with 30,000 energy-efficient LED's which are powered by solar panels. 
• Every year since 1947, the people of Oslo, Norway have given a Christmas tree to the city of Westminster, England. The gift is an expression of good will and gratitude for Britain's help to Norway during World War II.
• Since 1971, the Province of Nova Scotia has presented the Boston Christmas tree to the people of Boston, in gratitude for the relief supplies received from the citizens of Boston after a ship exploded in 1917 following a collision in the Halifax, Nova Scotia Harbor. Part of the city was leveled, killing and injuring thousands.

Today we have Gail, from Gail Pan Designs!  She may have posted already since she's across the way in Australia!  She's a handwork lover- so I'm thinking a sweet stitchery design in a quilt awaits you!  You'll have to check it out and see if my guess was right!!!!  Here is recipe card and link to her blog!  Enjoy!  

http://gailpandesigns.typepad.com/

See you tomorrow!!!  Stacy

Day 4 of our Home for the Holidays Blog Hop!

We meet again on Day 4, of our Home for the Holidays Blog Hop!!!  I'm really enjoying all the great projects, delicious cookie recipes & the great posts!  I hope you are too!  It's the first thing I hear many of you are doing in the morning with a cup of hot coffee!  You might as well keep the coffee brewing...as we have many more days left on the hop!!!

If you missed yesterday's project.... Here it is!  I love Loti's sweet little old fashioned sock!  I also love that it is quick & easy!!!

Today I've been thinking about Christmas and lutefisk!  I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with lutefisk!?!?  If you're Norweign, you probably are very familiar with it!!  {If you are not familiar with... that could be a very good thing!!!}.

I'm not fond of it, but here in Minnesota it's a traditional side to Holiday dinners- especially Christmas!  What exactly is lutefisk?  Well, lutefisk is dried whitefish (normally cod) treated with lye. It is a Notdic dish served in the Upper Midwest!

{The following 3 photos are courtesy of PBS!}

As far as I can remember back, it has been served at our Holiday dinners!  You can't miss it- it smells horrible when being cooked and looks like flaky slime!!!  However, now that those who enjoyed it have passed... I'd give anything to enjoy the day with them with that lutefisk!!! My grandmothers and mother LOVED it!  Grandma Avis would role it up in her lefsa, while mom & Lily smothered it in butter!  

So- if you visit MN during November, you will have to visit "Lutefisk Capital USA" Madison, MN... where lutefisk takes center stage at its annual Norsefest!  And if you're really daring... You can even enter their lutefisk eating contest!!!  Lol!!!

Ok... On with the hop!!!  Today is Tracy, from Plumcute Designs Day!  I've seen her darling little pillow design... you're going to love it!  Before you head that way I'll share her recipe here and remind you of our Cyber Monday Online Event!  

Shop Cyber Monday at the Basin!  

http://www.buttermilkbasin.com/

Please be sure to head over to Tracy's blog and print off another great Holiday project to enjoy!!! 

http://www.plumcutedesigns.com/?page_id=473

Have a GREAT Monday and see you tomorrow back here snd see who's up next on the hop!  Stacy

Day 3 of our Home for the Holidays Blog Hop

Welcome back everyone to another great day on our hop!  Before I begin, I need to apologize for not getting Kathy Schmitz her recipe card to post online!  So if you went to her blog, seen her darling stitchery project and her cookie pic without the recipe... here it is!!!  Again... sorry for my error!  Here is her link again if you want to go back and revisit {she will be putting her pics back up when she has a moment!}. http://kathyschmitzstudio.blogspot.com/?m=1

Also, I'd like to mention that we have a Shop Small Saturday/Cyber Monday Online Event going on now on our  website at http://www.buttermilkbasin.com/.  We have lots of new goods from wool kits... to fabric & wool bundles on there!  Feel free to pop over to our site and take a peek!!!  And if you came to the shop yesterday to support our small business- we SEW appreciated you & your business!!!!  {Plus we had a blast!!!}

Back to today's blog hop post...

Are you all enjoying the hop so far?  I sure am!  It's like opening a Christmas present everyday!  You never know what's inside ... Just like not knowing what each designer will be designing & posting!!!!  It's so exciting!!!

Speaking of Christmas gifts...  I thought these old fashioned ads were cute- but humorous!  They were classified as "Cringe-Worthy Vintage Ads from Christmas Past"!  What I'm fascinated by is how lovely & excited the women are when they are reading the vacuum manual and decorating the tree... thinking of all the aluminum gifts they could be getting! 

But then there is this one!  It's my FAV, and an actual cool gift I would appreciate!  {Just not for ironing clothes daily! Lol}. And the best part about... It is designed for "sit down" ironing!  Doesn't get any better than that!!!! 

Now that we had a little chuckle.... We are ready to head over to our next fantastic designer in the cross stitch/needkework industry!  Today is Lori, from Notforgotten Farm's day!  She always comes up with something unique for you!  Let's head over her way and see what "surprise" she has for us, shall we!?!  

http://farmhousenotforgotten.blogspot.com/?m=1

Have fun!  I'll meet you back here tomorrow!  Stacy

Shop Small Saturday Online Event

Happy Shop SMALL Saturday!!!!  We couldn't wait to post an awesome giveaway for you this week over on our FB page!  We have been soooo busy at the shop today that we had to delay posting until after the shop closed!  So we want to give a BIG Thank you to the locals and tri-state area gals who came out and took part in our Santa's Workshop & showed their support to my little company on Shop SMALL Saturday!  We had FREE make it take its & gave away a FREE pattern!  Shelly also made hand dipped pretzel rods! {YUMMY!} We packaged them up and gave them out to each customer!!!  I can't imagine a more fun day!  And now… the FUN continues online, as we share this day with you here and on our site!!!  We are blessed!!!

I just finished uploading all the NEW kits, bundles & goods on the website for today!  Www.buttermilkbasin.com We know you are going to LOVE the goodies!!!  We wanted to switch things up a bit this round… so if  you have visions of sugar plums dancing around… or if you love trees & wagons… be sure to head over to our website at www.buttermilkbasin.com and check out the new goods!  We also have created the sweetest Ribbon Candy Wool Bundle and wrapped up 12 of our FAV Christmas yarn dyes & Humble Beginning fabrics in a gorgeous fat quarter bundle just for you!  It is sooo exciting to bring you Holiday cheer!  Enjoy!