Heads up – this tale requires the ability of the reader to tap into their imagination to discover how women who create things over the years bond together like well-felted creations.
Our adventure starts off every year around Christmastime when we bring together the 5 of us very talented and experienced women (each having two daughters under our now empty nester wings, who are all off on their own doing adulting things).
We’re over the age of 50 and we still get together for Christmas friendship gatherings like we did when our kids were wee little whippersnappers.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without our annual event.
Consisting of –
Tasty Food, of course, ‘Tis the season of calories – DUH!
Sparkling drinks in festive glasses (this fits me so well when it comes to wine…!)
Gnomes (created as a gift from the talented and gifted hostess to the guests)
And of course, many stories about our lives together intermixed with laughter and good cheer.
Mom #1 (aka, the Menopause Whisperer as I affectionately call her – I couldn’t have made it through that time in life without her words of wisdom): “When I tell my other friends how long we’ve been getting together, and that our daughters don’t even hang out with each other like they did when they were little, they are amazed that we Girl Scout Moms still get together.”
All of us: “It is amazing, it’s been a lot of years!”
Last, but not least, we share lessons on how to create your own DIY projects. You know, to keep our hands busy so we don’t overeat?! Never stops me, with all the glorious food, it’s hard not to munch as I crunch a project out!
Each year, for the crafty side of the party, we create or do something different depending upon the hostess with the mostest expertise on the said subject.
A couple of years ago, I made this treasure. I smile every year when it makes its frosty appearance on my kitchen counter.
This year, the Felt Magician of the group of friends taught us about felting.
(***Warning…this is graphic, and not true to life sizing, and you might not see anything like it in nature, but I gave it my best poke at it effort).
Keep these Pinterest visions in your heads…
Step #1 get out all the supplies and set it around the food on the table. Listen up for a quick lesson or two (that by the way, continued on throughout the project – just like we all had to do with our kids growing up when they were learning something new)
Moms: (all of us throughout the night as we handed our objects in their transformational modes off to the teacher) – “Here’s mine, can you show me? or Here’s mine, how’s it looking? or Can you just do it for me?”
Step#2 munch on chips, sweets, and other delicate treats chatting while you work.
I chose an unrealistic gold beak and my friends to the right and left went traditional brown and black. They were, by the way, better than me at the head and neck making…
Step#3 take photos of the stages until it got harder (yes, felted properly it gets firm)
Step#4 tell stories and poke-poke-poke away at the little creatures until they are properly felted
Hostess Mom: “Felting is a great hobby to relieve stress – on a bad day, just grab some felt, and make a project, by the time you’re done, time flies by and you’ve poked out all your built up aggression!”
Step#5 admire your handiwork. Imagine these two birds look like the real deal – like the expert felters make on Pinterest!
Just add a sprinkle of imagination, and you can see real hummingbirds floating above the moms-on-carbs-creativity table.
These birds floating in the air were just as hard to capture on film as the real hummingbirds in my yard.
Step #6 afterward, sitting for a spell, mentally exhausted from thinking so hard about how to make it appear like a real bird (that was probably just me…!), sharing with each other our carefully and thoughtfully chosen gifts, chatting about life and things that have changed in our lives over the years.
I can’t tell you how important this group of friends is in my life. Each one as unique as the creations we make together when we get together. The stories of their lives, their interests, their children, and their perspectives warm my Christmas heart. They are truly gifts I treasure.
I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for the handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.” – Charles R. Swindoll
Step #7 Go home after 7 hours and tell Mr. about how much fun was had.
Me: “Look at the hummingbird I made. It is kind of fictitious looking…”
Mr: “Well, I’d agree with you there, it is larger than life.”
And then I hung the semi-realistic looking hummingbird (from afar, it sorta looks real) in my home office before heading off to bed for some sweet dreams.
– Each day when I stop to look at the halcyon bird, I can smile and think fondly of the friendship that has continued to grow through thick and thin.
In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. – Khalil Gibran
All of these years together, I can tell you that every single moment of time flying by like the speed of a hummingbird has been beyond words memorable and heart-warming to me. HUGS to you, dear friends!
I’ll leave you with a special poem about hummingbirds –
The humming-bird! the humming-bird!
So fairy-like and bright;
It lives among the sunny flowers,
A creature of delight!
All crimson is her shining breast,
Like to the red, red rose;
Her wing is the changeful green and blue
That the neck of the peacock shows…
A reign of summer joyfulness
To thee for life is given;
Thy food, the honey from the flower,
Thy drink, the dew from heaven!
~Mary Howitt (1799–1888), “The Humming-Bird”
Post Inspiration – Friendships throughout the years and RDP Halcyon
PS – Have you ever tried to felt? Do you see a ‘real’ looking hummingbird if you blur your eyes, and squint? Hmm…it worked for me?!
Love the creativity on display here.
I do find it a little odd that the daughters of yu and your friends never hung out together, but who are we to question such things.
This was a great post.
Thank you, Andrew. My suspicions are that they kiddos couldn’t stand the embarrassment of the antics the moms came up with over the years at the gatherings…? They’ll realize someday when they’re parents themselves that having friends with different ideas is a really good thing to keep the sanity safe and sound during the parenting years.
LOL . They will come to understand the odditie of parents. Have a good one.
Yes, they will – hope you had a great day!
This just couldn’t be any more heartwarming. I, too, love getting together with my aged cohorts 🙂
Aw, thank you, Linda. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Enjoy your dear friends – may you have many more heartwarming moments together!
Mary does some felting with her knitted items, but darned if I know what she makes (I think slippers). She runs the stuff through the washer and dryer until she gets the desired effect.
I think we need sparkling drinks in festive glasses all year.
Thank you for sharing family secrets about how to make the shoe fit! Yes, cheers to festive glasses all year round!
How fabulous to have crafting friends. Loved your bird. I may have to try that sometime.
Thank you, Anita. It might be a fun project to do while you’re resting your foot. It was rewarding poke the wool!
Hi Shelley. Great photos of a memorable time. I, too, have friends from my younger mommy days. Our kids don’t always see each other but when they do, they have fond memories of their childhoods spent together. And we moms get to enjoy a lifetime of shared experiences. Friends are where you find them. Doesn’t matter what the kids are doing. Cherish the years you’ve spent together and look forward to more. Happy holidays!
Aw, Barbara, thank you for sharing your thoughts. You’re fortunate like me to have such wonderful friendships to treasure! Happy Holidays to you and your family. 🙂
Another wonderful post Shelley 🙂 Love your little bird. I bet you felt good afterwards 🙂
LOL – thanks for the clever thoughts (as usual – you never cease to amaze me with your witty replies!)
How clever you are – my friend felts bags, but I’ve never tried that … very cute and how nice you all get together on an annual basis.
I was pleasantly surprised at how fun the felt making process was. I could see why my friend got hooked on it. The plethora of supplies she has was daunting to me, though, but the creations she’s making make my heart smile. I loved seeing how creative and excited she was with her crafty-work.
I used to do Pretty Punch embroidery – it was done with wool and similar to doing embroidery, only you punch in/out like “hooking a rug” with different colors and lengths of wool. You work on the fabric where the pattern is preprinted … I used to make these wool creations, then you had to glue them onto a sweatshirt – it was a lot of work. I made one for a gift exchange at work one year – everyone wanted me to show how I did it. I lugged in all the accessories, some wool, the paraphernalia and I know no one ever did it – it required, like your friend, acquiring all these items just to do the projects, not to mention the glue, sweatshirt, etc. I did it before we had a VCR because I wanted to see TV and could not stay up late during the week as I’d fall asleep on the commercials.
Wow, that does sound like a lot of work. Isn’t it amazing how we’ve modernized crafts of old so much now that if it isn’t easy to do, it isn’t worth the effort? I have a quilt that my grandmother started that I want to finish someday, but I rarely have the time or the energy to hand stitch like she did. But…there’s always the long winter. But…then there’s always a blog post to write, read, respond to. Oh…dear, choices, choices!
It was a lot of work Shelley and it seemed to take months to finish one item, then all the gluing of it and finishing it off. My great grandmother did quilts and also they lived on a farm so she did down comforters. How did they have time to do all these crafts as they didn’t have half the amenities that we have now and they lived a hard life when you think of it. I had a free day today as my boss is on vacation – ask me how far I got in Reader. I aim to start the new year off all caught up and organized … I have photos to use and stories to tell (those are still in my head) – no time.
Yes, their handiwork amazes me too. Maybe this winter when I’m not wanting to go out in the cold, I’ll experiment with how it must have been to have all the time on my hands to sew! 😉 LOL – I’m way behind due to my upgrade – I understand! Good luck catching up!
I hate computer upgrades – I caught up except for three posts last night … I will try to keep up but have a few longer posts, not so much narrative, but a lot of pics to sort through and create them. We have a rainy ugly day today so slept in and will take it easy – my boss is in Mexico. There seems to be no time for crafts (or even reading a book for me) and maybe when retired … I would like to return to sketching, liked to do that about (ahem) four decades ago, give or take a decade.
LOL – way to mostly catch up, that’s a great accomplishment. Maybe between the two of us, we’ll get to those long lost hobbies in 2019? I may need to tap into your encouragement like how you met 1100 walking miles in a year!
Ha ha and a fellow blogger who is Canadian told me to shoot for my next goal in kilometers and said to shoot for 2,000 kilometers … that is 1,242 miles. I think that is doable and something to strive for. I usually only aim for one more mile than the previous year so just for kicks I’ll do this … I have alot of followers who live in countries that use the metric system. So that’s my goal I’ll share at year end.
Nice! Love it!
I think it will be fun – I’m all for it … hope our weather is better in 2019. But I didn’t go out a lot of times when raining … we had so many torrential rainy days … but I’m no fan of going out in regular rain either … too many days of taking the bus and dealing with it … going to change my mindset on that in order to get ‘er done. 🙂