Day 4
12 Days of Christmas
Four Colly Birds
December 16, 2009

Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas with Grandma's Attic. Every day from now until Christmas, we will have great gift giving items for sale. You'll want to check each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

BABY STEPS BABY QUILT. No colly birds here, but we do have a fabulously fun quilt kit to stitch up! This adorable baby quilt kit was created by Darlene Zimmerman as part of her Clothesline Club 2009. Using the Story Time fabric collection by Robert Kaufman, this sweet quilt measures 53" x 53" when completed. All the fabrics you need to make the quilt top plus the full-color pattern are included.

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact: We bet you've been singing the words to this verse as "Four Calling Birds" ever since you first learned the song. Most people do. Everyone seems to assume that there were four calling birds; however, the original words to the song back in 1780 are "Four Colly Birds." What's a colly bird, you ask? A colly bird (or colle) is a blackbird. They were generally baked into pies (but that's another song--"four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie"). Blackbirds are going to cost you almost $150 per bird, so you're looking at $599.96 for the flock of four.

Grandma's 12 Days of Christmas Quote: "It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." < W.T. Ellis, Author, 1826-1913 >

Our 12 Days of Christmas Quilt block was hand embroidered by Grandma Rachel using Aunt Martha's 12 Days of Christmas Pattern for Grandma's 12 Days of Christmas Block of the Month Club. You can also order the pattern by itself.

12 Days of Christmas - Day Three

Day 3
12 Days of Christmas
Three French Hens
December 15, 2009

Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas with Grandma's Attic. Every day from now until Christmas, we will have great gift giving items for sale. You'll want to check each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

COOKIE CUTTERS. The closest we can get to Three French Hens is the chicken in our cookie cutter department. And since there's nothing better than a big batch of grandma's freshly baked cookies, these hand crafted tin cookie cutters are perfect for enjoying the holiday season. Each cookie cutter comes with a colorful card that includes recipes for cookies and frosting. You'll also love the large array of designs. As quilters know, cookie cutters are perfect to use as stencils for quilting, applique and scrapbooking.

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact: According to the 2009 Economic Price Index, so far you're paying $159.99 for the partridge in the pear tree and $55.98 for the Two Turtle Doves. The three French Hens will cost you $45 ($15) each.

Grandma's 12 Days of Christmas Quote: "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year." < Charles Dickens, English Author, 1812-1870. >

Our 12 Days of Christmas Quilt block was hand embroidered by Grandma Rachel using Aunt Martha's 12 Days of Christmas Pattern for Grandma's 12 Days of Christmas Block of the Month Club. You can also order the pattern by itself.

12 Days of Christmas - Day Two

Day 2
12 Days of Christmas
Two Turtle Doves
December 14, 2009

Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas with Grandma's Attic. Every day from now until Christmas, we will have great gift giving items for sale. You'll want to check each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

TEA SAMPLES. There are no turtle doves in this packet, but you can pretend that you see them outside your door. If you've longed to try a sampling of our gourmet teas, this is your opportunity to relax, sit back and enjoy a refreshing cup of tea! Each packet contains 17 flavor-sealed, foil wrapped tea bags--one of each of the delicious flavors we carry at Grandma's Attic. Teabags included are: Blueberry, Camomile, Canadian Icewine, Cranberry, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Green, Mango, Maple, Monk's Blend, Orange Pekoe, Peach Apricot, Pure Peppermint, Rooibos, Strawberry and Vanilla.

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact: According to the 2009 Economic Price Index, one partridge in a pear tree costs $159.99 ($10 for the partridge, and $149.99 for the tree). Two Turtle Doves cost $55.98 ($27.99 each). Total cost of gift for Day 2: $215.97.

Grandma's 12 Days of Christmas Quote: "Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all of the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white.'" < Bing Crosby, American singer and film actor, 1904-1977 >

Our 12 Days of Christmas Quilt block was hand embroidered by Grandma Rachel using Aunt Martha's 12 Days of Christmas Pattern for Grandma's 12 Days of Christmas Block of the Month Club. You can also order the pattern by itself.

12 Days of Christmas - Day One

Day 1
12 Days of
Christmas
Partridge in a
Pear Tree
December 13, 2009

Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas with Grandma's Attic. Every day from now until Christmas we will have a great gift giving item on sale. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

SEASONS REMEMBERED . Okay, so there's no partridges in this pattern, but there are some pretty fabulous quilt block patterns in the traditional red and green colors of the 1840s-1860s that will have you humming along to your favorite holiday tunes.

Seasons Remembered, designed by Jane Davis, features the fine buttonhole stitch applique that 19th Century women used to showcase their needle skills. There are 12 stunning, traditional applique designs (suitable for 18" blocks) in this spectacular series, plus a stunning leaf border adapted from a beautiful Civil War era quilt. Full-sized patterns, plus instructions for both traditional and fusible applique are included.

Our 12 Days of Christmas Quilt block was hand embroidered by Grandma Rachel using Aunt Martha's 12 Days of Christmas Pattern for Grandma's 12 Days of Christmas Block of the Month Club. You can also order the pattern by itself.

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact: The origin of the song "The 12 Days of Christmas" is believed to have originated in the 16th Century in European and Scandinavian culture; however, the song itself first showed up in English written form in the children's book "Mirth without Mischief," in 1780 A.D.

Grandma's 12 Days of Christmas Quote:"Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, you heart; to a customer, service; to all, charity. To every child, a good example; to yourself, respect." < Oren Arnold, Novelist and Journalist, 1900-1980 >

Frances E. Willard Fabric Sale

Every year, Grandma's Attic holds a Frances E. Willard Founder's Day fabric sale at or about the time of her birthday (September 28). This year is no exception. At the bottom of this post I've included the information regarding that sale and you'll definitely want to take advantage of it!

So who is Frances E. Willard and what does she have to do with our store? Well, Frances E. Willard was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. She was also President of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She founded a magazine, wrote many books, and was the first woman represented with a statue in the Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. In short, she dedicated her entire life to the empowerment of women.

When I first opened Grandma's Attic, way back in 1994, I went looking for a few period pieces I could use to decorate the shop. I felt we needed a photograph of a grandma type to hang on the wall behind the cutting counter. To my delight, I found the perfect grandmother in an old-fashioned oval frame at an antique shop in Albany, Oregon. At that time, I didn't know who she was. Her portrait, shown above, has been hanging in our shop ever since.

Approximately three weeks after Grandma's Attic opened for business, a lady came into the shop, saw this portrait, and asked, "Where did you get that fabulous portrait of Frances E. Willard?" "Ahh! That's who she is," I said to myself. Massive amounts of research later, I discovered that Frances was never married, certainly never had any children, and most definitely was NOT a grandmother. I decided she could be our "spiritual" grandma because of all the causes she believed in and the work she did for the empowerment of women and women's education. I also learned that while she herself was not a quilter, both her mother and her sister made quilts.

Each year, we honor Frances E. Willard by having a big sale to celebrate her birthday. That sale begins today and extends through Sunday, September 27th. You can take 25% off your fabric purchases by mentioning this blog in the store, or by writing FRANCES E. WILLARD SALE in the comments section of your webstore order. The discount will not appear on your invoice. We will take it off on our end. Please note that this offer does NOT extend to the Samara Fabric Collection used in Patchwork Party Fall Edition 2009.

This offer is filled with the potential for so much fun you'll want to share it with your friends. Feel free to let them know so they too can enjoy the savings!

Quilt Club Joke

Stephen has posted another youtube video to our blog. This one was done last Friday, September 4th during one of the Quilt club meetings. It's a silly joke that I told to warm up the crowd. I hope you'll think its as funny as the class did!

Stephen Posts a Shop Tour Video

Stephen bought himself a new video camera so that he could take videos around our quilt shop. He's been having a lot of fun with it. The first thing he did was take himself on a little tour of the shop. Then he uploaded it to youtube so he could share it with everyone. It's so fun I thought you'd like to see it. Some of the scenes are shaky but it's really cute. You gotta love Georgeann. She's the one giggling in the background--something she does quite a lot! She's been working for us for 15 years.