It’s Christmas once again in Santa Barbara

Christmas in southern California just doesn’t match all the pictures and images on greeting cards and holiday decorations. No snow so not much use for mittens; no snowmen; no winter wonderland but we enjoy the spirit of the holiday season just like the rest of the world. There is nothing like enjoying the annual holiday brunch on the deck under sunny skies with a group of friends. We all bundle up for the holiday light tour on the open air trolley because it might drop below 50 degrees before it’s over. We whine when daytime temperatures dip below 60 degrees despite the sunshine. Are we spoiled or what?

But despite the lack of traditional seasonal weather, most of us jump in with Christmas decorations. I will be spending the holidays with family in San Luis Obispo so my decor this holiday season was on the small side. In my very first blog post, I talked about changing out my livingroom decor for the seasons and I count Christmas as the fifth season. I start with the pillows in my window seat.

I added a topiary tree this year as I didn’t put up a “real” Christmas tree since I won’t be here for most of the holidays. The couch sports more pillows and my One Block Wonder Christmas quilt.

I made two One Block Wonder quilts from Fruitcake by Moda. If you have never tried this style of quilt, I encourage you to try it. I took a class but the book is well written and easy to follow. The possibilities are endless and I’m planning another one in my quilting future. It is a wonderful creative process and the results are amazing. Here are a few more views of my quilt.

I had so many blocks due to the 24″ repeat, I was able to make two throw size quilts. I used the blocks with blue in them for my mother’s quilt and used the green and tan blocks for mine. Mom and Petey enjoying her quilt

Here is a shot of the back of my quilt so you can see the fabric that I started with. I’m linking to Quiltstory – Fabric Tuesday!

And last but not least – here are a couple of shots of my granddaughter Janelle hanging the ornaments on her new Advent Calendar tree. See details on this post.