Another Advent calendar FINISHED!

Yeah! I am so happy! I was worried because of course there was a time issue. 

I have written this before but here is it in a nutshell again. After all, all three are totally different. Each one is special.

It's a third Advent Calendar of this kind I made for my church St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Richmond, VA. The church ladies (ECW) is going to raffle it off. I think 1 ticket is $5 or 3 tickets are $10. 

Every day you choose one Chrismon to add for the day starting December 1. I think it is a German thing because I grew up with having an advent calendar every December.  It's the count down to Christmas. In my childhood time of course it was just a paper one with little doors to see a picture behind.

The cross-stitched Chrismons were all stitched by my sister-in-law Jane in Windsor, England. Great big Thank-You to her!

Each Chrismon has its explanation on the back. Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season! The idea is that each family member can have a turn to pick the one for the day. May be there can be even a little discussion about the meaning of it?

Want a ticket? 

And now on to the next thing on the to-do-list!!!

Sources for Material

We celebrated Christmas only about 3 weeks ago but with the pandemic still being a threat I managed to post three (3) new patterns. That is quite satisfying to me. I have seen that a number of people have already looked at them but ... no comments. You know I would welcome comments. I am not fishing for praise. Only God needs to be praised. Input from fellow Chrismon makers could be helpful. There might also be thoughts about the meaning of each symbol I have not thought of myself. With other words ... feel free to criticize too.

And ... I am slowly running out of ideas. What symbol did I not design yet?

Designing the new patterns and also starting this year's Chrismon project for my church and my friends has also made me think about material sources.

I desperately needed wire. I found some time ago that the best wire to work with is Zebra wire. I found that I don't have issues with it breaking any more like I used to. That was often so frustrating. I also found that the best source to buy it is Fire Mountain Gems and Beads. They have 1/4 pound spools (which for a 26 gauge wire is about 115 yards). They have lots of different gauges and even colors. I take inventory and try to buy what I need in one order to cut down on postage.

Unfortunately Fire Mountain does not have the beads I usually need. For many years I bought those at Rufty's and I have shared this before. 

But I found the same quality beads and pearls now also at DonnaKayBeads on etsy.com but for a much better price. Very recently I made a large order and could not believe how much I saved. Donna was most helpful and there was no postage since the order was large enough. I found it a bit difficult to find the kind/size of beads or pearls I needed but with the order came a sheet with all the different sizes and prices. Most helpful. There is a button to click "Message Donna" and you could probably ask for that list to be emailed to you. As I said, she is most helpful. If you order from her, you might tell her that Christa is a happy customer.

Most of my patterns use beads and/or pearls from either of these suppliers. A few patterns have special beads and I indicate on those patterns exactly where I got them. But of course you could substitute if you find similar ones (like the glass beads for the rainbow for example). 

I hope you find this helpful!!! May be you have a helpful tip?

Harp

Meaning:

The word Harp is found about 50 times in the bible. The Christian Symbol "Harp" represents worship and joy in praising God.

"Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God."  Psalms 147:7

"And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him."  1 Samuel 16:23

And Paul wrote in his letter 1 Corinthians 14:6-7

"Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played?"

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And here is the PDF pattern “Harp" for you to download.

Please do not sell the patterns or the ornaments. If you give them as gifts, please always include the explanation of the symbol. I would love to hear from all who are using my patterns. It would be nice to know that my efforts are not in vain. You find my email address on the pattern if you have any question about it. Happy to help.

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Spider

Meaning:

The spider is mentioned in the bible twice and we can learn even from that little creature. It does do the work as God has given it. If the web is destroyed the spider starts again … and again … and again. It can do its work anywhere, even in a palace. "The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces" (Proverbs 30:28) So we too should not be afraid of tasks God gives us and try again and again if we are not successful right away. 

The bible also uses the spider’s web in a warning way. 

“They hatch adders' eggs; they weave the spider's web …” 

(Isaiah 59:5)

Job’s friends try to give him bad advise. “What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web. They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.” (Job 8:14-15) 

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And here is the PDF pattern “Spider" for you to download.

Please do not sell the patterns or the ornaments. If you give them as gifts, please always include the explanation of the symbol. I would love to hear from all who are using my patterns. It would be nice to know that my efforts are not in vain. You find my email address on the pattern if you have any question about it. Happy to help.

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Chi Rho

Meaning:

Wikipedia explains that the Chi Rho, also known as Chrismon, is one of the earliest forms of Christogram.  A Christogram is a monogram for the name of Jesus Christ. 

The Chi Rho is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos).

While it was used very early by persecuted Christians in the catacombs, when Constantine I was struggling to become emperor, he used the symbol at the front of his armies and was victorious.

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And here is the PDF pattern “Chi Rho" for you to download.

Please do not sell the patterns or the ornaments. If you give them as gifts, please always include the explanation of the symbol. I would love to hear from all who are using my patterns. It would be nice to know that my efforts are not in vain. You find my email address on the pattern if you have any question about it. Happy to help.

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