RSC16 week 51

BETHLEHEM 

I've had a tradition of setting up a Christmas stable scene since my kids were tiny, about forty five years now.  It has grown bit by bit until it now occupys my six-foot long breakfast bar and has become my Bethlehem village.

My granddaughter Sarah now sets it up yearly and knows where every piece belongs.  The scenes go from left to right.

First are the shepherds coming with their sheep to the stable and Angels announcing Christ's birth.  There in the stable are Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, some animals and the Wise Men.  These are all from my original collection.  Some of the characters show their age, but are cherished.

The second view is of the townspeople.  You can see the food vendor with his wares, the town well with people coming for water and a group of singers celebrating.  These begin my Fontanini collection which produces new items yearly, each with a name and a story.  Sorry that I could not edit out my kitchen in the background.

The third area is the temple with a rabbi studying his scrolls.  You can also see the Roman soldier reading from a scroll the edict about the census which brought Jospeh and Mary to Bethlehem to be counted as David's descendants.

The last scene is the Wise Men's camp where their laden camels are resting and a meal is being prepared for them.  A woman is bringing another dish to add to the feast for the honored guests.  This includes little old dishes set out on a rug and other food items.

I invite my friends and children to visit and enjoy the scene, which tells the true story of Christmas, the birth of God's Son sent from heaven to bring us to salvation.

As for quilting, I worked with a 1960's Kenmore loaner while my machine was in for a tuneup.  I mostly worked on simple 4-patch blocks for Bonnie Hunter's En Provence Mystery.  Yesterday my machine came home and just purrs like a kitten now.  So I did a bit of trial and error with my sailboats.

Gayle at     mangofeet.blogspot.com gave me some good pointers on how she got her piglets to run up and down hills.  This is my awkward start at having my boats ride the waves on a row quilt.  I'm also going to be trying to get my granddaughter 's quilt done for Christmas. 

God bless all of you dear friends during this holiday season.  This year Hannukah falls on Christmas as well.  May you all have health and happiness in abundance.  I hope you will take a look at all the posts at

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at

   soscrappy 

Oh, Scrap! at 

Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework