Happy Holidays from my house to yours! I didn’t realize I had so much to talk about when it came to Christmas until I had a look at the interview questions we are answering.

I did know that Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of year and always has been. I love the generosity and kindness one sees at Christmas and always wish we could keep that spirit with us a little longer than we do.

I’m excited to share a pot-holder design with you. It seems like everyone always uses Christmas dishes and towels during the season and these might make nice hostess or neighbor gifts. You could make a plate of Gingerbread Cookies and provide the recipe with the pot holders. The reason I made these is that my mother needs new pot-holders. Here she is.

She was very specific about what she wanted; “like those ones I got 20 years ago from that lady at the craft fair”!!!! I, of course, had no idea what she was talking about but did a little investigating. The hot pads were simple round cloth disks that really fit a hand pretty well. What I loved about them is that didn’t have any hanging loops or wooden rings attached to them (which made my photo shoot a little more challenging).

They were just the essence of a pot holder. “What happened to the ones you had?” is asked? “Oh I caught them on fire” she said. Forget about taking away someone’s keys when they get older…maybe we need to take away her pot-holders! I plan to make a holiday set as well as some everyday ones for her. You can find the patterns on our web site. We also have some good sales going on right now too!

What is your favorite holiday food?

I debated sharing this recipe with you because it makes for a long post. In the end, I decided why not?! My grandpa was an incredibly patient farmer from Arkansas and he used to make the kind of corn he said "made a rabbit hit a bear". We never knew why he said that but it always made us laugh. When he and generation all passed away, no one made this corn anymore and I missed it way too much. As a way of honoring him and keeping this tradition alive, I resurrected this recipe for home-made creamed corn! This is not that icky stuff from the can that you are probably thinking of. The best way to explain what it is, is to tell you how we make it. Then you will see why it is only served during the holidays (we ration it out!)

During July, when corn on the cob is in season, we order 6-12 dozen ears from the farmer. We chose a farmer that grows the “Confetti” variety of corn. It is white and yellow and incredibly sweet. We schedule a picking for a Saturday because making the corn is a time consuming job. The corn is picked early in the morning and we are there to load it up and head for home. From there, we husk, remove all the silk, wash, dry and stack the ears in a cool place.

Next comes the tedium and the mess. We do this job outside and cover the ground where we work with sheets. Take a sharp razor blade, (you will need a pack of single edge razor blades for this job, barely trim the tops of the kernels by running the razor blade down the ear. These tops are for the compost post pile. Next, take a butter knife and run the smooth side of the knife down the ear while holding it over a pan. All the creamy goop and goodness that comes out is what we are keeping. When the pan is full, stop and bag the corn goop. We use very strong freezer bags. For every pint of goop, add 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon salt. Squish all the air out of the bag and seal well. Lay the bags flat in the freezer and allow corn to freeze before moving it.

To prepare the corn, melt 1 stick (yes, one whole stick) of butter in a large frying pan. No wonder this is so good! Add the corn. I have used it frozen or thawed. The only difference is in the time it takes to cook. Cover the pan and cook over low heat stirring frequently. You have to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t scorch. We usually give someone the job of "corn stirrer" so somebody tends it closely. Cook about 1 hour. Sometimes we have to add a little more butter as it cooks. You will end up with a bowl of the creamiest, most delicious creamed corn you have ever eaten. It takes some planning but it is really worth the effort of keeping this tradition alive.

Does your family have a favorite holiday tradition?
Ours is to have a sit-down traditional Christmas dinner and a family party. We do this on Christmas Eve.

Did you love or hate sitting on Santa’s lap?
I loved it and I loved him!

Was there a gift you desperately wanted? Did you get it?
I wanted everything I wanted desperately!! Yes, I always got what I had hoped for.

What is your favorite holiday movie? I don’t watch them.

Favorite holiday song?
There are three that I love equally; they are the Carol of the Bells by Celtic Woman, Mary Did You know (but only the version by Michael English) and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). I just downloaded All I Want for Christmas by Justin Beiber and Mariah Carey a couple of weeks ago. I listen to these songs all year long!

Do you make many holiday presents? What do you like to give?
I used to make almost all of the gifts I gave. That might have included Gingerbread Cookies or not. My time is so limited now that I only make gifts for my grandchildren and their mother and father. I like to give them something they can’t buy and something unique. This year it will likely be knitted and felted intarsia bags for the girls, knitted scarves for my snowboarder boys and/or quilts. I am always hopeful when I undertake my Christmas gift making. Usually, I find should have started about 6 months earlier than I did in order for it to be humanly possible to complete it all in time! Sound familiar?

If you could go back in time, when would you say was your most favorite holiday memory?
The best Christmas mornings I ever had, were those when my son (who is an only child) was about 3-5 years old. Seeing the excitement of Christmas through his eyes was better than anything else!

Do you like a big family gathering at the holidays or do you prefer a small dinner followed by hot chocolate by the fire?

I like them both, it just depends on the time of the day! I like to start out with lots of family and chaos but by evening I am ready for a calm respite. I don’t like chocolate so it would be some kind of a latte instead of cocoa for me!

As a reward for persevering to end of this epistle, I would like to tell you that we have a giveway contest for you here at QuiltSoup. We are giving away 5 fat quarters of our latest Pajama Party line of fabrics. It isn’t even in stores yet but you can see the whole thing at Henry Glass. I am really excited to work with this line. We have done a free quilt and pillowcases for you. Who knows, maybe pot holders would from these fabrics would be cute. Just leave off the Christmas appliques, etc, etc. Comment to be entered into the drawing. We will draw and announce the winner on Tuesday. Could someone please check on those gingerbread cookies????

I hope I haven't worn you out. I am sharing the day with Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched and everything she does is wonderful! I don't know Anni very well yet but hope to change that!