ornamentation: the stable

Throughout 2011, I chose a story to highlight each month here on Wild Olive. It seems only fitting that December's story be that of The Stable. Where Christmas all began. And yet, that wasn't really the beginning, and certainly wasn't the end. Before we get too far though, let's make an ornament!



You will need:
Wool felt
Embroidery floss
The Stable pattern PDF
(Oh, and pins are helpful!)



Cut out all of the pattern pieces.



Hold the faces onto the bodies, and stitch french knot eyes through both layers. These will hold the faces on, and no other stitching is needed.



Pin the stable frame onto the backing and stitch around it with running stitch.




Place the remaining pieces in place as shown, then stitch around each item with running stitch. Try to keep the back side of your work as tidy as possible.

Also, even though the star only overlaps with the stable a bit, stitch all the way around. This running stitch is part functional, part decorative.



Knot a length of embroidery floss on as a hanger. It should connect at where the roof and walls meet.



Your Stable ornament is ready to hang!

Now, about this story. We think of Christmas as starting on a wintery night in Bethlehem. And it did...sort of. But you see, long before that, God knew that He would need to send His Son as a baby. He knew from the moment that sin happened. He knew that once people messed up, there would need to be a way to make things right. As humans, we can't fix things to how they were meant to be, but God can.

So long before that first Christmas, God planned to send His Son, and He told His people to be on the look out for this Savior, the Messiah. And Jesus came. He laid in a manger, and then He grew up, and then He died and rose again to fix the problem of sin. To forgive us.

But that's still not the end of the story. We each are given the chance to be a part of this amazing story of Christmas...of Jesus! It's an open invitation for forgiveness and love that will go on until Christ returns. He loves YOU, and He wants you to join His story.