An ornament finish

The weather today is in the 70's.  I sincerely doubt that we will burn all the firewood DH cut, split, and stacked for this winter as winter seems slow in arriving.  Last year, we had an unusually cold winter and burned a cord and a half of wood.  This year, I've yet to stop wearing shorts!  Although I have started wearing shoes - bummer.

I stitched and ornified this recently, and as the recipient should have received it in the mail by now, I can finally post a picture.

This is a Chrismon ornament.  Chrismon stands for "Christ Monogram" and Chrismons are symbols of Christ and Christianity.  The ornament above symbolizes baptism (shell) and the Trinity (three crystals) - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  They are typically displayed on Christmas trees at Christmas.  They can be crafted from any medium, but must be done in the colors of precious metals and gems.  For example, gold or silver, and diamonds or emeralds.

I stitched this one from the pattern book "Fifty-Five Christian Symbols, Unlimited" (Book Number 54) by Designing Women Unlimited.  This book is OOP, but I was able to find a copy on eBay.  Another Chrismon pattern book, "Christian Monograms," by Country Crafts is still available at 1-2-3 Stitch!.

If you'd like to read up on them, here is a link to a great website that explains what each symbol means.  The website actually uses stitched pictures from the first pattern book mentioned above.

I was motivated to acquire the patterns and stitch a Chrismon when I helped a friend with the logistics in helping the women's group at her church stitch new Chrismons for their church Christmas tree.  (The old ones met an untimely end in the unairconditioned attic of the church during hot Texas summers).  The ladies ended up stitching the new ones over two on 14 count Aida in order for them to be seen well from a distance.   

LoneStar