Spinners of the World- December 20th

We're in to the final stretch, and after some wonderful contributions from so many spinners we're now  going closer to home, and I've got a few days to share some of my Christmas traditions.

For me, December starts properly with my final guild meeting of the year. We spend the morning having our AGM and sorting out all the official business, and then spend the afternoon sharing our favourite projects from the year and eating a wonderful communal buffet. Everyone brings along a plate of something, and somehow we always end up with  a wonderful mixture of very stays foods. 

Every couple of years we're also asked to decorate a Christmas tree for the Christmas tree festival held in a local church. Lots of community groups are invited to decorate a tree, and they're all on display in the church for a weekend at the start of December. 

Two years ago we used some toy wheel drop spindles, and made some simple fairies. You can find the instructions for making them in last years advent blogposts. 
​This year we still used wool, but turned them in to some beautiful birds. 

The instructions for these are a little bit haphazard...
This is the version we mostly followed, though I think it's a translation, so the instructions don't always make complete sense.  This version uses leftover yarn, and makes more sense, and is basically translatable in to wool top.
Once you get the hang of them they're incredibly simple and quick to make. 

Once our tree is decorated I love walking around and looking at the trees that other groups  and local businesses have created.

Decorating the house is one of my favourite parts of Christmas. I own too many spinning wheels to have space for a Christmas tree, but every year I decorate a branch with a huge collection of sparkly birds. I try to buy a couple more for the collection each year.