Creche

I love my nativity set. I look forward to unpacking it. I made the figures. I call them my 'bean bag' nativity. It's actually my second set I've made and a lot nicer than the first. The first set lasted about 25 years and was simpler. This newer set has real wool fabric I washed to felt up and sheep wool for the hair and beards. And I looked for miniatures, like for the wise men to carry. And Dawson found 'crooked' sticks and whittled them for shepherd staffs. The sheep have real fleece too.

When the kids were little I wanted them to be able to play with the figures, move them around, and enact the drama. Sometimes the wise men would be off in the distant, traveling from 'afar'. Baby Jesus really shouldn't show up until Christmas morning...

I also have a dragon in my creche...


Why?...Because of Revelation 12 of course. (There's a dragon waiting for the woman to give birth so it can devour the baby.) It's wool I totally wet felted from sheep wool and then cut out, sewed and stuffed.

I've made other nativity figures over the years. I still have a salt dough one I've kept, though it's starting to have pieces break off. But it's sentimental...but only because of it's story. The figures did start out about 7" tall, but flattened out in the oven. So I call it my 'squat nativity'.


Then I have a corn husk one. I could probably make it better now...but don't. It sits on a little table in our entry way.