What's more Christmas-y than a private peeling potatoes?????

After selecting these cards, I scanned them and emailed them over to Jeremy. I also sent him a few hand-written letters that my grandmother had sent to her sons during the war. Through the wonders of Photoshop, he created a collage of these cards, using images from their interiors as well, along with a few vintage seasonal graphics he designed himself or found online. What he came up with was this:

My WWII vintage Christmas card wall hanging, 2009.

Among a few of the details we created was a red border with a faded gold star pattern, a background reminiscent of letters scattered on a table top, and a center “Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year” medallion. The holly garland and the corner bells tie in the Christmas theme together. With the intention of printing this material through the online fabric printing website Spoonflower, this wall hanging was formatted to fit a standard 1 yard of material (as well as to allow smaller versions, or 4 per square yard).

Below are a few photos showing some quilting detail. Click on the image to see them in greater detail.

While the words and images are very personal to our family, I feel that this quilted Christmas wall hanging can evoke a sense of warm seasonal nostalgia for any family with relatives that may have fought in this war (or in any war for that matter). In addition to the main quilted piece that I put up every year on the living room wall, I made framed copies (unquilted) for my children and siblings as Christmas presents.

My sister Janet (left) and myself with the completed wall hanging.

Soon, I’ll post last year’s Christmas quilted wall hanging. Here’s a quick sample of the detail from that one:

Detail from the Big Cannon Christmas wall hanging, 2011.

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