:: November 2002 
Feature
A Fibre Nativity for Next Christmas and Epiphany
Year after year, nestled beneath the shiny ornaments and colorful lights, a handmade fibre nativity set sits framed by a hand-hewn wooden stable. No matter how high the pile of gifts around the tree, this fibre nativity set holds pride of place among the decorations of Christmas.
The knitted figures in the photo were made by Jessie Beyer of Gleason, Wisconsin (who is now 97 years old) for her great-grandson, James. She also crocheted a set of figures for her great-granddaughter, Bonnie. Her late son-in-law, Roger Jirtle, made the wooden stables and mangers.
Whether knitted, crocheted, felted, or sewn from fabrics, nativity figures provide you, the fibreworker, with two sources of pleasure. The immediate pleasure is in the selection of the yarns and colors and the feel of the fibres in your hands. The lasting pleasure is knowing the annual joy that displaying these figures will bring to you or to the fortunate person for whom you make them as a fibre gift