2021 Ornaments :: A Finish

 My ornaments for this year are done!

I completed two sets of these adorable felted wool ornaments. I had a bag full of these little wooden "handmade" tags so I add one to the back of each ornament.

I wrote my initials and the year on each little wooden tag before sewing it to the back.

Ms. Spooky Boo is not impressed.

This is how she likes to lay on me now. Her paws are right at the base of my neck. It's really hard to sew anything with a cat sitting on your chest! Being photographed was not what she had in mind as you can probably tell by her expression.

She is getting white whiskers too, but just on one side. Hard to believe that she is now 9 years old.

2021 Ornaments

 I didn't make ornaments the last couple years. Just too much other stuff going on. But I was determined to make some this year.

These are in progress but almost finished. When this photo was taken I needed to add a little embroidery to a couple of them but by now I'm just doing a running stitch around them to finish them off. I will hopefully have them all done soon and ready to be sent off.

I did have the pattern for these in my shop, but they are sold out at the moment. However, if you would like a pattern just let me know. I can order more and send you a link to the pattern so you can purchase it. The pattern includes all 6 designs shown in the photo and is a $9.99 pattern. I did alter the embroidery on some of them to suit my tastes.

Ornament Progress

They aren't all completed but I do have some finished.

Ornament Progress

I'm making progress on my ornaments for this year.

I have two appliqued and embroidered, the top two. I have 16 more that are appliqued and ready for embroidery. Not shown, I have about 10 more that are pinned waiting to be appliqued.

I'm planning to take these with me to Fall Market at the end of the month to work on in my hotel room at night.

Wool Swiss Cheese

Yesterday's project: my baggie of tiny wool scraps is full so it's time to punch circles out of them.

I use my Accuquilt cutter with the Rose of Sharon die to cut small flowers, leaves and 1", 3/4", 1/2" circles from my small scraps of wool. I use my 1/4" circle and 3/8" circle punches to whack little circles from the rest. It's kind of a noisy task and I use ear plugs so I don't give myself a headache or damage my hearing. I have a jar or tin for each size/shape.

I needed to do this yesterday because I was home alone, except for the cat. This project is too loud to do with others in the house!

These will be used for my 2017 ornaments.

2017 Ornament Testing

I have settled on an ornament design for this year. Here is my test ornament.

This one is two 2" circles of wool with embroidery on both sides. I whipstitched them together with a 1 1/2" circle of Soft & Stable in between then added a hanging loop. I've decided that 2 1/2" circles would be better and plan to add some more wool elements in addition to some embroidery. I've started on my first "real" ornaments but haven't gotten far enough with any of them to photograph them yet.

2016 Ornament

My ornaments for this year are made!

The center one, the one with a button, is the first one I made. My original plan was to put a button in the center of them all. I'm rethinking that now. I don't have any more of those black buttons and I don't have enough of any one button for the rest of them. They don't all need to have the same button in the center, but I don't have enough buttons I think will work for these. And I think they are pretty cute without buttons. So I'm calling them done.

These are each made from five 2.5 squares. I used mini charm packs of the three Moda Christmas lines I have in my shop: Jol, Cookie Exchange and Juniper Berry. They finish at 2" square.

The construction method I used is similar to this folded fabric hot pad tutorial. I only used 5 squares and no batting for these since they are just ornaments, but the idea is the same.

2015 Ornaments Completed

It feels good to have them all finished.

Five of these are on their way to their forever-home today. A close-up photo of both the front and back can be view by clicking this link.

Ornaments and Designing

First, I'm finishing up my 2015 ornaments. So far I only have two completely finished, but the rest only need the embroidery part appliqued to the front. The base is made from maroon cotton velveteen. These started life as my living/dining room curtains. I got new curtains a few years ago but kept the old curtains because "surely I can use these for something else." I'm so glad I saved them.

I used my sewing machine to embroider my initials and the year on the backs.

Second, I'm trying to figure out how to use this adorable panel and write a pattern for whatever I come up with.

Actually, there are two panels shown in the photo above. I got two in case I need to start over or in case I want to make one for myself. Whatever I make will eventually end up at Kathy's Fabric Trunk as a sample and possibly a kit to support the fabric.

I have this whole stack of companion prints to play with.

This is the new Story line by Carrie Bloomston. I have a few ideas. I need to pick one and go for it!

Lastly, where is the best place to nap on a chilly morning?

Answer: On top of the radiator cover.

There are softer surfaces to lay on in this house but I bet this is the warmest.

Mini Design Boards

The second project I finished over the weekend are my mini design boards. If you missed it, or don't want to click back to the original post on these, I used this tutorial or you can click here for the video version of the tutorial.

I made four that measure 10" by 14" and two that measure 20" by 14". In my original post on these I said I was going to use a different glue, but I did find my glue gun so I used it instead. The advantage of the glue gun is that the glue dries very quickly so you can use your boards right away. The disadvantage is that you can burn yourself if you aren't careful. 

I opted to edge mine with binding as she does in the tutorial because I agree with her, anything worth making is worth making cute.

Besides the intended purpose for these, which is a piecing aid, they are also good as a photography aid. Below I used one to photograph my 2015 ornament progress.

I have 5 embroidered wreaths so far. I cut out and traced a few more. Hand embroidery is a great TV watching project.

Starting Early This Year

I've had this pattern for a few years. I looked it up to see exactly how long. I posted about these in November 2013. Click here to read that post.

I'm finally starting early enough to make these for this year. I'm not sure exactly how I will turn these into ornaments, but that part isn't the time consuming part. For now, I'm just going to get the embroidery done. The actual ornament part can wait until later.

I'd also like to show you my Mother's Day gift.

I wanted this book for one specific project, this project. Happily, there are several other projects in the book that I really like and will probably make.

Gift Sewing

'Tis the season for gift making. I've been making ornaments and dishrags.

Well, the ornaments were made last weekend. I started on the dishrags in September when I was still working at my LQS as something to do during the brief lulls in the going out of business sale. Initially, there was no time to do anything other than store business. After a couple of weeks there would be little windows of time during the afternoon when I had nothing to do. There is only so much shelf straightening I can handle, so I started bringing my crochet hook and some yarn.

My guild is doing a potholder exchange this year. Below is what I made.

front

back

We were given a pattern to use so everyone's potholder will be the same block, with different fabrics.

2014 Ornaments

I decided to do something simple this year. My family had a reunion at the beach in July so this years ornament commemorates that week.

The sand dollar fabric was given to me by a friend who went to the opposite coast this summer and bought it there.

A Few More Ornaments

The crochet thread I ordered came in so I have made a few more ornaments.

I'm using size 3 cotton crochet thread with a 2.75mm crochet hook. The center wool circles and yo-yos are about 1.75" in diameter. Again, this is the tutorial I am using for inspiration. I have experimented with the crochet stitches around the edge as well as the centers.

Half Dozen Done

I've made six ornaments so far. I ended up redoing the yo-yo one with the correct size hook (top left in photo below). I like it much better now.

Things I have learned:

1. When using a button in the center, if there are only two holes it is best to place the hanger so that the holes line up vertically. Otherwise, the button tends to pull away at the top.

2. Doing four chains and skipping two double crochet gives a more petal-like look (bottom left with the cream wool center and red button in photo above).

3. I have lots of fun buttons in my stash, but I'm having a hard time using them. LOL! I don't seem to want to use it unless I have a duplicate I can keep for my "collection."

I've ordered a couple more colors of crochet thread for these. I'm going to wait until it comes in before making more. Tutorial information can be found here.

More Ornament Auditions

I believe this is the end of my audition process for 2013. I will be making these.

I used this tutorial as my inspiration. The one on the left is the first one I made. I used a yo-yo for the center, as called for in the tutorial. The crochet hook I used for it was too large, but was the smallest one I owned. I made the one on the right second. The center is two pieces of wool with an awesome button attached. I purchased a smaller crochet hook and am much happier with the end result. It's a keeper!

I think my style is better represented by the one on the right, with the button and the wool center. So, I will continue to use wool rather than making yo-yos, which I don't really enjoy anyway. I plan to use some of my fun buttons and I may even do a little embroidery too. The center circles are only 1.75" so there isn't room for much on them.

I do still really like the first ornament I auditioned, but due to time constraints this year I will be making these. However, I don't have to do any auditioning for 2014 because I will be making the embroidered wreaths. I'm just going to start on them sooner so time won't be an issue and I can enjoy the process.

Annual Ornament Auditions

This one is a keeper!

Although I don't know if I will have enough time to make two dozen of these before Thanksgiving. I have another idea that I haven't had a chance to test yet. I think it will be faster to make. If so, I will make it for this year and these wreaths for next year.

Sue Spargo Ornaments - Finished!

I'm thrilled by how well these turned out!

And a shot of the backs.

I opted to simply blanket stitch around the two pieces to hold them together and incorporated the hanging loop into the blanket stitch process. By that I mean that I left about a 6" tail at the beginning, stitched all the way around, tied the two ends together with a double knot then knotted the ends to make the loop.

Since I've already put all of my Christmas stuff away, (and I don't want to get it back out just to put these away) I'm going to hang these in my sewing room until I put our tree up in December.