Christmas in March

By on 3-12-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Original Pattern

Happy Freddy Snowman

Freddy is a very cute snowman. His smile says “I’m happy and I feel like bursting out laughing”. I have completely embroidered him with a chain stitch except for his nose. I filled his nose with a few French knots. I chose a soft white diaper flanellette rather than a smooth muslin. I like my snowmen to be soft and fuzzy. I sketched him on Tuesday morning and finished the embroidery Tuesday evening. In this 3 inch square version he is free to use. I am drawing more of him with different hats. He sure is a pleasure to sketch as he makes me smile when I look at him. When I am finished all the different hats I will use a larger version to make a very happy Christmas wall quilt.

Freddy Snowman

Christmas in February

By on 2-23-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

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These little vintage embroidered ornaments are in the McCall’s Christmas Make-it Ideas, Volume X, 1967 magazine. Embroidered on felt they lend themselves well to updated stitches and fabrics. I chose a muslin backing and red floss to do the little piglet. It hasn’t been put together into an actual ornament yet, but it will have a red backing along with a fringed, muslin border. Rather than using satin stitch for fill and a back stitch for lines I chose chain stitch with two strands of floss. The chain stitch fills easily without puckering on a project without a hoop. I back my muslin with a piece of flannelette to give strength to the piece as well as hiding any cross stitching on the back.

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Isn’t this little piglet sweet? He would certainly stand out on any Christmas Tree. He could also be used throughout the year for a package ornament.

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Patterns for all 5 ornaments, a 610kb PDF file, can be downloaded here: McCall’s Christmas Make It Ideas, Volume X, Embroidered Ornaments

Christmas in January

By on 1-31-2010 in Christmas Patterns, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

Balsa Wood Ornaments above, Embroidered and Beaded Ornaments below

The first Christmas vintage pattern. I hope to bring one new pattern each month….that will be a total of 12 new patterns in the year, free to download with suggestions and/or photos of how I have used them through the years.

The original patterns were used to cut and paint balsa wood ornaments. I immediately fell in love with these Mexican themed ornaments. They were included in the McCall’s Christmas Make-it Ideas magazine, Volume X, 1967.

I chose to embroider and bead them on muslin, back them with a piece of bright red felt then fringe the edges beyond the seam. When I embroider on muslin I back the pieces with flannelette which gives them dimension when finished as well as hiding any back stitching. I then do not have to use a hoop, but can embroider them simply by holding them.

Hand work is my favourite technique, giving me the chance to unwind and design as I go. Usually I’m not sure what I will do with a piece until I’ve actually started it.

Balsa Wood ornament

You can find all the patterns in this 590kb pdf document:McCall’s Christmas Balsa Wood Ornaments