Fronts

Backs

The angels are TIAG's 1987 Angel freebie ( gold version). I reversed the design for the angel on the left, and made a few changes to personalise them for their recipients. The Santa is a Barbara Mock design (Christmas Quickies booklet). The koala design is adapted from a Di Noyce chart in Jill Oxton's Cross Stitch Australia magazine.

We're halfway to Christmas!

Three Christmas ornaments finished up today.  I have another three stitched and ready to finish up - two angels and a Santa.  I hope to get the finishing done in the next few days. Here are the three finished ornaments:

Fronts

 Backs

The Santa with the sack and the Nativity are designed by Barbara Mock from her Christmas Wuickies booklets.  The Santa face is from LA's "Christmas Keepsakes", Book 2 in the "Christmas Remembered " series. I searched the section (An Elegant Era) but couldn't find any reference to the designer.

I have had two inquiries about my finishing technique for the ornaments. This is how I do it.  I backstitch a border (any shape) around the stitched design, and stitch an identical border on a piece of the same count fabric, for the back of the ornament.  I  photocopy the stitched design, and use acid-free double-sided tape to stick the photocopy on acid-free cardboard.  I cut out the cardboard shape just inside the outline of the design, so that the cardboard shape is one Aida block or two evenweave or linen threads smaller than the stitched design on all sides. I make a second cardboard shape for the backing. Then I stick one thickness of wadding to each cardboard piece, and cut it to shape. I trim the design and backing fabric about 1.5 cm from the stitched border, and place it over the padded cardboard piece.  Then I mitre any corners and hold with a few stitches (this isn't essential but it does make it easier to join the pieces together neatly).  All that's left to do now is to stitch the two fabric pieces together, passing the needle through the backstitched border only, not the fabric.  I add a bead to every second stitch (every time I'm bringing the needle from the backing piece through to the design piece.  It's not hard, but it is time-consuming.  It can take me a couple of hours to finish up an ornament.  I use this method because I can't sew a straight seam on a machine, and I'm dangerous with  glue. It works for me!

Five ornaments finished, but they don't reduce my stitching list at all, as they weren't on it.  A friend asked me to stitch these for her five American great-nieces and great-nephews.

I stitched these ornaments on 26 count Dublin linen.  The fronts are mostly stitched over two, except for the koala, which is stitched over 1. The backs are stitched over 1.  The koala and kangaroo designs are by Di Noyce, published in Jill Oxton' s Cross Stitch Australia magazine.  The stocking design is adapted from a chart in LA's Christmas Caboodle leaflet, though I have changed all the colours, and the pattern and contents of the stockings.