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.

Two more ornaments

A Santa ornament for a young Christmas visitor:

 and a Gingerbread ornament for my great-nephew.

Both designs are by Barbara Mock.  The Santa is from the Dimensions Leaflet #175 Christmas Quickies.  I changed only the floss colours and bow on the parcel on this one. The Gingerbread design is from Dimensions Leaflet #217 Christmas Quickies II.  The design had girl and boy gingerbread people, but I changed it to two boys for this ornament.

I have to pick up the pace with my stitching or I just won't get finished this year.  Wish me luck!

Another small finish

 The Nativity design is the Nativity chart in Barbara Mock's Christmas Quickies  booklet. I changed some of the floss - most of them to be truthful.  Not because I didn't like the charted colours, it was more to do with which floss shades I had handy in my work basket at the time.  Once again. the scan makes the ornament look mis-shapen, but really it's not. I must learn to scan more accurately.

The last of the batch

Finished up this afternoon.  An ornament for a  delightful teenager. The designer s credited in the post above,

I knew I should have taken the time to reposition the ornament for scanning - it's not really distorted in shape.  Just poor scanning technique.

Stitching again - four new little finishes

Thank you for the kind comments about my poor little Maddie.  I miss her greatly.  She was my constant companion for the past 15 years, and I still find myself automatically looking to see where she is before I put the end of my recliner down.  The house seems so lifeless without her presence. This is the first time in over 40 years that I have not had a doggy companion in the house. I'm finding the adjustment very difficult.  Right now I don't think I can take another dog into my life - but maybe that will change with time.  I still do have my cat Ruby, but she is very independent and aloof, and right now she's holidaying with a friend.  Maybe when she returns next month things will seem more normal.

It seems so long since I picked up my needle.  I think that so far 2014 is my least productive stitching year this century - and for many years before that!  In the last few days I have managed to finish up up four of the five ornaments that have been sitting in my work basket for the last month or so. Three are to be Christmas gifts, and the other is for me.


This is a Christmas gift for Tilly, my niece's much loved dog.  The design is adapted from the tree design in Barbara Mock's Christmas Quickies II booklet.

These design for these little gingerbread people was also in Barbara Mock's Christmas Quickies II.  This ornament is for my great-niece Chloe.

The chart for the Manger is from Graphworks Mini Motif Designs for Christmas I. I have also stitched the same design for Matthew's twin brother Daniel, but haven't yet finished upthat ornament.

And this little Santa is for me.  The chart for this Santa was in an old (1970s) BH&G Christmas Ideas magazine.  The ornament (excluding beads) is less than 5cm  (2") long  and only about 2.5 cm (1") wide.

Sad news

My poor little Madalyn (15 year old Maltese) lost her long battle with heart failure this week.  She was so precious to me, and such a big part of my daily life.  I really miss her terribly.

RIP, my Maddie.