ornament making

 

Joe's at a holiday party right now, and I'm supposed to be packing for Mexico, but here I am procrastinating.  Story of my life.  I couldn't help but think about the fact that I promised to post photos and instructions for making some holiday ornaments.   I wanted to do a tutorial, but instead I'll have to share some of my resources.

I bought all the fabric and embroidery thread for my ornaments at Purl Patchwork.  I found the cross-stitch motifs in this book, which I also bought at Purl.  You could just as easily search your local library for vintage cross-stitch/embroidery books for ideas.

I never got around to making any felt ball ornaments, but if you have time I really recommend this video tutorial.  Amazing.  Makes perfectly shaped round balls every time.  I bought a lot of my wool roving at Purl (if you must know I'm kind of obsessed with that store), and it's such great stuff.  If you want to try a bigger project (like this incredible wreath Karen e-mailed me a link to), you can buy felt balls here.

Okay, now go get to work!  I want to see some handmade ornaments.  If I wasn't going to Mexico, I would spend my entire next week doing nothing but making Christmas ornaments.  It's almost my favorite thing in the world.  That's pretty much the only reason I ever went to Sunday School, so that I could make angels out of macaroni and paint them silver.  : )

sachet christmas ornaments

 

A set of two handmade Christmas ornaments in the shop now.  These are made from linen and cotton Japanese fabrics and stuffed with wool and cloves.  They smell so delicious, just like Christmas.  The fronts are hand-embroidered by me, and the backs are made from contrasting fabrics.  The loops for hanging are made from Nani Iro gauze.

This will be my last shop update until the new year.  Orders must be placed today (Friday, December 18) to ensure delivery before Christmas.  I'm leaving tomorrow for a family vacation in Mexico!  So excited.  Mmmm, enchiladas, margaritas, and beaches, here I come.

marled scarf

 

  

 

Blue and off-white 100% alpaca scarf in the shop now.  This yarn is seriously gorgeous, and I love how warm and cozy the scarf turned out.   I was starting to think I would never finish this project!  It took me forever to complete, but it was worth it because I'm really happy with how it turned out.

more necklaces!

In the shop now...

shop update

My shop will be updated today (Dec. 16) at 5PM Eastern.  Yeah, that's in fifteen minutes!  Yikes.  I'm so far behind today and disappointed that I didn't get more done.  Here's what's in the shop: Winter Plaid Top in size 6 and some of my wool necklaces.  I sold out of most of my necklaces but made more for the online shop.  I will have to wait until tomorrow to post the scarf and ornaments in the shop.  And if you're waiting for the Indigo Stripe Dress, then I'm so sorry to announce that they won't be available until after Christmas.  Here's Erica wearing hers, and I think she looks so cute!

christmas ornament ideas

 

 

all photos from Superbuzzy

This week I'm getting serious about making my Christmas ornaments.  There's not much time left.  I've already set up two craft nights with girlfriends this week so we can get things done.   Here are my ornament ideas, all inspired by these insanely cute Japanese kits from Superbuzzy: felt balls, pompoms, and cross-stitch.  As you know, I've been all about the felt balls lately.  And last night I cross-stitched my first ornament.  I'm going to get really amitious here and say that this week I'll be posting photos and instructions for my ornaments, and maybe you can share your tips as well in the comments section, because all of this is an experiment!

success

Sian Keegan's handmade animals.  Wanted to buy one of these awesome raccoons for Tova's Christmas present, but they weren't recommended for children because of the hand-stitching.

Shabd was kind enough to share her clothes rack with me.  This picture was taken when most of my pieces had already sold.

 

Me and Charlotte, photo taken by Joe.  I was lucky enough to get to meet Charlotte, one of my blog readers/customers, for the first time.  I also met some other sweet customers too, but this was the only photo I got.

 

A photo of my basket of scarves and necklaces, taken towards the end of the day when my stuff had become a mess!  I didn't take photos of it right when I set everything up because I was too distracted.

Well, Lena's sale went wonderfully.  There were a TON of people there!  It was great to hang out with all the designers, and I was very pleased that so many of my friends came by to support me.  (There are more photos here.)  I sold out of almost everything.  Speaking of which, I'm going to push my online shop update back so I can make a few more things.  It will be on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.  Wednesday, December 16 at 5 PM Eastern.  I hope to get another scarf done, another top, and maybe some Christmas ornaments as well before that time.  I'll post more photos and info tomorrow and Wednesday.

I myself took home a load of goodies: Lena's calendar and prints, a stack of Mociun t-shirts, and an Aesa necklace.

holiday scarves

 

My sewing machine was broken for a little while, so I knitted a bunch of scarves instead of sewing.  Scarves are so boring to knit and take forever, but all the same I love playing around with beautiful yarn.  The black/white scarf and the orange/taupe scarf are both made from alpaca, so they are very soft and cuddly.  The organic striped knit top in the photos is something I made for Wiksten for fall, but I haven't started producing them yet because I still need to buy a coverstitch machine.

winter plaid top

 

 

What you can't see is that I'm totally wearing my old sweat pants with this top.  Word.

cozy holiday stuff

 

 

 

I've really missed blogging this week, but I've been super busy preparing for Lena's sale!  Making holiday stuff is always the most fun for me because I love cozy things.  Here are a couple of pieces that will be at the sale.  One is a red infinity scarf that can be rapped around the neck twice.  And another is the Tova shirt in plaid flannel.  I'll be posting photos of more things tomorrow and Friday as well.  Whatever doesn't sell at the event will be available in my web shop at 5PM (Eastern) on Tuesday, December 15.

sewing class

I've been teaching a sewing class at Lena Corwin's studio, and last night was the final class.  I'm so sad to see it end!  I really wanted to take some photos of the finished garments, but I forgot to bring my camera.  It was very satisfying to see the students' completed work because everyone did a fabulous job.  I'm so proud of all of them.  The classes were such fun that I'm really looking forward to teaching another one in a couple of months.  Look for future class announcements here and over at Lena's blog. 

writing you a letter

photo from Yellow Owl Workshop

Okay, I'm just gonna go ahead and say this: if you're not into Christmas, you should just pretty much avoid my blog for the whole month of December.  I can't help it!  I think I've caught some sort of Christmas sickness.  I'm usually pretty much high on life for the whole month of December, what can I say?

How perfect is this Christmas correspondence set from Yellow Owl Workshop?  I found it while browsing Wool & Spool.  I think I need to write all my letters in this for the entire month.  As if I acutally wrote letters, ha. 

guess what i'm doing tonight?

I'm toatlly watching Rudolph on tv while finishing my "secret Santa" present.  I've been working on one of Alicia Paulson's adorable deer ornaments, and I'm almost finished.  I just need to stuff it and sew it closed with some rick-rack for hanging.