Friday, January 8, 2010

a partridge and a pear



**This design is now available as a PDF pattern!**

Carrying on the (short) parade of handmade gifts: I made these two wool felt ornaments for my bosom friend, Robyn.

My seven year old Thing 1 was very taken with the whole idea. I showed her the ornaments and she said "Oh, oh! Like the song." Counting exaggeratedly on fingers, "You have a partridge, then the pear and then you put it on the Christmas TREE. So the Christmas tree is the pear tree. Is that it?"

Yeah. I have to admit, I didn't think of that. I just knew I'd tried to make a pear tree ornament last year that was too complicated and super ugly, so this year I dumbed it down to just the pear.

I also ended up making a second pair (haha) of them for my sister, Leigh. I say for my sister, which is really how it is, but it was supposedly a 'family' gift. We drew names for families this year instead of individuals, and it was decided we'd all do handmade. So Leigh saw these ornaments under construction at Thanksgiving and instantly demanded to have a pair just like them for their family's handmade Christmas gift.

I said, 'Are you sure you want to speak for your whole family, they might not--"

"Yes." Her steely look cut off any further discussion.

So, here they are. They are almost but not exactly like the ones for Robyn. I can't seem to make anything EXACTLY alike twice in a row. That's boring. I also threw in some handmade candy so that the rest of her family got some enjoyment from 'their' gift. *wink* Love you, Leigh.



34 comments:

  1. I love them, the colours are wonderful together and the stitching is great! I'd be very happy to hang those on my tree!

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  2. Sigh. I love my ornaments so much.

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  3. They are fantastic! I love all of them. What a wonderful gift!

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  4. I bet your sisters whole family did enjoy these ornaments. My Great Aunt used to make a pair or more of felt ornaments for our family each year. I loved them. They were so beautiful and soft. Captivating really. Then one year our kitty (dearly loved but very naughty) climbed the tree and took exactly one bite out of each one. They did look delicious, but it was devastating to all of us.

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  5. I am wondering if the felt ornaments you've shown us are your patterns or are you using others? I love the birdies and the pear is so perfect. Did you wing it or are there patterns for these lovlies?

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  6. thanks, everyone!

    Jane. Jane, Jane, Jane. WHAT a tragedy. Oh! (shaking head) Ok. Now I love little furry friends. But I would have had a serious grudge against the cat after that. SERIOUS GRUDGE. Like 'would anyone like to adopt this heirloom eating cat' grudge.

    LeeLeeFL, haha. Wing it. Birds. But yes, they are my own design. I'm considering adding the patterns to the shop for next Christmas.

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  7. they are just wonderful, just delightful,

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  8. Beautiful as always. Love all the embroidery detail. I bet those took you more than a minute to make :). We have a tradition in my family that each kid gets a new ornament each year so that when they leave the nest they'll have ornaments to fill their own tree. I'm hoping to make handmade felt ones for my kids maybe highlighting their favorite thing from that year. I'd like to start next Christmas.

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  9. love them! you did such a good job!

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  10. wow, those ornaments are beautiful! wonderful work :)

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  11. Really beautiful! What wonderful gifts - wish I was your friend! :D

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  12. All your felt creations are so great! And inspiring. And I got a stack of various colored felt squares for Christmas! :) Maybe I should get started now so I'd actually have some things done by next Christmas. ;)

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  13. Amazing! What a beautiful and delightfully thoughtful gift!

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  14. These are delightful! I love stitching on felt and your shapes are fab!

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  15. They're gorgeous Larissa! I would love to have a set of ornaments like this...hmmm, maybe a good crafting idea for this year!

    And I meant to comment on this before (and now it's been changed) but I received some that Lindt sea salt chocolate for Christmas, and I'm right there with you - it was so good! I also got the chocolate with chili and it was awesome as well!

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  16. very adorable. i have some lovely felt ornaments that i treasure, but they aren't as fancy as yours. i may have to add to my to-do list.

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  17. Love those! Especially the pears. Fantastic!

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  18. Those are some beautiful ornaments, wonderful stitching. Please do a pattern, but don't wait for Christmas, do it now & avoid the rush. Those of us melting in blazing summer heat right now have another Christmas in July.

    I second the motion about Lindt chilli chocolate. It's really good melted with warm milk too.

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  19. I love them! That mustard felt is gorgeous!

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  20. i love those. such wonderful stiches too. wish i was in the family, so i would recieve one. :)

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  21. thank you thank you thank you, everyone! y'all are always so encouraging.

    Katie, yes. Many more minutes than initially planned. And that is a lovely tradition, one we are carrying on as well.

    Grandma G, if you are going to dream, dream big I always say.

    Kaye and Helen, mmm that Lindt chocolate! thanks for the tip on the chili variety. sounds gross, but i'll try it.

    Helen, you make a good point about the Christmas in July. I'll see what I can do.

    Whosies, I wish I had a set too. :-)

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  22. ahhh, these are the cutest little ornaments. i just love the colors, such a perfect job you did!

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  23. your felt creations are so adorable!

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  24. How pretty they are! I love the design and colors you used. Leigh is such a beutiful name and spelling...you don't see it often enough...it is my middle name and I am always so happy my parents didn't spell it lee or lea.

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  25. Are your patterns for the partridge and the turtle doves available for sale somewhere? I checked your etsy shop and saw the snow birds which are similar but not quite the same as the turtle doves but no partridge?

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    1. Hi, Imo Jenny! I am working on a pattern for the partridge/pear that I plan to release by March of this year, and the turtle doves are still to come. It's all on my to do list! Thanks so much for asking.

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