All Through the House *Easier Version*

Happy belated Easter! I was enjoying the beautiful day so much on Sunday I never posted my wishes to you. I hope your day was filled with joy and peace and chocolate bunnies. Our Easter gathering was combined with two family birthdays, so it was extra nice! Yes, I'm still here plugging away at this pattern whenever I can! It has been really challenging to find the time. What you see here is the *easier version* of the All Through the House ornament, which is the upcoming pattern in my 'Twas the Night ornament series. 

What makes it easier, you say? The 1) rectangle gable window as opposed to round and 2) the straight cut shingles as opposed to scalloped. When in doubt, try this easier version first, then try the harder one next. Of course, you can also opt to make this even easier by forgoing the inside altogether and keeping the door ornamental instead of functional. That's totally allowed and cuts out a good many steps!

A peek inside the door, featuring the *new and improved* felt Christmas tree as the surprise inside. And if you look closely, you'll see a string of Christmas lights decking the halls behind it.

This version is made using the Benzie Design Retro palette for my 'Twas the Night series. If you already have that felt palette, you can make this green/mint/pink house by purchasing some pink stiffened felt and mint colored card stock (along with the other non-felt materials needed).

These two photos are for size reference. I sized the All Through the House ornaments to fit in nicely with the rest of the series, and as you can see, they are a just a bit shorter than the Mrs Claus ornament.

Back to work for me. <3

eureka! tiny Christmas tree

Finally! Loving this 1.5 inch felt tree waaay better for inside the house than the twisted pipe cleaner version from my earlier prototype. Easy to construct as well, and has a lot better visual payoff when you open the little tiny door. *sigh of relief as another detail locks into place in brain*

I'm banging away at this All Through The House pattern y'all, but between 1) the easier version 2) the harder version and the 3) gingerbread version there are one gagillion details to streamline for your crafting pleasure. It's only taking forever, but will be worth it. (hopefully LOL) 

Also thrown in the mix are all the deadlines and special things you do with a graduating senior as events ramp up. Yes. My last baby, Thing 2, graduates in May. Wasn't this just yesterday though?

Another All Through the House preview

Hey Mmmakers! Another quick All Through The House pattern preview for you. It's the upcoming new pattern in my 'Twas the Night ornaments. (You can also see a short 20 sec video on my Facebook or IG feeds). See this post for the link to an earlier preview video which shows the surprise inside the blue house.

 

I just have no choice but to include a gingerbread variation in this upcoming pattern. No choice NOT to make tiny glitter bedecked pink shingles, gumdrops, candy canes and a little surprise inside (still working on that part, not happy with the latest). I love sparkle-ing ALL the tiny things with glitter! But y'all. Glitter gets everywhere. When I'm 1000 showers past my final house sample someone will say to me "Hey, do you know you have some glitter in your ear?"

If you plan on making this one, be sure to have Fabri-Tac glue on hand as well as the trusty ol' Aleene's Tacky Glue. The gingerbread variation shown here includes the Benzie Design Bellwether glitter felts in white and pink. Also the actual gingerbready color is their Nutmeg wool-blend, which is not included in the usual 'Twas the Night color palettes, so you will have to buy that separately if you'd like an authentic cookie color. I was also eyeing their Cinnamon pretty hard for that, and I think it would also work really well if it's already in your stash.

If the tiny detail on this ornament is making you a bit nervous, I can assure you this intermediate level pattern will be similar in difficulty to my other intermediate level ornaments ('Twas the Night and Ebenezer). I will include some harder/easier options for a few of the details, and also of course the usual VERY detailed step by step instructions. :-)

This pattern is still in development, but other patterns in this series (and lots more) are available in my Etsy shop: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

sneak peek of All Through the House

Sneak peek of All Through the House, the upcoming 4th pattern in my hand-sewn wool felt 'Twas the Night Ornament Series. This is a fairly tight prototype, shown here in the Benzie Design Classic felt palette. It's made with the usual wool felts, flosses, sequins, beads and stiffened felts. Also thrown in there are iridescent/metallic chenille stems, card stocks, and *glitter*. 

There's a little surprise inside. Eee! Tiny things are fun. To see, have a look at the preview video on my Facebook page or my Instagram feed.

minor update to Santa Claus pattern

ATTN: 'TWAS THE NIGHT MMMAKERS: I'm making a minor update to the Santa Claus pattern if you'd like to do the same. Santa's hanging loop was originally attached at the top of his collar because I was concerned that the attachment might pull his hat out of shape over time. That's been bothering me because it's not ideal. 

I was recently made aware of a typo in the TTN patterns (I spelled Q-Tip "cue tip" LOL) so while I'm correcting that in the PDFs, I'm going to adjust the directions in Santa Claus to move the loop attachment to the back of his hat, just above the rim (as shown in the photo above). At that spot, the glue holding the hat on his head should keep the loop from pulling the hat out of shape.

If you'd like, make a little note to that effect on your patterns. But you can also keep attaching it on his collar, if you prefer! The advantage with that is you can turn or angle his head without effecting the angle at which he hangs. :-)

what I'm up to

Hey guys! Happy January. Trying to keep warm in the house is a winter-long project for me. Note my perpetually red (drippy) nose. So charming. I routinely wear scarves and coats inside the house, especially as my fave spots are near windows. I received some much-enjoyed and also ridiculous looking but super warm socks for Christmas. (Thank you, Schmoopie!) And the hot coffee and tea ever floweth over here, of course! We are also in the midst of a dispute with a group of flying squirrels for possession of our attic, and so far they are winning.

I’m busy busy working on the next pattern in the 'Twas the Night series, and I’m excited to show you once I have anything photo worthy. Not yet, though! It's in the very preliminary stages. 

I hope you guys are keeping well? We are passing around the usual winter assortment of viruses and colds. My poor Thing 1 got out of Covid jail at college over the weekend. It snuck right past her vax and whacked her with a headache, body aches, fatigue, and head cold. She's feeling much better now, but says she noticed she can't taste spicy things. Everything else, yes. Spicy stuff, no. That's just bizarre. Sigh. Errbody taking a turn with the new variant, looks like! 

Back to sewing! Y'all stay cozy. Except for my Australian friends – y'all stay cool. :-)

*New* Ebenezer 1-3 pattern bundle in the shop!

*New* discounted pattern bundle in the shop! The Ebenezer Ornament Series 1-3 bundle! Buy it as a bundle and save a little jingle. This PDF pattern bundle includes:

1) Mr Scrooge 

2) Mr Marley and 

3) Ghost of Christmas Past 

As the Ebenezer series grows, I'll add more bundles.
To shop: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

Last Minute Holland comes in under the wire

On Christmas Eve as I sat feverishly stitching two Twelve Days ornaments for dear loved ones, I once again reflected on my time management skills. I feel like I'm busy ALL the ever lovin' time. Perhaps I actually am? Probably not as busy as I think. Surely I can do a better job at this. Heck, I still don't even have my own personal set of any of my ornaments. I have a lot of MmmCrafts samples of course, but those I need to keep in my office for photos/promos. My two girls do not have their own sets either. I do manage most years to make a special one-off ornament for them, but not always. Not this year. Argh.

Next year is my year for sure. 

So this Partridge and French Hen were completed by 1 AM Christmas morning and checked off my list. They were received on Christmas afternoon with joy, and that is the best feeling!

It was nice to revisit these two patterns. If you are curious, yes, I follow my own pattern instructions. LOL. I have so many patterns now it's easy to forget the best way to put them together. It's essential to have a cheat sheet.