Wednesday, December 30, 2020
sewing up 2020
Friday, December 25, 2020
a very merry Christmas to all
I'm not sure how I have missed it, but I had never heard the Pentatonix version of Mary, Did You Know. There I was, driving through my town to pick up my kid from school, minding my own business, listening to a Christmas playlist, and it filled my car. Then it filled my heart. Then it filled my eyes. Then I started to ugly cry right there behind the wheel as I was negotiating an intersection. It was an unstoppable force. Not good for driving safety, so I had to take some very deep breaths and just let it wash through me.
I resist crying. I just do. Some folks only become more lovely when they cry. Their eyes get dewy and large and reflective. Crystal tears fall from their lashes and they become angelic and shimmery. That is exactly unlike what happens to my face. It collapses in on itself and my throat constricts and my nose becomes swollen and red. For several hours it's apparent to everyone from my puffy, red eyes and glowing nose that I've cried.
However. Despite my blotchy appearance, it was a thing of true beauty that the account of God With Us in the arms of his mother touched my spirit like that, even when I've read it and pondered it and treasured it and heard it a thousand times.
It was a moment I needed.
Merry Christmas to you. Today, whether or not you share my faith in Christ, wherever you are in the world, I wish for you a peaceful, joyful day, surrounded by those you love and filled with all good things. And only happy crying.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Little Elves pattern is now available!
Little Elves, the third (and technically fourth) pattern in my ongoing 'Twas the Night Ornament Series, is now available! These ornaments are inspired by Clement C. Moore's 1823 poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known as The Night Before Christmas. As you may have noticed, elves are not mentioned in the poem (except for the right jolly old elf himself of course!) but we are taking a little tour of the North Pole to pick up some beloved characters before we dive into the actual lines of the poem.
I'm designing this intermediate level ornament series with what hopefully seems like a vintage-meets-modern type of style, with sparkly sequins and beads and plenty of tiny, charming details.
All the samples you see here were made using Benzie Design's wonderful wool-blend felts, glass seed beads, and sequins. Such lovely quality! I really enjoyed working with them, and highly recommend them for yours. I'll be posting detailed Little Elves color guides for these samples but probably not before I make the other samples I need. I'm missing the mint/pink/green palette samples and need to get those done. They will be similar to the samples you've seen already for the rest of the series. (But in the meantime I am taking a break to get ready for Christmas. Holy cow. So much to do.)
Saturday, December 5, 2020
huge THANK YOU to you, and it's back to work for me
Thursday, November 26, 2020
happiest of Thanksgivings to you, and my annual sale is on!
Hello hello to you. Today I plan to mindfully and thankfully devour sausage balls, smoked turkey, ham, pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake, the WORKS. And to be especially grateful for delicious, lovely fat and sugar as I have been on WW since May and I'm ready to eat allllll the things to celebrate the day. There may be a faceplant in a plate buttered yeast rolls. (Humor and holiday splurging aside, WW has actually been really great, and I highly recommend it. I love to eat, and there's always something tasty I can eat for zero points. I've lost a good bit of weight and I'm feeling pretty fantastic about that. I plan to stay on it for the long haul. Tomorrow.)
Besides butter, there is much to be thankful for in my life this year, yes, especially this strange, sad, and challenging year. I've heard from so many folks who found a special refuge in all forms of handcraft this year, and goodness knows I have. I can just see in my mind's eye lucky people around the world being delighted and amazed to open their special handmade gifts on Christmas morning as a result of worldwide lockdown crafting. What a lovely vision. I'm so grateful if my patterns have played any small part in that joy.
Do you have plans to sew for Christmas? Better get crackin'. (I'm mostly speaking to myself there.) Today through Monday there's 20% off of all patterns in my shop, so be sure to take advantage of that if you've had your eye on a project or two. Be aware the sale is automatically keyed to my US time zone, Eastern Standard, so factor that in if you are in a different zone on our wonderful planet!
I wish you the warmest, happiest, most delicious time spent with your loved ones today, whether an unlucky turkey figures in there or not. We can all take some time to count our many blessings and say a prayer of thanks.
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Little Elves preview
Sunday, October 25, 2020
sneak peek of the next ornament in 'Twas the Night
After finally releasing Mr Marley (great SCOTT he took forever) I'm happily designing the next pattern in the 'Twas the Night series, Little Elves. This is a glimpse of the first draft, hence no embroidery. I'll add in the embroidery and *sparkle* on the next round of test ornaments. Fun! I'm excited to show you more when I get to that stage.
Note: These little guys are a bit smaller than Santa and Mrs Claus (#becauseelves), so I recommend finding something skinny to help you stuff them if you don't already have something. I am using my beloved Barbara Willis stuffing fork, which is the regular size, and it's working fine, however I just purchased the mini to see if it is easier to use on these skinny lil' legs. I'll report back.
"But wait, there are no elves in the poem, Larissa!"
Yes! That's right. No elves besides the right jolly old Santa himself. Don't worry, we will get to the body of the well-loved poem itself, but I wanted to make a stop at the North Pole first to pick up Mrs Claus and the elves. Thanks for hanging in there with me! :-)
Saturday, October 24, 2020
May I suggest a handmade ornament?
Can you:
1) Cut small pieces with precision?
2) Sew basic hand stitches like whipstitch, backstitch, and French knot?
3) Print stuff?
4) Glue stuff?
5) Enjoy coffee?*
*Optional but recommended
If you answered yes to these questions, you can make these ornaments and make them well. It’s all about the Sulky stabilizer called Stick 'n Stitch. Print my pattern on the stabilizer, adhere it to the lovely wool felt, and stitch on the lines. NO tracing or transferring embroidery designs. Fantastic. My patterns are super detailed with step-by-step instructions and tons of illustrations. This page is chock full of information and tips for you if you are interested. Happy sewing to you!
PDF patterns are in my Etsy shop, mmmcrafts.etsy.com
Jewel colorway at Felt On The Fly, etsy.com/shop/FeltOnTheFly