Turtle Dove pattern in the shop!

I'm done, I'm done! Here's the second ornament in the Twelve Days ornament series, Turtle Dove. (Here's the post for the first set, Partridge & Pear.) I'm really happy with the way this turned out and I'm still loving the Sulky stabilizer which makes this handmade ornament series so so easy to make. If you can handle basic embroidery stitches you can totally do this project, and do it well.

The key is the Sulky Printable Stick 'n Stitch (formerly known as Sulky Printable Sticky Fabri-Solvy), a wonderful felt crafting stabilizer. You simply print my ornament pattern on the water soluble stabilizer, adhere it to felt and then embroider right through it. No tracing or transferring complicated embroidery patterns by hand. Outstanding! Read through this earlier post to learn more about how the process works. I've listed some sources where you can purchase the stabilizer in the pattern.

You can purchase this instant download Turtle Dove pattern PDF in either my Etsy or my Craftsy shops. Go to the listing to get more details on the pattern itself. I hope you enjoy it!

what we're up to

We are enjoying our summer school break! I'm busy sewing up ornament samples and tweaking the patterns for Turtle Dove, French Hen and Colly Bird. The picture above is wool felt that is drip drying in my laundry room. (Pre-soaking the felt is an important step that ensures your embroidered creations won't shrink when you soak off the Sulky stabilizer!)

You can see that after a quick press it's back to looking exactly like it was before the soak!

While I'm upstairs banging away at the patterns, Thing 1 is learning to touch type. She's doing really well! She's also reading The Hobbit to gear up for her first year in a homeschool academy starting in September. Middle school, here we come.

Thing 2 is busy playing Monopoly with her Equestria Girls. I'm sure there are some educational benefits to that. Economics. Math. Real estate. Funology.

And in other news, my Schmoopie bought me a bike! It's the kind that you can sit upright on and has a bell. Ding! Just like the one I loved during my family's brief move to Holland. And my favorite part is the huge, cushy Oma seat. Aaaaahhhh. I've been having fun riding the bike trails around here with him. I forgot how much I love to ride a bike. It's the one athletic ability I have.