Twelve Days color themes emerging

Apparently I love oranges, maroons, blues and pinks together. It's probably why I end up with one in each pattern sample batch. And why I never seem to give them as gifts. One day I will have a white Christmas tree and these ornaments will rock it. You might think I planned this color theme ahead of time...mmkay sure, let's go with that. I completely and professionally planned it like a forward thinking micro business owner. *coughs*

Oooh. Aquas, mints and greens. This theme is late to the party. I'm diggin it. I need to make it retroactive with the first two ornaments so I have a complete set so far.

And yellows. There's a theme in this grouping somehow. It's not quite as cohesive. More yellows will be in the future. I need to bring back that lighter yellow like on the Partridge and Pear. It's got zing. *snapping fingers*

I can't get as excited about traditional red and green combos but I do think a whole set done in whites and ivories would be so pretty. Hey, one of you guys do that! And send me pictures. That's what's so great about DIY and digital patterns. You can make whatever color combos float your boat.

nesting, bobbling Larissa magnets

If you've stuck with me any amount of time you'll know I love matryoshka dolls. Do you collect them? Small, cleverly made things are powerful Larissa magnets. I'm drawn to them by an irresistible, tractor beamish force. The same force opens my wallet and turns down the volume on the sensible 'save your money' voice. These are two recent purchases that give me much joy.

This wooden set is designed by one of my favorite illustrators ever, Helen Dardik. Oh, how I love her cheerful, bizarre drawings and print patterns! I'm the proud owner of three of her watercolors. I was so lucky to be able to buy this matryoshka directly from her. I loves it. Animals who are holding tasty things to eat. Mr Bear with an apple. Mrs Owl with a bowl of um. Pistachio pudding! Obviously.

I'm actually not sure what Mr Middle there is. No ears. But has a snout. And claws. (Bear/Owl love child?) And clutches a bowl of...Greek yogurt. Hmm. Mr Squirrel is eating a fish. I didn't know squirrels liked fish. Maybe it's a fish-shaped nut loaf. Or maybe Mr Squirrel is really Mr Beaver. Do Beavers eat fish? No. Maybe Mr Squirrel is just taking his pet fish for a walk. The fish looks keen. And a nervous girl (Goldilocks?) who is hoping 1) she is not the main course 2) they will share their snacks.

I like a bit of drama and mystery in my nesting dolls.

 And they have tails! Except for Goldi, of course.

And this vintage bobble-head Japanese set I picked up on Etsy a while ago might be my favorite in the Crazy-Tiny Wow Factor category. I love the dry brush paint strokes. Did I mention they bobble?

As in, they all have bobble heads. Not just the big one.
(Imagine some really stellar gel polish or Jamberries on my nails, will you?)

 All the way down...

 ...to this guy. Yes. His head bobbles too. 

(I know!)

So you see. I had to make them mine forever. I know you support me in this.

alterations are scary

In between ornament patterns I am trying to do much-needed and much-procrastinated clothing alterations. Do you hate doing this? I love the results but the actual doing is such a pain.
 
I have to brag that I successfully altered the waistband of one of my pencil skirts...the right way this time. (Usually I sew a hurried dart in the waistband, which gets the job done but looks bulky and  terrible.)

It was scary! I had to unpick the waistband at the side seams (so many parts coming together there, the fabric, the lining, the grosgrain ribbon finishing the inside, and some kind of thin ribbon that I had no idea what it was for) and resew it at an angle and then figure out how to put it all back together like it was and not make a hash of it. Then of course sweat bullets wondering if I'd taken it in too much. Huge relief to try it on and see that it no longer sticks out at my waist and fits properly. 

Now I have about five other pencil skirts that need the same treatment. Plus a pile of other clothes that I could wear if I'd spend a little time fixing them. Need to keep the momentum...

curated felt color collection/felt & floss color guide for Colly Bird

 Photos courtesy of Benzie Design

This ten-color collection of wool blend felt and matching embroidery floss was custom made for my Colly Bird pattern samples shown above and is now available in Benzie Design's shop! Thanks again, Renae!

Colly Bird Benzie felt colors: 
Black
Graphite
Julep
Moss
Coral
Mustard
Peacock
Cyan
Copper
Orange

You can purchase this Benzie felt bundle with or without the matching flosses. You'll need matching floss anyway to sew your ornaments together, so having the pre-matched flosses comes in handy! NOTE: You will still need to purchase floss for the contrast decorative embroidery!
See colors below.

Green/black/mint colly bird felt colors:
Head and tail: Moss
Body and wing inset: Black
Beak: Coral
Wing and wing overlay 2: Graphite
Wing overlay 1: Julep

Green/black/mint colly bird contrast embroidery colors:
DMC White
DMC Black
DMC 3804  (DK Cyclamen Pink)
DMC 608  (Bright Orange)
DMC 581 (Moss Green)
DMC 958 (DK Seagreen)

Gray/blue/mustard colly bird felt colors:
Head, tail and wing: Graphite
Body and wing inset: Peacock
Beak: Orange
Wing overlay 1: Mustard
Wing overlay 2: Copper

Gray/blue/mustard colly bird contrast embroidery colors:
DMC White
DMC Black
DMC 3846  (LT Bright Turquoise)
DMC 608  (Bright Orange)
DMC 3852  (V DK Straw)
DMC 3799  (V DK Pewter Gray)

I've also done a curated bundle of felt for each of the previous Twelve Days patterns and you can find them all under that same Benzie listing in the drop down menu. See these older blog posts for more pictures and details: Partridge & Pear, Turtle Dove, and French Hen.

Happy hand sewing!

Colly Bird pattern is now available!

Bit tardy. Sorry! See what happens when I verbalize a deadline? It sets Murphy's Law into motion. Murphy's kind of a jerk and he was out to get me. Physical therapy, stomach viruses, school projects, sample making apathy, overcast days, house looking, stupid Daylight Saving Time (I've been sleepy and grumpy ever since) etc...

But it's done! ShaZAM! It's available in my Etsy and Craftsy shops for your sewing pleasure.

OK, you might be asking 'why colly bird and not calling bird?'. If you've missed the previous posts about this, the Twelve Days of Christmas song originally included the Old English term colly bird, which means blackbird. Calling bird was added later because no one knew what the heck a colly bird was. Which didn't help a whole lot because what the heck is a calling bird?

I remember being really thrilled to find this old book in my thrift store a few years back because it has 'colly bird' instead of calling bird! I also dig the economical seventies-licious three-color litho (orange, olive and black! the power trio) and crinkly plastic library binding. This book. Smells exactly like my elementary school library.

(Whatever happened to good ol' two color picture books anyway? We just throw four color process around willy nilly like it grows on trees nowadays! Kids in my day didn't have decadent, glossy CMYK books like that. We had to use our imaginations to fill in the color. And we liked it! *waving cane*)

So anyway, I'm really pleased with the way this colly bird pattern turned out and I hope you like him too. Like all the Twelve Days patterns, it takes advantage of the awesomeness of Sulky Printable Stick 'n Stitch (formerly known as Sulky Printable Sticky Fabri-Solvy). Just print the pattern on this stabilizer, stick it to the felt and embroider right through it. Doesn't get any easier than that!

Make it a blackbird or a whatever color of bird a calling bird is.

So now I'm going to take an ornament-free breather. Fold some towels. Maybe sew some things to wear. Spring has arrived in Atlanta. And overnight one day soon it will go from balmy and pleasant to wilted and sweaty and will remain stuck on that setting until October. I will reluctantly retire my tights and suede booties and go get a pedicure.

Next up on the blog: My curated color collection at Benzie Design for Colly Bird, for those of you who are waiting.