I'm working hard on producing the third pattern in my Ebenezer Ornament Series, Ghost of Christmas Past. I only have a few tweaks to make before I have the final version. I'm pretty happy with how it's all gone so far! Earlier version is on the left, Mr Headless on the right is the latest.
I've seen many productions or movies which portray this ghost as a woman, so you may be a bit surprised to learn it's actually described as a boy/man in the book. That's the version I'm going with, however, this is DIY and you are the boss. If you'd like to craft this spirit as an ethereal woman instead to match the nostalgia of your memories, it is entirely up to you!
As written by Dickens, this ghost is kind of tricky to represent faithfully as a felt ornament. I've done my best to hit the highlights! And some artistic license is thrown in there. Here's the description of what Scrooge sees when his bed curtains are drawn aside:
"It was a strange figure–like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child's proportions. Its hair, which hung about its neck and down its back, was white as if with age, and yet the face had not a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin. The arms were very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold were of uncommon strength. Its legs and feet, most delicately formed, were, like those upper members, bare. It wore a tunic of the purest white; and round its waist was bound a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful. It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand; and, in singular contradiction of that wintery emblem, had its dress trimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held under its arm."
Admittedly already a challenge to represent with a crafted Christmas ornament, but even further than that:
"Even this, though, when Scrooge looked at it with increasing steadiness, was not its strangest quality. For as its belt sparkled and glittered now in one part and now in another, and what was light one instant, at another time was dark, so the figure itself fluctuated in its distinctness: being now a thing with one arm, now with one leg, now with twenty legs, now a pair of legs without a head, now a head without a body: of which dissolving parts, no outline would be visible in the dense gloom wherein they melted away. And in the very wonder of this, it would be itself again; distinct and clear as ever."
So um yeah, you'll just have to use your imaginations for that last shape-shifting part. As a designer, I landed on a candle-like youth with blooming cheeks and long white hair, sporting bare arms and feet, wearing a tunic trimmed with flowers and holding a holly branch and a hat-sized snuffer in his hands. The light pouring from his head is tricky to represent, so I'm probably going to settle for a tinsel crown with a simple flame shape in the back. I'm still thinking that one through.
New craft items you'll need to make this pattern: If you've been making the Ebenezer series already, you have most of what you need already on hand, but there are a few things that are new:
- 24 or 26 gauge cloth covered or paper wrapped floral stem wire (for the holly branch). I've used white in my sample photo, but I will probably also use green, which is easier to find than white. It takes one 18 inch stem to make a holly branch.
- Benzie Design's Bellwether metallic felts for the belt, snuffer, and some leaves. It adds such a rich sheen! I love using it for this. You may of course opt to use regular wool felt for those parts if you wish. It still works!
- Three 4 mm round jewelry beads for holly berries. I found the tiny glass seed beads just didn't have enough presence for the berries. The sample you see is made with semi-precious stone beads I grabbed at my local Michaels, just because I liked the natural variations in hue.
- 8 mm and 6 mm sequins in addition to the 4 or 5 mm ones you are already using. You'll need them for the belt buckle and flowers.
- The spirit's hair is white DMC embroidery floss, and you can get two heads of hair from one skein.
