Maid a-Milking pattern available/Black Friday sale

Happy Friday! Two EXCITING THINGS.
OK, First Exciting Thing: Pattern number 8 in the Twelve Days series is now available in my Etsy shop! Maid a-Milking! Whoo!

The Benzie Design felt/floss bundle that goes with the new hand sewn Maid a-Milking pattern is the previous Turtle Dove bundle, seen here. The color bundles will all be repeating like that. All the samples you see in the photos above^ were made using that felt bundle!

Who can guess what the next ornament in the series will be? It's probably not the one you think. More on that later!

Second Exciting Thing: My annual Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale is here!

Coupon Code: MMMSALE

Use that code in my Etsy shop only to receive 20% off your pattern purchase! Sale ends at midnight EST on Monday, November 28th. Don't forget the code at checkout, for Pete's sake!

(Pete really wants you to get a deal.)

on the seventh day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to meeeee, seven swans a-swimming!

It's a great time of year for cozy hand making! Swan a-Swimming is the seventh pattern in my Twelve Days series of Christmas ornaments. 

All the ornaments in this series are hand sewn and made from wool or wool-blend felt. And they are way easier to make than they look, thanks to a magical Sulky adhesive stabilizer.

Using the stabilizer (shown in action above) means no tedious pattern transferring or tracing. If you can do basic hand stitches and work with small pieces, you can nail these ornaments.

I have also curated wool-blend felt and floss color bundles which are sold by Benzie Design to go with the digital patterns! This is the bundle for Swan a-Swimming with coordinating floss, shown above. (It's also the Partridge & Pear bundle because the color bundles repeat.)

All available Twelve Days ornaments are in my Etsy and Craftsy shops, sold singly and also in discounted bundles. It's an ongoing series, so stay tuned for new patterns coming!

on the sixth day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to meeeee, six geese a-laying!

Better get started on the handmade gifts and ornaments! Goose a-Laying is the sixth pattern in my Twelve Days series of Christmas ornaments. 

All the ornaments in this series are hand sewn and made from wool or wool-blend felt. And they are way easier to make than they look, thanks to a magical Sulky adhesive stabilizer.

Using the stabilizer (shown in action above) means no tedious pattern transferring or tracing. If you can do basic hand stitches and work with small pieces, you can nail these ornaments!

I have also curated wool-blend felt and floss color bundles which are sold by Benzie Design to go with the digital patterns! This is the bundle for Goose a-Laying with coordinating floss, shown above. (Note: This is the final unique color bundle. After this the color bundles will repeat for the rest of the ornaments.)

All available Twelve Days ornaments are in my Etsy and Craftsy shops, sold singly and also in discounted bundles. It's an ongoing series, so stay tuned for new patterns coming!

on the fifth day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to meeeee, FIVE GO-OLD RINGS! Sing that part really loud with lots of vibrato!

Better get started on the handmade gifts and ornaments! Gold Ring is the fifth pattern in my Twelve Days series of Christmas ornaments. 

All the ornaments in this series are hand sewn and made from wool or wool-blend felt. And they are way easier to make than they look, thanks to a magical Sulky adhesive stabilizer.

Using the stabilizer (shown in action above) means no tedious pattern transferring or tracing. If you can do basic hand stitches and work with small pieces, you can nail these ornaments!

I have also curated wool-blend felt and floss color bundles which are sold by Benzie Design to go with the digital patterns! This is the bundle for Gold Ring with coordinating floss, shown above.

All available Twelve Days ornaments are in my Etsy and Craftsy shops, sold singly and also in discounted bundles. It's an ongoing series, so stay tuned for new patterns coming!

on the fourth day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to meeeee, four colly birds! (Colly bird is the old English term for blackbird, and that is what was in the song originally. But you can make them calling birds if you like!)

It's a great time of year for cozy hand making! Colly Bird is the fourth pattern in my Twelve Days series of Christmas ornaments. 

All the ornaments in this series are hand sewn and made from wool or wool-blend felt. And they are way easier to make than they look, thanks to a magical Sulky adhesive stabilizer.

Using the stabilizer (shown in action above) means no tedious pattern transferring or tracing. If you can do basic hand stitches and work with small pieces, you can nail these ornaments.

I have also curated wool-blend felt and floss color bundles which are sold by Benzie Design to go with the digital patterns! This is the bundle for Colly Bird with coordinating floss, shown above.

All available Twelve Days ornaments are in my Etsy and Craftsy shops, sold singly and also in discounted bundles. It's an ongoing series, so stay tuned for new patterns coming!

on the third day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to meeeee, three French hens!

It's a great time of year for cozy hand making! French Hen is the third pattern in my Twelve Days series of Christmas ornaments. It doubles as an Easter pattern if you have an Easter tree in the spring.

All the ornaments in this series are hand sewn and made from wool or wool-blend felt. And they are way easier to make than they look, thanks to a magical Sulky adhesive stabilizer.

Using the stabilizer (shown in action above) means no tedious pattern transferring or tracing. If you can do basic hand stitches and work with small pieces, you can nail these ornaments.

I have also curated wool-blend felt and floss color bundles which are sold by Benzie Design to go with the digital patterns! This is the bundle for French Hen with coordinating floss, shown above.

All available Twelve Days ornaments are in my Etsy and Craftsy shops, sold singly and also in discounted bundles. It's an ongoing series, so stay tuned for new patterns coming!

on the second day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to meeeee, two turtle doves!

It's a great time of year for cozy hand making! Turtle Dove is the second pattern in my Twelve Days series of Christmas ornaments.

All the ornaments in the series are hand sewn and made from wool or wool-blend felt. And they are way easier to make than they look, thanks to a magical Sulky adhesive stabilizer.

Using the stabilizer (shown in action above) means no tedious pattern transferring or tracing. If you can do basic hand stitches and work with small pieces, you can nail these ornaments.

I have also curated wool-blend felt and floss color bundles which are sold by Benzie Design to go with the digital patterns! This is the bundle for Turtle Dove with coordinating floss, shown above.

All available Twelve Days ornaments are in my Etsy and Craftsy shops, sold singly and also in discounted bundles. It's an ongoing series, so stay tuned for new patterns coming!

may I suggest handmade ornaments?

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeee...a partridge in a pear treeeee!

It's a great time of year for cozy hand making. Partridge & Pear is the first pattern in my Twelve Days series of Christmas ornaments.

All the ornaments in the series are hand sewn and made from wool or wool-blend felt. And they are way easier to make than they look, thanks to a magical Sulky adhesive stabilizer.

Using the stabilizer (shown in action above) means no tedious pattern transferring or tracing. If you can do basic hand stitches and work with small pieces, you can nail these ornaments.

I have also curated wool-blend felt and floss color bundles which are sold by Benzie Design to go with the digital patterns!

All available Twelve Days ornaments are in my Etsy and Craftsy shops, sold singly and also in discounted bundles. It's an ongoing series, so stay tuned for new patterns coming!

curated color collection/felt & floss color guides for Goose a-Laying

Photo courtesy of Benzie Design

Tada! It's the official Goose a-Laying color collection featuring Benzie Design's lovely wool felt! If you'd like to make ornaments like mine shown above, Benzie makes it easy by providing this bundle for you. Sorry sorry sorry this took so long for me to put together! Better late than never, right? See below for the specific colors and floss numbers.

Benzie felt colors in this collection are:
Aqua
Icicle
Blue
Cyan
Periwinkle
Coral
Fuchsia
Cotton Candy
Copper
Orange

You can also add matching floss to your felt bundle when you purchase, via the drop down menu. Matching floss comes in very handy when you sew the ornament pieces together.

This color collection is the final one in the series of six different wool felt color collections for my Twelve Days series of ornaments, curated by me and put together for you by Benzie Design! Six color collections means two ornament patterns per color collection:

1) Partridge & Pear + Swan a-Swimming

2) Turtle Dove + Maid a-Milking

3) French Hen + Drummer Drumming

4) Colly Bird + Piper Piping

5) Gold Ring + Lady Dancing

6) Goose a-Laying + Lord a-Leaping

You can go to my Twelve Days resource page if you'd like to see and read more. Now for the color guides:

Benzie Felt Color and DMC Floss Color Guide for Goose a-Laying CORAL/PINK sample:

Goose: 

Wing and body back: Cotton Candy

Body front: Coral

Beak, wing inset and nest: Copper

Neck band: Fuchsia

Straw: Orange

Flower and tail feathers: Periwinkle

Egg:

Front: Cotton Candy

Front inset: Copper

Back: Coral

DMC floss colors for the decorative embroidery: 

Goose:

DMC white

DMC black (eye)

DMC 154 very dark plum

DMC 156 periwinkle

DMC 718 fuchsia

DMC 818 very light pink

DMC 892 coral 

DMC 919 copper

Egg:

DMC 818 very light pink

DMC 154 very dark plum

DMC 947 orange

DMC 156 periwinkle

DMC 718 fuchsia

And then of course you'll need the matching flosses to sew the ornament parts together.

Benzie Felt Color and DMC Floss Color Guide for Goose a-Laying AQUA/BLUE sample:

Goose:

Wing: Icicle

Body front and back: Aqua

Beak, flower, and straw: Periwinkle

Neck band and tail feathers: Cyan

Wing inset and nest: Blue

Egg:

Front: Periwinkle

Front inset: Blue

Back: Aqua

DMC floss colors for the decorative embroidery: 

Goose:

DMC black (eye)

DMC 823 very dark blue

DMC 793 periwinkle

DMC 919 copper

DMC 946 orange

DMC 783 golden yellow

DMC 3846 light turquoise

DMC 3844 turquoise

DMC 3807 dark periwinkle

Egg:

DMC white

DMC 3846 light turquoise

DMC 946 orange

DMC 783 golden yellow

DMC 3844 turquoise (number on back)

DMC 823 very dark blue (word on back)

And then of course you'll need the matching flosses to sew the ornament parts together.

curated felt color collection/felt & floss guides for Swan a-Swimming

See below for the official color guides to make these ornaments!

(Are you looking for a color guide to the black swan? Click here.)

Palette photos courtesy of Benzie Design

Time for the official color guide for the Swan a-Swimming sample ornaments! If you are new to my Twelve Days ornament series you may not know that Benzie Design offers lovely bundles of felt and floss that coordinate perfectly with my Twelve Days ornament samples! On this palette I did sub in one new color for a color that was unused before. I took Carmine out and put in Peacock! Isn't it a pretty palette?

Benzie felt colors in the felt bundle:
1) Swan
2) Moss
3) Fern
4) Mustard
5) Ochre
6) Orange
7) Cotton Candy
8) Magenta
9) Burgundy
10) Peacock

You can add matching floss to your bundle when you purchase via the drop down menu, which comes in very handy to sew the ornaments together and will save you some time and squinting. (Or am I the only one who squints when I'm color matching?)

There are a total of SIX different curated color palettes to choose from at Benzie's Etsy shop. That means that starting with this Swan a-Swimming ornament I'll be repeating the color palettes:

1/7) Partridge & Pear + Swan a-Swimming
2/8) Turtle Dove + Maid a-Milking
3/9) French Hen + Drummer Drumming
4/10) Colly Bird + Piper Piping
5/11) Gold Ring + Lady Dancing
6/12) Goose a-Laying + Lord a-Leaping

BENZIE FELT COLOR AND DMC FLOSS GUIDE FOR THE PINK SWAN A-SWIMMING:

Cotton Candy: Body front and back

Magenta: Wings
Swan: Water, Flower Outer Ring
Orange: Beak
Burgundy: Neck Band, Flower Center
Peacock: Flower Inner Ring

Decorative embroidery floss colors for the pink one:
DMC black (eye)
DMC white (water ripple)
DMC 3609 very light pink
DMC 3845 turquoise
DMC 154 very dark plum
DMC 947 orange
DMC 3804 magenta
DMC 741 school bus orange

(NOTE: You'll also need matching floss colors, available as an add-on to the Benzie felt bundle)

BENZIE FELT COLOR AND DMC FLOSS GUIDE FOR THE YELLOW SWAN A-SWIMMING:

Ochre: Body front and back
Mustard: Wings
Peacock: Water
Moss: Beak, Flower Outer Ring
Swan: Neck Band
Fern: Flower Inner Ring
Orange: Flower Center

Decorative embroidery floss colors for the yellow one:
DMC black (eye)
DMC white
DMC 934 very dark olive
DMC 3845 turquoise
DMC 947 orange
DMC 937 olive

(NOTE: You'll also need matching floss colors, available as an add-on to the Benzie felt bundle)

And there you have it! Check my shop if you'd like to purchase the Swan a-Swimming pattern. A big thank you to Renae at Benzie Design for putting those handy felt and matching floss bundles together!

curated Benzie felt & floss color guide for Gold Ring

Once again, Renae at Benzie Design has put together a handy bundle of felts and flosses that I've chosen for you to use along with the Gold Ring pattern if you'd like to make ornaments similar to the ones shown above. Thank you, Renae! She has an option for just the felt bundle OR the felt bundle along with some matching flosses:

Gold Ring Benzie Felt Colors are:
Ochre,
Mustard
Bronze (this color is now discontinued and Castle will be subbed)
Copper
Swan
Peacock
Pool
Blue
Flamingo
Magenta

You always need matching flosses when you sew layers together, so having the floss bundle comes in handy and helps build your embroidery stash. Please choose your option (with floss or without floss) from the Benzie Design drop down menu (there are also bundles for the other Twelve Days ornaments in that same listing).

Note: You will also need some additional contrasting flosses to do the decorative embroidery shown in the sample photo. If you purchase the matching floss bundle you will already have some of these colors! Here are the felt colors and DMC numbers for the decorative embroidery:

Pink/gold/orange ring felt:
Ring and setting: Mustard
Bands and leaves: Copper
Ring inside: Bronze (or sub in Castle)
Jewel: Magenta
Jewel highlight: Flamingo

Pink/gold/orange ring embroidery:
DMC White
DMC 924
DMC 917

Violet blue/gold/light yellow ring felt:
Ring and setting: Ochre
Bands, leaves and ring inside: Mustard
Jewel: Blue
Jewel highlight: Pool

Violet blue/gold/light yellow ring embroidery:
DMC White
DMC 820*
DMC 920*
DMC 3822*

Turquoise blue/gold ring felt:
Ring: Mustard
Bands, leaves and setting: Ochre
Ring inside: Bronze (or sub in Castle)
Jewel: Peacock
Jewel highlight: Swan

Turquoise blue/gold ring embroidery:
DMC White
DMC 3844
DMC 831*

*These DMC colors are already included in the Benzie bundle.

I've also worked with Benzie to put together 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 this Twelve Days page for links to all the other color guides.

I hope you enjoy your holiday hand sewing! Look for Goose A-Laying this fall.

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!

curated felt color collection/felt & floss color guides for French Hen

Felt bundle photos courtesy of Benzie Design

This ten-color collection of felt and floss especially made for my French Hen pattern has been available in Benzie Design's shop for a few weeks but now I have some gorgeous photos to show you of the bundle itself. Isn't it pretty?

Benzie felt colors: 
Chartreuse
Julep
Blue Spruce
Aqua
Coral
Swan
Orange
Mustard
Bronze (This color is now discontinued. Castle is being subbed in.)
Copper

Now I can share the felt and floss colors I used for the contrast embroidery, just in case you'd like to make two ornaments that look like mine shown above! See below.

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.

Copper/gold/blue French Hen felt colors:
Comb, beard and flower center: Orange
Head and legs: Copper
Beak and flower: Swan
Body: Mustard
Wing and tail: Bronze (or substitute color Castle)

Copper/gold/blue French Hen contrast embroidery colors:
DMC 3852 (V Dk Straw)
DMC 3844 (Dk Bright Turquoise)
DMC 3846 (Lt Bright Turquoise)
DMC 608 (Bright Orange)
DMC 902 (V Dark Garnet
DMC 919 (Red Copper)
DMC Black

Aqua/green/blue French Hen felt colors:
Comb, beard and flower center: Blue Spruce
Head and legs: Julep
Beak and flower: Orange
Body: Chartreuse
Wing and tail: Aqua

Aqua/green/blue French Hen contrast embroidery colors:
DMC White
DMC 580 (Dk Moss Green)
DMC 3812 (V Dk Seagreen)
DMC 3847 (Dk Teal Green)
DMC 907 (Lt Parrot Green)
DMC 891 (Dk Carnation)
DMC Black

Within the same Benzie Etsy listing are pull down menu options to purchase the previous 12 Days collections also. See my posts about those colors here:
Partridge & Pear
Turtle Dove