final Emerald designer collection complete and available at Felt On The Fly

I chose this rich, vibrant 100% wool felt palette in greens, pinks, and reds as the final of three jewel toned collections from Felt On The Fly. (Click to view the earlier Sapphire and Gold posts). 

Photo courtesy of Felt On The Fly

It was such a pleasure to work with this FOTF luscious merino felt to sew a complete set of Twelve Days Ornaments over the last few months! Go here to buy this lovely Emerald palette.

Here's a group shot of the previous two palettes:

Above: the Gold palette

Above: the Sapphire palette

And I especially love the way they look when they are combined together:

Stay tuned – detailed color guides for each ornament sample will be published here soon so you can get going on a full set yourself. If you want to concentrate on one of the palettes instead of all three, you can use the initial five ornaments and the felt bundle as your inspiration to sew the rest in similar color combos. 

These PDF sewing patterns are available in my Etsy shop, and the wool felt/DMC floss you need to sew them are at Felt On The Fly.

Lady Dancing all in green

Hey, guys! Checking in! Been busy but not blogging, obviously. This lady dancing ornament is the final hand sewn sample in the Emerald colorway for Felt On The Fly. (The other two colorways are found here: Sapphire and Gold.) I need to photograph all five of the finished Emerald samples and post them, but it's super gloomy here. I'm waiting for some sunshine!

When I can get some well-lighted photos, I'll be posting detailed felt and floss color guides here on the blog so you can easily make all 15 of my jewel toned ornaments! In the meantime, you can purchase all three of the curated wool felt color bundles (Sapphire, Gold, and Emerald) at Felt On The Fly.

Each of the three FOTF colorways look lovely on their own, but I think they look especially wonderful all combined:

More photos and detailed color guides are coming when Mr Blue Sky cooperates.
Aaaaand I made a Pinterest board for these colorways.
P.S. have I mentioned I hate DST? #grumpy #uselesstimejump

some belated 2018 handmade Christmas gifts to show you

Unfortunately, December was not the leisurely, fireside, cozy crafting hiatus that I always always hope it will be. Always. Every year -- hopes dashed. It was of course (yes, of course, Larissa, you know this), a completely manic series of holiday events, graphic design deadlines, schoolwork, school events, speed shopping, gift wrapping, packing, traveling and cooking, the endless COOKING. With my birthday wedged in there in the middle.

But THIS year will be different. It's going to be magical and I'm going to have time to take it in and savor it! *squelching sound of slightly battered hope springing eternal*

Anyway, I did manage to make four small things, which I'll show you now, slightly after the fact. This pair of Twelve Days ornaments represent ALMOST the end of my serial gifting to my bestie, Robyn. I started this whole thing with the first gift to her in 2009 of a partridge and pear, so it's only been like 10 years. During the interim I designed the complete series of retail patterns, so now I feel I need to go back and redo the ones I sent her before I designed the patterns, because they don't match. She insists she does not need the redos and loves the originals, but it's really not about her anymore. LOL. No, just kidding, it is, but this way she gets a set that makes me happy and also a few extras that she can hide at the back of the tree.

I just had to redo her French Hen because this was the first one I gave her and I just like this new one so much better! I pulled in more corals to tie in her goose. These closeups show the sparkle I added in the form of glass beads and iridescent sequins.

And this is her yellow bedecked Lady Dancing (nailed it on the first try, at least until further notice), with the addition of some sparkle also.

On to the next pair of handmades:

Because I had the unbending desire to make my girls a handmade ornament that would be unique and special and different, I found myself staring at a pile of craft supplies at 1am on December 22nd (the day were leaving to go out of town), willing my exhausted muse to get off her fanny and make magic.

After some false starts, I pulled over a bin of wool balls (Benzie Design) and crafted these two Christmasy snowman... things... for my girls. They were supposed to be ornaments, but somehow ended up on mason jar lid stands. So now they are just figurines or something.

I pondered adding a clip underneath to clip them on the Christmas tree branches, but my girls say they prefer them freestanding. In that case I need to go back to IKEA and get another tiny cloche for the other one. If they still have them.

To make them, I used some acorns and acorn caps I had on hand, and these adorable painted wood Erzgebirge bunny and bird figurines I scored online a while back.

Isn't the tiny bird cute? The snowman's eyes and buttons are straight pins glued on. The nose is a cotton pipe cleaner. The scarf is a bit of wool felt.

I wasn't super happy with the finished products at the time, but maybe that was because it was 4 am and my frazzled muse was glaring at me while calling her union representative. They've grown on me since then. I think next time I make them I'll trim the bottoms off the wool balls (which are surprisingly dense) so the snowman parts can seem a bit more squashed together.

Gold designer collection complete and available at Felt On The Fly

Gold color story. Photo courtesy of Felt On The Fly

OK! Here's Gold, the second in my three jewel tone Twelve Days Ornaments color collections for Felt On The Fly. This one features warm, vibrant tones of gold, and corals, with splashes of teal and red. These 100% merino wool felts are just a joy to sew with! This set includes ten colors in 8x12 inch sheets:

Brick
Shrimp
Coral
Orange-Red
Sweet Potato
Gold
Raw Umber
Caribbean Blue
Turquoise
Dark Teal

You can also choose to add on Sulky Stick N' Stitch and matching flosses (which work well to sew the ornament together and also can be used for the decorative stitching with the addition of white and black flosses). Just use the drop down menu to select the option you want. Buy it here!

See how pretty the first two color stories look combined? Such beautiful, saturated colors. See this post for details on the previous Sapphire colorway! One more designer collection to go. Hint: GREENS

To buy: Felt On The Fly (and be sure to view the other palettes Janet has selected herself in her shop's Twelve Days Ornaments section). And of course, you can purchase the sewing patterns for the ornaments at my shop, mmmcrafts.etsy.com.

Sapphire designer collection complete and available at Felt On The Fly

Sapphire color story. Photo courtesy of Felt On The Fly

Hello, guys! Man, I'm so behind on this. I forgot to post that this vibrant, saturated 100% merino wool felt Twelve Days Ornaments colorway is now available at Janet's shop, Felt On The Fly. It's called Sapphire for the rich, saturated pinks and blues. The bundle contains eleven gorgeous colors of 8x12 inch felt sheets:

Merlot
Deep Pink
Lavender Pink
Cerise
Coral
Orange-Red
Brick
Shrimp
Dark Teal
Turquoise
Caribbean Blue

She also offers add-ons for Sulky Stick N' Stitch and matching floss. Just select those options from the drop down listing. Buy it here!

The matching floss is necessary to sew the pieces together, but you can also use the matching flosses to create the decorative embroidery, with the minor addition of white and black flosses.

I really enjoyed putting this designer collection together! The merino felts are such a joy to work with. Stay tuned: I will be putting together three different designer collections for Felt On The Fly. Sapphire is the first! (Here's the link to Gold, the 2nd color story which is now available.)

new colorways in 100% wool felt - WIP

Hey, guys. Stitching like a busy bee in between driving my kid all over creation to volleyball. This is the first time I've been an athlete parent and MAN, y'all. It's a lot of driving. But my kid loves it. Go, Holland! Bless her, she's working successfully to overcome the combined set of awkward genes she got from her very unathletically gifted parents. I have other talents.

So anyway, the three Twelve Days ornaments^ up there are from the blue/pink color bundle that I'm putting together for Janet at Felt on the Fly using her luxurious 100% wool felts. There will be three different colorways and they are going to be heavy on the rich, dark and bright colors. I'm excited to share more later!

In other news, I decided it was time to replace my blog, shop, and social media profile pictures with one that actually looks like me. The old one was the Brunette Larissa from several years ago. It was time to switch to Granny Hair Larissa. But how embarrassing is it to take a bunch of selfies? I'd rather be poked with knives than ask my teens to photograph official shots of me, so I hid in the kitchen and tried to figure out the best way to get a shot of myself with my phone timer (multiple fails) that didn't look 100% contrived and awkward. I kept checking over my shoulder to make sure they couldn't see what I was doing and mock me. It felt completely ridiculous. #generationgap

I'm not sure the one I am using over there > in my profile is even acceptable but I give up for now. It's me Living My Truth (aka swilling coffee). 

Hey, Larissa, what do you mean by "4 strands of floss"?

(Happy summer to all my friends in the northern hemisphere and a cozy winter to all my friends in the southern hemisphere! I'm busy, busy, busy with all kinds of graphic design, home improvement and craft projects for summer so I haven't checked in much on social media or the blog. Hello! *waves*)

If you are working on any of my hand embroidered projects, like the Twelve Days ornament series, you'll notice that I specify how many strands of floss to use on each step. If you are new to embroidery, you may be wondering what that means.
Wonder no more!

DMC embroidery floss is made up of six cotton threads that are twisted together to form one strand of floss. On my patterns you will find the number of strands specified, for instance:
4 strands of contrasting floss + whip stitch
That means you'll separate and remove 2 strands of thread and use the remaining 4 strands of floss to do the whip stitches. (Contrasting just means a floss color that is not the same color as the felt and that will show up well.) It's important to follow those steps if you want your stitching to have the same look as my samples because I obsess over tailor the number of strands used to best highlight my designs.

You'll find I use 4 strands the most, but I also specify 2, 3, and 6 strands at times. I don't recall ever specifying 5, but it's a possibility! It's a good idea to set aside the strands you peel away because you might get a chance to use them later in the project.

Q: So what's the best method to separate them? 
A: You'll find if you just grab 2 strands and try to peel them away the floss sometimes gets snarled or twisted. Who has time or patience for that? Not me.

Start with about 18-20 inches of floss. (Avoid cutting strands much longer because this process just gets too tricky.) First I'll tell you about the DMC recommended method. And then I'll tell you mine.

DMC approved method: Pinch the floss between your fingers near the end and slowly pull out one strand at a time, until it's all separated, then reunite however many strands to thread your needle. This has the advantage of removing any twisting and will keep your embroidery smoother and less snarly. Here's an excellent visual tutorial for that method:
https://www.needlenthread.com/2013/08/embroidery-tip-how-to-separate-floss.html

Larissa's quicker method: My non-DMC approved method is to hold one end of the floss in my teeth and at the other end grab two threads with one hand and four with the other. I peel them apart that way to keep the floss from twisting on itself. Then I run my pinched fingernails down the strands a few times to untwist them. Voila. There still might be an occasional twist in the floss, but I usually don't sweat that.

Q: What needle should I use? 
A: Most of my patterns specify a size 5 embroidery needle. If that's the only one you have, you can do the whole project with it, no problem. However, it will make your job easier if you have a variety of needle sizes and multiple size 5 embroidery needles so you don't have to unthread every time you change a color. Make sure they are nice and sharp. (Avoid tapestry needles. While they have nice, big eyes, they also have blunt tips.)
- I use a size 5 embroidery needle for 3 and 4 strands.
- I use a smaller sized sewing sharp for 2 strands (or you can use a size 8 or 9 embroidery needle).
- I use a larger size 3 embroidery needle for handling all 6 strands. The larger eye and needle shaft are helpful when threading and pulling the french knots through.
DMC also has a needle guide here.

Q: I hate stripping floss. Can I just use different sizes of DMC Pearl Cotton?
A: In theory, yes. Yes, you can. I just have no experience with that, but I don't see why not. DMC pearl cotton comes in several sizes. Send me pictures if you've used that for the ornaments!

Cheater Note:
After the embroidery's all done and you sew the ornament parts together, I specify 2 strands of matching floss for that. BUT. You can cheat. If you have a large library of sewing threads like I do and they just happen to match the felt color, then feel free to use a double strand of sewing thread for that instead. (Remember this is for sewing the parts together only -- not for embroidery.) It's way less trouble than stripping more floss. BUT. It is less likely you'll find a matching sewing thread for every felt you have because they come in fewer colors. I just use it if I have the matching thread. And, yes, I have plenty of samples that are sewn together with both floss and doubled thread. It's hard to tell unless you really look closely!

I hope this guide has been helpful! Happy stitching!

Floresita's 12 Months of Christmas - a Twelve Days Ornaments stitch-along on Feeling Stitchy

Interested in a Twelve Days Ornaments stitch-along? Lovely and talented Floresita is hosting one on Feeling Stitchy called Twelve Months of Christmas. Follow along to get inspiration and share your ornament progress too. Floresita is using alternate stitching (couching!) and adding sparkle with beads and metallic threads. Her ornaments are going to be beautiful!

New to the Twelve Days Ornament Series? This page is chock-full of tips and information to help you get started.

curated Benzie felt & floss color guide for Lord a-Leaping ornaments

All three of my Lords a-Leaping you see above were made with the Benzie felt bundle #6, shown below. It's the same felt color bundle as you use for Goose a-Laying. I've provided this felt and floss color guide so you can make samples that look like mine. Of course, there are even more color combos possible with this bundle, but I just made three.

Photo courtesy of Benzie Design

You can purchase just the Benzie bundle #6 felt as shown above, or you can opt to include matching flosses, shown below. Matching flosses are needed when you are sewing the parts of the ornaments together, but just note you will still need to purchase contrasting floss colors for the embroidery.

So without further ado, here are the samples with their felt and floss keys:

His Periwinkle Lordship:

Felt:
Periwinkle: heart front, sleeves and coat
Blue: heart inset, boots
Copper: vest
Coral: heart back (not shown), body and legs
Fuchsia: hat
Icicle: cravat and lace cuffs

Decorative Embroidery:
HEART:
DMC 3753
DMC 918
DMC 718
DMC 892
LORD:
DMC 3753
DMC 918
DMC 718
DMC 892
DMC 796
DMC 809

His Fuchsia Lordship:

Felt:
Fuchsia: heart inset, sleeves and coat
Cotton Candy: heart front, body, and legs
Coral: vest and heart back (not shown)
Copper: boots
Aqua: hat
Icicle: cravat and lace cuffs

Decorative Embroidery:
HEART:
DMC White
DMC 3846
DMC 3844 (dashed line)
DMC 892
DMC 605
LORD:
DMC White
DMC 3846
DMC 605
DMC 918
DMC 718


His Cyan Lordship:

Felt:
Cyan: heart inset, sleeves and coat
Aqua: heart front, body, and legs
Orange: vest
Copper: boots
Coral: hat
Icicle: heart back (not shown), cravat and lace cuffs

Decorative Embroidery:
HEART:
DMC White
DMC  918
DMC 604
DMC 947
DMC 892 (dashed line)
LORD:
DMC White
DMC 3844
DMC 604
DMC 947
DMC 918
DMC 3341 (dashed line)

in which I take a moment to reflect and also tell you the Twelve Days 1-12, 7-12 and 10-12 bundles are now available

Wow. There they all are. All twelve patterns photographed in one shot. Big feels came over me as I was bending over this in my well-lit bathroom and taking the shot (keepin' it real, y'all, my bathroom has a skylight and doubles as a photo studio). It feels a little weird to be finished with this series I've loved so much. Weird but good. I released the first pattern back in June 2014. That's like a million blog years ago. Three and a half Real Time years of thinking through each ornament and endlessly brainstorming how best to represent each day and how best to translate that into an accessible pattern that everyone can enjoy making. 

I've always liked a good puzzle and that's exactly what this series was -- a challenging 3D felt design puzzle and each time I completed a day I got to level up. I've learned a lot! And I hope you will learn some new techniques for your crafting as you make the series! If you've mastered French knots alone you deserve a large bar of chocolate wrapped in gold paper.

Thanks so much for your constant encouragement and kindness and support through this series! Your faithful, thoughtful comments and messages and photos really kept me motivated. Special notes from grandmothers making multiple sets for grandchildren, long distance sisters making the sets together, a lovely lady getting ready to have a hip replacement who is planning to take these projects to the hospital with her, and one especially memorable letter from a sweet Texan who used the hand stitching as a mental refuge and calming exercise during the terrible flooding in Houston. And I can't not mention the pointed messages I received from two completely different octogenarians (true story) hinting that since they were in their 80s they would appreciate my hurrying it up already with the rest of the ornaments. Oh my word, y'all. 

PS I forgot to include the brave (possibly crazy) crafter who tells me she is working with her daughter to make as many as the song says...Great Scott! That's...78 ornaments, right? Or you could technically say that's just the total for day 12 and then you have 11 other days to total up...Math is not my strong suit. Anyone else doing this??

I do adore seeing your finished ornaments! Check out what others have been posting on Instagram with the #twelvedaysornaments hashtag. So much inspiration there. Keep them coming! I hope you continue to love making these special heirloom ornaments as much as I do! Yes, I still do! I plan to concentrate now on finishing the sets I'm making for my own two girls. And I'm going to take my sweet time doing it. 

So here are the new discounted pattern bundles, including the 1-12 complete bundle. Yaaassssss. They are now available in my Etsy shop or my Craftsy store:

Many have asked me, 'what's next?'. I have no idea.
Isn't that awesome? :-)