final lodestar sample almost done

Final Lodestar Tree Topper sample is almost done. This time in Benzie Design bronze metallic, gold metallic, and mustard with splashes of bright blue DMC floss. I'm a sucker for that particular color combo (as you can see), but you could very easily substitute gold, olive green, or deep red DMC floss for the blue stitching if that matches your Christmas vibe better. This one would also look next-level luxe if you subbed gold metallic felt in for the mustard felt. Oooh.

You can see in the background there^ some other samples attached to the mini trees I have set up in my studio for testing. It is really easy to attach these toppers, y'all. Just feed the lollipop stick down along the trunk and twist the tip-top branch around the stick just under the star. Then secure the stick to the trunk with a pipe cleaner or zip tie. For a live tree you would just trim the tip-top branch if needed and tuck the remainder between the lower points of the star. No more wrestling with stupid cones! *kermit arms*

After this sample is finished, I'll need to do a final (hopefully) round of changes and edits to the instructions and then start photographing all the samples. Believe me, I cannot WAIT to get this pattern in the shop. 

two new lodestar samples done, two more to go

Two more final Lodestar Tree Topper samples completed, with probably two more to go. I need to make at least one pendant version to show you, and I think I may do that one as a simplified star, without the embroidery. 

I'm working on edits to the PDF pattern instructions on the fly. Progress is slow but steady, y'all!

Shown: Benzie felts: Aqua, Julep, White, silver metallic and gold metallic

Happy Easter!

Romans 6:4-7

May this Lord's day find you healthy, happy, and surrounded on all sides by the blessings and love of God. It would not go amiss if you were also surrounded by a variety of desserts at some point with a frothy cup of coffee to top it off.

Lodestar ornaments

The upcoming Lodestar Tree Topper pattern will include a few variations, like the Christmas ornaments you see here. Out of this one pattern you will be able to make a fancy tree topper, window pendant, garland, ornaments, mini tree topper, and mini ornaments. 

I forgot to post this photo to my blog, which shows the very poinsettia-like red tree topper with the fancy new alternate 3 point rays in place. Those are also included as an option in the pattern, or you can use the original 1 point rays.

It's still going to be a while until I can release the pattern, but it's going well. I have written and illustrated the first draft, and am now making final samples and edits. The sample making will only take 1000 years. LOL Fewer if I have more coffee. It's slow stitching, y'all.

repurpose your patterns for Easter!

Introducing my new Easter patterns... Just kidding! You guys said to remind you when you can repurpose the existing Christmas patterns for other holidays, so here's your reminder for Easter!

 
French Hen and Goose a-Laying are both especially appropriate for Easter, but if you choose springtime colors really any of the bird patterns work well IMO. Even Snow Bird works! But especially if you replace the stitched snowflakes on the wings with flowers! (Embroider a simple one with Lazy Daisy stitches or maybe steal the felt flowers from the hen or swan wings?)

Get the patterns here: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

PS I'm working hard on Lodestar. I'll update on that as soon as I can.

i heart you

happy heart day!
may there be chocolate

Shown: True Love Heart ornament from my Lord a-Leaping pattern made with Benzie Design wool-blend felts, Sulky Stick n Stitch, DMC embroidery flosses. Pattern: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

Lodestar Tree Topper 2.0 and still revising

Here are the two samples of upcoming pattern #lodestartreetopper I’ve made so far. The second prototype is the pink/white one on the right. Hard to tell by looking, but I made a bunch of minor adjustments, changed the construction to be better, and made it slightly larger overall. 

hmmmmm I don’t know about that pink/red color scheme though. Something about the red stitching in the arms bothers me — they look like a circulatory system or something? LOL I may rethink the embroidery colors for the final pink version. 

What I do love on both prototypes are the pretty metallic felts from @benziedesign. They add holiday *glimmer.* I have to take a break for a couple of weeks to do other stuff but then I’ll be back with the next version. Which will hopefully be the final version. And then the real work begins to make the samples, write the instructions, draw the diagrams, etc... 

More experimental color combos coming up!

a more detailed look at the Lodestar Tree Topper

Here's a look at the completed Lodestar prototype. I posted a video of it on my IG and Facebook pages if you'd like to hop there to see it twirl.

• Size of the star itself is 11 in. wide x 11 in. tall x 2 in. deep (28 cm x 28 cm x 5 cm) and including the painted dowel lollipop stick it is 17 in. tall (43 cm).
• All hand sewn and embroidered using the Sulky Stick N Stitch wash-away stabilizer. Materials needed are wool felts, DMC flosses, thread, 5 mm and 8 mm sequins, glass beads, Pellon 70 Peltex, FabriTac permanent fabric glue, 3/16" wood dowel, matte green paint (or whatever color best matches your Christmas tree)
  
• This topper should coordinate well with any MmmCrafts ornaments. You can make it with or without the embroidery/metallics and choose coordinating colors to achieve any look you'd like. I do not have any plans to design series specific toppers, but I won't rule it out.

Included in the pattern will be a pendant version to hang in your window or doorway, which will not have a dowel (obviously) and will have the missing point of the star included in place of it. Also pondering including a matching Christmas tree ornament, but I may make that a separate pattern because it would be a good beginner project. In that case, I'd include the suggestion for how to do it in the tree topper pattern (it's basically the three outermost stars with a hanging loop added and the year on the back.) 

If you have a mini tree, for a topper you might just want to buy the future ornament pattern and squash two ornaments together over a couple of pipe cleaners or a thin dowel for the topper. And then you can make mini ornaments using only the outermost star.

The completed one shown above was made with Benzie felts: Aqua and silver metallic. I'm working right now on a new pink/white/red sample after some tweaks to the pattern (shown below). It's Benzie white wool blend and pink metallic felts.

DIFFICULTY: While this is not difficult to make by any means, it does take patience. It uses a basic backstitch for all the embroidery and a whipstitch to put it together. I suggest taking large embroidery stitches to make it go faster. I'm using about a 4 mm stitch here (3/16"). There are one million pieces and 6 pattern pages so far. LOL. If you use Sulky stabilizer for all the pieces (including the Pellon) you'll get two tree toppers from one 12 pack of Stick N Stitch. It saves a lot of time with tracing, but it does use up a lot of stabilizer.

 
I will ponder how to organize a version which will save pages of Sulky by excluding all of the non-embroidered and interfacing pieces so that those who wish to can just trace and cut out those pieces the old school way or with freezer paper. :-)