More Handmade Ornaments

These three little ornaments are also paper-pieced, and the patterns are from the same old Quiltmaker magazine as the Santa in the previous post. I plan to make more of these as they'll make wonderful gifts.

This little stocking is 3 inches tall.


This little one is only 3 1/2 inches tall - see those teeny weeny triangles?






The tree is about 4 inches tall.

Ornament Swap

I signed up for the Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap hosted by Robyn on Daisy Quilts. My partner was Cheryl, who sent me a cute tree made with felt. She said it was the first time she'd done something in felt - she did fabulous job, don't you think? She has a great blog, The Stitchin' Chicken - and does wonderful work!




This is the little Santa I paper-pieced for her. The pattern was from a very old Quiltmaker magazine. I used a teeny gold jingle bell for the pompom on his hat, and a scrapbooking brad for his belt buckle.

I signed up fr

#3 - Christmas Quilt - K J Designs

This was the third little finish this afternoon - I think I'm going to go back to the padded pinkeep-type ornaments. They look so much better than these pillows with my pathetic stitching. The chart for this one was in the 1984 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments issue.

#2 - Merry Christmas Ornament by Lindy Jane Designs

I finished stitching this back in December, and just now got around to finishing it into a little pillow ornament. This design was in the 1985 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments issue.

A Michael Powell freebie - Christmas Tree

I love the look of Michael Powell's designs - from the curved edges stitched with 2 strands of black floss, to the bright colors and unique color changes. I have all of his cottage/church/lighthouse freebies, and haven't yet stitched one - and when I saw he had just added a Christmas tree to the collection, decided to make it my first Michael Powell.

Blackbird Ornament - Blackbird Designs

This little ornament appeared in the 2004 JCS Ornaments Issue. I don't know about you, but I was originally pretty confused about the finishing directions. It turns out that the designers stitched a large one, over two, and then made photocopies of it that they mounted and used for ornaments. They advised that if you wanted to stitch the blackbird for an ornament without doing the photocopying, to stitch it one-over-one. That's what I did. I changed the 2004 to 2008, and used some gold cording for the edges.

Winter Joy - SamSarah Design Studio

This was in the 2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Preview issue, and I realized after I finished it that I left off the little bird that went in the bottom right. Oh well - I don't think he'll be missed.

Bright Christmas - Fanci That

I stitched this for my manicurist Debbie. It's pretty large for an ornament - maybe she can hang it on her wall.

Folk Art Topiary - Brown House Studios

Here's another ornament from the 2004 JCS Ornaments Issue. I had some large green ric-rac that was perfect for the trim.

Noel - Shepherd's Bush

This was a little freebie from the Caron Collection. It called for a special little heart, but I just used a heart brad left over from my cross stitching stash! This little piece is about 2 inches square.

Deer Ridge Ornament - Gloria Moffat

I found this little guy in an old Cross Stitch Sampler magazine from 1992. I just changed the date to this year. The pattern called for French knots at the ends of the tree branches, but I used little beads instead.

Better Late Than Never!

This is a cute little chart from Carousel Charts called "Which Witch is Which?" I stitched it one-over-one, so it ended up 3 inches square.

Woodland Snowfall - Little House Needleworks

This is from the 2004 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments Issue. I love LHN designs!

Pastel Pine Tree - Fine Fancywork

So, I started a finishing frenzy today, finishing several ornaments all the same way. It was a bit like an assembly line - measure, cut, glue, and so on. This little piece is from the 1988 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments Issue. I used some dusky rose fabric on the back, and it's trimmed in gold. What's hard to see in the photo is the glittery gold thread that was used for backstitching.

Poinsettia - Brittercup Designs

I really liked the look of this one when I saw it in the 2007 JCS Ornaments issue - but didn't want to do the finish they used - too complicated for me! And the Cinders threads I used had less red in it than the one they used. But I still think it turned out nicely!

The Berry Basket - Fine Fancywork

Another oldie - this one is from the 1988 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments Issue. It looks a bit lumpy - sometimes I just don't get those edges smooth and even.

Christmas Sampler - Lollipop Designs

This little design is from the 1986 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments Issue. I stitched it one-over-one, making it about an inch square, and then put it in a little ready-made slide frame ornament I got at Michael's. I painted the frame green and glued on some miniature Christmas lights.

Ice Queen - Raise the Roof Designs

I got lucky and found the Swarovski crystals at Joann! I stitched this on 32-count linen, and finished it as a pinkeep-type ornament. I gave it to my friend Claudia yesterday for her tree.

"Turtle Dove" (with a twist!) - The Courtney Collection

This little ornament was in the 2008 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments issue - but the original was on pink fabric and stitched in maroon/burgundy. I decided to try it with southwestern colors. What do you think?

Another Thanksgiving Turkey from Prairie Schooler

I stitched this for a Thanksgiving ornament exchange on 1-2-3 Stitch. It's from the Prairie Schooler booklet # 52: Prairie Year-Rounds. It was the first time to stitch on black linen, and with the magnifier, it was easier than I thought it would be.