Matilda

I had always wanted to do a Raggedy Ann doll ornament.  I had a set of cloth Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls when I was young; I think they were standard issue in the 70's.  I also have fond memories of the handmade Halloween costumes my mother made us one Halloween.  

That's me on the left, my cousin in the middle in the homemade clown suit with fabric that had Rice-A-Roni on it (???), and my sister on the right.  We will be 50, 43, and 47 this year.  Please take a moment to appreciate the custom slipcovers on that couch, will you?

Anyway . . . my choices for DeAngelis patterns were Matilda . . .

. . . or Raggy Maggie.

I didn't love either one.  Matilda's face wasn't right and Raggy Maggie was too simple for my taste.  I did a little digging online for some photos so I could add some details.  I decided if I changed the face on Matilda and added stripes to the stockings, that would do the trick.  I had intended to do some little polka dots or something on the dress, but once I got all the pieces done I decided it didn't need it.  Here's my finished product . . . let's call her Raggedy Matilda, shall we??

I fully intended to do a Raggedy Andy, but January ran out on me.  February is ornaments for Mariah.  If I get time later in the year, I'll swing back around and stitch Matilda a friend.  

Charlie Brown & Snoopy -- Patterns from Etsy

This is another one I'd saved on Pinterest.  How cute are these?  As a child of the 70's who grew up on the Charlie Brown cartoon specials, I had to make these.  Straight to Etsy for the pattern from a Brazilian designer.  It's interesting . . . a lot of the really cool things I pin lead to blogs that are from Brazil.  That must be the felt crafting capital of the world.  The pattern is a bargain at $18.90 because it includes pieces for all these ornaments you see here.  I thought I'd do two a year.  If you look in her Etsy shop, she has a couple more Peanuts characters you can buy if you finish all 10 of these and are still in the mood.  The only downside is that it's pieces only:  no real diagrams or instructions.  There are color photos, though.  If you'd like to order this pattern, click here. 

Now . . . my Snoopy turned out great.

My Charlie Brown, on the other hand . . . . not so much.

Oh, my.  Everything about him is bad.  I feel angry every time I look at this ornament.  I mean, I'm probably over-thinking it.  It's a Christmas ornament, for crying out loud.  And you CAN tell it's Charlie Brown.  Seriously, though . . . I'm embarrassed by him.  There's too much leg showing.  I don't really know what's griping me about the arms because they look like they do in the photo.  And that FACE!  The horror.  Somehow the proportion is wrong.  The eyes are too high.  Something.  I'm honestly toying with taking the whole head off and starting again.  It's a good lesson in how a few tiny things can really throw things off.  I've decided to not look at him again until later this year and then see if I feel like I need to redo that head.  Sorry, Charlie!

PLEASE NOTE:  I have never personally communicated with the pattern designer other than to order the pattern.  I didn't receive a free pattern for this post and I'm sure she doesn't even know this blog exists.  I just saw these photos on Pinterest and followed the link.  

Xmas Little People -- Patterns from Etsy

If you are a Pinterest hound like me, you probably have a board set up for felt ornaments. There are oodles of beautiful ornaments from all over the world.  Many of them lead to links on Etsy where the patterns are available.  That's how I stumbled across these adorable folks:

The great thing about patterns on Etsy is that they're available for immediate download.  Just a few clicks and you can be printing out a pattern and getting ready to stitch.  No more pesky postage fees or hanging around the mailbox in anticipation.  The pattern is available from an Etsy shop called Hello Felt.  You can order these little guys individually, or get them cheaper by ordering all three patterns in a set which is what I did.  The patterns were FANTASTIC.  Very clear instructions, beautiful photos, and even suggestions for different ways to accessorize the ornaments.  I will most definitely be purchasing patterns from this shop again.  If you want to purchase this pattern, click here to go to the Etsy shop.  

Honestly, these are maybe my favorite ornaments ever.  Look at that snowman . . . . how cute is he?

PLEASE NOTE:  I have never personally communicated with the pattern designer other than to order the pattern.  I didn't receive a free pattern for this post and I'm sure she doesn't even know this blog exists.  I just saw these photos on Pinterest and followed the link.  

Little Bo Peep

I realized as I was decorating my Christmas trees that I hadn't made a single ornament for myself last year.  I made several for the kids so there were new ornaments on the tree, but none of them were for me personally.  I did everyone else's ornaments first and then ran out of time to make myself some.  This will not do!  I decided to take the month of January and make ornaments just for me.

First up -- Little Bo Peep.  My sister and I had Madame Alexander dolls when we were little and she had Little Bo Peep.  Any time I looked at the DeAngelis pattern, I pictured that doll in my head.  She looked like this:

That's all I could visualize in terms of color choices for the ornament.  I made some modifications to the pattern to add the vest and the petticoat.  She turned out great and is a nice reminder of our childhood doll collections.