The Pet Set

I did ornaments for our dog and cat back in 2018.  At that time, we just had Violet and Joey.  I went back to look at that post and it made me laugh.  I said:  Last fall, we quite literally inherited another dog from a relative who passed away, so look for a new dog ornament some time this year.  And if Joey has his way, we'll be adding another cat.  He has a friend who comes around regularly to play.  We felt sorry for him, so we put out some food.  Then Mariah named him Whoopie.  It's only a matter of time.  But don't tell Scott I said that!  

Well, we did indeed take in Whoopie on a permanent basis.  It took a long time to win his trust, but he's a great little cat now.  About ten months later, Whoopie brought home a friend.  A really tiny orange kitten.  He was very screamy and very persistent and he eventually wore Scott down.  He darted all over the house like a chipmunk, so Mariah named him Chip.  So at a time in our lives when we should be scaling down on dependents, we find ourselves with five pets.  

The cats were easy, because I just used the pattern I already had and changed the colors.  Oreo required an original design.  She is a pomeranian/fox terrier mix and her coloring makes her look like a border collie.  People are always surprised when they see her in person because they expect a much bigger dog based on her pictures.  She's actually quite small:

And there's Violet -- just generally not caring about anything -- LOL!  I searched for some border collie clipart on Etsy and found something that worked.

Here are the cats:  Joey, Whoopie, and Chip

And here is the pet set!  

DISCLAIMERS:

In case anyone happens by and thinks I've stolen someone else's work or thinks I'm profiting from it:

• I purchased the clip-art.  I did not do a "right click/save as."
• I am not selling a pattern made from this clip-art.  I'm not even giving away a pattern made from this clip-art.  
• I am not selling ornaments made from this clip-art.  

Steppe Brother

I do love my international people and could probably add to that set indefinitely.  I'm always looking at cute clipart of kids from around the world and drooling at the thought of filling a whole tree with those.  I needed to cut out something quickly one day and went back to my Carolyn DeAngelis patterns.  I saw the pattern for Steppe Brother, a Russian Cossack, and decided to whip him up.  I looked at a few Google images for color inspiration and I'm really  happy with how he turned out. 

Sophia

Once I finished Steppe Brother, I wanted to make him a friend.  I really like my Internationals to be in pairs.  Usually I do a boy and girl, but the Eskimo has the husky dog and my Paco has a donkey.  There's a Carolyn DeAngelis pattern for a cute Peruvian girl, and she might get a llama.  But I digress. 

Sophia is the pattern designed to go with Steppe Brother, but she's a little random:

And she looks suspiciously like Happy Heidi, but with different hair:  

I did a little searching for traditional Russian costumes and landed on these two images I liked:

  

I took elements from the two of them and put a new spin on Sophia: 

She looks kind of nondescript on her own, but when you see the pair, it makes sense.  

Big Bad Wolf

I did Carolyn Deangelis' Three Little Pigs ornaments way back in 2010.  They are far and away Scott's favorites, for some reason.  I like them, too, as you can clearly see by the header of this blog page!  They have always been sorely lacking a big, bad wolf and I just never have gotten around to it.  Somehow Carolyn's pattern didn't quite do it for me.  He looks a little more like a friendly dog than a menacing wolf:

I was perusing clipart one night on Etsy.  (Let me tell you -- that's a rabbit hole you can go down and lose several hours of your life.)  I started thinking about other nursery rhyme characters and stumbled across this Three Little Pigs Clipart.  I immediately fell in love with that wolf and knew I had to design him.  I loved the expression on his face.  Clif and I had a length Messenger discussion one night about how to handle the claws and, sadly, they just didn't work out.  But I love him anyway.  

And then I had to dig out my pigs to see how they looked together. 

Maybe if I get super industrious . . . or super bored . . . I'll design the three houses to go with them.  The three little pigs set within the nursery rhymes set.  That'll REALLY give my kids something to argue about when I die!  

DISCLAIMERS:

In case anyone happens by and thinks I've stolen someone else's work or thinks I'm profiting from it:

• I purchased the clip-art.  I did not do a "right click/save as."
• I am not selling a pattern made from this clip-art.  I'm not even giving away a pattern made from this clip-art.  
• I am not selling ornaments made from this clip-art.  

Jack and Jill

At this stage of the game, I'm designing a lot of my own patterns.  That takes time and I sometimes get caught in need of a new ornament to stitch, but nothing designed and ready.  That's when I reach for one of Carolyn DeAngelis' patterns.

For some reason, I have a fondness for the nursery rhyme/storybook characters.  The last time I visited Ouida, she was working on Jack and Jill and they were super cute, so I put them on the mental to-do list.  The first time this year I needed to cut a pattern ASAP, I reached for them.  

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do color-wise.  They had a lederhosen vibe, but I didn't want them to look like the German couple I already have -- Happy Heidi and Al Pine for you hardcore CDA fans.  I did a quick Google search for some inspiration.  Right away, I saw this:

Exactly what I was NOT going for!  Then I saw this and for some reason, I was hooked.  Maybe it was the vintage feel of it:

 

I used that picture as a guide for making my ornament and I just love it.

And, yes -- they are connected.  So is it "ornaments" or "ornament?"  I haven't attached the hanger yet.  I guess it'll attach to the back of both heads.  

Peanuts Gang

I've been working my way through the Peanuts gang for a couple of years now . . . adding one ornament each year.  My son played Schroeder in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" in high school, so I figured he'd wind up with them one day.

Fun fact:  my husband and I are both musicians.  We perform together locally at wineries, festivals, and other events.  Additionally, I've been having an onstage midlife crisis that started in 2018 when I played my dream role of Miss Hannigan in Annie with a local community theater group.  I know it's a crime that I have yet to design a set of Annie ornaments, but it's on the to-do list.  This February, I played what will probably go down as the role of a lifetime for me when I was cast as Lucy in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."  A full circle moment for our family!

The second the cast was announced, I got to work on ornaments for my castmates.  It was a true labor of love because, let me tell you, those particular ornaments are majorly time-consuming.  Schroeder's piano alone almost gave me a nervous breakdown.  Doing those eight ornaments back to back was truly a stitching marathon, but it was totally worth it.  (Seven for the cast and Lucy for the director.)  They were so touched and loved them.  Here's a pic of the finished set:

And here are my friends with their ornaments:

  I have no idea what my dress is doing there.  Incidentally, I made that, too!

I made the Sally ornament for myself this year.  I actually made two at a time.  Holy cow -- stitching on those polka dots.  Yikes.  And, no -- I did NOT put them on the back!  

If you would like to see my other ornaments from this series, look on the right side of this page where it says "labels" and you can search for "Peanuts."

Here are a few more pics from the show you might enjoy seeing:

Funny story:  I posted a picture on FB of the ornaments and IMMEDIATELY, people started wanting to order them.  Someone I only know casually asked if I could make "the whole gang" for her to give to a friend.  I read that to my son and he snorted and said, "For a million dollars!"  I just quietly took the picture down.  Lesson learned!

If you would like to make these ornaments yourself, click here to go straight to Etsy where you can buy the patterns.  

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.  

Twelve Days of Christmas

Let me tell you, these will be the crown jewel of my collection.  I was on Pinterest one day when I saw a picture of the drummer ornament and I LOST .. MY .. MIND!  I followed the link to Etsy where I found mmmcrafts, the designer who created the patterns.  This was in 2017 and at that time, the completed set wasn't even for sale yet, so I bought what was and got to work.  As she finished new patterns, I kept buying them and kept stitching.  It's easy now because you can buy the complete pattern set in one bundle.  

I cannot say enough positive things about these patterns.  I don't know when I've ever worked with a pattern that had clearer, more thorough instructions.  It was like putting together a puzzle.  If you're on Pinterest and start searching for things like "maids a milking ornament," you'll find TONS of pictures because all the avid ornament stitchers out there are making them.  That will show you lots of different color options.  Some people chose one palette and did their whole set that way.  There are even felt shops on Etsy selling coordinated sets of felt specifically designed for making these patterns.  Mariah quickly claimed this set as hers when I die, so she helped design each ornament and since her favorite color is blue, we made sure each ornament had some shade of blue in it.

I won't hold you up any longer.  Here are my pics:

A Partridge in a Pear Tree (There's an additional fancy pear pattern.)  

2 Turtle Doves 

3 French Hens

4 Calling Birds

5 Golden Rings

6 Geese A-Laying (There's an additional fancy egg pattern.)

7 Swans A-Swimming

8 Maids A-Milking

9 Ladies Dancing -- more about her in a minute

10 Lords A-Leaping -- seems to be everyone's favorite

(There's an additional fancy heart pattern.)  

11 Pipers Piping -- his hat is my single favorite thing in the entire collection

12 Drummers Drumming -- the one who got my attention

Stitching this collection was just pure joy.  And the icing on the cake came when I entered the 9 Ladies Dancing ornament in our county fair and it took Best In Show:

I honestly felt a little sad as I was completing the last one and right about that time, the designer announced she was starting a new series based on 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  She launched the first ornament and I nearly wept: 

Tell the truth:  Have you ever seen a more gorgeous Santa???  I can hardly wait until January to start him!  

Please DO NOT let the embroidery or complexity of these patterns scare you.  Her directions are so good that I feel any of you can make these!!

DISCLAIMER:  You know the drill.  Despite my excessive gushing about these patterns, I have received nothing in exchange for this post.  I'm just a huge fan of great patterns and I want all of you to run out and make them so your Christmas tree will be pretty!!