Goodbye 2013

I have been looking forward to this for such a long time. A year's round-up in pictures with all the items I have made in my first year of blogging.

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This isn't of course everything I have made this year. For a start it doesn't include the 300 odd items I made for my Etsy shop customers, most of them personalised (I like to keep shop 'stuff' separate from blog projects so if you want to see all the hundreds of bunting, dolls, hats, bibs and various other items I have been making for clients, head over to the Facebook page where there is albums and albums full of pictures).

And to fully round up 2013, here is a quick peek at something I made for Alice in this final week of 2013 - a pair of crochet shoes (two pairs in fact, also in aqua). I will show you more photos soon.

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To me this was the best part of 2013 though... Watching my kids grow up from babies into two delightful independent little people. It's hard to believe Alexander can now ride a bike and Alice is walking! My husband and I are so proud of them, and of the fact that somehow our little family not only survived this crazy year, but thrived, with lots of special memories.

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Thank you so much for being part of my journey in 2013, my very first year of blogging, and I wish you all the very best in 2014. In the words of Allan Chalmers, may the new year bring you all "something to do, something to love, and something to hope for". And something to craft!

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Happy new year dear friends!

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Jingle bells...

We had a lovely Christmas day here in South Australia on a beautiful sunny summer's day, the kids had a ball opening and playing with their new presents (and in the case of Alice, with all the Christmas decorations), and the adults got to enjoy a rather good bottle of bubbly!

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The madness of the present unwrapping and Christmas feast now over, I just wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for all your love and support in 2013. It means so much to me! For those celebrating Christmas, I hope it's everything you could ever wish for!

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Tutorial: Gingerbread man ornament

I am back! I am so sorry for my extended absence from this blog - I have only just come up for air after a crazy three months of being busy with my two (very active) young kids, Etsy shop, and life in general. And just in the nick of time to share this pattern and tutorial for a felt Christmas ornament (a tradition I started last year). Last year I made a gingerbread house ornament, so I thought I would keep to the same theme and complement it with a gingerbread man.

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MATERIALS:
You will need:
- The pattern (download it from here as a PDF and print it to A4)
- Felt in brown, red, white, and green
- Embroidery thread in colours matching the felt
- A few sequins / felt balls for decoration and a beading needle if you are using sequins (thinner than an embroidery needle)
- Two black beads for the eyes
- 20cm of white ric-rac
- Ribbon or string for the loop on top
- Stuffing material (e.g. Hobbyfill)

STEPS:
1. Cut out each pattern piece leaving a small margin of white paper around the pattern. Pin or staple each pattern piece onto the felt (I personally prefer to staple rather than pin, as I find pins distort the felt/pattern, but it's a personal choice). Cut each piece out of the felt, using the small curved scissors for smaller shapes like the eyes and bow
2. Applique the red felt buttons onto the front body piece. Embellish with a sequin held in place with a small glass bead (optional).
3. Applique the eyes onto the face. Stitch the black beads in the middle of each eye.
4. Make the green bow following the instructions in the Easter Chick tutorial. Attach to the front body piece.
5. Cut the ric-rac into pieces approximately twice the size of each arm/leg. Place the ric-rac on the arm and machine stitch it onto the arm. Turn the piece over, fold over the ric rac and secure together with a hand stitch (this doesn't need to look pretty as it won't show once the ornament is finished. You can also cut the excess ric-rac off rather than folding it back in this manner, but ric-rac frays badly when cut, and with this fold-back method you won't get any frayed edges on the arms and legs).

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6. Using back-stitch and 6 strands of red embroidery thread stitch a smile on your gingerbread man.
7. Embroider name and date on the back body piece if desired.

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8. Put the front and back body pieces together, then starting on one side of the body, and going clock-wise, blanket stitch the two body pieces. When you get to the top of the head make your hanging ribbon/string into a loop, insert into the opening and continue blanket stitching the felt, trapping the ends of the loop inside.  I used baker's twine for the loop but you can use ribbon, packing string, or even ric rac.
9. Continue blanket stitching until you have a 2cm gap on the side of the body, lightly stuff the gingerbread man with your filler material, then finish blanket stitching.
10. Decorate your top candy cane piece with any embellishments you like (I used red felt balls but you can also use sequins or buttons), then blanket stitch the front and back candy cane pieces together. Stitch onto the gingerbread man's hand.

And here we go, a cute gingerbread guy for your Christmas tree!

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I am also going to make a gingerbread woman for my little Alice over the holidays - I will add the pattern for it here soon.

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