A little early to be thinking about Christmas, isn’t it? Actually, stitchers probably think about Christmas and the holidays, or at least holiday stitching, a good part of the year. If we don’t, it’s on us and we haven’t gotten our stitching done!
In the last week, I’ve stitched 8 Christmas ornaments. Yes, 8! This is in preparation for the release of a book of 12 Christmas ornament designs for Fall Market. Some are brand new designs, never before published; some are designs that were created for the Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue and are recolored for this compilation, and some are designs that have been in my catalogue and are being collected into this book.
I think my very first original design was a Christmas ornament for our cross stitch group’s ornament exchange. I know my first attempt at counted canvas was an ornament.
I love Christmas ornaments. They’re small, usually quick to stitch, and allow the option of finishing by ourselves without expensive finishing. They also usually can be stitched from stash, and lend themselves to embellishment, the glitzier the better!
I’ve learned some interesting techniques for finishing my ornaments. Sue Gastler of Abby 
Lane Designs taught me how to make a tassel from a skein 
of floss. Sue is no longer with us, but I am so grateful to her for this simple, quick embellishment – it’s saved me a ton of money over the years! I learned how to make cording, using various tools, but my favorite is the battery operated hair braider. My cording always matches my ornaments, and is as thick or as thin as I want it. I know how to flat finish my ornaments, and that’s the technique I use most often, seen here for my Holiday Splendor ornaments (included in the new ornament book).
But I recently learned how to finish ornaments as a ball, thanks to Pat Dugan from The Stitcher’s Workshop, and that’s how I finished my Elegant Christmas ornaments. Although this technique takes more time, it also has a lot more “wow!”, and is certainly worth the effort.
So if you’ve started humming Christmas carols, I’m right there with you! Now I’m off to finish the ornaments I’ve stitched. I’ve got tassels to make, cording to twist, and trees to trim!