Final post: the Twelve Days of Christmas

It took me long enough, but I couldn't help sharing one final photo of all of my completed ornaments!

What took me so long? Just that I am a recovering perfectionist... :)

I love the phrase "recovering perfectionist" because it describes my crafting nature perfectly (pun intended). :) I waited for days to get good light (artificial light just isn't the same). I moved each ornament around, futzed with little gold hanging strings (which would always tangle and bend the wrong way. In the end, I was NEVER HAPPY, I just had to suck it up and post a photo.

As luck would have it, I just happened to post the photo to our Instagram page on the actual 12th Day of Christmas, yesterday. :) It occurred to me that I had never known when the days of Christmas really are - my Google search confirmed that they actually begin on the 25th and continue through Jan 6, celebrated by some as the Feast of the Epiphany.

I really like this idea - because I don't know about you, but I always have this uncomfortable feeling of loss the day after Christmas - that strange time between Christmas and early January, I always want to continue to be filled with Christmas joy, so I leave my tree up - this year I even left my opened gifts under the tree, so I could see them and be thankful. I mailed late Christmas cards, because, chemo, but I enjoyed extending my observance of the holiday season. I think I'll use this definition of the days of Christmas from now on, to celebrate and appreciate the season more deeply.

I wanted to thank everyone who has sent me their own versions via email - they've been so lovely to see!

#twelvedaysornaments on Instagram

I was so inspired throughout my process by Larissa's hashtag #twelvedaysornaments on Instagram - there are SO MANY beautiful versions there, I thought I'd share a few of my (many) favorites here:

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I love all the 12 days of Christmas hand-sewn ornament patterns by @mmmcrafts. I put this little turtle dove together last night, and she's ready to go to her new home for Christmas! #twelvedaysornaments

A post shared by A Happy Carrot Dolls // Kim (@ahappycarrot) on Dec 12, 2016 at 1:16pm PST

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Won’t get through all twelve days this year, but am having the best time making these wool felt lovelies 💕 #twelvedaysornaments by @mmmcrafts #feltonthefly

A post shared by Annette (@stitchbot) on Dec 8, 2018 at 10:38am PST

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Flock. #twelvedaysornaments #yearofmaking2018 #turtledoves

A post shared by Cindy Cameron (@cindy_makes_things) on Sep 26, 2018 at 6:22am PDT

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First set of Twelve Days ornaments, done and dusted. My daily commute on the train to London gives me plenty of time to work on these #mmmcrafts #twelvedaysornaments #handsewing #pinkchristmas #embroidery #homemade #christmasinmarch #feltchristmasornaments #trainstitching

A post shared by hulaflorence (@hulaflorence) on Mar 4, 2018 at 3:17am PST

Hope you enjoyed this feature, as I plan for the new year! Did you know about the history of the days of Christmas?

And just out of curiosity - do you have a favorite, out of all the ornaments I stitched this year? :)

12 Months of Christmas: Lord a Leaping

Last up is my final finish, #12 in Mmmcraft's 12 Days of Christmas patterns, Lord a Leaping. Yes, I made it! If you follow me on Instagram (@nyfloresita), you'll see I finished on Christmas morning, in my pajamas, meaning I completed 3 of the more complex final ornaments (Piper Piping, Lady Dancing and Lord a Leaping + complimentary Heart) all in 1 month, nothing short of a miracle for me, being that it was December and my last 2 weeks on chemotherapy.

All that said, in my final rush to complete Lord a Leaping, I'll admit there were elements I would do differently in the future, but I am just happy I finished!

Here is the mess that is typical of my ornaments in progress - actually I am being kind, and if I zoomed out a bit further you'd see even MORE mess on our sad coffee table, with threads, stuffing, scissors, and needles galore.

Remember the mod I did because I didn't have a black pipe cleaner for Lady Dancing? Well I did it again with Lord a Leaping's Elvis-like front curl - I wrapped the same black crochet thread around my green pipe cleaner. Making his hat was tricky, because his head was bigger than the pattern due to my larger wooden bead. I had to improvise making the hat a bit bigger, but not too big. I did ok, but I wasn't a huge fan of the burgundy color I chose, it might have been better to tie in the color of his pants again... Minor self criticisms for next time!

I once again used most of the same threads as I used on Lady Dancing, including the DMC Etoile floss in C915 and C471, and regular DMC floss in an Ecru shade for the vest and heart detail. All felt was again Benzie Design, and again a mix of a few different palettes I purchased from them.

All in all though I was quite charmed by all the little details in this pattern, particularly those tiny boots and the movable legs! One thing I love about Larissa's patterns is that I find myself sewing things I never thought I'd be able to, because she gives such excellent instructions.

I love how simple and pretty the additional heart was to stitch - I can see myself making lots more of these when I need a lovely quick finish ornament for gifts.

I can't believe it is a wrap on all of the ornaments, and that I finished them ALL before Christmas!

What a wonderful journey it has been, and as I did on Instagram, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who tagged along on this quest, left a kind comment, or shared a word of support. This project helped keep me going in a time of intense physical struggle - it kept me hopeful, focused, and calm in the eye of the storm. Thank you for coming along with me in this stitchalong and through every week of my chemotherapy - you all meant so much to me! I'm so thankful to God for bringing me through to the finish line, healthy, happy, and well.

Thank you of course to Larissa Holland of Mmmcrafts for designing such beautiful patterns which inspired me and gave me purpose throughout this year. Her 12 Days patterns are available to purchase in her Etsy store, and she has discounted bundles of some or all of the patterns as well.

Previous Stitchalong Posts

#1-2: Partridge and Pear; Turtle Dove

#3: French Hen

#4: Colly Bird

#5: Gold Ring

#6: Goose-a-laying

#7: Swan-a-swimming

#8: Maid-a-milking

#9: Drummer Drumming

#10: Piper Piping

#11: Lady Dancing

12 Months of Christmas: Lady Dancing

Here is Lady Dancing, #11 in the 12 Days series of patterns by Mmmcrafts - and I couldn't be happier with how I stitched her! Sometimes, not always, I was very happy with the colors I chose, and this was certainly a happy moment in my choices.

I did a few thing differently in my stitching of the pattern, if I don't remember something and you have a question, please point it out in the comments! First up, I couched the lines at the bottom of the skirt and on the edges of the shawl, because I couldn't stitch a straight line for some reason! I blame chemo. I also used felt pieces for the "leaves" under the flower on the skirt - thought that looked a bit bolder and more graphic (and neater, since I stink at straight lines). :)

You may also notice that in the overskirt above, I have the position reversed! I noticed my mistake too late, tried to make it work, and ended up having to re-stitch it. Chemo brain struck here, too. Be careful to check the alignment of your pieces, don't be like me! :)

I didn't have a black pipe cleaner for the hair, so I got creative:

I braided black crochet thread and glued it over a green pipe cleaner - I like the way it turned out!

You may also recall that the wooden beads I am using are larger - no reason other than wanting to use what I have rather than buy more. I didn't enlarge the hairpiece any, so it fits a bit smaller, but I didn't mind the look.

Here was my partially finished lady - I rather liked the color contrast here:

Here is my finished lady, with a few of the threads I used:

You'll see I once again used DMC Etoile floss in C915 and C471, and a few other shades of regular DMC floss. All felt used was Benzie Design, I mixed and matched from a few different palettes.

So it's a wrap on Lady Dancing - stay tuned for Lord A Leaping next!

Previous Stitchalong Posts

#1-2: Partridge and Pear; Turtle Dove

#3: French Hen

#4: Colly Bird

#5: Gold Ring

#6: Goose-a-laying

#7: Swan-a-swimming

#8: Maid-a-milking

#9: Drummer Drumming

#10: Piper Piping

12 Months of Christmas: Piper Piping

Well, here we are at our final month of the year, and the suspense is on, huh? Will I finish this series in time for Christmas? Hmmm, indeed! Well, I am happy to be done with this cute Piper Piping, which means I have only 2 left to go before I'm done! This is #10 in the series of 12 Days patterns by Mmmcrafts on Etsy, in case you would like to stitch along!

I last left you with this teaser of my pieces all cut out and threads selected:

Again, I am using all Benzie Design felt - I have started getting a few questions about which specific colors I used - would anyone like that info in these posts? Which colors are you most interested in? Let me know in the comments, please!

Also pictured are 2 of the 3 DMC Etoile floss shades I used. I love the versatility of that pea/olive green floss - I used it on the green felt coat and the beige-ish felt hat, and it looked great on both.

Here's a pic of my process stitching, apologies for the night photo:

I love the Ecru Etoile floss - it has a really nice texture to it - again, it doesn't lay exactly flat, but I think that gives it a nice crewel effect.

Here's the back side of the coat - I used Etoile again on the pink #10 - I believe it was 4 strands there, and all 6 strands for the heavy pink border of the coat. As I've gone along, I've become more and more liberal with my use of glue - I was afraid to muck up my stitching at first, but now I love the way it makes this process so much quicker!

There's something downright charming about this little guy - and as so many have been saying of their finishes on Instagram, every finish is my new favorite!

Here's my finished work, along with a few of the threads I used:

What do you think? I am loving these colors so far, and feeling so lucky to have a huge tin of sparkly Etoile to choose from!

Here's a sneak peek of the colors I've chosen for the next ornament - #11 Lady Dancing!

JOIN THE 12 MONTHS OF CHRISTMAS STITCHALONG!

This stitchalong is easy, and no-pressure! To join, visit Larissa's shop to purchase the Twelve Days pattern of your choice. Tag your pictures with the hashtag #twelvedaysornaments and #12monthsofChristmas on Instagram so we can find them.

Leave a comment here with a link to your blog, or any space on the internet or Instagram where you are tracking your progress. And don't miss the page Larissa has set up with lots of tips for stitching this series: http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/p/twelve-days.html.

Previous Stitchalong Posts

#1-2: Partridge and Pear; Turtle Dove

#3: French Hen

#4: Colly Bird

#5: Gold Ring

#6: Goose-a-laying

#7: Swan-a-swimming

#8: Maid-a-milking

#9: Drummer Drumming