January Ornaments and a February Finish!

I stitched up this freebie for one set of Bride's Tree ornaments (the set I have to finish by August 1st). This is Christmas Hearts by Just Nan.

I modified this pattern - I wasn't thrilled with the pinkish purple called for in the pattern, especially since I wanted to use red DMC Rayon thread for the hearts, so I substituted 2 shades of golden yellow DMC floss. I also used WDW Hunter and Holly for the green, and generic gold seed beads for the beading part (I modified placement of the beads.) I am IN LOVE with the Rhodes heart, and am looking forward to stitching more of them. I also found that 2 strands of the rayon made the satin stitch hearts a little fuller and much nicer. This was SUCH a fun stitch and I absolutely love the way it turned out. I'm going to finish it by framing it in a mini wooden hoop.

I also have this finished piece awaiting ornamentification (is that even a word?). This is from the Victoria's Sampler Hearts of America Series. If you don't know about these - they're pretty cool. Each heart features the state flower and the state bird, as well as other symbols of the state. Also, a new specialty stitch is done on each heart. (Thea has also done Hearts of Canada and International Hearts).

I stitched this up a while back, but still have to turn it into an ornament. I stitched the couple's names and their wedding date on a matching piece of fabric for the back. This is for the set of ornaments for my best friend and her husband. As you might have guessed, they were married in Hawaii. (I'm not sure why the picture appears blurry)


I did finish two house pieces into ornaments. The one on the left is for my best friend and her husband (name intentionally blurred). It's a free chart from Maryse, which I modified to include their name instead of the month. I also added the year. I originally had this set up as a padded ornament with cording, but the stitching wasn't centered, and I got so frustrated I took the ornament apart. The ornament I glued together. With hot glue. Which I will probably never do again. I ended up turning it into a little pillow ornament which is cute, but a little disappointing to me because it wasn't what I originally wanted. However, it's stitched over 1 on 25 ct. linen and I won't be stitching it again any time soon. I think it turned out okay.

The one on the right is a freebie from Chartmakers, House on a Hill. I backed the ornament with a brown calico-like fabric which turned out nice with the black cording. (Again I modified the design to change the year and the initials to those of the couple.) I'm pretty pleased with how this one turned out.