Currently Stitching: Christmas Embroidery

Was everyone snowed in this weekend? We got a for real winter storm here in Iowa. It snowed for a solid 24 hours! I think my mom said she got over a foot at her house. I didn't measure at mine, but it was a pain in the butt to shovel and well past my ankles, so I'd guess we were pretty close. Despite the winter chores, I am loving settling in to the new season. I get to work with my machines and watch the snow come down! 

Over the past few weeks, they've been teaching me to use the embroidery modules at the shop! We've been working on a collection of Christmas ornaments! Did anyone else get the memo that colors are pink and blue this year? I did not!

We've been making gingerbread houses, candy, presents, poinsettias, and gingerbread men all in that color theme. They've started to pile up and hopefully soon all the ornaments will be completed and we can put our tree together!

It's going to be set on a faux white Christmas tree with a pink and blue candy topper. It's not fully decorated yet so I don't have a picture but I will post one when it's ready! 

While these may not be my colors, I have to say these are all absolutely adorable! I would make them again, but in more traditional tones.

Truthfully, I am so blown away by the whole embroidery process. There are so many moving parts and steps that go in to each design, it sort of makes my head hurt. Plus the machines are very particular. For any of you that recall my melt down of the Halloween project I couldn't get to turn out. #facepalm

I do feel a little better now that I've had the opportunity to learn more about it. It's a fairly steep learning curve. But a rewarding one! For anyone out there interested in learning about or trying embroidery, do it! But be ready. There's a lot of upfront cost to get you ready for all the things you're going to want to make. There's also a great number of issues that can come up along the way. So take your time and sit with the manual and watch some YouTube videos. Or talk to some friends who have been doing it a long time! Ask them for their tips and tricks! That's really what helped me a lot. 

Whatever you do, just keep trying until you figure it out! Because you're going to get to make really cool stuff, like this Christmas tree! 

Not gonna lie, it took a ton of green thread. But it was a blast! Working with this pattern from OESD actually gave me a ton of confidence! There were less color changes and the instructions were very straight forward. It also used the same stabilizers for the entire project. I was really able to get into the rhythm of the machine and the process. Loading the hoops, configuring the computer, understanding the layers and stitch layout.

This was the tree skirt, which took two layers of stabilizer for the lace, plus an additional layer for the white fabric. 

These took two layers of stabilizer and I think a full spool of thread per layer of tree! Additionally each petal took almost an hour to stitch out. I really put the machine through it! But it's so absolutely gorgeous, so I can't really complain.  

Here you can see how the pieces started to come together to make the layers of the tree. What a clever pattern, I tell you what! Everything was designed to hook in to itself, there's no glue, hooks, pins, or anything! can you believe it!

Here she is again, from another angle. It has brought so many people joy to see the finished tree, which makes me incredibly happy! I love spreading the cheer! And I am so grateful they gave me the opportunity to practice at work! #happinessoverload#somuchjoy

All this embroidery sampling gave me the confidence to try my machine again! Someone brought in this beautiful Christmas embroidery when she was looking for framing fabric. I wanted to make it the moment I saw it! It's a pattern from Embroidery Library, I was a little nervous because there weren't any instructions to go with it. I still wanted to try it because I think it's something my mom would love!

She reads these blogs so I really shouldn't be saying anything. She'll just have to act surprised when she gets them for a gift this year 👀 🤫

When I purchased them, the downloads were ready immediately. I ordered the multi-size pack and then had to figure out which one was which! I worked with the largest format available and got my big hoops hooped and loaded. I went with a creamy white for the background.

I did my best to keep the thread colors together, and mostly in order, so they would all be in the same family between designs. It's kind of hard to coordinate colors sometimes - separating Christmas thread, warm versus cool tones, all the shades of green and brown, etc. I think it went pretty well and I cannot wait to put them together in the final project! 

This O Christmas Tree design was the one I saw a customer using and made me decide I needed it too! I am thrilled with how it turned out! 

NOT included in this package, was this sweet little penguin! I think I'm going to make it in a bunch of colors for a sweater. Wouldn't that be adorable! I could also put them around all of the sheet music. There's so many options!

Last on the list today was this adorable singing mouse trio! 

All of these projects need a lot of pressing. I picked up an OESD pressing cloth that many people have recommended to me. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to use it but I do think it's helping with the final outcome. I've also been working with majority tear-away stabilizer and it's sort of difficult to remove from the more intricate parts. But I'm learning and getting better every time and that's what counts!

The next step in the process will be to decide how to finish these out. A framed wall hanging feels like the best plan to me! I also like the idea of incorporating these into bags! Or stockings! Or sweaters! Ahhh! There's so many cheerful options! #tistheseason

Check back in next week to see how the final product turns out! Thanks for following along! Good luck with all your seasonal projects!