This was a long time coming...

Fixing the damaged partridge in a pear tree ornament, I was highly motivated to get the three other ornaments in the 40-something year-old crewel kit sewn up.  I had finished embroidering the last one in January, but as of last week I still hadn't sewn them all up and gotten the job completed.

Some may recall the video I posted a month ago, called The 10-year Window.  This project felt like that. When I finished these ornaments I felt both elated and, at the same time, sad that I had tucked these away for decades partially completed - instead of finishing them years ago and enjoying them every Christmas since.

I have no idea if our sons will someday want any of the handmade Christmas ornaments we've used over the years, but I hope they choose to keep some that they remember from their childhoods. Whether they've given it any notice, they've had many opportunities to see the partridge ornament, but the three last ornaments will hold zero memory for them. 

That said...what can't be undone shouldn't be lingered on for too long I'm learning.  But I'm tellin' ya'...  if you haven't yet watched The 10-Year Window video, I highly recommend you do so.

And if you do, please come back and leave me a comment!

A fine fix ...

Many years ago, (sometime in the '80's) I stitched up this cute little "bag" (which was from a Creative Circle kit), and it has served as a tree ornament ever since:

I love the colors and the folk art design. 

Well... at some point over the years a stain appeared on the back.  I was disheartened about it, but no one could see it when it was hanging on the tree, so I hung it and didn't think about it.  And then after Christmas, I packed it away with the other decorations and I didn't think about it some more.

The stain was caused by potpourri I had originally added to the fiber fill when I stuffed this.   Who knew potpourri could stain fabric?  I didn't.  Not back then.

Anyway, this past Christmas, for some reason, I decided I was not going to pack it away, but I was going to finally fix it.  I thought the easiest solution would be to cut off the back, and add new fabric.  The fabric in the picture above was what I was planning to use.

As I started to rip one seam open, I discovered that I had double stitched the seams, making it challenging to unpick without shredding this somewhat loosely woven fabric.  I finally got the seam opened, but when I went to start unpicking the other seam, I saw there was a messy mangle of threads where my sewing machine had hiccupped or barfed or I don't know what you call it, but sewists know what I'm talking about when this happens sometimes at the beginning of one's stitching.  Maybe one of you will tell me what this is called.

I was never going to get that undone, so I stared at this pitiful, stained, but adorable little crewel stitch that younger me had made and I contemplated what my options might be.  At first all I could come up with was to just cover the stain with a bit of patchwork. That didn't really sit well with me as I didn't think it would match the vibe of the front of the pillow.  

And then it dawned on me...  I had some wool left over, and I could, perhaps, embroider (on top of the stain) something on the back that would go with the front.

Since pears seemed the obvious choice, and because of their simple shape, and  I had what looked like just enough yellow yarn left, I decided to go for it.

Drawing simple pear and leaf shapes and using a very small hoop on this half-opened little sack, I set to work.

I'm torn over whether I should have done this in satin stitch rather than short and long stitches, but at the time, it seemed too large a shape to do in satin stitch.  And now that I think about it, there might not have been enough yarn to do it satin stitch.  Regardless of what might have worked best, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  

With fresh stuffing, and a new red tie, I'm happy to have fixed it in this way.  Truth be told, there is more staining, but the worst is on the inside.  The pictures don't show it, but on the outside any bits of discoloration just appears to me as looking like age has had it's way.  It doesn't bother me.  I feel satisfied that I bought this little ornament some more time before someone decides it's seen too many better days.

Next on the docket is to sew up the rest of the set:  

I did actually finish the crewel work on the above in January, but I got sidetracked by life and I didn't get back to them until... ahem...yesterday.  I wanted so badly to finish them so I could show them today, but when I tried to press them it became apparent it would take more than my steam iron to get those 40-some year-old creases out.  It required wetting them all down and then the iron could do its magic.  But wetting them down meant they needed to dry before being sewn up and finished.  And I wanted to get this post published while it was still Sunday.

So...  no promises, mind you, but I see no reason why these can't be finished this week!

An almost finish...

Rather than begin a new project, I thought a good start to the year might be to finish something.  I remembered that I have a set of Christmas stitches that were begun a long time ago, but never finished.

I knew right where they were - I think because I pulled the project out a year or so ago and thought, "I really should finish this", and then put it back in the box and went on to forget about it.  I think I've done that more than once in recent years, actually.  And I probably recorded it here somewhere.  

When I took it out yesterday, I was shocked at how little was needed to complete it.  Why did I let this languish so long?!?

This is a Creative Circle kit, and as the picture above shows, I had done all the crewel work on two of them, and most of the stitching on the one on the far left (in the 1980's is my first guess).  But I only finished one into a "bag" and have used it as an ornament on our Christmas trees for all these years.  Here is that one:

This kit has a 1979 date stamped on the preprinted panel (below).  I was two years out of highschool in 1979, and wasn't married yet.  I wish I could remember if I stitched these that long ago, or if I bought the kit in the '80's.

I know, dear reader, none of that matters to you, but I very much wish I could place the image I have of myself stitching these in the correct time frame in my memory.  I know I did some embroidery work as a teen and young adult, but while I remember specific projects I made many years ago, I don't have time frames locked in. 

Anyway...  everything was in the original bag, a cut-out photo of the finished projects, printed instructions with diagrams, and a clump of old wool yarn.  All I had to do was find a large-eyed needle and a stitching hoop to hold my work taut as I finished stitching the the little bear in the stocking.

I love the "fluffy" top on the stocking.  First I stitched the loops:

Then each loop got snipped and fluffed and trimmed.

And if you thought you'd see the finished projects, you would be incorrect.  I did get the last one stitched up late last night, but I'm going to take a little time to finish them into their final form.  Hopefully, soon I'll be back with those photos.