Santa Claus and Reindeer Finish

I have a finished stitching project to share.  You may remember this from a previous post {here} or, if  you follow me on Instagram you have already seen the completed picture!  

Here are a few details.  

This sweet little reindeer has been outlined with Stem Stitch and filled with Straight Stitch.  His holly leaf and berry collar is done with Satin Stitch.  I blended brown and a light tan colored floss for his fur:

and I used just the darker color for the outside of his legs and just lighter color for the insides of his legs:

Santa is done in rows of Split Stitch and French knots for all the embellishments on his suit. 

Ho Ho Ho and a Holly Border

I have a finished stitching to share. 

Do you remember when I posted about combining some motifs from my Here Comes Santa Claus pattern set?

I put these motifs together and finished up the stitching.  I am so happy with the result! 

The red lettering and the white snowflakes are the perfect combination for Christmas.  I added some sparkly rainbow blending filament to the snowflakes. 

I used a Whipped Blanket Stitch for the left arm of each H.  The Blanket Stitch in red and the whipping in white.  It reminds me of a candy cane.  I also added some of the rainbow blending filament to the right arm of each H:

I also completed a beautiful border. This is all done in metallic floss!  

Well, except for the red berries.  They are Satin Stitched in regular cotton floss.  I added a few Straight Stitches using gold blending filament to add some sparkle.  

The holly leaves are outlined with Stem Stitching and filled with Straight Stitches.

The light and dark green lines with the gold French Knots are couched.  What an easy way to deal with metallic floss!

A Work in Progress and Combining Motifs

First up I have a little bit of progress to show on one of my works in progress.  Do you remember this Santa and reindeer?  

I am filling in Santa's suit with Split Stitch and all the trim of his suit with French Knots - so many knots!  I am only using three strands of floss, I suppose it would fill up the space faster with all six strands but I like the small precise look that three strands give in this application.  

I also wanted to share an idea for combining motifs from a pattern set.  I started with this Ho! Ho! Ho! motif and I wanted to add some embellishment to the text:

So, I added this little snowflake motif from the same pattern set

I only used part of it, I situated the big snowflake to the left of the text:

Then taped it into place, put my fabric over the top and traced the design:

Next, I turned the snowflake motif around and used one of the smaller flakes on the right side of the text:

I ended up using two of the smaller flakes to balance the final design: 

Now it is ready to start stitching!

This is a really easy way to combine motifs and create your own design.

Here Comes Santa Claus - a wip and a finish!

Here is a progress report on the Santa Claus and little reindeer stitching. 

I am satin stitching the holly leaves and berries that are around the reindeer's neck:

I back stitched around the edges of the leaves and the berries with three strands of floss.  Then, using one strand of floss I satin stitched over the top.

It really gives a nice effect. 

The white border and pom-pom on Santa's hat are outlined with back stitch and filled with French knots.  I think I will do the same for the center and bottom trim of his jacket, his cuffs and boot tops.

I still have A LOT of stitching left before I finish this one!

I do have a completed project to share.  Remember the Christmas tree? 

All done!

I used a lot of metallic thread and some blending filament.  I used the couching stitch for the garland around the tree.  It is green metallic thread held in place with gold blending filament.  

I kept a good record of all my thread colors:

Here is the palette I used:

Owl Project

Since my last post on this owl embroidery, I have taken out the back stitching I used on the leaves and switched to a blanket stitch.  I like it so much better.  Filling in the entire leaf with lines of back stitch were making the leaf too dense and lumpy looking.  To me, this blanket stitch looks just right!

I have quite a few projects going at the moment, it is fun to have a variety of subjects to stitch!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

I have a new pattern set in my Etsy shop!  This one is all about Santa Claus. 

There is plenty of time before Christmas so I am stitching up a lot of samples - there are 51 different motifs in this set! 

I really like this little elf.  Wouldn't he look good in these green and red metallics?  

Also, this "Here Comes Santa Claus" text.  You can see part of Santa's North Pole house too...: 

I can't wait to stitch this Santa and reindeer.  I have already transferred the motif to some fabric :)

And this 2014 tree!  I think this will make a beautiful card or stitched ornament. 
I also included a number set so any year combination can be stitched:

I took the time to pull out all my metallic floss and beautiful Christmas trims to start getting some project ideas:

Here is a view of the pattern set. 

It is available here.