🎄 Stitchy News: Holiday Special 🎄

It's that time of the year again, and the Holiday Rush is upon us! It's the first time in forever that I've done a Stitchy News post, but I have some exciting news to share with you today, including an online stitchy advent calendar and a great giveaway! ❤🎄❤

Mary Corbet of Needle N' Thread is generously running her fabulous A Stitcher's Christmas giveaway series again this year, where she shares top of the line embroidery notions and supplies! She's currently on the 2nd Giveaway, so make sure to visit the website or sign up to her free newsletter (which sends you the blog posts as they are published) to keep up with the giveaways. If you're new to A Stitcher's Christmas, please visit this year's first post for more information on how it all works 😉

It's a super popular series, and there's often hundreds of entries for each giveaway, which can seem discouraging. But I was incredibly fortunate, and won the Inspirations Giveaway from 2017 , so if I can win, you can too! I wasn't blogging at the time so I haven't shared my kit finishes yet but I will soon. It was an incredibly difficult year for me, the first Christmas after my beloved Grandpa died (on Christmas Day 2016) and that prize made me pick up my needle and thread for the first time in over a year, and helped get me through a terrible time. Best of luck to you if you enter ☘

Laura at Bugs and Fishes has a super cute Retro Felt Baubles Tutorial for you, great for making last minute Christmas gifts! If you leave the ornaments unpadded, as Laura mentions, they would also be fabulous for sending in Christmas cards. There's all kinds of possibilities to pull out your embellishment tin and go crazy, and I think these would be a great way to use scraps of pretty trims and edgings!

DMC has a number of free holiday patterns, including this pretty Nordic Heart. It uses two shades of the shimmering new Etoile floss, but would look lovely in a single shade of variegated Coloris too! There's a cute Coloris Christmas Tree freebie as well.

The wonderfully imaginative Jo at Serendipitous Stitching is hosting her annual Online Advent Calendar Blog Hop again this year! The image above is one of my favourite finishes of Jo's, from her very first 2011 Online Advent Calendar 😃 This is such a great event, where stitchers share some holiday themed projects from years past and a bit about their own traditions. Make sure to hop along for some Christmas stitching and finishing inspiration! I look forward to it every year ❤

Finally, if you're looking for a super quick little ornament to whip up in a hurry, why not try my free Blackwork Poinsettia Ornament? It's two-sided, easy to customize, and doesn't need any backing fabric! I also have a full tutorial for the easy Whipped Chain Stitch Edging. This was my contribution to Jo's 2013 Online Advent Calendar.

In February, my friend Shannan from Bobbin & Fred stitched this gorgeous variation, and I had the pleasure of interviewing her about her finish for the blog! This remains one of my favourite patterns and can easily be made in a weekend. If you do stitch up a version, I'd love to see it, and feature you here on the blog if you like! 😊

Are you making like Santa Claus and doing any gift making this year? I don't have mine all lined up yet but I'm thinking about projects - unfortunately, they're all Super Secret!

❤ Whatever you're making for the holidays this year, may your Christmas be Merry & Bright, and may you Jingle All The Way ❤