Did you all have a merry Christmas? We have had a wonderful Christmas season. We’ve seen a lot of family and friends and created wonderful memories. We even had a bit of snow!
I was able to make as many of my Christmas ornaments for this year as I needed and in plenty of time. Amazing! I didn’t even feel rushed this year. In fact, I got through most of December without feeling pressured, which is pretty amazing. I almost always leave things to the last minute and then feel stressed and anxious. This year I got the gifts purchased early and had the house in good shape for company before the day of the get-togethers. What a wonderful feeling!
My Christmas ornament for 2023 involved beads again. Some were even the same ones! I am very happy with these.
These snowman beads were used in the original attempt for ornaments this year. This time the tatting was a bit quicker and the ornaments did not use the bangle bracelets or anything else under the tatting. This made them easier to tat on the go, which I did quite a bit.
I have a variety of beads that I used for these. I made ornaments specific to several family member’s likes. Cats, dogs, penguins, and owls.
I went through several versions before I settled on my final ornament style. They all were given away – the people receiving them didn’t know I changed my mind! I even did a few that weren’t white.
I made all of the ornaments in size 10 thread so they were big enough and sturdy enough for the beads. I also used Balanced Double Stitches (BDS) for the chains. I had learned this stitch a long time ago but never incorporated it in my tatting before. Then I did a few patterns from Mike Lyon, the Shuttle Commander, and now I seem to use them a lot! Thanks, Mike, for showing me how well they can work in a pattern.
Speaking of patterns, I have finished the pattern for this year’s ornament. For any of you who are interested in trying it, I have added it to My Patterns page (Christmas Ornament 2023).
In a few more days we will say goodbye to the year 2023 and hello to 2024. Are you ready?
“The light of the Christmas star to you. The warmth of home and hearth to you. The cheer and goodwill of friends to you.” Sherryl Woods, An O’Brien Family Christmas