Baby Jesus in a nutshell - tutorial

I wanted to make a tutorial on how to make a Baby Jesus in a nutshell like this. They are traditional in Hungary. You can make a handful in an hour, so perhaps it is worth sitting down tonight, in the middle of the hectic preparation, and make some with the kids.

Unfortunately I haven't made photos when I made these, and have no opportunity to take any right now (I am sitting on a ferry to Finland), but I thought if someone wants to make some, it is so easy, perhaps I can write down the tutorial without the pictures, and it might still work.

You will need:

halved walnutshells
wooden beads (mine were about 1 cm in diameter)
white fabric scrap for the duvet: a circle about 7 cm in diameter)
a little bit of fiberfill or other stuffing
a piece of white lace for the head (I had some small pieces of crocheted lace, but if you have none, just a small piece of white fabric would do)
golden cord, about 20 cm
small golden charm (I used a star)
glue


To open the walnut, push a knife in the wider end, wiggle carefully, and most of the times it opens easily. Take out all the nut. I have pictures of this step.

Take the golden cord, fold it in half, tie a knot and glue it in the narrower end of the nutshell.

Wrap the lace piece around the wooden bead, as if it was a head scarf, and sew or glue in place. I just sewed through the hole in the bead a few times.
Glue the head on the top of the golden cord.

Sew running stitches around the white circle, about half a cm from the edge. Pull the ends, and put a little stuffing in it, then tie the ends together.
Glue it into the remaining empty space in the nutshell, push it down so that it fills it all.

Glue a star in the middle.

Actually, next time I will make them, I will embroider something in the middle of the fabric circles before doing the running stitch, it might look even better than the glued star - but I came up with the idea too late.


Finally, draw a face. I only drew sleeping eyes but you can add more details if you want.

If something is not clear, go ahead and ask.


I made about 20 for the Christmas market and they were very popular. :)

Christmas squirrel

Hello, here is another small Christmas animal to stitch - there is still time for these minis.
I hope you find it cute.

Enjoy.

Mini Christmas patterns

Hello, everyone, here is my latest freebie: an owl and a cat, getting ready for Christmas.

I hope you like them and have the time to stitch them up before Christmas. Use them on a bookmark, a gift tag, a pincushion etc.

Here are some pictures of the Christmas market I went to a week ago. It was very cold, -10, my feet were freezing, but apart from that I enjoyed it a lot. Sold lots of the small Christmas decorations, but that means I didn´t make much money. However, I at least got back what I spent, and earned a bit for charity, too. All in all I consider it a success. :)

Garbage truck for little boys

My friend's two-year-old son loves garbage trucks. So I have made a pattern for him, I am almost done with the embroidery, too, I will post a picture of it when I finish.

Until then, please, enjoy the free pattern.

I have been sewing and embroidering a lot, preparing for a Christmas market on the 8th of December. Here are some things I have been making, ornaments, zipper pouches and pencilcases, phone holders, fabric baskets and one more bag to the ones I made earlier.

Hungarian folk motif again

I have been busy knitting and stitching, but I don't feel very well lately, and simply can't force myself to take photos and blog about them. Sorry. Sooner or later... and I managed to take some pictures for you.

This is what I have been stitching, it is almost done. Just need to add a bit more rain in the corner, it was hard to sew there in the frame, and I think it needs a few more little things. I have stitched this for Lizi, who is a 5-year old lovely little girl, my friends daughter. She asked me to embroider something for her that has tulips and a rainbow and the sun and rain... so I came up with this.

I thought I would share how to make a cross stitch picture using free patterns:

Tutorial: How to create a cross stitch picture using freebies.
1. Go on the internet (or browse your downloaded patterns) and choose a few that you could use for the picture. Look for patterns where there are small elements that can be used.
2. If you want, print and cut out the different elements and arrange them. If you have a cross stitching program, you can draw them and make a better job out of it. I was only improvising as I put them all together. You only need to be careful that the elements are of roughly similar size. Although, as I did on this one, you can use bigger and smaller motifs to create perspective.
3. Stitch. :) :)

Ok, joke aside, I loved stitching this, and even though I cannot draw and have no idea of composition and such, I think it is not too bad. I hope Lizi will like it, I think I am going to make it into a cushion cover for her.

And here are two knitting projects. A cardigan I started with some of the yarn I bought myself for my birthday:

It is this pattern, but I am a bit worried because my yarn is different, the gauge is not the same so I am making it in a bigger size to make up for it but cannot be sure if it is good or not. :( This is the problem with top-down patterns, you don't see the size until much later. Well, fingers crossed and we will see.
This is the yarn I am using: http://www.loveknitting.com/sublime-baby-cashmere-merino-silk-dk - the vanilla, and a lovely green - they don't have it on the website.

And my first ever socks:

I have been knitting for 33 years now and made hundreds of pulovers and scarves etc, but never socks. I have been wanting to learn for years and finally I started. And it is not even difficult! :D :D I am so happy.

I have been using this tutorial and it is mostly very easy to follow. For turning a heel I had to look at some youtube videos because I didn't understand what they wrote, but everything else is really straightforward.

This yarn is one of those I bought on Crete two years ago. 75 % wool - but can't remember the rest, lost the paper. The whole pair will come out of one ball, it seems.

And now I want to share another cross stitch pattern with you based on the same motif as I used before. It can be used for a biscornu, perhaps, although it is a bit bigger than usual biscornu patterns. But it would look lovely on a cushion or a bag, too.

What else do you think it could be used for? What colour would you choose to stitch it?

Click on the picture for the pdf.

Happy stitching. :)

Cross stitch bookmark pattern for free

Dear stitching friends,

I have drawn a pattern for a bookmark, you can download it for free. It is based on some Hungarian motifs. I imagined it in two shades of red, but I think it would look lovely in other colour combinations, in only one colour or in variegated thread as well.
I hope you like it.

Click on the picture to get the downloadable pdf file. If anyone has a problem with downloading, let me know, please.

Happy stitching.

Bags in my shop

I have uploaded my newest creations, the bags in my webshop.
If anyone is interested, look at http://adorna.se/product_categories/1548.

If you want to know the prices in another currency, just ask, also please note that the webshop prices include postage in Sweden. So if I need to send it abroad, it might be a bit more, if you come and pick it up yourself, it will be cheaper.

(Wishful thinking, right?)

I showed here some of the bags, here are the ones I made this weekend:

New pattern for sale

I have finally finished the piece I was sewing for my boss. He came up with the idea of using this saying in a sampler, so I made the design and stitched it for him. He will have it framed and put it up in his office.

However the pattern copyright is mine, so now it is up for sale.



Size: 353 x 119 (ca 64 x 21cm or 25.5" x 8.5")


It costs 90 SEK / 14$ / 10,5 € / 9£.

Make sure you send me your e-mail address so I can send you the pdf file.

This is what it looks. I used 28 count white Lugana and 4 skeins of DMC 796.



(Sorry for the bad photo, I had to take it at night so I could hand it over the next morning. I will post a better one when it is framed.)

My "Save the world" piece and some bags

Hello, dear friends,


Remember, I told you how I entered an embroidery competition? The topic was how we can save the world with embroidery.
I wasn´t sure if I could post pictures of the work since they said it should be unpublished, so I rather played safe and waited.
Well, the results are on the website now, and I am not among the winners, but I have to say I don´t feel ashamed: those are all so fantastic pieces of art that I had absolutely no chance. It is a different dimension.
If you want to look at them, here.

But now, finally, I can show you my work. Here it is, and I am really proud of it. Just love how it turned out.

The text at the bottom is in Swedish and this is what it says:

Under this walnut shell there is a butterfly hiding from the rain - according to my 5-year-old friend, Lizi. This is to honour all that and all those who have to hide from the suffering of the world.

I don´t know yet what I will do with it. I don´t really have place for it at home, and I would be so happy if I could hang it somewhere where others can see it and get the message.


I have also been working on my commission. Here is the latest picture, although since I took it, I have done a lot, it is almost ready.

I have also been sewing a lot.

I made some teddy bears for the charity I sometimes help out. I made a bag for my daughter, and then a few more that I will try and sell in my webshop. Well, sounds a bit pretentious to call it a webshop, but perhaps I will be able to sell something this time :D Want to have a peek?

The teddy bears above, and my daughter´s bag bellow. She loved it.

And these are the ones I made for my shop:

I will soon be back with some more pictures, and a cross stitch pattern or two. Watch this place :)

Happy stitching.