Wool Felt Joy: Wrapping Up the Holidays and Welcoming the New Year

As the holiday season winds down and we step into a fresh new year, I’ve been reflecting on the warmth and creativity that filled December. For me, that joy came through wool felt ornaments—tiny treasures that carry heartfelt meaning. Handmade pieces have a way of turning simple moments into lasting memories, and this year was no exception.

The Benzie Design Ornament Exchange

One of the highlights of my season was participating in the Benzie Design Ornament Exchange. It’s such a wonderful way to connect with fellow makers and share a bit of handmade magic. The idea is simple: create ornaments for a partner and receive their creations in return—but the results are always extraordinary.

For my recipient, I wanted to design ornaments that felt cozy and whimsical. After taking a peek at their social media, I noticed a love for a pink and mint color palette—such a cheerful combination! I knew right away that I wanted to make a felt ornament and a stocking to match. Each piece was curated with care, using vibrant colors and playful details that reflected their style.

To make the gift extra special, I tucked a matching handmade needle minder (made from cute Poppie Cotton fabric) inside the stocking, along with a few felt pom shapes and some sweet treats. It was such a joy to pull everything together and imagine the smile when she opened the package.

And then came the best part—opening the package from my partner! Her ornaments were stunning, full of detail and heart. I love all the different mediums and delightful details. Both ornaments were charming, and I couldn’t stop admiring the craftsmanship—along with her special wrapping that made the whole experience feel even more magical.

An Assortment of Handmade Cheer

Beyond the exchange, I spent much of December creating wool felt ornaments for family and friends. Each evening, I cozied up in my stitching nest and worked on a fresh batch. From classic holiday motifs to whimsical winter designs, every piece was stitched with love and attention to detail.

These ornaments became more than decorations—they were tokens of thoughtfulness, reminders of the joy that comes from giving something handmade.

If this post has inspired you to create your very own wool felt ornaments, you should definitely give it a try! Wool felt is such a versatile, forgiving, and satisfying material to work with, and there are endless possibilities for shapes, colors, and designs. To help you get started, here are a few links at Benzie Design. Just a heads-up: some of these links are affiliate links, which means if you decide to buy something through them, I’ll earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. It’s a simple way to support the content I share, and I truly appreciate it!

• Free Project Tutorials
• Wool Blend Felt (high quality, yet more affordable)
• Bellwether 100% Wool Felt
• Cutting Dies (like the tree, mitten, dove, and nutcrackers I used)
• Die Cutting Tutorial and Tips

As I pack away my felt scraps and tidy up my stitching nest, I’m reminded of how much joy these little handmade pieces brought to my holiday season. Each ornament was more than just decoration—it was a way to slow down, savor the moment, and share a bit of love with others. Moving into the new year, I hope to carry that same spirit of creativity and connection forward. Here’s to more making, more sharing, and more moments that feel truly meaningful.

Sweet Treat Mini Stocking

Greetings friends! It is new project tutorial day - time to share my November post for the Therm O Web Blog with you! I always enjoy putting on my Fabric Education Designer hat and creating new projects/tutorials to share with you on their popular blog (Therm O Web are the makers of all those wonderful HeatnBond and SpraynBond products). Each month, I share a fun, new project and give you my tips and tricks for using their products. For the month of November, the blog is focused on holiday gifts, along with Christmas and winter ideas. I created a brand new project that was posted yesterday - it is a complete project tutorial for my "Sweet Treat Mini Stocking." My comprehensive tutorial contains a complete supply list, printable pattern with templates, and step-by-step directions with color photos. This is a quick and easy project, perfect for holiday decorating and gift giving. If you think sewing a stocking may be a bit complex, then this is the project for you; these simple, step-by-step instructions will have you making your own stocking(s) in no time! These are the perfect size to tie on a package, hang on a tree, or hold a gift card and/or holiday treats. I hope you will stop by the Therm O Web blog and check out my project and tutorial...

This is a joy-filled sewing project that is perfect for fat quarters or fat eighths or scraps. For this post, I used HeatnBond Fusible Fleece, HeatnBond Medium Weight Non-Woven Fusible Interfacing, SpraynBond Pattern & Stencil Spray, and a Pressing Paper Fabric and Craft Sheet...plus, I give you tips for using these items! Visit the tutorial post for a complete and detailed supply list.

Are you familiar with SpraynBond Pattern & Stencil Spray? I know I have talked about this product before, but it is so impressive, I am sharing it again. I use this for every project I create with paper templates - I even keep an extra bottle on hand, as it makes working with paper templates so much easier! SpraynBond Pattern & Stencil Spray is a temporary, light-tack adhesive for fabric that will hold patterns down, keep stencils in place and can be used on rulers to keep the cutting guide straight. Pattern & Stencil Adhesive is repositionable, re-usable and does not leave that icky residue on fabrics. The templates I provide for today's tutorial can be printed on regular printer paper and used with SpraynBond Pattern & Stencil Spray to easily cut out your stockings (no tracing the templates or using pins or tape to hold the templates in place).

If you have questions on any ThermOWeb HeatnBond products or would like to see a specific type of product in one of my projects, drop me a comment or email.

You will have to visit the ThermOWeb blog for my complete tutorial and pattern, but I am posting a few photos here...

Here is a direct link to the project tutorial:

https://blog.thermoweb.com/sweet-treat-mini-stocking-featuring-heatnbond/

I hope this project gets you excited to create something special and unique...

I am creating monthly projects for the ThermOWeb blog and will be sure to post here, when I do...my project for December is scheduled to be posted on December 20th...and I am working on another very fun holiday idea!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit today - I always enjoy sharing with you. Enjoy the rest of your week and make time to work on something creative...

Oodles of Ornaments

It continues to be a finishing frenzy in the Blue Ribbon Designs studio...client orders are still piled across my counters and my list continues to grow. I have been super focused and productive, working around the clock to finish up the projects on my to-do tables along with preparing new designs. I have a plethora of finishing clients to take care of for the holidays (and into the new year)…and I am trying to balance it all and keep my sanity. I have been working on a variety of creative activities, including: lots of needlework finishing, pattern writing, custom sewing, custom quilting and freelance designing…plus making some gifts for the holidays…the to-do list is almost overwhelming. Of course, this time of year, I'm asked to keep many of my client finishes a secret...here is a picture album of needlework finishing that I completed over the last few weeks that I have the "okay to show" (not my designs or stitching, just my finishing work)…

Fabric shown with each was used for the backing...and the gorgeous hand-dyed ribbons, velveteen, pop-pom trim and twill tape are all from Lady Dot Creates (visit her Etsy Shop for the very best pretties and finishing materials)…

I hope you are inspired to finish some of your own holiday projects! I am headed back to the studio momentarily to work on more client (you guessed it) Christmas ornaments...it seems like the piles are never-ending. I just took advantage of the Audible Black Friday Sale (a girl can never have too many books) and have a wonderful assortment of new titles queued up and ready for listening...  

As I look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, I have so many things to be extremely thankful for: a loving family, a wonderful husband, AMAZING friends (who accept me, my quirks, and my crazy busy schedule!), two loveable dogs, and a career I find joy in every single day...way too many things to list. I am truly grateful for all of you who share my passions, encourage me with your comments and emails, and support my designs and creative ventures - you all brighten my days!

To everyone celebrating tomorrow - and to my many international fans and friends - take a little time to count your blessings...and a little time to stitch...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Season of Sewing

Happy holidays to all my readers - I hope you have been having a joyous season!

I spent most of October, November and the beginning of December in a needlework finishing frenzy...but for the last couple weeks, I have been able to get back to some custom sewing projects. I thought I would stop by for a very quick visit tonight (as I am recovering from a terrible stomach bug) and share a plethora of project bags I completed the last couple weeks...along with an additional sewing project.

To start, I will share an assortment of my large and small project bags...for these particular bags, all the fabrics were provided by clients. I have quite a few zippered bag orders right now - an assortment of large project bags, small project bags, and a few tool bags...plus some custom panel project bags...yes, I am sewing up a storm to catch up! I continue to have quite a few questions on the patterns I use and the sizes of the bags...so I thought I would clear up any confusion. My project bags are made from my very own pattern that I designed specifically for cross stitch patterns and supplies (it is not available for sale)...all of my bags have a zipper across the top instead of the front...and all of my bags have enclosed seams (no raw/exposed edges on the inside of the bag). I use a custom die cutting system for consistent size and minimal fabric waste. My zippered bags are popular with clients who want to provide their own favorite fabrics - my clients get to shop and pick the fabrics they love (for themselves or for gifts), then ship them off to me and I create the requested size(s) of choice...

Here are details for my four most popular sizes:

Large Project Bag (most popular size):
Size: Approximately 14.25" W x 10.25" H
Designed for full size patterns measuring 8.5" x 11" and supplies.

Small Project Bag:
 Approximately 10.75" W x 7.75" H
Designed for half sheet patterns measuring 5.5" x 8.5" and supplies.

Tool Bag:
Approximately 9.25" W x 7.25" H
Designed for small projects and or tools/accessories.

Artist Bag (Over-Sized Pencil Bag):
Approximately 9.25" W x 4.5" H
Designed for needlework tools, colored pencils or supplies on the go...

My custom bags are made to order (most commonly, my customers supply fabrics of their choice). When time allows, I make them for my Etsy Shop (with fabrics I choose). The four sizes listed above are my basic/most requested bags, but (for a small additional fee) I can make them to any size requested. Should you like more information (pricing and fabric size details), please e-mail me (link also in profile). You can see all sorts of photos on my Instagram page...and see what is available and read my reviews by visiting my Etsy shop...

Finally - I did a little additional sewing and quilting a couple days before Christmas. I wanted to try out a new stocking template...and I was itching to try a new transparent quilting thread that came highly recommended (which is FABULOUS!). I decided to use a fun word fabric that I have a partial bolt of on hand -  Mama Said Sew Revisited by Sweetwater for Moda (click on photos to enlarge). I was so happy with how this quilted stocking turned out and will keep this template in my arsenal for custom orders. For photography, I thought it would be really cute as a seamstress stocking filled with sewing notions - which (coincidentally) would be the ultimate stocking for me! Unfortunately, Santa didn't come fill it (there is always next year)...but I think it will be very cute to hang in my sewing studio...

I'll be back soon with a couple fun needlework finishes and some more creative projects.

As 2019 comes to a close, I am reflecting on the last 365 days...it sure has been another busy and artistic year...I hope you will take a moment to reflect on the past year and the many blessings bestowed upon you. Thank you for supporting Blue Ribbon Designs and your love and support throughout the year! I wish you a happy, healthy 2020 filled with joy, laughter, and creativity!
HAPPY NEW YEAR...