Making Handmade Ornaments with Fabric

I keep a little fabric basket of all my ornaments close at hand.

Very few of the ornaments I’ve been making this month are actually finished.  (My goal is 30 handmade ornaments for many sentimental reasons.)  It’s easier to do everything in stages – sew a bunch of ornaments as the ideas come, then turn the ornaments right side out (I sew them inside out), and later stuff them with scraps of quilt batting while chatting with guests or listening to podcasts.

I think that these three are my favorites.  I drew the snowflake and word “joy” on pieces of fabric with a pencil.  Then I used a tight zigzag stitch on my sewing machine to draw out the designs.

The hand sewing awaits.  After the ornaments are stuffed, there’s a little gap to sew shut.  I’m slowly teaching myself to enjoy the simplicity and comfort of hand sewing.  For as much as I try to simplify, there is still this rush rush in me about sewing.  A machine is so much faster (and so much better!) than my hand sewing.

If anything, this ornament project is teaching me grace.

See all those gaps with batting that is peeking out when I turn the basket around?  The current count stands at about 20 almost-finished-ornaments.  10 ornaments + much hand sewing to go.

What’s your favorite handmade ornament for hanging on the tree?