My Annual Tradition - Making Homemade Christmas Ornaments

I love making homemade Christmas ornaments to give to my family and friends each year.  The photo below shows just a few of the many ornaments I have made over the course of many years.

Over the years I have used a variety of craft techniques: knitting, felted knitting, cut out painted cardboard (using old gift boxes), cross stitch, and hand stitched felt (this was one of my favorite crafts for many years!).  The little owl ornament in the center of the photo above was made using my free pattern: Ole the Owl.

The first knitting pattern I published was my Mini Sweater Christmas Ornament.  It was only fitting that that one of my favorite traditions led me on a new path to share my knitting ideas.  Last month (November 2016)  I celebrated my third anniversary since publishing that first knitting pattern!

Mini Sweater Christmas Ornament - Knitting Pattern

Last year I made several of these mini sweaters to give to dear friends.  It was a great way to use up a lot of stash yarn!  My favorite yarn for these ornaments is Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted.  I have used this yarn for many years.  It works up beautifully and lasts very well for heirloom quality gifts.  

Here's a few of the ornaments I made last year.  It was fun to stitch on felt applique decorations for a mixture of textures and a variety of designs!  

I made used my duplicate stitch sailboat design from my Mini Sweater Christmas Ornament pattern to make two more of these nautical themed ornaments.  These were made for dear friends who we have enjoyed sailing with for many years.

Mini Sweater Ornament with Sailboat Duplicate Stitch

I also love making Felt Applique Mitten Christmas Ornaments.  I updated this pattern in January 2016 to include even more ideas for personalizing ornaments with letters or numbers...in addition to hearts, stars, snowman and gingerbread house designs.

Felt Applique Mitten Ornament - Knitting Pattern

I love pulling these ornaments out of the box each year to hang on the tree.  It brings back memories of making special gifts for my family and friends over the years.  

A few of my favorite homemade ornaments.

Now it's just a couple weeks until Christmas 2016!  I need to open my box of ornaments I made last January...these are waiting to be wrapped up and given this year.  And...this weekend I may need to make a few more ornaments!

Thanks for reading!  Wishing you happy holidays! 

Knitting in November

At the end of the month, it is fun to reflect back on knitting projects I have completed.  In November, I published three blanket knitting patterns and one free cowl knitting pattern.  It was also fun to open my box of handmade ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree.

Here's a few photos of my November 2016 knitting....

In the lower center photo you may notice the pale pink hydrangea.  Those usually bloom in the spring and summer here in Kansas City.  This fall was so warm and consistently beautiful that my hydrangea bush was confused and started blooming in early November!

In case you are curious about the knitting patterns...

All patterns shown are knit with super bulky yarn.  Click on each pattern name for more info:

Stones in the Road Blanket (upper left)
Flint Hills Blanket (upper right)
Across the Diamond Blanket (lower right)
Side Line Cowl (lower left) - Click here to download the free PDF.

In the last couple of days I started working on a new blanket design using white yarn.  This new blanket is for my teenage daughter.  She loves simple, modern design.  I love having her input on new pattern ideas!

Knitting with Lion Brand Hometown USA in 'New York White'.

This white yarn is Lion Brand Hometown in the color 'New York White'.  This yarn is so soft and cozy.  It's great for making a blanket!

For updates as this pattern comes together follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

BLANKET PATTERN UPDATE: The design in the works above is my Where the Sidewalk Ends blanket pattern which is very easy to knit!  Click to read more about it on my blog.  The pattern is  available on Ravelry, LoveKnitting and Etsy.

I can't believe it's almost December and time to put up the Christmas decorations!  I love making Christmas decorations to give as gifts for my friends and family.  I made these little red houses last January...these are in a box waiting to be wrapped up for gift giving.

The Little House Knitting Pattern with felt applique. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy knitting!

Mary Lee
Fifty Four Ten Studio

Felt Applique Mitten Christmas Ornament - Updated Pattern!

I've completely updated one of my first knitting patterns!  My Felt Applique Mitten Christmas Ornament knitting pattern has received a cosmetic update as well as new ideas.  I made some revisions to the pattern layout and updated some photos.  The best part is...the update includes new felt applique design ideas.  I've added patterns for felt uppercase letters in a cute font style, as well as numbers in two sizes.

My Felt Applique Mitten Christmas Ornament knitting pattern is available on Ravelry, LoveKnitting, Etsy and Craftsy.

Felt Applique Mitten Ornament - Updated Pattern!

Initially, I planned to make some minor updates to my pattern layout so it would more closely match the style of my newer published patterns.  As I was working on the updates and knitting lots of mittens with my stash worsted weight yarn, I came up with the idea to stitch felt letters and numbers on the mittens.

I love how the letters and numbers look stitched on the mittens!  There are so many ways to use the letters and numbers to make special personalized gifts.  Children love receiving gifts with the first letter of their name.  For a family gift I'll make custom mini mitten ornaments with the last name initial.  The number patterns can be used to celebrate a child's age or team number.

My pattern includes two sizes of number patterns.  The larger font size matches the letter patterns in scale and works well for one digit numbers (see #7 mitten above).  I've also included smaller, narrower numbers so you can fit two digit numbers on the front of the mitten (see the #24 mitten above).

Did I mention that all of the felt patterns are easy to print and cut out?  No resizing of patterns is necessary!

I've succeeded in using a good amount of stash yarn by knitting a bunch of mitten ornaments to give as Christmas gifts.  The #7 ornament will be for my nephew who will be seven years old by next Christmas.  The "R" ornament will be for my son.  The red mittens below were knit with Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in 'Red Hot Passion'.  The light blue gray #24 mitten is the first for a countdown to Christmas mitten garland!  I'm really excited about this project.  I'm going to use as much stash yarn as possible and have the mittens be a variety of colors.

Pattern includes full set of uppercase letter & two sizes of numbers.

It's fun to stitch on a felt letter to make a personalized gift!

This month I also made a few mitten ornaments with felt hearts and another mini mitten ornament with a felt house...which kind of matches our home!  The blue mitten below was knit with Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in the color 'Brite Blue'.  I used aqua colored felt for the heart and light aqua DMC embroidery floss to stitch the heart on the mitten.

Mini Mitten with Felt Heart Applique Design

The white mitten below was knit with Berroco Vintage.  I purchased my felt for these projects from SweetEmmaJean on Etsy.  I love their selection of colors and they ship very quickly!

Mini Mitten Ornament with Little House Felt Decoration

My mitten ornament pattern still includes instructions for all of the original designs: heart, house, star and snowman.  These mini mittens can be made with just about any worsted weight yarn.  Each mitten requires about 25 yards of yarn.  You will also need felt in desired colors, DMC embroidery floss or #5 pearl cotton, US size 3 & 5 knitting needles, two stitch holders, two stitch markers, a tapestry needle and a sharp embroidery needle.  And, if you would like, an old button for the heart and star designs.

Pattern includes Heart, Star & House felt applique designs.

This pattern is available on Ravelry, Craftsy, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

Thank you so much for reading!

Mary Lee
Fifty Four Ten Studio

Knitting my way into the new year!

It's possible that I did more knitting in December than any other month last year!  I was definitely motivated to knit several Christmas ornament gifts as the deadline for wrapping up gifts approached.  (Happens every year doesn't it?!)  Then, in the last week of the year I got started on gifts for Christmas 2016.  It's possible (maybe!) that I won't be in such a rush next Christmas.  :)

Here's a few photos of my December knitting projects...

I made this mini sweater Christmas ornament for a sweet girl who is like a niece to me.  I stitched on a felt heart with DMC embroidery floss and added an old button to the center of the heart. (By the way...my pattern includes directions for how to make a mini wire hanger!)

Mini Sweater Christmas Ornament with Felt Heart Applique

I liked the aqua sweater with a heart so much that I made one in red!  I used Lamb's Pride Brown Sheep worsted weight yarn to knit these ornaments.

Mini Sweater Ornament in Red with a White Felt Heart

Buy the Mini Sweater Ornament Knitting Pattern on Ravelry, Etsy or FiftyFourTenStudio.com.

For a boy who played football last fall, I modified my mini sweater ornament pattern to make a "jersey" style ornament with his team colors and his #11 jersey number.  I hear that he loved seeing his jersey number on his custom ornament.  (I'm working on writing up the pattern for this short sleeve sweater ornament with options for felt applique numbers and letters....more info soon!)

These are just a few of the small knitted gifts I made for Christmas gifts! To see all the photos check out my Instagram page.

After all the Christmas festivities were done I had time to do more knitting.  I pulled out that red yarn again and knit a few little red houses.

I used my knitting pattern - The Little House - which can be found on Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy.

Little Red House..."under construction".

After sewing up the seams on the base structure of the house, I knit the roof in white...to represent a snowy roof.  Did you notice the cute holiday sweater napkin in the photo below?  My sweet sister-in-law gave a package of those to me last year.  Pretty much a perfect little gift for a knitter!

Roof construction in progress.

Then I stitched a felt door to the front with DMC embroidery floss. A french knot makes the perfect door knob.  I added tiny windows to each side of the house.  After the felt applique pieces were complete, I stuffed the house with a little bit of polyfil and stitched on the roof piece.  I will thread a piece of yarn to the top of my tiny red house to use it as a Christmas ornament on our tree next year.  And, I have a few more of these little red houses in progress to give as gifts next Christmas!

Finishing up a few little red houses!

The Little House knitting pattern is available on Ravelry.

I also ended 2015 having discovered Instagram...finally!  I love it!  I'm so inspired by the many talented knitters, makers, photographers and artists I have discovered on Instagram.  If you would like to see more behind the scenes photos of my knitting, follow me on Instagram @FiftyFourTenStudio.

I'm really looking forward to designing more knitting patterns in 2016!  Happy knitting and best wishes for the new year.  :)

I love how these little red houses turned out!

Peace : Love : Home - New Pillow Knitting Pattern with Felt Appliqué

I'm so happy to publish my new Peace : Love : Home pillow knitting pattern!

I started this design a year ago but it got sidelined.  A few weeks ago, I pulled the knitting back out and finally got to work on finishing these easy, fun pillows.  I love the combination of the chunky knitting with the felt applique letters!

This pattern is especially meaningful to me...in ways that I can't fully explain.  However, I'm sure most can agree...that these three words sum up the most important things in life.  It all comes back to a desire for Peace in our world...Love in our hearts...and Home with the people who are important to us.

The Peace : Love : Home pillow knitting pattern is knit with super bulky weight yarn and has felt applique letters. The pattern includes directions to knit the pillow cover flat in one piece and detailed instructions for stitching up the seams.  It also includes ready to print patterns for the felt applique letters for all three words.  The finished size is just a little larger than the 12" x 16" pillow form.

The Peace : Love : Home pillow knitting pattern is available on Ravelry and in my Etsy shop.

Peace : Love : Home pillow knitting pattern with felt applique.

Felt applique patterns for three words: Peace : Love : Home

These pillows are knit with super bulky yarn.  They knit up very quickly!  I used Loops & Threads Cozy Wool in the color 'Granite' for the PEACE and HOME designs and 'Claret' for the LOVE design.  Loops & Threads Cozy Wool is sold through Michael's Craft Stores in the U.S.  It is very soft and good quality for a very reasonable price.  This pattern will also work well with other super bulky weight yarns including Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick.

Quick & easy knitting pattern.  Makes a great gift!

The felt applique letters are added after knitting.  I like to use wool blend felt.  Sometimes you can find this at quilt shops or some of the craft stores will have a selection of higher quality felt.  I love the selection and quality of felt I have purchased from SweetEmmaJean on Etsy.

This pattern includes easy to print and cut patterns for the PEACE, LOVE and HOME letter designs. No resizing of patterns necessary!  Just pick the page for the word you want to use and print that page.  Carefully cut out the letter patterns, pin them to your felt, cut out the felt letters and you are ready to go.  The pattern includes detailed step by step instructions for finishing the pillow!  Tutorial photos included.

Detailed finishing instructions included in pattern. 

I used a very inexpensive 12"x 16" pillow form from the craft store.  Nothing fancy!  In addition to felt and a pillow form, you will also need DMC embroidery floss, embroidery needle, tapestry needle and good quality scissors for cutting out the felt letters.  Full details in the pattern.

This a fun, easy project!  The Love design is perfect for any time of the year but would be especially appropriate at Valentine's Day....of course!  

The Peace : Love : Home pillow knitting pattern is available on Ravelry and in my Etsy shop.

You might also like my Joy & Believe Pillows or Merry & Cheers Pillows.  These pillow designs also have felt applique letter designs with the same letter style.

Thank you so much for your interest in my knitting patterns!  I love designing new project ideas and can't wait to get started on my next design.

Peace...and happy knitting.

Merry & Cheers Christmas Pillows Knitting Pattern

I'm happy to announce a new Christmas knitting pattern just in time for 2014 gift giving.  You will find the "Merry & Cheers Christmas Pillows" knitting pattern on Ravelry and in my Etsy shop.

"Merry" Christmas Pillow Knitting Pattern

The "Merry & Cheers Christmas Pillows" pattern includes full size felt applique patterns for both the "merry" and "cheers" designs.  I picked a fun, casual font style and modified the letters to suit the 12" x 16" pillow size.  

In the pattern you will find that the letter patterns are full size....all you have to do is print the page and cut out the paper letter patterns.  No resizing of the patterns needed!

This knitted pillow is a quick and easy project.  It is knit flat and seamed on the sides and bottom. 

This pattern uses super bulky weight yarn.  This pattern knits up so quickly you have plenty of time to knit more than one to wrap up before December 25th!

"Cheers" Christmas Pillow Knitting Pattern

I used Loops & Threads Cozy Wool super bulky weight yarn from Michael's Craft Store in the U.S.  This bright, traditional Christmas red is called 'Claret'.  I really like this yarn because it is very reasonably priced and the yarn is very soft.  You can also use many other super bulky weight yarns for this project.

Other supplies needed include an inexpensive pillow form (12" x 16"), nice quality felt, DMC embroidery floss and basic sewing and crafting supplies.  I recommend a good quality pair of scissors for cutting out the felt letters.

I suggest using the best quality felt you can find.  My favorite source for good quality, wool blend felt is Sweet Emma Jean's Etsy Shop where you will find an incredible selection of felt colors.  

This pattern includes detailed, step-by-step instructions for finishing.  As with any knitting project, careful finishing makes all the difference in the outcome of the finished project.  I make every effort to outline each individual step in the pattern and provide close up photos to illustrate the steps.

To find out more about this pattern visit my Etsy shop or see my pattern listing on Ravelry.

Happy Holidays! 

Joy & Believe Pillows - New Knitting Pattern with Felt Appliqué

One of my favorite things to do is design and make Christmas ornaments.  Last year, I designed and published two Christmas ornament patterns.  This year I've been designing and knitting a lot of pillows so it's not surprising that my newest pattern is....a Christmas themed pillow.

I designed and made the "Joy" Pillow for my mom because she has been saying for months that I should design a "Joy" themed pillow.  I can't tell you how many times I would tell her about my latest knitting pattern and she would be interested and supportive as always....but add "are you working on the Joy pillow design?"  Well, I was working on it....it just took a while for it to really come together in my mind.  Like a lot of my patterns, I think about the design for quite a while before I start knitting.  I am so thrilled with how the "Joy" pillow turned out that I could not wait to give it to my mom.  She stopped by the other day to visit and I gave her an early Christmas gift....she loved it, of course!

Joy & Believe Pillows Knitting Pattern - with Felt Applique

I couldn't stop with just the "JOY" design....I also made another pillow with "Believe" felt applique letters.

The "Joy & Believe Pillows" knitting pattern is available on Ravelry and in my Etsy shop.

Pattern includes patterns for both JOY and Believe letter designs.

My new "Joy & Believe Pillows" knitting pattern includes full size patterns for the felt applique designs to make both the "JOY" and the "Believe" designs.  I love this letter style!  I searched around and looked at a lot of different font styles before settling on this letter design.  In the pattern, you'll find that the letter patterns are already full size....all you have to do is print the page and cut out the paper letter patterns and you are ready to go.  No resizing of the patterns needed!  (It drives me crazy when I have to enlarge pattern pieces on the copy machine to get the right size!)

This is a quick and easy knitting project.  It is knit flat and seamed.  With super bulky yarn and big needles it is easy to finish this pillow project in a weekend or just a couple evenings.  (If you need a last minute DIY gift...this could be the one!)

I used Loops & Threads Cozy Wool super bulky yarn in the color 'Claret'.  This is a bright, traditional Christmas red.  I really like this yarn for pillows because it is very soft to the touch.  This yarn is inexpensive but has a very nice appearance.  You can find Loops & Threads Cozy Wool at Michael's Craft Store in the U.S.  This pattern will work will with just about any super bulky weight yarn.  

This pillow would look great in many color combinations.  It would be fun to knit the pillow in white and use red felt for the letters with white stitching.  Or, for a year round look (happy words like "joy" and "believe" never go out of season!) it would look nice in a neutral light tan and white combination.  Or, Loops & Threads Cozy Wool comes in a beautiful dark gray called 'Granite' (reminds me of an old chalkboard).  I'd love to try that color with white letters and use either charcoal gray or red embroidery floss for the applique stitches.   

Other supplies needed include a 12" x 16" pillow form (an inexpensive, basic pillow form is perfect), some nice quality felt, DMC embroidery floss, and basic sewing and crafting supplies.  A good quality pair of scissors (such as sewing shears) is helpful for cutting out the felt letters.

Speaking of felt....I recommend wool blend or good quality polyester felt.  Try to stay away from the inexpensive "craft felt" in the kids crafting section of the craft store.  Most fabric stores carry a nicer quality felt by the yard.  Small quilt shops often carry wool blend felt.  I also like Sweet Emma Jean's Etsy Shop.  They have an incredible selection of felt in many beautiful colors.  You can pick your own colors and get a custom set of 9" x 12" wool blend felt sheets.

Detailed finishing instructions included in the pattern.

This pattern includes detailed, step-by-step finishing instructions.  The finishing is not hard.  But, I put a lot of thought into providing you all the details of how to finish the pillow so that you can obtain the best results possible.  That's why I include every step (such as placing a piece of thin cardboard inside the knitting so it makes it easier to stitch the felt letters in place) and provide lots of close up photos like the one above.

I used some of my ribbon collection and old light bulbs for props.

I had so much fun taking the photos for this new pattern.  I have a box filled with pieces of previously used ribbon...lots of holiday plaids and red and white polka dots.  I also have a set of beautiful ribbons and baker's twine that my mom gave me several years ago.  They are so pretty I've never used an inch of any of the ribbons and twines!  The original set of seven spools are always displayed on a bookshelf at our house.  Look for these in future knitting pattern listing photos.  It was fun to use the spool shapes and texture of the ribbons to add to the holiday theme.  

"Joy & Believe Pillows" Knitting Pattern - available on Etsy

If you have looked at my other knitting pattern listing photos, you have probably noticed a wood cabinet in the background of several photos.  I love being able to use the shelf in the center of the cabinet to change the scene.  The white pedestal candy dish in the photo above was my grandmother's.  The Santa hiding in the shadows is metal and extremely heavy!  Most of my Christmas decorations are hidden away in boxes right now but that heavy Santa was sitting in the "Christmas" closet where I could reach him so he got to be in the photo.

I love combining the textures of knitting with felt applique. My Mini Mitten Christmas Ornament and The Little House knitting patterns both have felt applique. I'm excited to add the Joy & Believe Pillows knitting pattern to my collection.  And...I have a couple more patterns in the works which will add to the felt applique word theme.  Check back soon!

Celebrating Fifty Four Ten Studio's One Year Anniversary!

One year ago today I opened my Fifty Four Ten Studio knitting pattern business and listed my first knitting pattern in my Etsy shop!  I'm still so appreciative of my first customer who purchased my pattern just four days after I listed my first pattern.  In the past year I've had people visit my Etsy shop from over 80 countries and have had sales from customers in 12 countries outside of the United States!

I have learned so much in the last year!  And, the best part is I love what I am doing!

A lot of thanks goes to some special people in my life: my husband for supporting and encouraging my new venture (and for tolerating a lot of yarn around our house!); my mother for teaching me to knit and buying me yarn when I was a girl and suggesting pattern ideas today; my daughter for telling me about new photo editing and graphic design programs, helping with graphic design ideas and teaching me to use Blogger; my son for answering my computer questions and being my technical assistant when needed; and all my family and friends for admiring and "liking" my finished knitting projects in person and often being the first to "like" my new pattern posts on Facebook.  I am very lucky to have all these wonderful people in my life!

Many thanks to all my customers!  Every time they "favorite" one of my patterns or purchase a pattern it makes my day and encourages me to keep designing and working.  It's also been fun to connect with some very nice fellow knitting designers.

My Mini Sweater Christmas Ornament was the first knitting pattern I published and I'm happy to say that it remains one of my most popular patterns.

"Joy" Mini Sweater Christmas Ornament - Knitting Pattern

Mini Sweater Christmas Ornament - Knitting Pattern

The pattern includes five duplicate stitch designs to create "Joy" and "Ho Ho" word designs as well as designs for a heart, tree and sailboat.

The designs are added after knitting is complete using the duplicate stitch technique.  If you have never done duplicate stitch before, there are detailed step-by-step instructions with photos in the pattern.

Detailed instructions for duplicate stitch are included in the pattern.

These mini sweater ornaments are knit in the round on double pointed needles with worsted weight yarn.  The pattern includes instructions for making a mini hanger for the sweater ornament.

Pattern includes step by step instructions to make a mini wire hanger.

I have four patterns in the works right now and I hope to publish these very soon!  Every time a customer purchases one of my patterns it inspires me to continue developing new ideas and designing new patterns.  My list of pattern ideas is very long and my goal is to continue adding new patterns to my collection.  Here's a sneak peak at some of my work in progress...

New patterns in the works!

Watch for an announcement about new patterns very soon!

Little Gingerbread Houses Knit & Finished for Christmas Gifts

If you have read my "about me" page you already know that I love to make Christmas ornaments for my friends and family every year.  Shh....don't tell them...but this year most of them will receive a little gingerbread house ornament.  I knit these using The Little House knitting pattern which I published earlier this year.

These little houses are so fun to knit.  Over the course of a few weeks I knit all the pieces to make eleven little gingerbread houses.  I worked on the pieces in between other knitting projects.  The house is knit flat and then seamed at the corners to make a three dimensional house shape.

For the gingerbread house, I used Berroco Vintage Worsted ‘Cork’ #5156 – which I bought in December 2013. Just before publishing the final pattern, I discovered that this color may have been discontinued! You may still find ‘Cork’ online or at your local yarn store. These Berroco Vintage colors might be a good substitute: ‘Caramel’ #5196 or ‘Toast’ #51102. This pattern will work well with many other worsted weight yarns.

For the roof pieces, I used Berroco Vintage in the color 'Mochi'.  Here's all the roof pieces lined up and ready for assembly.

Once I finished all the knitting, I cut out the felt pieces for the doors, windows and little hearts to sew on the back of the gingerbread house.  I like to use wool blend felt.

Then, I used embroidery floss to decorate the front doors and add little door knobs.

Then it was time to sew the front door in place using blanket stitch and white embroidery floss.  I love using blanket stitch. Now the little gingerbread house is starting to come to life!

I stitched felt windows to each side of the little gingerbread houses.  

Then the fun part....sewing the roof to the house and stuffing the inside.  The pattern includes detailed step-by-step instructions and tutorial photos for all of the finishing steps.  There are also detailed instructions for all of the embroidery stitches used in this design.

The little gingerbread house is one of my favorite patterns I've designed because it reminds me of all the good times my kids and I have had baking and decorating gingerbread houses from scratch.  

I stitched a little heart on the back of each house. 

It's so fun to see all the little gingerbread houses lined up like a little village.  

Before I give these as gifts, I'll thread a thin red ribbon through the top of the roof to make a hanging ornament.  

If you would like to make some little gingerbread houses for your family, see more details about this pattern on my "designing the little house" blog post.  You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry or in my Etsy shop.