The Christmas Redwork project almost didn’t get finished this season. It seemed like the days just flew by and I didn’t get a lot of stitching done each week. Progress was made, but just not quickly.
Last weekend, stitching resumed in earnest until the redwork was done. I wanted to add some beads to dress it up a bit as well.
Small round seed beads were added to the little designs at the bottom.
Red bugle beads enhance Santa’s hat, and seed beads make the eyes shine.
Bugle beads put some sparkle in the candy cane stripes.
I put some on the ‘J’ in Jingle too, as it was kind of candy cane inspired too.
The reindeer eyes, bird eye and teddy bear eyes are all seed beads too.
Taking it to the ironing board, it needed pressing and blocking because of the long time it took to get it stitched. The hoop creases were a bit difficult to remove, needing quite a bit of steam and Best Press, and going over several times.
As I usually do, I pressed fusible interfacing to the backside to lock the stitches down.
It wasn’t until now that it became clear that the right side wasn’t straight. Oh, well, too late to take it out and do over. Let’s just say it gives the piece some charm. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Auditioning fabrics, I wanted to turn this piece into a pillow.
This combination looked the best. I needed two fabrics for the idea I had in mind.
The poinsettia fabric became the border.
I made piping from the accent burgundy print.
I finished it off and stuffed it, placing it on the sofa in the den. I do like the finished project, and I’m delighted that it got done in time for this season.
The pillow blends well with the Christmas Trip Around the World quilt, and cuddles well next to the fireplace. Merry Christmas, hope you are enjoying this long holiday weekend!
Sharing – Slow Sunday Stitching
From My Carolina Home 
You did a beautiful job on your redwork pillow. I liked your final fabric choices too. They are perfect.
I am really thinking that Craftsy is making a mistake with this move. I hope they get enough complaints that they will change their mind. I am also hoping that they have a plan to keep everything if they get enough negative response.
Such a cute pillow! Nice to have it done before Christmas. The beads are a nice touch
LOVE those beads. They are perfect for all of the red work.
Beautiful redwork pillow. I like the addition of the beads!
love all the redwork
I love to do redwork and really like your Christmas pillow. I have a couple of ornaments started I need to finish. Maybe on the upcoming long winter evenings by the fire. Merry Christmas, Carole!!!
Oh, I like the addition of the beads. Very pretty.
Lovely new pillow for Christmas! It’s a cute stitching and I liked the idea of the fusible on the back to secure the stitches.
The Craftsy change you mentioned is unfortunate. I have noticed editing changes with the BluePrint influence that have made watching their videos difficult. They speed up and condense the content making it less enjoyable and harder to follow. I’m glad you will be able to continue selling your patterns there. They will lose some good designers though. But oh well. On to cheerier topics.
My sis is here for Christmas and we are going to enjoy some beautiful days and some festive relaxation and eating….maybe some cooking too! Who knows 🙂
Hoping you have some wonderful holiday treats and moments. Merry Christmas!
I love this pattern. The beads add some lovely sparkle and it looks great turned into a cushion. Merry Christmas.
A beautiful pillow finish. The beads just ‘finish it off’.
The Redwork pillow came out lovely, the beads really give it a bit of sparkle and looks just perfect with the Trip Around the World quilt. Merry Christmas to you.
I absolutely love your pillow. Your Redwork stitching is amazing. This is on my wish list to learn how and I’m definitely going to tackle such a project in 2019. Thanks for sharing and inspiring your #CreativeGoodness.
Love your pillow. I am still working on this pattern, I will have it finished for next Christmas.
I never added beads to a project, will try to do that. Merry Christmas.
I’m so glad you were able to get the pillow finished in time to enjoy a bit this Christmas!
I love your redwork and especially the beading you added. It makes such a cute pillow too. Congratulations on getting it done in time for Christmas. Now you can cuddle in your quilt and have some fun.
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Your redwork pillow is lovely, Carole! I really like the beads added to it! I just realized I have this design, too. Now I’ll have something to work on for next year!
Hello Carole, Your pillow turned out so beautifully! I am glad that you got it finished and shared it with us. I need to finish a hand embroidery pillow for my Mother as a gift for Christmas, I will have it finished today. What Craftsy is doing to so many designers is just not right, in my opinion. I am glad to hear that they are not shutting your shop down. I have all of your patterns in your store. Thank you for the heads up and I hope that they leave all of your patterns alone for everyone else to enjoy also. Have a wonderful day!
Beautiful redwork stitching, the cushion looks lovely.
Your redwork pillow turned out beautiful, and looks nice with your “trip” quilt. Makes me want to do a little embroidery! We are enjoying the quiet weekend here, and DH even helped decorate Christmas cookies this year. Yeah, I coerced him, but still….. LOL Have a most wonderful Christmas and all good wishes for you and your DH in the new year. Thanks for the Craftsy information, too. :o)
Yes, I love the beads too. I heard that about Craftsy. Congrats on still being one of their pattern people!
Love how your pillow came out. I just bought the 1 year subscription before all this info came out. I’m going to have to figure out how to save some things in the next week.
Your pillow is perfect!! The beads add the right touch…I bet they glisten in the firelight. I believe Craftsy has made a huge mistake and they never notified those of us who are just consumers that this change is occurring…I found out through blogs I follow that weren’t as lucky as you. Just to be on the safe side, I did download every pattern in my “library” there, in case they disappeared and I wish I could do that with the classes I have purchased as well. If all the crafters stick together, Craftsy would have to reverse their policy, but I suppose it would be difficult to be one of crafters chosen to stay to risk their “safe harbor” there by standing with those who are losing their income stream from the sale of their designs on Craftsy.
I happened to find your blog while reading some other blogs. I am an avid sewer myself. I like your blog. And your cushion is very pretty! And I love the quilt. I think I have found the best place to grab some ideas of what is going on in the sewing world. Merry Christmas to you and yours! Juli
Gorgeous stitching and the beads are a great addition.
Ready to enjoy for Christmas.
This is a darling finish with the beads. Kudos to you for the determination and action to get it done. I’ve been laid up for two weeks so I’ve really enjoyed watching you projects take shape It’s a different Christmas around here but we’ll just do the best we can and give thanks for what we do have, esp pain meds lol!
So beautiful! Love the beads you added for extra sparkle!
Merry Christmas!
Hi Carole,
You know, I’m thinking this would be cute as a table runner as well.
Phyllis Smith
Happy holidays
It’s beautiful! I really like the added beads–gives it sparkle!
Your pillow turned out fabulous! I like what you did with the beads and the fabrics you chose to complete it into a pillow. A great Christmas finish.
I didn’t have a shop on Craftsy, only a user account, but I closed it, insofar as they allow. You can’t delete it. I didn’t even bother to download anything. If I didn’t do it when I bought it, I can live without it. I know I will miss some things, but I’m not going to support the way they choose to do business.