Greetings dear friends & readers
Approximately 18 years ago now I bought a Santa Pattern from this Patchwork Shop in Rotorua.
The pattern is called Olde Thyme Nick & was produced by Kathi Campbell of Heart to Hand designs in 1996!
As Christmas approached every year, I would get the pattern out, glance at it, then promptly file it away in the
too hard basket!
This year I decided Olde Thyme Nick was going to come to life 😊!
I think I was possibly put off because his body is not sewn & then stuffed as I am used to, but rather constructed from wood blocks & dowels (broom handles) & wire!
The pattern is called Olde Thyme Nick & was produced by Kathi Campbell of Heart to Hand designs in 1996!
As Christmas approached every year, I would get the pattern out, glance at it, then promptly file it away in the
too hard basket!
This year I decided Olde Thyme Nick was going to come to life 😊!
I think I was possibly put off because his body is not sewn & then stuffed as I am used to, but rather constructed from wood blocks & dowels (broom handles) & wire!
This is his initial construction above ..... Yes - this did require some input from The Mr!
His dowel (broom handle) legs & body are then well wrapped in wadding.
It was fortunate I had good supervision for this task in the shape of Miss Pippi who ensured I covered the dowels thoroughly!
It was fortunate I had good supervision for this task in the shape of Miss Pippi who ensured I covered the dowels thoroughly!
The pattern came with 5 wooden button shapes which were to be handpainted ... this was a slow process.
The pattern included instructions for the button painting, colours etc.
For his coat I handstitched a primitive wool felt "tree" & then sewed the buttons to the branches.
This is him slowly coming together below ....
For his coat I handstitched a primitive wool felt "tree" & then sewed the buttons to the branches.
This is him slowly coming together below ....
It was at this stage that I rather promptly lost interest in him.
I had made 2 hands butPippi ran off with one one went missing (!!) so I had one hand attached, his coat & boots
but still no head.
I felt the head pattern looked too small & couldn't seem to get the dimensions right.
I put Santa in the corner of the room & there he sat for almost 3 weeks while I went off & made other things 😉
I had made 2 hands but
but still no head.
I felt the head pattern looked too small & couldn't seem to get the dimensions right.
I put Santa in the corner of the room & there he sat for almost 3 weeks while I went off & made other things 😉
I made some sets of Christmas mug mats, scented with cinnamon & whole cloves ....
I made felt matchbox mice .... 6 altogether!
The Mr asked me - what are you going to do with that funny looking headless Santa?
I said "put him in a corner in the back of the sleepout!"
He encouraged me to continue on with him so I reluctantly made up his head, which still seemed too small to me . . . .
. . . . but once the beard & hair were on, it was the perfect size!
I made him a hat with a rusty star & then laced up his boots with leather thonging.
He is screwed to the base board, a nice thick piece of native Rimu Ipinched found in the Mr's wood shed !
He is screwed to the base board, a nice thick piece of native Rimu I
I stitched a rusty bell & a primitive tree to his hands.
Olde Thyme Nick was finally finished!
And I am So pleased I persevered with him 💝
And I am So pleased I persevered with him 💝
Here I am standing beside him ... he is 44 inches tall & comes to just above my waist, so he is one tall fellow!
He is going for sale on my craft stall ... I think he will need his own special spot to stand there in all his glory.
I hope someone buys him & gives him a lovely Home.
Wishing you all a lovely week dear friends,
Thanks so much for stopping by today,
With much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x
He is going for sale on my craft stall ... I think he will need his own special spot to stand there in all his glory.
I hope someone buys him & gives him a lovely Home.
Wishing you all a lovely week dear friends,
Thanks so much for stopping by today,
With much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x
Love your Santa. He is just gorgeous. I can see why you put of making it for so long but i'm glad you did & persevered with it. Now if i only lived closer i'd give Olde Thyme Nick a home for sure. Love the mug rugs, stitched frames & the cute mice. Hugs,xx Ps you helper is very cute. :)
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ReplyDeleteYour Santanis fabulous, love stitcheries too
DeleteWow! He's amazing......good things take time. He is tall, a new man in your life if you don't mind your men shorter than you :-)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! You have so much to be proud of in making this. He turned out adorable . . . you are so talented. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAgain, He's Amazing!!! And so are YOU!!!
Connie :)
Julie WELL DONE on finishing Old Nick...even when you wished him to be banished to the sleep out...he looks amazing as all your handcrafts do!! And now he is finally off your to do list :) I had to laugh that Miss Pippi ran off with one of his hands, the little scamp!! Thanks for your email...will reply soon xxx
ReplyDeleteLove your Santa. You did an incredible job. love it..
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Krishna. I am so pleased I did finally finish him!
DeleteLove, love, LOVE your Old St Nick! Wouldn't he look fabulous standing tall welcoming in Christmas time. Gosh, he would have taken a while and oodles of effort to put him together. You did such a fabulous job on him! Love all your other pretties, too. Your craft stall is inching ever so closer.......you and your gorgeous pretties will be such a hit, Julie.
ReplyDeleteJulie your Old Nick looks wonderful, awesome job you did with him, the little stitcheries are just gorgeous. I have always loved that matchbox mice pattern. Hope the weather is behaving for you over there, have a great week. Chris xoxoxo.
ReplyDeleteGosh, Old Nick is amazing. Glad Mr T could help make up the structure to start him off. Good to see your supervisor made sure you did that wrapped right too!! He is so cool, and so tall. And the mice are brilliant. Can I order 2 of them? I don't need them till nearer Christmas so no hurry to make them but I would like them for Miss H and me. They are cute as!
ReplyDeleteA headless Santa in the corner for 3 weeks could be a traumatizing thing! :)
ReplyDeleteBut he turned out fantastic, Julie! That was a lot of work, and it appears you had a stern supervisor.
BTW, those stitches ornaments with the wooden, lacy-looking frames are so beautiful!
My goodness! Julie..That Santa is amazing..
ReplyDeleteWonderful..It's a good job you stuck with it,
and your young apprentice with you, we know
Miss Pippi is only just starting out, but l
think with your careful tuition she'll do
very well..Bless her!x
But l am surprised she ran off with one of
the hands and not one of the mice..never
mind..she'll learn! She'll learn! :).
Still dark over here, just gone seven, first
lemon tea of the day..and the clocks go back
this weekend, extra hour in bed l suppose! :0).
Hate the dark mornings though! So, back to bed
for half an hour, listen out for the larks..then
l'll be up and about! :). 🐾🐾
Hi Julie, love love love your Santa, doesn't it feel good when we finally finish an item we have been putting off, he is just gorgeous. Your Stitcheries are also lovely. Hope you are keeping well, take care Julie xxx
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you bought the pattern so long ago but aren't you glad you tried it? St. Nick is simply darling! What a neat pattern. You have such a way with things. Everything you make is beautiful. I hope he finds a nice home.
ReplyDeletexx Beca
I loves him. Isn't it fun to just create?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your lovely comment! It sure is fun to create ... it is definately "my happy place" :-)
DeleteWell done on perservering Julie - he turned out beautiful - do you call a Santa Beautiful??!! - and now your curiosity is satisfied as to how the pattern will work! Lovely stitching and who can resist those gorgeous little matchbox mice!
ReplyDeleteI hope you've got a large pricetag on that gorgeous Santa because he's worth every dollar!Great job, Julie, as always. xxx
ReplyDeleteYour Santa is amazing Julie, I am so happy you perservered with him..all of your Christmas creations are beautiful, I am sure they will all find loving homes. As for Miss Pippi, helping with the ironing, mmmm....the hand must have been very interesting to her 😆 .
ReplyDeleteYour perseverance paid off! He turned out so very well. It was great how you could get some other nice things created before finishing him. I hope someone buys him! Nancy
ReplyDeleteI would buy him! Well done!
ReplyDeleteNick looks very smart, his hair and beard are beautiful, makes you want to touch him! The Christmas frenzy of consumerism has begun in the UK, I am hoping to do a few home made decorations and not much else this year!
ReplyDeleteHow clever you are! I love his somewhat wild and woolly beard, I can just see him greeting visitors at a front door. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteI love your Santa....gorgeous! Also your beautiful other projects xx
ReplyDeleteYour Santa is gorgeous! It probably turned out so good because your furbaby helped 'press' the fabric. lol Beautiful project xx.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you persevered with your Santa. He looks wonderful, Julie.
ReplyDelete