feeling stitchy: 12 Months of Christmas: Lord a Leaping

12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 12 Lord a Leaping pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy

Last up is my final finish, #12 in Mmmcraft's 12 Days of Christmas patterns, Lord a Leaping. Yes, I made it! If you follow me on Instagram (@nyfloresita), you'll see I finished on Christmas morning, in my pajamas, meaning I completed 3 of the more complex final ornaments (Piper Piping, Lady Dancing and Lord a Leaping + complimentary Heart) all in 1 month, nothing short of a miracle for me, being that it was December and my last 2 weeks on chemotherapy.

All that said, in my final rush to complete Lord a Leaping, I'll admit there were elements I would do differently in the future, but I am just happy I finished!

Here is the mess that is typical of my ornaments in progress - actually I am being kind, and if I zoomed out a bit further you'd see even MORE mess on our sad coffee table, with threads, stuffing, scissors, and needles galore.

Remember the mod I did because I didn't have a black pipe cleaner for Lady Dancing? Well I did it again with Lord a Leaping's Elvis-like front curl - I wrapped the same black crochet thread around my green pipe cleaner. Making his hat was tricky, because his head was bigger than the pattern due to my larger wooden bead. I had to improvise making the hat a bit bigger, but not too big. I did ok, but I wasn't a huge fan of the burgundy color I chose, it might have been better to tie in the color of his pants again... Minor self criticisms for next time!

I once again used most of the same threads as I used on Lady Dancing, including the DMC Etoile floss in C915 and C471, and regular DMC floss in an Ecru shade for the vest and heart detail. All felt was again Benzie Design, and again a mix of a few different palettes I purchased from them.

All in all though I was quite charmed by all the little details in this pattern, particularly those tiny boots and the movable legs! One thing I love about Larissa's patterns is that I find myself sewing things I never thought I'd be able to, because she gives such excellent instructions.

I love how simple and pretty the additional heart was to stitch - I can see myself making lots more of these when I need a lovely quick finish ornament for gifts.

I can't believe it is a wrap on all of the ornaments, and that I finished them ALL before Christmas!

What a wonderful journey it has been, and as I did on Instagram, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who tagged along on this quest, left a kind comment, or shared a word of support. This project helped keep me going in a time of intense physical struggle - it kept me hopeful, focused, and calm in the eye of the storm. Thank you for coming along with me in this stitchalong and through every week of my chemotherapy - you all meant so much to me! I'm so thankful to God for bringing me through to the finish line, healthy, happy, and well.

Thank you of course to Larissa Holland of Mmmcrafts for designing such beautiful patterns which inspired me and gave me purpose throughout this year. Her 12 Days patterns are available to purchase in her Etsy store, and she has discounted bundles of some or all of the patterns as well.