I finished a Christmas ornament for my best friend. (We have an running joke about moose.) I've had this chart in my stash for a while and decided that I wanted to make sure it's ready for Christmas this year.

There are real bells hanging from the moose's antlers, "hanging" from gold thread (actually stitched down). I stitched it on some blue-grey aida that I had in my stash, using DMC stranded floss. The ornament is all full cross stitches (no partial stitches), so the aida worked just fine.

This is the first time I've finished an ornament this way. I glued a thin layer of batting on some cardboard with white school glue, then glued the edges of the stitchery to the back of that cardboard. I then covered another piece of cardboard with some dark green fabric. I then glued the two pieces of cardboard together with a hot glue gun.

I made the twisted cord (monk's cord) with some strange fiber that I inherited from my mom and was in my stash. I believe it's some kind of cotton, but it is a single strand rather than being a multi-ply floss. I used six of the strands to make the cording. I think maybe I could have used 12 strands and it still would have looked good -- maybe better.

I then used a hot glue gun to glue the cord around the juncture of the two pieces of covered cardboard. I put that giant loop on the top because I'd seen a piece finished that way at the Stitcher's Retreat that I attended last month.

Read my page in Needlework 101 for some ideas on how to finish your Christmas ornaments: Ornaments: Finishing Techniques.

Pattern name:	Merry Chrismoose from Tiny Tidings III -- #062
Designer:	Lizzie*Kate
Stitch Count:	52 x 52
Fabric:	blue-grey aida
Floss:	DMC cotton
Cost:	$5.00
Copyright year:	1998

Lizzie*Kate
2901 Oriole
Wichita, KS 67204
Phone/Fax:  (316) 832-0501

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