#pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, number twenty.

These embroidered stones give me great joy. They are also poking me - I have a continuation of this series in mind. Maybe after Christmas. And after I finish working on my current online course. And my submission to the petite textiles exhibition and...

Anyway. I thought these were a good way to wrap up my 2023 top twenty makes. I enjoy working with stones very much: it's a response to the the earth/Earth that I love and depend upon. I enjoy the contrast between the soft and hard, the manmade and the natural, the grid and the curve.

And now back to my regular stream of random new things I'm making.

Hugs to you all. Being on tumblr again has made 2023 so much better for me. You all rock - I love reading all your comments and tags and asks. Thank you!

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, number thirteen

Mum asked me to design her some cassowary earrings. So here they are! I *love* them. She lived part-time in far north queensland and had a little cassowary family that would come through her back yard regularly.

I'm proud of my cassowary design :D

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023! Post number three :D

Okay so this is kind of a double post. Firstly, I'm really pleased with the beetles I made this year, even though it was only a small handful. But also - I'm super proud of making my first online class, Embroidered Beetles! It was many weeks of work, structuring the lessons, filming and editing hours of detailed filming, making downloadable resources and launching it all. This was a big bucket list tick for me, that brought my teaching qualifications together with my love for stitching.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023 - number six.

I made these two bead embroidered brooches back in April, for the Autumn Festival time here. I'm really happy with how they turned out. I love the colours and shapes.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, seventeen - yellow chickybird

This was my favourite bird for 2023. It made me laugh out loud when I turned it inside out and saw it for the first time as a 'bird'. It was a close call, I do love the purple one with the crazy topknot (hiding at the back in my last post).

But yellow chickybird is adorable and hilarious and I don't know how these bird-things make me so happy nor do I even understand how something I make myself can be such a surprise once it becomes a thing.

Making things is just some kind of magic.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, fourteen - the white robot gang!

Well, I did get a little obsessed with making white felt robots. I blame Amy.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023! A post a day for twenty days, in which I look back to the things I've made in 2023 that brought me joy. This will be in no particular order, it's not ranking :D

First is this winged stone. It's a large piece that began as a 'way to use up all this canvaswork canvas I have laying around' but ended up getting me obsessed with canvaswork all over again.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, number 5, robots!

Maybe there's nothing else to say here. I just really love these little robots.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, twelve!

After the felt robot obsession, and the felt bird obsession came the... felt birdrobot obsession? I loved this little duo, and they immediately found a new home with another felt bird aficionado.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, number four.

This was another big 'first' for me - I made my first kits! I made these to go along with the beetle course. You can definitely make a beetle using your own supplies, but I know some people like kits too, so I made some up using my own favourite embroidery materials that I use for beetle-making. It was a big logistics exercise and I learnt a lot, but it was fun seeing it all come together!

There are still a very small number of kits left on my site, including a Christmas themed one! :D

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, part seven!

I *loved* the canvaswork shapes I made. And I always intended to make coasters, but once they actually *were* coasters I wasn't convinced. Still, the colours and textures that emerged in the process were lovely, and it sparked a whole new series of thoughts and work.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, number nighteen. One more to go!

I was a little obsessed with beading tiny bottles during July/August. I loved this little trio of white bottles, they way that catch the light.

[pardalote]

My top 20 makes for 2023, number nine :-)

These happy flower brooches I made back in April... well, they make me happy!

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023!

Next up - I made these slinky herringbone necklaces back in August. I love the way they drape, and the different sections of the beads catch the light in different ways. And you can wrap them three times around your wrist as a stacked bracelet. I was obsessed!

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023, number eighteen.

Way back in January, I made Mrs Beans Nutmeg Ginger Applesnaps.

If you know, you know.

[pardalote]

pardalote's top 20 makes for 2023! Post number sixteen, woo!

This was another super proud moment - I released my Stitched Birds class!

I ran a version of this as a live online class via SFSNAD, but writing it up for a 'work as you go' class was challenging: recording all new video, restructuring it in lesson-by-lesson format and creating all the downloadable templates and resources was a lot of work.

Also I was hyper-aware that my Embroidered Beetle class was *huge* so I wanted the bird class to be more approachable and relaxed, but still wanted lots of options for you to customise your bird. I also wanted to make it more affordable.

I think I achieved all those things, so I'm really proud of this little online class :D