Ornament of the Month - October

Somehow or another it's already Autumn, Halloween is only weeks away and that means it's October, time for the next ornament! There are only 2 more months left after this pattern and then they will all be done - hopefully in time for Christmas. October has 2 birthstones Opal and Pink Tourmaline so this month has 2 patterns.


Opal was a difficult stone to pick the colour for as it's not really a single colour. When I Googled opals for colour inspiration I was stunned at how many different colour variations there were of Opal! Not just the one you immediately think of - whitish with colour accents but blue with black, black with all colours of the rainbow, fire coloured - you name it! I decided to go with a more softer colour combination - and added a pinkish version for those that like to go more to the pink side of things. You will find the alternate colours listed in the information part of the pattern.

For the Pink Tourmaline I also was spoilt for choice with the colour options as it comes in many shades of pink: from baby pink to a bright "Barbie" pink. I decided to go with a soft muted pallet somewhere in the middle of the 2 extremes.

Special note: I did the backstitch lines in the centre of the Opal pattern with one large single stitch per line as I found it gave a much nicer straight line. Just make sure you don't pull the thread too tight or you will cause puckering.

This is the ornament finished with the border from the wall hanging finishing suggestion. Made on 16ct antique white Aida, which makes it 3" square, in the colours listed in the pattern. I sewed it together in the way you'd sew a biscornu together using TOHO size 11 seed beads Trans-Rainbow Black Diamond, colour code: TR-11-176 every other stitch and adding a hanging loop made of twisted craft thread as well as a tassel with 3 flat beads. Unfortunately I have not had time to stitch the other pattern nor the garland ornaments.

You can find the Opal pattern here
You can find the Pink Tourmaline pattern here

The next pattern will be available on Friday 6th November.

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Note: This post used to be on NCC International Headquarters however I have moved this here so as to have all my patterns in the same place. It has been posted with the date that it was posted to the original site so as not to confuse people visiting my blog.