"Believe" by Madeline Lake Santa Ornament.

"Believe" by Madeline Lake

This little canvas was a screen printed canvas from the 2006 Needlepoint Wall Calendar.  This was such a clever idea - a little screen printed canvas with a laser-cut paper mat and a color photograph.  When the year was over, the canvases could be taken out and stitched.  I wish that they had kept making them.  

This design was a stash buster for me - I used bits of red and green thread, a blue paternayan wool for the background and worked the beard in stem stitch.  The cuff of the hat is turkey work and the scarf has little fringe on the end.  The snowflakes are plastic stickers or beaded stickers that I couched on - I picked them up from Michael's Crafts.  I finished the back in blue velveteen and it is finished flat.  

A fun tip - I bought a large skein of this blue knitting yard at Pacific Fabrics in Everett, Washington several years ago.  It is a smooth nylon blend - label long gone - with shiny and matte threads running through it.  It has been a great blender for all kinds of twisted cording and also is lovely on its own - knitting fiber aisle is a great place to check for twisted cording fiber.   Just stay away from pearl cotton in skein format as it knots terribly.