Christmas Treats by Betsy Morgan

According to the Oxford Language Dictionary, a ‘treat’ is defined as ‘an event or item that is out of the ordinary and gives great pleasure’.

Now it’s fair to say that, even before any of us read this particular definition, if anyone was to entice us with the offer of a treat, pretty much all of us would raise our hand and emphatically reply, ‘Yes! I would like to receive a treat please!’

Going back to our definition, to qualify as a bone fide treat, we’re looking for something that is ‘out the ordinary’ and ‘gives great pleasure’.

Christmas Treats by Betsy Morgan from Inspirations magazine issue #124, is definitely out of the ordinary, as these six clever cylindrical creations are more than meets the eye.

Betsy has revisited one of her all time most popular projects, which first appeared eight years ago in Inspirations issue #92. 

Sweet Treats was a delicious assortment of the cutest little pincushions you have ever seen, showcasing a variety of counted thread designs.

For all of us who fell in love with Sweet Treats at the time and have been hoping that Betsy would add to her collection of treats ever since, we’re pleased to report that your patience has been rewarded.

Worked onto antique white linen with lustrous, hand-dyed silk threads, there are six enchanting designs using a palette of gold, green and red with each cushion secured at the ends with a white button and gleaming gold bead.

The charts for all six designs are included in the magazine: 

• Small trees and snowflakes
• Christmas lights
• Large flowers
• Christmas ribbon
• Christmas trees
• Flowering vine

At this stage we have definitely ticked the ‘out of the ordinary’ box, now let’s move onto the ‘gives great pleasure’ part of the definition.

As there are so many aspects of Christmas Treats that will give great pleasure the list is quite easy to compile.

From the joy of working on a counted embroidery piece using resplendent Gloriana stranded silk threads, to the double joy of creating a piece that when finished has dual purposes, and let’s not forget the super cute factor of their miniature scale.

With each pincushion ornament measuring 4cm x 28mm in diameter (1 ½” x 1 ⅛”), omitting the hanging loop, these are the perfect size to stitch as gifts whether to give singularly or, if you have someone special in mind, a collection of all six.

Of course, the dilemma will then be, how can you stop at just one treat or even one set of six, as once you see how beautiful they are you’ll be very tempted to set up your own Christmas Treats production line!

Christmas Treats by Betsy Morgan is indeed well and truly deserving of its name, delivering on the criteria of being both out of the ordinary and giving great pleasure.

May your Christmas this year be full of the most wonderful kind of treats there are – stitching treats!

We have all the materials you need to re-create this project yourself, from easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions to a Ready-to-Stitch kit with everything sourced for you.

*Instructions – As this kit does not include instructions, for step-by-step directions on how to create this project, please refer to Inspirations magazine issue 124 or the Christmas Treats digital pattern, both purchased separately.