I only have a small number of people that I give presents to. So, as each of them are craft worthy, I plan through the year to make something special. A few years back, I made myself a crochet scarf and loved it so much, I decided to make one each for my sister and sister-in-law. Colours are easy. Sue, my SIL loves shades of blue. Kris, my sister, loves reds and purples. The yarn is Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball. Mindful Mauve for my sister in shades of cream, warm brown and purples. Healing Teal for my SIL in shades of grey, teal and blue. The pattern is Diagonal Eyelets by Lion Brand and whilst shawl in a ball behaves like an Aran weight yarn, it's actually more like a 4ply so you get this light open texture that is soft from the cotton / acrylic mix. As a project, it crochets up in a few evenings, so definitely something you can whip up as a fast present for someone who is crochet-worthy. For my brother and brother-in-law, that year, I decided that this would be the year that I taught myself to not just knit, but knit in the round with colour work. Working with chunky wool, which is more forgiving and works up quickly, I knitted Christmas Tree Hats. I made two with the brown earth rib and loved them so much that I then made one with the red rib for myself. The pattern is X-mas Trees beanie from Patternery. So, not a bad start. Then the following year, around August, I saw a kit to make a blanket. To buy enough yarn and make a blanket is a big investment. But, at the time, the yarn was half price so I couldn't resist. The pattern was a 'tartan' throw by Deramores, in their chunky yarn. Much later, I found out that this yarn borders on super chunky and that is how I ended knitting from September to December, and creating two single bed sized blankets that then had to be 'embroidered' with the vertical stripes of the pattern. This was the first Christmas of lockdown and in early January, my brother had to go to the hospital for a check up. My SIL went with him, but had to stay in the car. She took the blanket, that I made, with her to snuggle up in whilst she waited. I think that is the best recommendation for someone being knitworthy. I added a leather tag that said 'handmade by Liz' and pasted the washing instructions for the yarn onto the rear of a gift tag as a way to pass them on. Then onto last Christmas. I have no idea why, but I had the urge to make tea cosies. Hubby thought I had gone completely mad. He kept asking me if my siblings drank tea. But by the end of the knitting and sewing, he was just the slightest bit jealous and asking about having one made for him. Fox on a flower mound for my sister. Cat on a green hill.
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As the Christmas Movie watching countdown continues, this girl's thoughts turn to what classics I want to watch between Christmas and the New Year, whilst I eat my body weight in chocolate and knit my latest blanket. I'm not limiting myself to films for this one, I've a few TV classics that I also want to watch again. And the Christmas TV line up hasn't been announced yet, so I'll be adding a few more along with suggestions from friends. Let's see how good I can make this list. On the watch list are:
This year, I had the urge to crochet some snowflakes. I dived into my stash and found some white yarn that was sprinkled with glittery thread, from Poundland, of all places and on a visit to Faith and Fabric, bought a beautiful ball of pale, dusty blue, with silver running through it. The blue yarn is James C Brett Twinkle DK in TW18. A number of years ago, I learnt one snowflake off by heart and would take a ball of yarn, a plastic crochet hook and a floss reel onto my flights to Munich for work. Floss reels are great because you can cut yarn with it and don't have to worry scissors on a flight or security. I'd sit on the flight and crochet the snowflakes then give them to people as gift tags. After I'd created 6 of that pattern, I knew I needed some more ideas. So, it was of to the bookcase for inspiration. I grabbed out Caitlin Sainio's 100 Snowflakes to crochet and go to work. The book is divided into different levels so whatever your crochet ability, there are patterns for you to work. Nearly all of the patterns start with chain 6 and most have between 4 and 6 rows taking around 6yds of yarn. So, you can get a lot of snowflakes out a ball of double knit (8ply). The book is out of print but you can find copies on all the usual sites. |
Why the Christmas Lace Notes?2023 has come along and this is the second year of my lace notes. All kicks off on 15th November with the first of this year's Chrismas movies. One a day, every day until Christmas. Archives
December 2023
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