Decking the Halls Knit Style

Every Christmas I get a wild idea that maybe this will finally be the year I actually make a few of those knitted ornaments and decorations I admire. Once again I'm afraid I must admit it won't be this year. But for those of you who have the time you might like to consider a few fun options like these.

I thought this knitter did a lovely job on her version of a knit star ornament by Karolina Eckerdal.

These Pint Size Pines cork toppers by Julie Tarsha are hot on Ravelry right now.

The 2012 Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts issue has some adorable stockings I'd love to make for family members, especially the little Swedish horse version (it about killed me to not be able to submit a design for this issue when I saw the sub call from Interweave, but other obligations precluded that idea).

For those with a bit less time available, here are some interesting stitch-related ideas including knit-themed letterpress greeting cards,

free downloadable stitch-print wrapping paper by minieco (and other yarn wrap ideas on my Pinterest board like the one shown in the first photo at the top of the post from the Boxwood Clippings blog), 

and these free downloadable knit print gift tags from eatdrinkchic.com.

I hope these ideas help you get started decking your halls! Now I'd better get busy with same...

My Favorite Things

 

I've managed to crank out just a few ornaments for our tree this year, and that's going to have to do.  My desire was to use only things made by my family and friends, or picked up at art festivals, but I had to cheat and add a few small commercial glass things to fill in the gaps. 

Yes, we have an artificial tree.   After years of chopping down live trees (I hate to do that), and ending up with a mess of needles on the floor, we broke down and purchased one we can use over and over again for many years. 

For some reason I've had a terrible time getting a photo of this knitted SnowflakeOrnament, designed by Katie Himmelberg.  This project is knit in the round to create a star shape, then the very simple crochet lace edging is added.  

We've certainly received our share of the snow from the storm walloping the eastern part of the country.  Although modest by most standards, our two inches was pretty.  

The snowfall caused me to haul out one of my favorite things - my pair of Yaktrax Pros.  

This rubber and Velcro device stretches to fit over your shoes and is covered in wire coils that grip the snow and ice for great stability.  As a winter adventure lover, these babies give me the ability to scale hills and steep inclines even in terrible conditions. 

This snow before Christmas is such a treat for us, I'm enjoying it immensely.  

 

This week, while busy for many people, will be a crazy one for me as I finish up the Lingonberry Loop pattern and some other secret projects.  I hope you are staying warm and cozy with lots of knitting, spinning, or whatever you enjoy doing.  Peace, blessings and happy knitting!

'Tis the Season to be... Knitting

Last week went by in the blink of Santa's eye as the Christmas season gears up and my time has been filled with family, friends, food, knitting, shopping, wrapping, writing, cleaning and working.

I did, however, get a chance to sort my stash and pull out some yarn for gift and other knitting projects, including the assortment shown above, of Shetland yarns for color work.  I need to find a few more colors to add to the mix and that might just make a nice project.

Although I have made a few small sale yarn purchases recently, I've been doing great with using mostly stash yarns.  I am de-stashing a lot of great yarn on Ravelry also in an effort to contribute more this holiday season to efforts to feed and shelter the homeless.

This past weekend I worked on a couple of secret gift projects, and made a little progress on my top-down cardigan knit in Berroco's Blackstone Tweed yarn.  It's nearly finished, leaving only the sleeve and pocket edges to knit. 

 

I've knit a few more inches on the scarf I started at Thanksgiving and I'm lining up my next year's pattern projects as well.

Right now I'm contemplating making up some fingerless mitts, and as I searched my stash for tweed yarns for another project, I pulled out this beautiful Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed Aran I might like to use for such a project. 

I love this deep charcoal heather, wool/ angora yarn with tweed nepps in moss, wine and camel. 

If you're an extremely organized person (or perhaps not doing any gift knitting), you might have time to deck your halls with knitted ornaments.  Many of these would also make pretty gifts.

Check out these patterns (with the exception of the Snowflake Ornament, project photos not my own):

Julie Weisenberger's lovely pearl bedecked Knitted Wreath is simplicity defined. 

Nannette Blanchard's blog Knitting in Color features these Super Stars.

 

 

On Friday, my mom, sister, niece and I met for some gift shopping.  My niece is moving thousands of miles away later this month so it was great to spend some time with her.  

After coffee, we browsed boutiques in the village of Powell, a small community north of the city of Columbus.

We enjoyed looking at the festive decorations at The Collection including several theme trees like this one - hanging upside down.

This purple and silver tree had appeal with blown glass birds, stars and ball ornaments. 

 

We certainly found a lot to love at Found at 21, a stunning shop.

 

 

These wrapped scarves are very minimalist cool.

The 1/4" thick wool felt mats and snowflakes were gorgeous.

And an antique trunk full of cozy throws made us want to dive right in.

We didn't buy much at the pricey shops, but had a great time just spending time together and being inspired by what we saw.

Wishing you many happy holiday preparations and lots of hours of happy knitting!