Christmas Knits

It's that funny time of year when i get a little bit introspective and slow. I find it hard to get up in the mornings, especially because the winter duvet we have switched to is so snuggly and it's dark outside at 6a.m.

It also becomes harder to take pictures for the blog at any time other than weekends, so for the lack of posts i must apologise, but for what i have planned i need pictures. Maybe i just need to plan better!

Christmas is looming like a big scary monster, threatening to eat me alive if i don't get knitting. The list of knitted presents is long and i feel as though i've not made a dent yet. At least there are still 10 and a half weeks left to really get motoring.

Here's my list (Ravelry links to the patterns):

Mammy: Raspberry Dreams Stole - in progress
Mammy-in-Law: French Press Slippers
Nanna: Basic Cardigan - in progress
Step-Daddy-in-Law: Sexy Hoes (Toirneach Kilt Hose) - done!
Sis: Heart Scarf and Hat
Sis-in-Law: Spiral Cowl or Thermis (i haven't decided which yet)
Boss: Owlets

and if i have the time i might try and squeeze in a manly hat and scarf for my dear beloved hubby and a pair of cosy socks/mittens for our friends' little boy, patterns to be decided upon.

When i put it all down like this, it somehow seems less overwhelming, especially when i have some on the go already. Make a list, tick them off, feel better.

What are your plans for Christmas knits?

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas!

It's a challenging but lovely time of year that has been filled (for me) with baking mince pies, gingerbread christmas trees and gingerbread cake, seeing family, making merry and snow! Lots of snow!

Tomorrow i will share a recipe for baked ham that i'm making for a little get together i will be having in the days leading up to new year. Yum!

It's not too late for Christmas Decorations Part 2 - Paper Chains

I do believe i promised a little tutorial on paper chains today. Paper chains are not hard, not hard at all. In fact i'm willing to bet you probably already know how to make them, but this is my little twist. They're so often overlooked as a decoration, but anyone who's seen Elf will know that if you use enough of them, they look great!

You'll need:

A hole punch with a funky design (i used snowflakes in this tutorial, but i had good results using a little heart punch. You could even use a standard punch to punch in various places along your strip of paper)

Plain white paper or any colour combination of your choosing
Double sided tape or an adhesive mouse

A rotary cutter or scissors

1. Cut some strip of paper approximately 1" (2.5cm) thick using your rotary cutter or scissors. If using scissors it will probably be helpful to mark your lines out using pencil. There's no need to cut in any weird way, A4 paper is the perfect width.

2. Next punch some funky holes all along the length of half of your strips.

3. Apply a small piece of double sided tape or use your adhesive mouse to apply gum to the edge of the paper.

4. Bend the paper round and join end to end to form your first link of the chain.

5. Take a plain strip and repeat step 3. Insert the strip through the first loop before joining ends. Your second link is done!

6. repeat until your desired chain length is reached.

If you're keen on upcycling, why not try using cut up newspaper, painted with poster or acrylic paint, or even use old wrapping paper or craft paper. Don't have a stamp and don't want to invest in one? Hand draw some snowflakes in gold or silver gel pen. Remember, any cut outs from your stamp can be used as confetti inside your wrapped up presents.

It's not too late Christmas Decorations part 1: Orange Pomanders

Pomanders are a very traditional Christmas decoration and New Years gift. In Elizabethan times in England, Pomanders were carried around to ward off evil spirits (and probably helped ward off evil scents when those of the upper class had to mingle with those of the lower).

The most traditional pomanders are those made with oranges and apples (the meaning of the word actually thought to derive from Pomme, french for apple).

So, why did i decide to go for orange pomanders? As i think i mentioned in my last post, our artificial tree was looking a little bit worse for wear and our kitten was getting into the branches and bending them, so i heard that orange peel was good for warding kittens away from where you don't want them, and an orange pomander seemed ideal.

Orange pomanders are also great for replacing chemical air fresheners that give off a christmassy scent. These pomanders will only last for the duration of the festive period and should be thrown away afterwards.

So, you will need:
A medium sized, thick skinned orange
A bag of cloves
A bag of cinammon sticks
Ribbon (in your choice of festive colour)
0.5mm wire
Wire snips

1. Snip a length of wire twice the height of your orange and straighten it out. Feed it through from the green bud on the bottom of the orange straight out of the top

2. Bend the wire in a U-Shape at the bottom

3. Poke the raw end of the wire back into the orange to secure it

4. Start at the top of your orange and push cloves into the flesh in whatever design you decide to go for. It you're not confident with freestyle, you can try drawing on your orange first with some chalk or a felt tip. I just freehand and in this example i decided to go for a spiral pattern. You could experiment with lettering, monograms or whatever takes your fancy.

5. Next take a section of cinnamon stick and tie a granny knot around it with your ribbon

6. Tie the cinnamon to the length of wire poking out of the top of your orange with another granny knot

7. Finish with a nice big bow!

8. Hook the pomander into your tree by hooking the wire over a sturdy branch. Alternatively you could arrange a couple of pomanders in a shallow bowl and leave on the coffee table or dresser by the front door for an amazing christmassy aroma of spiced orange. In this case, leave out the steps with the wire and just go straight to sticking in cloves.

Et Viola!

Tomorrow: Snowflake paper chains!

It's not too late!

It's definitely time for the Christmas decorations. I put our artificial Christmas Tree up the last Friday and realised it wasn't in great shape. It's taken on a weird drunken lean and it looks patchy, like there are holes in the foliage, so i think we need a real one this year.

It feels like it's almost getting a bit too close to Christmas to be fussing around with extra last minute decorations doesn't it? Well, i need a little bit of an extra shove to get into the Christmas spirit this year so i'm going to spend the next three or four days making some handmade decorations that might make me feel a bit more festive.

Wanna know what i'm planning? Well it's a big bloody secret so you'd better pop back tomorrow and see what i've made (and hopefully pictures of a nice REAL Christmas tree with lots of lovely twinkly lights).