Tag Archives: christmas

Mama Bear Check-In #2

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I’m back and my bear pack (have we decided on what a group of bears is called?  Pack doesn’t seem right) has grown bigger!

My newest bear is an adorable little blue teddy with a little black dress on!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERATo be honest, I decided on this color scheme when I looked in the bottom of my bag and found that I had nearly-full skeins of both blue and black, and thought “How can I use up these colors quickly?”  But, in the end, I kind of like her goth-chick vibe.  She just needs a red scarf and an anarchy symbol embroidered on her chest.  But that might be slightly inappropriate for this kind of project.

Have any of you made skirts or dresses for your bears yet?  This is my first beskirtted bear (beskirtted is a word because I say it is), and I’m not sure how much I liked making the skirt part.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the finished product- the little, slightly ruffly skirt is adorable.  But, the skirt felt like it took forever to knit up, and used up quite a bit of yarn, and if you’re using up odd bits and bobs of leftover yarn, I could see a skirt being fairly impractical.

Of course, we knitters aren’t known for being 100% practical.  I’ll probably do more beskirtted bears, maybe just not right away.

If you haven’t started making Mother Bears, take a minute to look at the project website, and consider giving it a go!

Have you done any skirts on your bears?  How did they go?  What’s your bear total so far?

Mama Bear Check-In

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Oh boy, guys.

I’ve fallen, and I’ve fallen hard.

I have been completely neglecting my Christmas knitting and any design work I should be doing.  My yard is knee-high with dandilions and my sink is full of dirty dishes.  All I want to do is watch the Great British Bake Off and make teddy bears.

This pattern is so simple, knitting it is basically a practice of Zen meditation.  And, the bears are too stinking cute!

I finished my first bear in just under 24 hours (I told you I have a problem).  I couldn’t stop knitting!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd the second one joined the pile less than a week later.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’ve got a bag half-full of Knit Picks Swish Worsted, leftover from a few projects.  It’s a lovely uber-soft merino wool that’s surprisingly hard-wearing (even if it pills a bit), so it’s perfect for kids toys.  I’m planning on knitting my way through all this yarn, then diving back into my stash to find more yarn to make more bears! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI had planned on shooting for a goal of a half-dozen bears, but at this rate, I’ll have a whole pack (herd? gaggle?) before I know it!

(Also, did you notice-I haven’t stuffed my bears yet.  That’s because I don’t want to stop knitting them, even for the few minutes it would take to stuff one and sew it up.  I think I might have a problem.)

Has anyone else made progress on their bears?

Christmas Socks

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You know how families come up with little sayings and quotes?  One of the things we say is “Christmas socks” in a very silly voice.  Actually, in this silly voice (skip to about the 50 second mark, or just watch the whole thing.  It’s funny.):

It’s Mr. Bean’s Christmas special!  We watched it every year, and I always thought it was fantastic.  (Still do, although now I realize how ridiculous the show is… and that laugh track!  Oof.)

So, now, every year when we’re opening Christmas presents, if anyone gets a pair of socks, we all say “Christmas Socks,” just like Mr. Bean.

And this year, my father-in-law will be receiving Christmas Socks.  (Even if he doesn’t get the joke.)

I finally finished my orange socks!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m so pleased with how they turned out.  I love the reinforced slip-stitch heel, and I can’t get enough of the basket-weave pattern on the sock uppers. (It’s a pain in the butt to knit, but it looks great!)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m so happy with these Christmas Socks!  Now… just to make Christmas presents for the rest of the family… Wheeee!

I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but…

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Christmas is 4 months from yesterday.

maxresdefault[1]You have been warned.

You are now free to panic.

Manly Socks

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Here’s the annoying part about being a knitter:  When people learn about your hobby, they all want knitted things for their birthday/Christmas/Arbor Day.

And here’s the sick part about being a knitter:  You want to make stuff for everyone.

For example,  my father-in-law is notoriously hard to find gifts for, so when he mentioned to me that all he wanted for Christmas was a pair of hand-knit socks each year, I couldn’t help but oblige!  I even had a pair of fairly large manly-looking socks in my stash of finished projects in a lovely burgundy-brown color.  Easy-peasy!

He loved them, and wore them the rest of Christmas break (which made me very happy-it’s always great to see your work being appreciated).  But there was a problem:  They were WAY too small.

Not too small that he couldn’t get the socks on or anything, but my knitter’s eye couldn’t help but notice that the sock was pulling across the ball of the foot and the heel was much too close to the toe.

It drove me nuts!  I pulled out a couple skeins of sock yarn from my suitcase and started working on next year’s Christmas Socks then and there (what?  Don’t tell me I’m the only one that travels with a selection of yarns and needles.).

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Unfortunately, these socks are slow going, for many reasons.  First off, I kind of forgot about them for a while and they hid somewhere in my knitting studio.  Second, I’ve been crazy busy with a bunch of pattern writing and haven’t had time to finish these guys.

But most of all, these socks are annoyingly large.  A few extra stitches per row and several inches longer than my standard socks.  And, I picked a cool-looking, but annoyingly complicated basket-weave stitch.  It all adds up to very slow going,

Ugh.

Oh well, at least I have 5 more months to finish them!

A Christmas Eve Gift to You

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If you’re anything like me, you’re probably trying to finish up some last-minute gift knitting.  Maybe it’s 11:00 on Christmas Eve, and everyone else is tucked up warm and snug in their beds, and you’re frantically knitting and purling.  Maybe the house is quiet and still, except for the furious click-click of your US2’s as you try to finish turning that last sock heel.  Maybe all you want to do is drink some eggnog and watch the Muppet Christmas Carol.

I understand.  Believe me.  (The Muppet Christmas Carol is great.)

I have a solution:

Stop knitting.

Just stop knitting, and wrap up your WIP, needles and all, and put it under the Christmas tree with one of these specially-made gift tags:

tag2or:

tag1or maybe:

tag3Then go pour yourself a big glass of eggnog (with a generous helping of rum… it’s the holidays after all).

Get the printable .pdf here:

Christmas Tags

Prince George

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Oh my goodness, have you guys seen Prince George’s adorable little Christmas sweater?  It’s freaking too cute to handle.   Look at those chubby cheeks (and Christmas shorts?  The British are odd). (Thanks to my friend Jenny for sending me his picture!)

_79710177_princegeorge2[1]Apparently you can’t buy the the royal sweater vest, but we’re knitters.  We don’t need to buy sweaters like common folks (or like the Duchess of Cambridge).  Let’s take a look at the sweater originally from Cath Kidston.

sweater16n-3-web[1]It’s pretty simple,  right?  Just a standard stockinette sweater vest with teeny tiny palace guards on the bottom. If you wanted to make one, just start with a simple vest pattern in navy blue:

Baby’s Banded Sweater Vest by Lisa K. Ross

DSC_0055__2__medium2[1]And work the little palace guards along the bottom.  You could work them with intarsia, or if you wanted to make it even easier on yourself, why not use the duplicate stitch?

I’ve even worked up some palace guard charts, as a Christmas present for you!  (Click the picture for a larger version

Prince George Sweater ChartNow you can make a sweater for your little prince, too!

Adventure Time Sweaters

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I’ve talked about Adventure Time before.  It’s one of my favorite shows, and defiantly one of my favorite cartoons.  It’s weird, existential, goofy, and fun.

And, for a children’s cartoon, it has an inordinate amount of knitting.

Last year for Christmas, the characters even had a Christmas Sweater party.

adventure-time-sweater-time[1]Finn the Human rocked a super-chunky moose sweater.

christmas-finn[1]And Jake the Dog wore a goose-themed turtleneck.

christmas-jake[1]BMO had on an adorable Snowman number.

christmas-bmo[1]And Princess Bubblegum wore a great all-over color-worked sweater which kind of clashed with her typical bubblegum-pink outfit (and hair), but she didn’t seem to mind.christmas-princess-bubblegum[1]Want to see the rest of the gang in their holiday best?  Click here.

Which is your favorite sweater?

Inspiration: Advent Calendars

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When my brother and I were little, we each had tiny Christmas trees that we used as advent calendars.  My mother (or maybe my grandmother… sorry Mom, I can’t remember which) had made us both these long wall-hangings with 24 little pockets for the days leading up to Christmas.

On the day after Thanksgiving, my parents would pull out the trees, wall hangings and an old cookie tin full of miniature ornaments.  My brother and I would spend the afternoon taking turns picking out ornaments and carefully putting each one in each pocket.

Every morning in December, we would add a single ornament to our trees.  The first week, the trees always looked a little sad and bare, but by the 10th or so, they started looking quite festive.  And by the week of Christmas, it was hard to find a free branch to add the day’s ornament to.

I’m not sure what happened to my little tree and wall-hanging, but I still have some of those miniature ornaments (a bunch of them are hanging on my tree right now!), but I still remember that particular holiday tradition fondly (especially the excitement my brother and I felt when we started having trouble finding space for our ornaments!).

Interested in making your own advent calendars?  Try one of these beautiful ones (although, it’s probably too late to make them for this year!)

Mini Stocking Advent Calendar by Alison Stewart-Guinee

IMGP1939_medium2[1]Smitten (a Holiday Garland) by Emily Ivey

Smitten3_medium2[1]Countdown to Christmas by Kate Heppell

advent1_medium2[1]

Pattern: Christmas Scallops Stocking

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I love Christmas. I love the family, I love the gifts, I love the food, and I love the decorations. But, I’m not super-traditional when it comes to decking my halls. Red and green are a little passé, and Rudolph (and his red nose) are old hat. I’m a fan of sparkly tinsel and multicolor blinking lights.

This stocking is just what I look for in a Christmas decoration. It’s festive, but not boring. Traditional…ish. I’ve picked a deep winey red and a pale seafoam green to my delightfully chubby stocking. Experiment with the colors to make one perfect for every member of your family!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Christmas Scallops Stocking is a simple, fast knit that you can work up in a weekend. It is knit from the top down, in the round, at a largish gauge. A few easy rows of Fair Isle creates the decorative colorwork at cuff and toe. The heel is formed by a simple series of short rows in an easily memorized pattern.  You’ll have plenty of time to finish these stockings before Santa arrives on Christmas Eve.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGet the pattern for free here:

Christmas Scallops Stocking