Christmas Crochet

Christmas is just a few weeks away so today I thought I'd share with you some of my Christmas crochet makes, quick little projects that are perfect for the holidays.

The first is a crochet angel:

This is a gift for Claire's piano teacher. Every Monday night while Claire is having her lesson, I sit in the corner of Mrs. Kay's living room and crochet, and every week, once the lesson is over, Mrs Kay and I talk about yarn and crochet. Crocheting her a little something for Christmas seemed obvious, and an angel the perfect thing since Claire is playing "Angels We Have Heard on High" in the recital.

The pattern for the angel is available for free courtesy of Sewrella.

I also made a few snowflakes:

These were a little finicky to make, but are very cute and will be adorable on top of gifts. The pattern is available for free from Attic24.

Christmas preparations are in full swing. Many lists have been made, decorations are going up this coming weekend, menus are being planned, and believe it or not, I am nearly done shopping.  I am determined to minimize stress and enjoy the holidays this year....so far, so good.

Crochet Earring Holder

Back around the end of August I took the girls to get their ears pierced and almost immediately thereafter, Bridget started making earrings. Lots of them. We purchased some supplies and a beginner jewellery making kit at the local craft store and she really got into it; it was beautiful to see her so engaged in this new hobby and to see her little creative mind at work.

Unfortunately her piercings became infected, we had to remove her earrings, and her holes have grown closed. After a lot of sadness, tears and disappointment, she has come to peace with things, she knows that she can get her ears re-pierced once they heal completely, and in the meantime she is focusing her designing efforts on necklaces and bracelets.

But she made a lot of earrings, and she is so proud of her work, and it would be a shame to just put them all away in a box, so to that end I made her a crochet earring holder for Christmas.

My inspiration for this project came from here. The frame is from a local shop, I used a chunky yarn so the earrings would have something to hang on, and I added a flower to the lower corner to pretty things up a bit.

Bridget was thrilled with her gift and proudly hung all her handmade earrings on it....

I'm so proud of my little jewellery designer

A Butterfly for Oma

Over the years I have made many things for my Oma for Christmas; nothing big or fancy, just little handmade tokens of love, which I know she really enjoys, appreciates, and treasures.

This year I made her a butterfly. She loves butterflies.

(This was actually my second attempt, the first being quite unsuccessful, possibly because I was distracted by watching The Crown.)

It's a little thing, I know, but she'll love it, she'll find someplace to put it in her home, and making something for my Oma is a long standing tradition; she still has the picture I drew her when I was in kindergarten on the basement fridge door.....

Christmas Happies...

Christmas ornaments hanging on the tree make me so happy.

Let Christmas Begin...

I am absolutely in love with our new Christmas tree.

We bought a new tree this year: pre-lit (thank goodness because stringing the lights on the old tree was the worst - think scratched arms and needles all over the floor), and much slimmer (which fits in our living room better).

We also splurged on new decorations; they are big and pretty and coordinated.

Most of the decorations are from a local shop. I also added a few stars and bells that I had from past years, as well as some adorable mushrooms from IKEA.

Oh, and did you notice the bow on the top of the tree....best topper ever.

The most beautiful Christmas tree ever is now standing in all its gorgeousness in my living room. I love how pretty it looks both with the lights on and off, and that it seems to fit and coordinate with the whole room much better than the old one ever did with its mismatched decorations.

Let Christmas begin.....