Christmas is getting super close now, and I’m not ready. So many crafting and crochet ideas have not yet come to fruition. I’m probably being too ambitious in my crafty endeavours, but there’s so much I want to make!
If anyone else is in a panic about handmade gifts, this cosy crochet hat is really quick to whip up and looks great, too. It’s the Ski Lodge Hat by Mama in a Stitch. I made it last week for my friend. She didn’t want it to be itchy, so I used King Cole Big Value Super Chunky, an acrylic yarn. The pompom is Robin yarn. I don’t like Robin; it’s proper nasty quality, but it didn’t really matter what the quality was like for pompomming.
For the hat, I made 40 chains at the beginning rather than 46. That’s because my mate’s only got a small bonce. 40 was fine for her, but for me, I think I’d do 44 (bigger brain obvs ;p).
Practice the Knitting
I bought two balls of the King Cole stuff just in case one wasn’t enough for the hat (it was). With the second, I thought I’d have a go at knitting again. It transpires that one does need to practice to become an expert knitter, and I ought to have a few goes to get good. I know what I want to make now, though.
My blogging friend Alida from Buttercup and Bee showed a picture on Instagram of a cowl she’d knitted. I said how much I liked it, and she’s given the stitch count [is this what you say?] for making it. This is my first go at purling for a very long time. I can so do this! But not yet. Get Christmas out of the way. Get new circular needles.
Quick Bit of Christmas Sewing
I’ve done a rush job on a Christmas star garland. It’s not up yet (won’t dec the halls for a few more days, at least). I haven’t pressed it. It’ll look tidier once I’ve had a good go with the iron (not sure I’ll look at my iron in the same way again, not since I saw what Negan gets up to with his!).
I could have worked on making this neater, but I had just a twenty minute window for sewing machine activity and whizzed through it. Actually, this would make a nice little tutorial. That’ll have to wait for next year.
I’ve been using some lovely yarns to make presents. The green stuff is Malabrigo. Thought I’d go for something fancier than my usual purchases. It’s very pretty.
And whilst I’m here, let me give an update about this lot of crochet squishiness. I’ve not finished typing up the pattern. I’m nearly there. Last Friday I did do most of it, but it’s surprising how much work goes into even the simplest of crochet patterns. Not only am I constantly double-checking that I’m writing it down correctly, there’s also a lot of photography and editing. I’ll get there in the end, even if I end up publishing it in June.
Finally, today I posted off my two remaining parcels for crafty Secret Santa craft swaps. Will everyone actually keep them under the tree until Christmas Day?!