My Tree is Up and I made a button garland!

It's the earliest I've ever put my tree up, but I have so much going between now and Christmas it had to be done! This is third year I've put my crochet baubles and chains on the tree and I still love them as much as when I first made them. I'm not one to change themes every year. Christmas is a time for traditions in our house, I like the familiarity of using favourite ornaments.

Although, there are always decorations that start to look a little shabby when you get them out of hibernation. When they need to be retired I make something new, and preferably crocheted, to take their place. So my decorations are getting progressively yarnier. But as a child of the 80's I will always insist on at least one piece of tinsel in my house.

For my new decoration this year, I made a simple button garland. It was just a very long chain of cream yarn, with assorted red and green buttons every ten chains. It's hanging above an arch in my house and I added a home made felt and scrap ginger bread man in the centre and a felt Father Christmas and snowman at either end.

The chain garland itself is very quick to make up. It would be a good family craft to make with any little budding crochters, and I think would also look lovely decorating a tree or woven amongst bigger evergreen garlands.

What do you think?

I'm also 90% finished on my crochet garland wreath. It's currently hanging on my ironing board while I find the time to sew it together up the back. I'll do it tonight, honest! I was thinking I might add a poinsettia in a red shimmery yarn? Or maybe holly and berries? I'll post pictures of whatever I decide, but any input is always welcome.

How is everyone else doing with their festive crocheting and crafting?

My Tree is Up!

My woolly tree is finally up! I love my crochet baubles and chains so much. I originally planned to intersperse them with traditional baubles, but once I got going I realised that I liked them on their own and I had made more than enough to fill the tree with just fibre festiveness.

I am aware of how awful I am at taking photos, so I think a New Years Resolution for me is to take some kind of night course at my local college. 

Everything looks so much prettier in real life than in my dodgy pictures. I added my three favourite Father Christmas ornaments and a little robin up at the top, but other than that it's all wooly.

I got the tree up on Sunday and since then have been adding other festive touches around the house and frantically hooking away at my wreath. Almost done! I'm hoping by the weekend I'll be fully decked with boughs of crocheted holly.

Christmas Crochet Baubles

It's almost a year since I last wrote. I'm in a new house now, I have a new job, and my little boy is 14 months old, which I can hardly believe. Day to day life hasn't had much time for crocheting, but I'm always thinking of ideas.

Ten minutes here and there on Pinterest and The Crochet Crowd Facebook has given me bags full of inspiration, but until last month I haven't had the time or energy to pick up my hook. I think the change in the weather perked me up. Being incredibly ginger, Autumn and Winter have always been my favourite seasons. Far less chance of getting sunburn and the colour palette is just much more me. 

As soon as I realised I was now getting a whole hour of free time for myself of an evening, I started on some crochet baubles. I've wanted wooly ones for soooo long!

My last big red one has just had its ends sewn in. There are twelve of those and they're my favourites. Perhaps because they came out like I imagined them in my head, which is one of the reasons I love crochet. I wish I could draw, but my hands never translate what is in my brain on to the paper. With crochet it usually comes out like I was hoping. 

I used the remainder of the red wool from last years crochet 'paper' chains. I ended up with about thirty and this year as we are in a new house I thought I would put them on the tree so hopefully having the red baubles in the same wool will look like I meant that to happen!

It doesn't show up too well with my dodgy photo taking, but I found this lovely wool with a gold silk thread and gold sequins running through when I was mooching about the wool shop so I decided to make some little baubles too. I ended up with twenty four little ones. They were probably the most fun as they worked up so quickly. 

And finally I made two of these green, sparkly monstrosities. I had a packet of sparkly pipe cleaners in my craft box that kept shimmering at me, so I experimented. They look very ropy and home made, but I sort of like that. Not enough to make more than two though! I think they look like something that Mrs Weasley might decorate The Burrow with. 

My next task is a wooly crochet wreath, but my delivery of lots of lovely shades of green wool is not due for another few days so I thought I'd use tonight's hour of free time to re-join the online craft community. 

How is everyone else doing with their Christmas making? I love this time of year for idea swapping. Winter really is the best season.

Christmas Crochet Baubles

It's almost a year since I last wrote. I'm in a new house now, I have a new job, and my little boy is 14 months old, which I can hardly believe. Day to day life hasn't had much time for crocheting, but I'm always thinking of ideas.

Ten minutes here and there on Pinterest and The Crochet Crowd Facebook has given me bags full of inspiration, but until last month I haven't had the time or energy to pick up my hook. I think the change in the weather perked me up. Being incredibly ginger, Autumn and Winter have always been my favourite seasons. Far less chance of getting sunburn and the colour palette is just much more me. 

As soon as I realised I was now getting a whole hour of free time for myself of an evening, I started on some crochet baubles. I've wanted wooly ones for soooo long!

My last big red one has just had its ends sewn in. There are twelve of those and they're my favourites. Perhaps because they came out like I imagined them in my head, which is one of the reasons I love crochet. I wish I could draw, but my hands never translate what is in my brain on to the paper. With crochet it usually comes out like I was hoping. 

I used the remainder of the red wool from last years crochet 'paper' chains. I ended up with about thirty and this year as we are in a new house I thought I would put them on the tree so hopefully having the red baubles in the same wool will look like I meant that to happen!

It doesn't show up too well with my dodgy photo taking, but I found this lovely wool with a gold silk thread and gold sequins running through when I was mooching about the wool shop so I decided to make some little baubles too. I ended up with twenty four little ones. They were probably the most fun as they worked up so quickly. 

And finally I made two of these green, sparkly monstrosities. I had a packet of sparkly pipe cleaners in my craft box that kept shimmering at me, so I experimented. They look very ropy and home made, but I sort of like that. Not enough to make more than two though! I think they look like something that Mrs Weasley might decorate The Burrow with. 

My next task is a wooly crochet wreath, but my delivery of lots of lovely shades of green wool is not due for another few days so I thought I'd use tonight's hour of free time to re-join the online craft community. 

How is everyone else doing with their Christmas making? I love this time of year for idea swapping. Winter really is the best season.

There's Not Enough Time

It's the eleventh of December, the tree went up three days ago and my poor crochet chains lie half finished. As I really want them done by the eighteenth I've commandeered the dining table. 

I'm hoping having everything out will mean that the next time the baby falls asleep instead of getting on with housework or feeding my fella, I'll do a few chains instead. The house will be messier, but it will be worth it in the end!

From my spot at the table I can see one of my favourite tree ornaments. Green Father Christmas. 

I remember being stunned as a child when my Dad explained to me that Father Christmas is traditionally Green, and that red caught on after a Coca-Cola advertising campaign. Perhaps it's because being a red-head, green is my colour, but I can feel an idea rattling around in my brain. It's not formed yet, but it's something to do with Christmas green. 

Whatever it is will have to wait until next year as I need to get these chains finished and typing this is taking up precious crochet time as it is! Am I the only one who hasn't finished all their Crimbo crochet yet? 

Christmas Crochet 'Paper' Chains

I've wanted to make crochet 'paper' chains for a while and as this is my first Christmas living with my partner I thought I should start as I mean to go on, woolly! 

I had a mooch about the tinterweb as I was sure some fellow crafters would already have had a go. All the pictures I found were of bright chains. I do like a bit of colour, but for me Christmas is all about red and green. I'm getting steadily more traditional as I get older, I'm actually looking at those tacky 80's shiny decorations fondly. Remember these?

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Don't worry, I won't go this far. I am ruling out any jazzy colour choices though and sticking with green, cream and red for my woolly chains. I've opted for bog-standard Hayfield Bonus DK from my local knitting shop, mostly because as it's 100% acrylic there's not much give in it when it's made up. I don't want my loops looking stretched out under their own weight once they're on display. 

So far I have ten. I need about seventy and also to find my camera as the flash on my phone is useless! I'll crochet a few more whenever my baby is having a nap and I don't have to do something more pressing, like have a wash or eat something. Hopefully, I'll have enough done in time for Christmas and can take some proper pictures of them.