Sparkle

My Christmas this year was hosted by the next generation. It was peaceful and beautiful. J did a fantastic job of decorating to really make the occasion.

She has dreams of working in interior design--it seems to me she has what it takes with creative flair and an eye for detail. Thanks for having us J and A!

Indigo Balls

I've finished eight of the woven star balls with my handmade indigo paper. I'm quite pleased with how they're turning out.

Now that I'm comfortable with the geometry of the assembly process, the hardest part is cutting the paper strips. I've been using one of my quilting rulers and a stanley knife, but I'm getting blisters on my hand. The paper is tough--almost leathery. I've been starting to check out the possibility of investing in a good paper trimmer. I have a couple of little ones, but they're not up to a heavy duty task like this. Before I do that, I'll see what other lovely thick papers I have for making these balls.

Sample, Sample, Sample

I'm getting more confident with the 3-D geometry of these woven balls. And I'm convincing myself that I really can see the 5-pointed star which the strips of card outline on each side. I expect that would be even clearer if the print on the card wasn't so distracting. Then again, it's been nice to put the junk mail to some good use. I have "No Junk Mail" in letters several inches high on my letterbox, but some always slips through.

I have some lovely textured indigo-dyed paper on my shelf. I think it might be time to pull it out and put it to use.

Proportion

I realised after I posted this crochet Christmas star ornament the other day that I hadn't included anything in the picture to give an indication of size. I've made four of them now. The other thing I've realised is that it's going to take an awful lot of little stars before I use up my 100 gram ball of fine mercerised cotton. I originally dyed it thinking of a weaving project.

Four stars have used up about 10 grams. Unless I get a sudden burst of starry enthusiasm, there will be enough for years to come! 

Testing, Testing

Another day of experimenting:

This is the same star, but made with fine mercerised crochet cotton and a teeny-tiny hook. For the one on the left I used a 2mm hook, the one on the right was done with a 1.5 mm hook. Then there's the little bell. I think I could happily make more of the stars. I'm not so sure about the bell. I am happy with the cotton--it's one I dyed a while ago and the colour variation is just how I like it.

Variation

After another day of crochet flowers I decided it was time for a change. The calendar has being playing a trick which seems to be common at this time of year . . . the days are flying by and soon it will be time for Christmas. We have a Christmas market at the Neighbourhood House on December 11. I'm not expecting to sell much in the way of woollen scarves, but little decorations are a possibility. I found a pattern for a crochet star in June Currie's book, Quick Crochet. I liked the general idea, but decided to make a few changes. I added an extra ray to make a six-pointed star and reduced the number of rows to keep the whole thing light and airy. Here's the result:

Now that I've got my pattern sorted I think I'll have a go at it in some fine cotton.

Slippery Slope

I'm still playing with the Christmas stocking idea. I asked myself how far I could simplify the shape before it lost its appeal. Somewhere there's a a line between "too cute" and "too tacky" . . .

For me these crochet stocking shapes have gone too far. They're easy to make, but have lost their appeal. Now I have at least  one more approach to a "real" stocking to try before I decide how to proceed.

Another?

I looked out a pattern for a mini-Christmas stocking. I wanted to compare it with the teeny tiny sock I'd made. 

The patterns I found were knitted flat with a seam down the back, but I decided to knit mine in the round. I don't like sewing up and if I'm going to make a few of these that will be an issue. I also converted the shaping so that it mirrors on opposite sides of the stocking. I don't find it as adorable as the real sock, but it has more of the Christmas look, maybe . . . 

Mascot

Today is the day of the football grand final in Melbourne. Do I care? No, not particularly, but there's something to be learned from every situation. The footy clubs have their various mascots, and I need one too. Here's what I made.

It's called the wee tiny sock and it's perfect in all its parts: cuff, leg, heel flap, heel, gussets, foot and toe. I've been wanting to have another go at sock knitting and this was a fun cute little warm up. And it's helped to cheer me up a bit too. On the strength of it I got going on a few other long-neglected jobs. Ultimately I may make some more as Christmas decorations. Now I don't expect a full-on cheer squad, but I have chores to do before I settle down to some more knitting.

Assembly Required

I picked up some Christmas baubles from the market section of my favourite Swedish flat-pack-furniture store the other day. I'm a fan of their DIY style of doing things and pride myself on my capacity to interpret various complicated diagrams, but I hadn't really expected this: When I opened the pack yesterday, there was the instruction page, complete with safety warning, and yes, some assembly was required! No allen key though.

As it turned out, putting together the Christmas baubles was one of the easier aspects of my day. A friend who was here for lunch and has only recently come out of hospital, found the pressure of the day all too much . . . even my quiet, no frills Christmas with his favourite goodies. He asked to be taken back to his unit just as I'd finished setting out the meal. Unfortunately when we got there, the staff had taken the few remaining clients out to lunch, and the gate was locked. So we walked around for more than an hour until someone arrived. What can I say? . . . humans are so much more complicated in the way they're put together and don't come with instruction sheets.