Christmas trivet

Knitting consisting of lots of bobbles

So much happens in the kitchen at Christmas it can be warm and cosy and just me in there pottering about with my Christmas makes and bakes or it can be raucous when everyone is finally home with so much news to share.  Leading up to Christmas day itself the kitchen becomes even more of a hub of the home than normal.  And the day, itself with so much cooking taking place, pots and pans are literally flying all over the place whilst we all go about our designated cooking chores, of course sipping on some tipple or other such like trying not to bump into each other in our rather narrow kitchen.  

I came across the potholder pattern whilst thinking about my Christmas kitchen and thought it would be both a practical and festive addition to the red theme I have every year.  Having also not knitted bobbles before I was keen to challenge myself and try something new. This is a pattern I wish I had designed, it was fun to make and relatively quick.  Both my sister and mother having seen this would like one.  I'll add it to the to-do list...

Does anyone else forget things quickly, misplace things or walk into a room and have absolutely no idea why you entered?  It seems to be happening to me with more and more regularity... I'm not even going there by saying it's my age, but it is my age!  So as I sit here typing away to tell you about this pattern, I cannot remember how I did it at all, I even had to just watch the little clip to remind me how I knitted the bobbles, here it is for you in case you are interested... Knitted bobbles video

As long as you can purl and knit then you can make this trivet.  

Again with anything felted it is made in 100% wool, knitted larger than the required size and shrunk in the washing machine with towels to aid the rubbing and friction on a normal 40-degree cycle.  It is IMPERATIVE that as soon as the cycle is over you remove the trivet and lay it on a flat surface and pull it into shape.  The corners may want to curl a bit but with wriggling it you will get them to lay flat.  It will take a day or two to dry out completely.  Since I have made it, I've used hot pans from the hob and baking sheets from the oven and it has protected my work surface.  I'm rather pleased with this and if I remember to I may not because of my age! after Christmas will make a couple more.

The back of the knitted trivet
makes me think of a shaggy beard

Each bobble is knitted back and forth individually on the right side of the work and each bobble row is bound with a row of purling on the wrong side.  It's quite a therapeutic knit once you get into the swing of the pattern and it's incredible how the bobbles felt into thick balls, it is such a clever pattern.

To ensure the red bobbles do not pull the whole piece,
each bobble has it's own beginning and ending thread,
with no carrying over to the next bobble.

Finished knitted piece before machine felting

Close up of a knitted bobble before machine felting

Another great name from GarnStudio find the pattern here: Hot heart ♥

❤️ The youngest has returned from university so we are now all under one roof ready for Christmas but we will be thinking of those we cannot catch up with in person this year . Hugs to you all  ❤️

Felting

December 9th  
Felting

Needle felted Christmas Robin

Ten years ago one of my dearest friends sent me on a wet felting course with the wonderful Gillian Harris, she of the Fluffatorioum fame, isn't that just a fabulous name for a shop full of yarn and goodness knows what squishiness.  Anyway, I digress, ten years ago the Fluffatorium did not exist, instead, all students were traipsed through Gillian's colourful home into a shed in the garden that just exploded even more colour and joy.  It was here I realised that I love the medium of felt and set in earnest that day to begin and complete a wet felted handbag.  Jump forward ten years and the kit that I bought that day so that I could continue my wet felting journey still sits unwrapped, unloved and definitely not used in the back of a difficult to reach cupboard in the spare room.  What I have endeavoured to dabble in over the years is a little bit of needle felting instead.  Takes us less space and is quite easy to do.  On the con side, it can be painful if you lose concentration and stab yourself.  Those needles are little blighters with teeny weeny barbs all the way down the shaft of the needle.  Vicious I tell, vicious they are.

Needle felted Hare

I urge you if you are the slightest bit tempted to give needle felting a try.  Why am I suddenly championing this craft?  Because I spent a lovely evening with like-minded ladies a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the same friend who sent me on the wet felting courses birthday.  With needle felting the results are quick once you master the basic understanding, you can start and finish in a couple of hours, we were able to chat away and be together without the pressures of day to day life.  There is something about this time of year when the nights draw in that crafting really takes off.  I struggle to just sit and watch TV and would much rather create and chat, my mind in the evening often cannot cope with in-depth chat or difficult construction but something like needle felting is ideal.


Needless to say (see what I did there) there are hundreds of YouTube videos and how to's on the internet.  Grab yourself a sponge (you stab into it and it also protects your tabletop), a felting needle and some wool tops and give it a go.  At the end of the post, I have added a couple of links on how to needle felt and kits that you could buy.  I am not profiting from this, just thought I would help and set those of you off who fancy it!  Also, look out for local evenings of felt courses, they are worth going to aswell.

Wool tops come in many vibrant colours

Cookie cutters are ideal to form shapes

A circular cookie cutter was the base for my Christmas
pudding, place the wool tops inside the cutter and keep
stabbing away at it with the needle to
create the friction to fuse it together.

For next year, I hope to have several more Christmas puddings, I quite fancy a small potted Christmas tree with nothing but felted ornaments.  But in the meantime, as I only have once Christmas pugging, I may just use it as a gift embellishment for a Christmas present...

Needle felted gift tags

 A link for beginners how to needle felt using cookie cutters and the basic principles.  Covers several pages.  How to needle felt

This link although in Norwegian shows you how to use cookie cutters to create certain shapes in just a few photos.  How to use cookie cutters for needle felting

Video link to the tool to use and how to create a needle felted ball Video needle felting

And this wouldn't be a Scandinavian biased Christmas blog without something from Norway, here the link is to Cork 'nisse', the Christmas people from Scandinavia, these have their jumpers and hats made out of felting.  Admittedly they are not needle felted but are wet felted using the friction of hands and water, I am so tempted, watch this space is all I can say!  Cork nisse

♥  How are your Christmas preparations coming along?  ♥

Last minute Christmas inspirations or be ahead of the game for next year

December 13th

A typical example of a vintage calender

Today I share with you many makes that I hope to try if not this year then for next year.  We now live in a world of easy to access inspiration but too often there is too much to sift through, so here I give you my favourite Christmas round up that I have come across this year, hope it inspires you...


A last minute Vintage Calendar to print off and compile from 1899, the dates are exactly the same as 2017, who wouldn't want to receive this.  Brought to you by the very generous Gunnvor Karita:   2017 Calendar 




Again another great post that Gunnor shared were her delightful Christmas boxes in the shape of houses.  These would be gorgeous just sitting on the window sill or as a gift box for a small tiny present.  This would be a great activity to complete with a small one too I should imagine.  I am definitely going to print some of these off and give them a go...  Christmas house boxes

Gift boxes, house shaped

Day 6 of Drops Design Advent Calendar

Last year I shared with you Drops Design Advent Calendar and they are sharing a new one again this year.  Each day you can open an online door to reveal that days yarn design, be it knitting or crochet, it's all so Christmasssy and I love it.  I admit, that I have no time to make anything for this year, but it has me thinking for things I would like to create next year, my eye is currently on Day 6 especially but I love them all really!
Drops Design Calendar


Of course I have to mention Phil over at The Twisted Yarn who claims to not like to think about the C word until around the 20th of December but she has such wonderfully easy Christmas patterns to make that it can entice the most reluctant of knitter and crocheter to give them a try, pop over and see.

Knitted version of a paper chain and
Christmas knitted trees a la Twisted Yarn

Then there is one of my favourite designers on Instagram, the very generous and kind hearted Kate of Just Pootling.  She shares her patterns on blog.lovecrochet.com and her latest Christmas pudding and holly garland is simply Christmas perfect, look...

And finally stuck for a present for that hard to buy for person?  What about knitting your own luggage finders.  I think this is a genius idea and am going to be making lots of these, may even come up with my own designs personal to the people I am still needing to make for... and just a thought what about if you are travelling around Christmas time, how wonderful to make some Christmas luggage tags, holly, mini jumpers or stockings, Christmas puddings even to name byu a few ideas, the list is endless...   Luggage Finders

Knittted luggage finders

And finally today I leave you with a thought from a picture that popped up on my Facebook that made me stop and think.  I whole heartedly believe in this in a time when the world seems to be pulling apart...

Not forgetting today is St Lucia day and I shall be baking my saffron buns later this morning. I'll share them with you tomorrow...