One-row crochet snowflake video tutorial

My video tutorial for 2-row crochet snowfake has been popular. So this year I decided to make a one-row snowflake! It is quick to make. You can crochet one in any wool or yarn. I hardened it using white glue and water. A bit more glue than water.

Plenty of time to make these for friends, family and your own Christmas tree this year.

Lace crochet house with lights for Christmas

Happy with my finished Christmas decoration! Starched lace crochet.

Here's the house without lights:

I sewed the roof pieces together at the top but the roof itself is just set on top of the walls. This makes it easier to fit the lights.

 

 

This was the first time I tried this and I'm happy with most things. I starched this using 50-50 sugar-water solution. Next time I might use glue-water to make it harder. 

Haven't decided yet where I will display the house!

Crochet Christmas tree angel, video tutorial

In the late 80's I decided to make a quick-t-crochet angel for Christmas tree. I was then working in Northern ireland as a craftsperson. I noticed how much people wanted to decorate their homes for Christmas. Over the years i have made hundreds of these, if not over a thousand. Many of the come put every Christmas time in Ireland, Finlad as well as many other countries. I have used these to send to friends instead of Christmas cards.

Now I decided to finally make instructions for crocheting the angel. This time the pattern is only on video. I want to see how many hits it will get. Making video tutorials is fun! Enjoy my accent that is a mix of Finnish and Northern Irish :)


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Christmas tree memories

This year I bought a new Christmas tree. Here in Finland lots of people use real trees but they don't last as long as I want my tree to be up. Here many families only get the tree a couple of days before Christmas -  for me that would be loosing so much of Christmas!

Many of the decorations bring back memories. This year there are even more of those. During the year we emptied my mother's home. My sister, brother and I divided the older decorations between us.

Mother had had this decoration before she was married in 1960 and I remember it from every Christmas in my childhood.

Either myself or my sister made this basket heart in the late 60's.

This is later - part of a large bow I made when my own children were small in the late 80's. I just love Christmas prints in fabrics!

There decorations also bring back memories. In the late 80's and early 90's in Ireland crafts were my work for part of the year. I have kept some of the decorations I sold at craft fairs. I loved the atmosphere in the Irish craft fairs! The one I loved best was yearly at the Argory gentry house (not a paid ad :)!) Maybe that was because it was also the one where I sold best!

Have a lovely Christmas time!

Advent calendar with pockets

This bell-shaped advent calendar is not new - in fact it has served for many years since I made it for my daughters who are now in their twenties. Various little items have been found in the pockets - hair baubles, little toys, pens, felt tips, craft items, occasionally also sweets. The bell also moved with our family many times, both in Ireland and in Finland.

The calendar has quilted fabric as backing to make is stiffer. It is 87 cm high (34 in). I tack it on a wall with 3 tiny nails.

The pockets and the bow at the top are made of  various Christmas fabrics. The numbers are glitter glue.

This year the bell might be passed on to the next generation! That was already planned last year but we never got round to it.

Christmas tree bauble of patchwork fabrics

At the end of 80's and early 90's I used to live in Ireland and work at crafts. Each year I spent several months making and selling Christmas decorations. I just loved it! This patchwork bauble was one of my most sold items. I hadn't made any for years now and felt very nostalgic making this one!

Unfortunately I didn't find the golden sewing thread I bought a couple of weeks ago. So had to sew this in red, but it isn't bad either!

Nowadays I knit and crochet far more than sew, so last Christmas time I made up a pattern to use this same idea in granny square baubles. The pattern is available free in Ravelry.

Size of the sewn bauble is 6,5 cm (2½ in). Here some photos of making it:

You need some wadding to put inside each part.

Quick to make, time to make many for Christmas!

Mini Christmas stockings

Any small bits of left-over wool get in handy for these tiny Christmas stockings! I found lots of tapestry  wool when going through my mother's things. Most of them came ready cut in lengths which makes quite a few ends to finish. But since these are decorations, not for use, I often just make a knot and cut the ends off!

Each stocking is 10 -11 cm high and has 16 stitches, knitted on 4+1 dpns. I will send these to family and friends instead of Chritmas cards.

More different kinds.

Granny square Christmas tree bauble

Each year I try to come up with a small, quick Christmas decoration to send instead of Christmas cards. This idea came from a decoration I used to sew: 3 layers of round padded pieces joined in the middle. I decided to try the same with mini-size granny squares.

When I first published the pattern (free) in Ravelry last year, I guessed it would be popular. I was right, 150 downloads in no time the same day. www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/granny-square-christmas-bauble .

You can think of any number of variations. Add tassels, beads or join several with a ribbon.

Picks from the past

I made this tiny doll many many years ago when I was less than 10 years old. It was found a couple of years ago when my mother moved house. I have displayed various interesting articles in my entrance hall by attaching them on a piece of painted chicken wire net attached to the wall.

For the several years I worked in crafts in Britain I must have made hundreds of these crochet angels. Our radiators had a large flat top and from September to Christmas they were always covered with angels so that the sugar starch would dry.

I would have been around 14-15 when I knitted this jumper, combining any scraps of wool I had. I have made a couple in the same style since and each time it is such a delightful mess of balls of wool attached to the work at the same time. Much of the time in making these goes into trying to keep the wool from getting into knots.

I must have had a lot of patience as a teenager. I knitted these mittens using lenghts of wire as knitting needles and bobbin lace thread.

When my 3 children were small there were of course birthday parties often. I didn't want to use paper table cloths but made a colourful one from whatever craps of material I happened to have in hand at the time. Really it looks quite awful now but it has so many memories :) The cloth was used for many years.