When I made the monster blanket, I had a lot of scraps leftover so I tucked them away until I had a use for them and that time is now.
I wanted to make a gingerbread man ornament, but I had some white scraps and decided to make a snowman too.
My attempts at making a gingerbread man didn’t work, because I can’t draw very well. My first template was too fat and my second was too skinny. I decided to wait until I could borrow a cookie cutter to use as a template.
But even I can’t mess up circles so I went ahead and made the snowman.
Cut out 3 circles from white felt (real felt or felted sweater scraps. You could even use foam if you want, although if you use foam you might want to use hot glue instead of sewing), each a little smaller than the last. Also cut out a top hat shape from black felt.
Slightly overlap your pieces and see where you want the eyes to be. Sew buttons there using thread that matches the buttons. See where you want the buttons for the chest to be and sew them in place.
Cut out a teeny orange triangle and sew it to the face using orange thread.
Sew the top hat to the head using black thread.
Sew the circles together using white/cream thread.
You’ll also need something to hang it on the tree with. I may just stab the top hat with an ornament hook but sewing matching ribbon to the hat would work too.
This is the perfect last minute gift to make. Frequently dropping your dpns under the couch is optional. Having a broken (spewing and gushing are the verbs I used) water heater 2 days after you finish making them is also optional, and hopefully that won’t happen to you.
I used knitpicks palette yarn in various colors and size 3 needles.
Dad’s sweater is the first one I made in 2020. It is my favorite based on how it looks, but not my favorite technique due to too many ends to weave in. Here’s what I did:
Cast on 36 sts. Knit a few rows in 1×1 ribbing, then work in stockinette stitch for about 2 inches in the round. * Now work back and forth over just 18 stitches until piece measures about 3 inches. Knit 6, bind off 6, knit 6. With new strand of yarn, work from * over remaining 18 stitches. Use a 3 needle bind off to join each shoulder together. Pick up 12 stitches around armhole, knit in the round until about 2.5 inches, then work in 1×1 ribbing for a few rows. Repeat for other sleeve.
My brother’s sweater looks like a linebacker. Verg big sleeves compared to the rest of the sweater. Here’s what I did:
Cast on 18 stitches. Knit 4 rows in 1×1 ribbing. Knit in stockinette stitch, slipping first stitch if every row, until desired length (from bottom of sweater to start of sleeves), cast on 18 stitches, knit to end of row. Cast on 18 stitches. Keep 3 stitches at each end in garter stitch. Knit until desired length (from bottom of sweater to neck), bind off center 6 stitches. On next row, cast on 6 stitches where you bound off. Knit until sleeves are same length on either side of neck hole. Pick up 1 stitch per cast on stitch of sleeves. Use 3 needle bind off to join sleeves together. Continue working the center section, picking up a slipped stitch from the front and working together with the first or last stitch of each row. Work the last 4 rows in 1×1 ribbing. Bind off.
Mama’s sweater required the least number of ends to weave in.
Cast on 36 stitches. Knit 4 rows in 1×1 ribbing. Knit until desired length (from bottom of sweater to start of sleeves). Place half of stitches on holder. Provisional cast on 15 stitches. Work across newly cast on stitches and body stitches, then provisional cast on 15 more stitches. Knit until desired length (from bottom of sweater to neck). Work a 1 row button hole over the center 6 stitches. Work until piece is long enough to meet the held stitches from the body when piece is folded at the neck line (should be about the same number of rows from sleeve cast on to neck as there are from neck to end of sleeve). Graft stitches on needle to the provisional cast on and held stitches from body.
I liked the pattern for Mama’s sweater so much I used it for mine.
And I used it again in 2022 to make sweaters for ornament exchange parties.
For the mini coat hangers, you have several options. I used a pipe cleaner for Dad’s. Worked well enough but very bulky. I used paper clips for Mama’s and my brother’s. That worked well too, but some paperclips are harder to unfold and refold than others.
I used 2 or 3 ornament hangers for mine and that did not work at all. So when I made sweaters in 2022, I used floral wire cut to the right size and I made a new one for mine.
I like how block 21 looks, but the picture in the book looked different. The way the design is oriented makes it look different from how I did it. But I like the result nonetheless.
I made block 22 while I was visiting my family for Christmas. I had bought the blue fabric at Hobby Lobby and the nautical print from Walmart, both in the remnants bin, and decided to make a block or two away from home.
The inspiration for this block came from here but I made it so it would be 8 inches finished.
I also used this tutorial to cut the original squares the correct size.
I just love how the fabrics look together as quarter square triangles!
Is anyone else baffled by how much Christmas tree skirts cost? They’re crazy high. Even in the after Christmas 75% off sales they are too high for me to justify. Which is why since 2015 I have been using a piece of flannel as a tree skirt. In 2014 I think I used a green blanket.
About two years ago I decided it was time for me to be a real grown up and make a proper tree skirt.
I found a nice pattern. It took me well over a year before I bought the yarn for it. During that time I had mulled over the pattern and decided top change it quite a bit so what I have is very different from that pattern.
I got the multi colored yarn at Michael’s. It was buy 1 get 1 half off and I had a $5 off coupon so it only cost $1.05. I paid in loose change.
The yarn is quite nice. Much softer than the acrylic I remember from when I was in high school.
I made 4 granny squares and 4 granny triangles and stitched them together using this technique. I just joined them in a row, not all together in a circle. Then I did a few border rows at the top (decreasing in the corners) and the same number of rows at the bottom (increasing at the corners).
I ran out of mullti colored yarn by this point so I used some red acrylic that my coworker gave me a while back.
The white button is from Grandma’s button collection. The red and green buttons I’ve had since high school.
All in all I love my tree skirt. It is too pretty to cover up with presents, which is good because a certain orange and white likes to pull tissue paper out of bags and chew on presents.
Last year I had a coupon code for shutterfly and my item came in a bright orange envelope. I thought it was a pity the envelope wasn’t red or green, then I could draw Christmas doodles on the envelope and call it wrapped.
I took a walk and thought and thought and thought, and finally realized that there is something Christmas related that is orange!
A few pieces of scrap paper and my mediocre drawing skills later, I had a perfectly, lazily, and creatively wrapped gift.
Lazy Ka-nitting 