19 December 2011

Pattern: JOY garland

JOY garland

A little something for the holidays! I dubbed this garland "JOY" because it came out even better than I thought it might. You see, I had this idea of using i-cord, and then it all fell into place. This is knit in one piece (oh, joy!), and I didn't even weave in the ends, just trimmed them to an even length so they could be used to hang the garland.

It comes in two sizes, and the pattern includes templates to cut out felt letters to spell JOY, PEACE, MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, and HAPPY NEW YEAR, large and small.

My JOY garland hangs on our front door, makes me smile every time I see it (I seek out peace and joy all year round), and gently jingles when the door opens or closes (and we all know what happens every time a bell rings, don't we?*).

JOY garland
Our door, which does not photograph well for patterns
So, share some joy this holiday season (or work it up in other colors for festive bunting any time). If you can knit, increase, and decrease, you can have some joy in your life. I've included instructions for making i-cord, if you've never done it.

I chose Plymouth's Encore Worsted, since it was in the stash, cheery, and sturdy. You could use just about any yarn you like (I'm contemplating some teeny garlands in fingering weight yarn because I'm twee like that), though I'd save the cashmere for something else. And then you'll need to visit the craft store (unless you have a five and dime - I'm sure they would have had felt and bells at the 5 & 10 I visited when I was little) for some jingle bells and felt. I went classic here, but I saw glittered bells in various colors *and* sparkly felt. You could really bling this one up, if you were so inclined. I may have to go back to the craft store...

The pattern may be purchased through Ravelry or on Etsy, or you can use the handy button below to buy instantly.



May the coming year bring you peace and joy and lots of yarn. xoxo, Kathleen

*"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets it's wings," according to It's a Wonderful Life. Whether you believe in angels or not, jingle bells are a merry sound.

12 December 2011

Craft Fair 2011 and Etsy

Goodness, how the time has flown! I've been busy knitting up items for the kids' school craft fair, and anything that didn't sell is now available on my Etsy shop (see the sidebar). The craft fair, as always, was lots of fun, and again I was impressed with all the creativity in the room.

I've also been coping with turning forty and having a seven-year-old daughter. How did all that happen?!

I need to get back into the blogging habit, so I hope to show up here more often. There is a holiday decoration pattern in the works, so come back soon!