In the Wool #58 (free)
Sleigh Bells Ring...
Hi there!
Sleigh bells rings… I wasn’t listening. As usual, Christmas has crept up on me far too quickly. I haven’t started making any presents yet so this edition is going to be themed around a handmade Christmas to get both me and you inspired for this season. I haven’t set myself too many goals with Christmas makes this year as I always end up with too many projects and nothing gets finished; my yarn stash is essentially a graveyard for headless amigurumis. So this year I’m being sensible. I want to make a couple of hats for family members, a couple of Christmas collars for the dogs, and maaaybe a couple of smaller novelty makes if I have time. As you are about to find out, I have tonnes of knitting and crochet patterns that I would love to make. At least if I don’t end up making any, I can share my huge list with you!
This week we’re shining a spotlight on a fantastic new yarn from Yorkshire brand, James C. Brett. It’s colourful, it’s cosy, and it’s definitely a yarn you don’t want to miss this season. Aurora DK is great value for money, and will work with any classic double knitting pattern you have in mind. Let’s take a closer look!
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CLICK HERE to read this article!
Handmade Gift Guides
A list so nice… I’m making it twice! That’s right. There are going to be two editions of my ultimate handmade gift guide; one for knitters, one for crocheters. Today I have released the crochet edition, and the knitting version will be released this Friday. I wanted these pattern collections to be the complete one-stop-shop for makers during the busy Christmas season, so they’re jam packed with ideas for presents (35 free patterns). Whether you’re looking for general winter accessories or specific novelty makes, this list has it all! I have free pattern suggestions for book lovers, plant lovers, animal lovers, your pets, and games for the whole family to enjoy.
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If you’re a knitter, your handmade gift guide is coming later this week. In the meantime, here are a couple of articles I wrote last year that you may find some inspiration and patterns from.
Article: A Handmade Holiday (click here)
Article: My Ultimate List of Free Christmas Patterns (click here)
Exciting News!🎉
This year we have been nominated for Diana Johnson’s Small Business Saturday Awards! We’re so grateful that our local customers are thinking of us and it means so much to have this recognition, especially in our 40th year of business. If you’re in Hull and would like to vote for our yarn shop as your favourite small business in the area, please CLICK HERE to vote. Thanks again to everyone who nominated us!💙
Our Christmas Window 2022
Our handmade window display is here for Christmas 2022, and I’m bringing you behind the scenes to see how this seasonal setting came together. Welcome to the Gingerbread Village! We’ve been working on this display for most of this year, and we’ve had our army of crocheting elves helping us along the way. I’ll be sharing the yarns and lovely patterns that we’ve used to help you find some inspiration for your own Christmas projects.
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It’s been a strange couple of weeks for my crojo. I’m having a very busy month and usually when I can’t find time for my hobbies I have the most motivation to do them. I set aside some time to add another round to my ever growing star blanket, a project that gets cosier the bigger it gets. So cosy, in fact, that I fell asleep under it and hardly got any crochet done😂
I then decided to make a start on my handmade Christmas presents as I thought having a pattern to challenge me instead of a repetitive blanket would ensure I stayed awake. But then disaster struck. When I dug the yarn I’d been planning to use to make hats out of my stash, it was a hot mess. It used to be a 400g ball of aran that I’d used for the odd project here and there. There was still plenty of yarn left, but it was so tangled and the ball had collapsed on itself. Plus, there was an abandoned project attached to it that needed to be frogged.
So instead of actually crocheting, I spent my Friday night untangling yarn (wild, I know). It took hours and, once again, I fell asleep. Luckily for me, AJ took over and when I woke up there was 2 giant balls of yarn ready to use. I had already picked out my pattern so I got to work on my tension square straight away. I learned the hard way that tension squares are important with hats after I made a crochet bucket hat earlier this year and had to make 4 squares to get it right. So I was determined to go by the book, but after I followed the instructions it seemed like there was a mistake in the pattern. I was going to push ahead and just make the hat but I decided to find a different pattern to make sure I have no hat disasters going forward. I’ve almost finished the next tension square, and I’ll be a Christmas present making machine in no time!
Community Creations
Nothing says cosy Christmas like a lovely handmade blanket. Lots of crafters are in blanket making mode at the moment, especially with the energy crisis we are currently experiencing. So if you’re looking for a way to stay warm and brighten up the dull winter months, take some inspiration from beautiful blankets made by our local customers! First we have a blanket made by Kathlyn (pictured above) using a yarn we had in store earlier this year called King Cole’s Twirly Tweed. These colours look great together, and the project looks very cosy and warm. The way the squares are joined also adds a lovely bit of detail.
Pictured left we have a star blanket made by Alison using Rico’s Baby Cotton Soft yarn. This is another lovely colour combination; the light and dark shades contrast perfectly and make the blanket very eye-catching. Pictured right we have another star blanket made by my mum, Lesley, using Katia’s Twist anti-pilling baby yarn. I love how she has changed the classic arrangement of the star blanket stripes to create a really striking middle that is balanced out by the solid shade on the outside of the blanket.
Thank you Kathlyn, Alison and Lesley for sharing your #babesinthewoolhull projects with our subscribers!
Free Patterns!
Novelty makes such as toys and decorations are one of the best parts of being a crafter at Christmas. These designs are so fun and will definitely help you get into the seasonal spirit!
Pretty Reindeer by Ricorumi (crochet)
Funky Christmas Donkey by Ricorumi (crochet)
Mini Gingerbread Friends by Esther Braithwaite (knit)
Easy Christmas Trees by Gina Michele (knit)
Keep Reading…
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In the Wool #57: Celestial Season (click here)