My Christmas Wreath

Have you ever seen a picture of something beautiful and immediately knew you had to have one just like it?  When I saw the beautiful Christmas Wreath that Lucy from Attic 24 posted last year, I was smitten! So this year I set about making one of my own. With just enough time to get all the flowers, little balls, pom-poms, little stars and jolly holly leaves made, I gathered together all the charms, ribbons, buttons and bits and bobs I had been collecting just for this project.

                                  

Then I shopped for a polystyrene wreath form ... well was I in for a let down .. none, simple not one anywhere. Not a readily available item in SA it seems.

Then my dear husband came to the rescue and went on a search for me and came upon a very nice young gent who has a florist .. he had one at home he told David, full of pink feathers from a display he had done.

He agreed to bring it in for me, I collected it and it was perfect, and he very kindly gave it to me free of charge .. so very kind! 

This is the wreath shape with it's stripey 'scarf' sewn on, joined at the back with neat stitches.  Random colours and stripes.

I added a tiny elf sort of sitting on the rim looking quite cheeky!  My first attempt at making such a little item, lots of fun, very fiddly and faffy, but I am delighted, he is very cute!  I followed this nice pattern, but had to adjust as a I went along as I used 4 ply wool and a size 2.50mm hook. My stitching is not great, much improvement needed if I make another Amigurumi figure!  Which I feel I might do, so many wonderful patterns out there!  

Anyway, here is my little elf-man!

I really enjoyed the process of placing the flowers and other adornments;  it takes a long time ...  I find it relaxing. I had made more than enough, so I could play a little.

   

I added charms with a festive look ~ a Christmas tree and a Santa and bells and some snowflake buttons, and ribbon tucked behind two of the bigger flowers.

Some details for your information:

Wreath ~  The yarns are varied, but mainly Stylecraft Special DK, and Elle Pure Gold DK and I used a 3.50mm hook.  I used Attic 24 patterns for the flowers (treble layer and double layer), little stars, little balls, and jolly holly.

Elf ~  The yarn is our Mirage 4 ply and I used a 2.50mm hook.  The pattern is from Kristi, called Small Christmas Elf, I added the little ruffle (mainly to hide my stitching) but it looks rather cute. 

And so here we are at the end of another year, how fast it has flown by! To all my lovely friends who have taken the time to read my blog and sometimes comment, I am so grateful for you and your friendship and look forward to seeing your names pop up now and again in 2016.

There is nothing more magical than a beautifully decorated tree no matter the size, with lights and special baubles and home made ornaments decking the halls, well maybe not halls but your favourite room! and friends and family to brighten up your festive days.  Wishing you Merry Christmas, love and blessings and peace xxx Pat

'Frozen' Christmas baubles

A large order has been on my crochet hook for the last several weeks ..... of such beauty I must tell you, I am knocked sideways at how the items turned out ... but ... the big reveal will take place after Christmas.  You see the items are all Christmas presents, so I cannot show you yet!

The last two days have been back to making Christmas gifts and baubles.   These I finished today, so pretty in their soft turquoise colour.

Patterns are based loosely on baubles I found here and here.  I embellished the top bauble with little white pearl beads that I sewed on once the bauble was complete.  For the second bauble I crocheted two tiny snowflakes and sewed them on.  I followed the first few rows of Annaboos House Star Ball (the first pattern link) because I liked the star shape to start off the bauble and then just winged it into a sort of lattice pattern to show off the silver bauble inside.  These are both super patterns I must add.   I made different lengths of chain st for the loops.

Details FYI ... the yarn is Stylecraft Special DK in Sherbet.  I used a size 3.50mm hook for a good close texture.  The baubles are of the plastic variety in silver, and I twisted the tops off (they were dodgy anyway) so that I could attach the loops to the actual crochet body of the bauble.

A delicate and pretty addition to my bauble collection!

As I type, the clouds have gathered and I can hear distant thunder.  We are having one of the hottest early summers that I can remember with daily temperatures mostly up in the 30's C and very little rain .... so a prayer for a nice shower later would be so appreciated. 

Thanks for reading, until next time,

Hugs Pat xxxxxx