Friday, December 23, 2022, Issue 276: Happy Friday....Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!

• Posted on 23 December 2022
• By Susan Wong-Tsang
• Posted in Christmas 2022, December 2022, Gift Knitting, last minute shopping
• 0

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. One of the questions, my daughter asks her boys is "What are you thankful for?" Me, I am incredibly thankful for all of you for all of your love and support!

For those who still have last minute Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers to buy, I am OPEN tomorrow until 4 pm. I will be closed for the holidays from the 25th to the 27th and then I will be open from the 28th to the 31st by appointment only. We will be back to regular hours starting January 3rd!

Usually I have included in my newsletter fun, holiday patterns...This year I seem to have missed the memo but there is still time, isn't there!

Elf Mouse by Manon Lemaire are adorable, have such unique personalities, are fun to knit up and is available for free in Knitty, Winter 2022 issue!

Casper is very festive and outgoing in his red and blue outfit whereas Parch has more of a gypsy vibe with his woodsy color scheme.

The elf mouse is knit in the round, bottom up. There is minimal sewing.
The arms and tail are worked separately, then knitted with body.
The ears are knit by picking up marked stitches.
The eyes can be embroidered or 4.5mm safety eyes can be inserted.
The nose and mouth are embroidered.
The hat is knit in the round.
The tunic and pants are knit flat, then seamed.

At just 6 inches (15 cm) tall this project is a great stash buster and it knits up pretty quickly!

Mini Christmas Stocking Ornaments by Julie Williams of Little Cotton Rabbits is a free Ravelry Download. This is a little pattern for a mini Christmas stocking. It is knitted flat and seamed afterwards  but you could convert it to be knitted in the round if you prefer. Even though it is worked flat she uses double pointed needles because during heel shaping you need to switch from working one side to the other. If you don't have double pointed needles you can knit it on single points and slide the work
from one needle to the other when it's time to work on the second heel half.

There are lots of ideas for adapting the design of this pattern (for instance adding numbers to make an advent calendar or initials to personalize the stocking) over on Ravelry.

She prefers to knit the stocking on 2.75 mm needles with 4ply yarn but the pattern will knit up with whatever you prefer. Note, obviously the larger the needle size and thicker the yarn, the larger the finished stocking. Apart from the garter stitch top it is worked in stocking stitch (Knit on right side and Purl on reverse).

Tiny Sweaters by Malia Mae is a free Ravelry download for great little Christmas ornaments that are quick to knit! They make delightful little christmas ornaments! They also make great practice projects for those who have never knitted a sweater before and want to give it a try before launching into a larger project.

Here’s Berroco’s Minutia ‘21, a tradition since 2007! Use them to decorate your tree, a mantel or even presents!

Berroco’s popular tradition of using their scrap yarn from the year’s projects to create new tiny ornaments continues with Minutia ‘22.

If you like traditional Christmas stockings...Terry Morris’s Mix-it-Up Christmas Stocking Stranded Colorwork which includes a variety of charts and options to make it your own especially if you add your own additions! The ones above were knit by Joyleen! It was exactly what she was looking for to make stockings for her family that reminded her of the ones she had growing up. The designer makes it so easy to pick and choose and customize your stocking.

FOs and WIPs

I have socks and my Gnome-Made Gifts MKAL Gnome still on my needles but I have set them aside to work on this beauty!

The Pressed Flowers Cardigan by Amy Christoffers is knit flat so last Sunday I pinned mine out so the rows of flowers could be seen! The yarn I decided to use for mine is Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light for my main colour which is a sport weight yarn and Lang Yarns Frida which is worsted weight. Despite the weight difference in the yarn I am using, my gauge works and I love the feel and drape of the fabric.

I am a loose knitter who usually goes down a whole needle size. the pattern called for 3.75 mm needles but I didn't want to go down to 2.75 mm needles. I swatched using 3.25 mm needles and got gauge including row gauge!

I have the right front finished and the left front almost finished!

Peeking at the wrong side, i think even the inside looks great! I love how it looks so far!

KNIT GROUP AND GALLERY

The Caitlin Hunter (Boyland Knitworks) KAL and the Knit Any Project: our everlasting knit-along to encourage and support you to knit finishes on December 31st. The deadline for both KALs is December 31st so please remember to send me your photos or post!

Post your finished project to Instagram using the #sue2knitskal or #sue2knitscaitlinhunterkal so that I can find and see them!

Jen (zjewell) knit this gorgeous Velvet Mirror Cowl by Andrea Mowry for her mom.

Jen (zjewell) knit a pair of cozy Bear Paw Socks by Andrea Mowry for her dad.

Beverley finished this Hunter’s Orange by Kaeleigh Geddes for her husband Andrew. Yarn is Cascade Heritage Silk held double with Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20.

Doesn't it look warm and cozy?

Beverley also finished these socks using the same yarns for her son-in-law.

Cathy (MCatherineL) finished this F420 Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed Hooded Neckwarmer by Vanessa Ewing.

Cathy (MCatherineL) crocheted this Ballerina-Mouse by Mari-Liis Lille for Maureen.

Karen (kmae64) did some weaving on the floor loom she bought! Here’s fabric she is planning to sew into a a bag and a table runner! She has used Gist Mallo Cotton Slub and Noro Kakigori.

Debbie (Debbiegodfrey) finished her chic Sophie Scarf by PetiteKnit!

Sandi (Sandima) knit this collection of mini animals from multiple Ravelry patterns to go with the book The Mitten by Jan Brett.

These tiny little animals are adorable!

It isn’t too late even if the weather isn’t cooperating to get those last minute gifts!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Friday, Happy Knitting, Crocheting and Crafting! Keep calm and keep on knitting and making!