I SPY: vintage granny square christmas tree

I just had to make this...

...after I spied this

A vintage granny square Christmas tree.

The dear 93yr. old woman that I take care of had this in her stash of Christmas decorations & when I saw it, I was like 'hey, this is crochet!"

Anything that is crochet
& anything that is vintage & crochet
& then anything that is vintage, crochet & Christmas-y!?...

More than fabulous!

She originally bought the granny square Christmas tree in the '70's -- which you can tell from the scratchy, almost brittle feel of the yarn -- but still ~ I just.loved.it!

So I started thinking that this would be so easy to make.

Because it's just crocheted granny squares ~

...in varying sizes.



Green granny squares with a white edge.

The original tree had 6 granny squares so that's what I made.

From largest to smallest.

And then it's just a simple flip of the bottom edge to form the boughs of the fir tree.

Time to embellish.

I tied the ornaments right through each bough of the tree to attach & keep the tree together.

And crocheted a nice, chunky, brown trunk with just simple rows of dc stitched in the back loop only to give it some texture.

A remake of something  so vintage-y.

And speaking of vintage -- I thought this was soooooo cute & my kids thought it was more than weird -- I also spied this at Ruth's house on the shelf in her bathroom...

Yes.  That is her knitting that she is doing.

Christmas clothespin angels

Christmas is almost here.

And when something as simple as a clothespin can become a Christmas angel...

...well, it must be made.

The pattern for these adorable angels is from here:

And I just love how easy these were to crochet and to keep it even simpler, I opted not to add the halo or wings.

Size 10 crochet thread & my size 7 hook -- along with clothespins (of course) and you have the makings for so many cute Christmas angel ornaments.

...oh. This?

Our son's ornaments.

Ninja style.  Or Tron style --- so he informs me.  Not exactly the darling & whimsical that I was going after...

But when I was trying to come up with the different color combinations for the frilly dresses...well, I felt as if I were designing originals for these tiny, wooden angels.

So perfect as we celebrate this season of angels proclaiming glad tidings of great JOY.

dressy towel

This cute towel topper all started here...

...at an art & craft show that our daughter was showing at.  A warm & wonderful woman next to her booth was selling the most delightful  c*r*o*c*h*e*t*e*d  items.

Oh, just imagine the cutest projects!  And all crocheted!?..

Breathe.

Crocheted ornaments, hotpads, dishcloths, hangars and towels that were made to look like kitchy dresses.  

And everyone was just swarming her booth, swooping up all of her wares.  I was entranced (and yes! I stared shamelessly) at the way she just beamed as people purchased her dearly crocheted items.

So, as soon as there was a lull, my daugher & I poured over her stuff too and I bought her adorable snowman towel.

I love these towel toppers so much I knew I had to make some and began hunting down a pattern that was a bit like the one she had made. 

I was a bit confused by some of the directions I found, so I just studied (and studied.and studied.and studied.) my snowman towel topper instead and came up with this dressy towel topper.

I am off to the store to buy out their selection of Christmas towels.

Can you just imagine how many of these you could make for everyone?...

roses in the snow

I'm taking a break --- remember?

Plunging myself into a whirlwind of pre-Christmas obligations -- not having time to get any type of thready/yarny things done.

Uh. huh.

That worked....

....until I saw Teresa's fabulous video tutorial for her crocheted Christmas ornament.

So, pushing aside the pile of Christmas cards that need to be addressed; the cookie dough that needs to be mixed; the online ordering of Christmas presents that  m.u.s.t. get done; the menu planning for Christmas eve....I went and hunted for hooks I had hidden & thread I intentionally put out of reach.

And made a roses in the snow ornament.

*thread is size 10 DMC Cebelia
*the hook is my # 7
*and I changed Teresa's flower to the flower from motif #114 from this book:

The tiny green leaves I crocheted from here:

Hmmm.  I think I will give this ornament to Ruth.  She is a special 91 yr. old lady ( and I do mean, lady!) that I have the pleasure of taking care of a few days a week. 

I have learned so much from her! 

Some days I wonder, 'Exactly who is taking care of whom?'

~

She has taught me that being strong is more admirable than being whiney.  

She has taught me to say thank you even in the smallest of incidences.

She has taught me that when you fall down, you stand back up.

She has taught me that obligations are opportunities.

She has taught me that if you are still drawing breath  -- you still have plenty of things to do.

~

"This is Christmas:

not the tinsel,

not the giving and receiving,

not even the carols,

but the humble heart

that receives anew

the wondrous gift,

the Christ."

-- Frank McKibben

Merry Christmas, everyone!

irish crochet coaster

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Intricate lace not only intrigues me -- it instills in me a passion & desire to recreate it. And irish crochet is one of those delicate, yet gorgeous laces that just leaves me breathless.

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One of my past issues of MAGIC CROCHET (Oct. 2002 -- issue 140) includes a crochet pattern for an irish crochet coaster.

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An added bonus? It is shown in Christmas colors.

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Perfect.

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So using my size 5 crochet hook and crochet thread that I purchased from the thrift store, I made one little irish crochet coaster that seemed so well suited for this one little, vintage Christmas figurine.

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snowy claus & paws

*gasp* Look at what I received from my swap partner, Diana. Snowy snowmen, snowy Claus -- and yes, there are even snowy paws.




These potholders are just soooooo beyond cute! She used Annies Attic Ultimate Book of Potholders.



And also sent this delicious Patons Pure Organic Cotton and a recipe for Christmas Pudding -- yum!

But that's not all! Oh my, she knows me so well -- look at the books she also sent --->Fun to Crochet Gifts & Stocking Feet. I have wanted these in my collection of crochet books!

Such a wonderful swap with such a wonderful crocheter!

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Thank you, Diana!