Christmas Cheer - Holiday Windows

Its Christmas time again and time to get creative with our decorating strategies.

This year try a new spin on the old window decorations. I've done it to the back door that already has the division lines. Here's what you need:

I've used vellum sheets, found in the scrapbooking section of your craft store, and a grosgrain ribbon for added interest. You can personalize your window with any motif you like, just print a graphic holiday image from online, trace, and cut. Repeat for five designs. To adhere your vellum sheets to the window, try double sided tape and try to hide in the corners. To connect the 5 squares add ribbon. I used a 1 inch wide ribbon, but using a wider ribbon will help to hide any adhesive that shows through the vellum.

This is a quick and fun way to dress up your windows and still let light shine through.

There is Hope out there

For a creative person, having to play the game hurts, really hurts. You hate having to go with the flow, keep your head down, and put in your time. But there is hope out there for us. Etsy's blog posted this great interview with Michelle of cicadastudio about just the topic. And for me it was the perfect timing.
I got in an accident with the curb this morning 20 min into my 2.5 hour commute into lovely Soho New York. So needless to say, I didn't make it to Soho. But I called into work and was able to arrange my work to be sent home to me, so instead of missing a whole day and leaving people hanging, I was about to get something done at least. It sucks to have to do it, but you have to just pick up the pieces and put your best foot forward even when you want to crawl under the covers again b/c you didn't go into work. I have to consistently motivate myself to keep moving forward.

There is Hope out there.

Pain for Charity Knitting

This year I'm doing charity knitting. Check with your LYS for groups that they know of for a project that fits your style. I took this scarf as a challenge. I've challenged myself to learn a new skill.

I'm a proud thrower. Not a picker. I was taught to throw, my mother threw, my grandmother threw. BUT.... after working at my LYS, I've realized I need to learn how to pick, especially for ribbing. The connection between your knit and purl stitches is often shorter than between your purl and knit stitches leaving a ladder between every rib. But with continental ribbing you have more control of the ladders. So... after about 45 min of swearing under my breath and watching YouTube videos over and over again, my hands hurt and I only have 4 rows done.

I'm not thrilled about the speed I'm going at. At least I'm learning.

BONUS! Charity Knitting is a great way to use of stash yarn. Organizations often want 100% acrylic for washability. So break out that yarn you only let your kids use.

BONUS DEUX! A great way to use more than one color for fear that your main color choice will not last, try a cable cast on and work the main portion of the scarf. When you feel that you're running down you can start to add stripes to one end. To balance out the stripes on the other end, undo your crochet cast on, pick up and repeat the stripe in the same way!