Make your own ornaments!

Two knitted stars, an elf hat, a short-row pickle, a mini sock stocking, and a double-knit Norwegian Star snowflake.

An African Flower motif stocking, 2 crocheted stars, a curved crocheted pickle, a lace snowflake, a lace heart, and a little elf hat.

Starting November 26th and 27th, I will be teaching 10 different ornament classes. There will be 5 each of knitting and crochet (being fair to the various needle arts.) Above are the samples I created for each class. Call or visit The Knitting Nest in Austin Texas to sign up. Different ornaments will be offered on different days - knitted ones on Friday the 26th, and on Wednesdays thereafter; crocheted ones on Saturdays starting November 27th.

Escape the house, make your own ornaments (or gift toppers.)

Where am I?

Where am I? In the middle of stitch marker land, apparently. These are sets of knitting stitch markers that I just finished for sale at the Ravelry event at The Knitting Nest tomorrow, November 13. They are all made from 22 gauge sterling silver (so heavy duty, won't bend easily), Swarovski crystal beads (so, sparkly) and clear glass beads (also sparkly) and are all handmade and carefully finished (so not to snag the knitting.) There are 18 sets of 5 markers - and will be for sale from 10-11:30 am and 1-6pm during the Ravelry event. Any leftovers will go up for sale on my Etsy shop on Sunday. I will also have more project needle cases and sock needle envelopes for sale. I have also donated a special set of all 3 of these (stitch markers, project needle case, sock needle envelope) to the silent auction to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. This auction will be taking place all day tomorrow during the Ravelry event. The stitch markers are very special - sterling silver, freshwater pearl, and deep red, silver-lined vintage glass beads. The sock needle envelope is finished with a vintage glass button as well - the only one I've made in the true red wool felt. I made these in remembrance of all of my family members who have had cancer. That would be ALL of them, by the way. Only my siblings and kids and I have gone cancer-free so far. Spooky - the odds aren't good.

Mmm, sparkly and pastel.

Getting brighter.

Brighter still.

Ah, brightest yet.

I am very thankful that I have quite a few years of jewelry making under my belt. It made the process neater and faster. I will admit that wrapping the wire was a little difficult. The headpins that I used are heavier in gauge than I usually use for jewelry - but I wanted them to stand up to a lot of hard use. My fingers are sore - but they turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.