Back Home and Some Last Minute Christmas Makes

 I'm back home after almost a month away visiting my eldest son and daughter-in-law in Toronto.
They are expecting their first child at the end of January and have just bought a house in need of a lot of repair and love. So I flew over and spent my time ripping up carpets, scraping off layer after layer of wallpaper, removing mould and skimming crumbling walls. It still needs a lot of work, but at least it is clean, dust free and quite welcoming for the new addition to their family.

Of course I went armed with lots of handmade baby clothes, including these that I made from organic cotton jersey.

I also knitted them some Christmas stockings which gave a homely feel to their lounge even though off camera there are piles of boxes waiting to be unpacked.

We bought their first tree and decorated it with natural items like dried orange slices and made strings of fresh cranberries. I like the idea so much I'm going to do the same for my own tree!

So now I have just 10 days to organise Christmas back home, but that doesn't mean there can't be some hand crafting on the agenda.

The wreath at the top of this post will be unpacked and I shall knit some more of those little stockings for the tree. They are knit flat, just 14cm (5 1/2") tall and so quick to make ! I have a free pattern for them HERE

Sitting quietly make a few of these will be the perfect antidote to my current jet lag and the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparation!

Little Christmas Stockings

There is still more sewing knitting than sewing going on around here at the moment, and this week I've been making these. Lots of them! There is a local Christmas craft fair in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphona Research in a couple of week's time and although I already have a bag stuffed full of crafty goodies to donate, I'm trying to see how many of these little stockings I can make before the deadline (why am I always such a last minute Larry!)

Last year I made them into a wreath, which sat over the fireplace and received no end of lovely comments. 

This time round, I'm just making the stockings. I suspect the craft fair organiser might sell them ready filled with sweets. 

If you fancy having a go, then I have a free pattern for them HERE

They are a simple design, knit flat on 2 needles. Worked in double knit yarn they finish up at 14cm (5") tall

The decoration around the top is added afterwards using duplicate stitch. It's also known as swiss darning. Why, I don't know. It conjures up all sorts of images in my head of young goatherds wandering over the mountains with the most elaborately darned socks and jackets imaginable!!

There is a complete photo tutorial on how to work the stitches included in the pattern.

There are instructions for all the designs shown above, but I suspect once you get going you can dream up whole load more of your own.