Winter and Holiday knit and crochet designs

I love winter and this year it feels like it is just not going to come to Kansas.  I decided to have an early holiday sale at AndersonsCreations on Etsy with free shipping in the U.S.  Do you long for snow and it just won't cooperate?  Here are 3 snow icicle decorations that would look wonderful on a tree or wreath or any display that needs that winter look.

3 yarn icicles with free U.S. shipping.

If you would like to make your crochet icicles click on the 'buy now' button on the right, or at LoisLeigh's Ravelry store, or AndersonsCreations on Etsy, or my loveCrochet site for folks that have VAT taxes.

 

Are you looking for that perfect shrug, cardigan or sweater that will add elegance and flair to any outfit?  I have 3 sizes already hand knit for you with free U.S. shipping made of soft Merino wool and silk. 

AndersonsCreations shrugs

 

Are you looking for a warm poncho to throw on for added warmth?  This poncho is made with the same exquisite yarn and will ship to you for free in the United States. 

 Would you like to knit either of these pattern for your self using the yarn you prefer?  The patterns are available, using the 'buy now' button on the right, or at AndersonsCreations knitting pattern on Etsy, on LoisLeigh's Ravelry shop lace-knit-bundle.

 

Are you looking for some fingerless gloves for the man in your life?  These gloves are hand knit for you, using cotton and tencel for ease of washing.  My husband loves to use the pair I made for him so that he can still feel for areas that need to be sanded in his woodworking shop.  These also have free shipping in the U.S. and are already made for you in a Rust color.

men's fingerless gloves with free U.S. shipping

 

If you would like to make your own pair out of yarn you prefer to use, the pattern is available by using the 'buy now' button on the right.  This pattern is also available in my Etsy shop or at Craftsy shop or Ravelry shop scarves--gloves along with some other scarves and fingerless gloves pattern.

 

Do you love crochet art?  There is free shipping in the United States on all my crochet wall hangings.

AndersonsCreations on Etsy

 

 

The patterns for all of these holiday décor are available by using the 'buy now' button on the right or at AndersonsCreation.etsy.com or at LoisLeigh's Ravelry shop. 

 

I hope this early holiday sale helps you feel like winter is coming and gives you a chance to buy an item that you have wanted all year long.



 





Christmas crochet patterns

With the cooler weather and snow coming I thought I would list some of my Christmas crochet patterns. I know that this is early, but in order to make these patterns in time for Christmas, I wanted to get these posted. All of my patterns have been tested by 2 or 3 other individuals so that they make sense and to catch any errors.  I also list my e-mail address on each pattern so that you can reach me by e-mail if you have a question on them.

I love this time of year with snow and icicles.  Unfortunately, our state does not always have snow.  I made a quick and fun pattern to decorate the Christmas tree or wreaths or package wrapping with.

The pattern gives picture tutorials on how to add the pearl like beads at the bottom of each icicle.  You can find my pattern on my Etsy shop, at my Craftsy store,  in my Ravelry store, or use the buy now button at the right.  If you would like to buy three of these decorations already made for you, you can find them for sale in my Etsy shop.

 

In our house, Christmas is all about the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ.  Before the birth of this miracle baby, God sent an angel to tell Mary and the shepherds about what He was doing. 

You can buy the pattern using the "buy now" button on the right, or here in my Ravelry shop, in my Etsy store or on Craftsy.  She would look wonderful on a wall or tree or even in the middle of a wreath. 

 

I have so many Nativity sets that all my surfaces are covered.  I designed a nativity set for the wall.

The pattern includes the patterns for Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the star and the background.  Use the buy now button on the right to purchase this pattern or buy it at AndersonsCreations on Etsy or at my Craftsy Store.  If you don't have the time or inclination to make this yourself, you can buy this glorious wall hanging here.

 

The sweet little baby Jesus pattern along with the other 2 characters can be purchased separately and hung on a tree or wreath and then put in the nativity on Christmas day.  I love the baby Jesus as he has no glass parts so that he makes a perfect teaching tool that small hands cannot break him.

You can use the buy now button on the right to purchase this pattern or but it on Etsy, Ravelry, or on Craftsy.  I have set up a section in my Ravelry shop that has all my Christmas Crochet patterns in one convenient place.  Ravelry Christmas Crochet  If you are interested in buying this darling ornament already made for you, you will find it in my Etsy shop.

 

Another tradition I love at Christmas time in Christmas Carolers.  The Victorian Carolers are also attached to a hoop and are ready to celebrate Christ's birth in song.

The pattern includes complete instructions on making a male and female character standing by a gas street light on a snowy street.  Use the buy now button on the right or buy the pattern at AndersonsCreations on Etsy, or on Craftsy or at my Ravelry store.  If you would prefer to buy this wall hanging already hand made for you, you can find it in my etsy shop.

 

I love Christmas time and have to start early to get everything made for family and friends.  What do you like about Christmas?

 







Christmas crochet patterns

I love Christmas time.  Maybe that is why I have so many crochet patterns that would add that special touch to your home.  I thought I would showcase some of these patterns.  The first pattern is a Victorian Carolers Wall Hanging when you want to add a bit of Victorian flair to your holiday decorating.

pattern in Craftsy store

buy finished Victorian Carolers wall hanging here

 

I love snow. Kansas doesn't always comply so I made this really easy snow on icicle ornament pattern to put around the house, on a tree or wreath. 

 

   pattern available here

3 ready made ornaments at etsy store

 

A new crochet ornament that I finished this year is for anyone who has a new baby in their life.  The back of the ornament has a flat area that could have a label attached with the baby's date of birth and name.  They will last long after Christmas on a nursery wall.

 

My Craftsy store

Ravelry pattern

 

In our house, Christmas is all about the announcement that the angel made to Mary about the birth of her miracle baby.  Angels are all around us but we can't usually see them unless they allow us to.  This ornament can hang on the tree or a wall the remind us of God's protection no matter what time of year.

 





pattern available here

ready made ornament here

 

What would Christmas be without the birth of that special baby 2000 year ago.  This ornament of the sweet baby Jesus can be used on a tree or wreath.  Making this ornament can help teach small ones what Christmas is about without fear of small hands breaking them.  I had one customer tell me that she makes one for friends when they need comfort. 

 

pattern available here

buy it ready made here

 

I love nativity sets so I had to design one that could hang on the wall as all my surfaces were covered with other crèches.  This pattern includes 4 ornaments that would look wonderful on any tree or wreath.

 

virgin Mary pattern

Joseph ornament pattern

 



Each pattern can be bought separately.  A more economical choice is the buy the wall hanging pattern to house them. 

 

Nativity wall hanging pattern

ready made wall hanging

 

I hope you enjoyed this review of all my Christmas patterns available right now.  All these patterns can also be found at my Ravelry store.  My Etsy shop has all these patterns along with many of the ready made items.  What do you like to make at Christmas time?

 





 





 

 

 



Christmas knit and crochet patterns.

Time has zipped by here in Kansas and it is now my favorite time of year.  The weather is very nice and cold and I get to sit by my fireplace and knit and design another scarf, fingerless gloves and other warm accessories. Here is the set I designed last year.



Right now I have these two patterns at a special price for those who would like to buy them both at my Etsy shop bundle price sale.  I have several patterns at special bundled prices in this section including the wizard of oz series of bookmarks.sale patterns

 I love the lights on houses and Christmas trees.  I love getting the nativity sets out and using them all over the house.  I have so many that I had to design a new one that can work as either ornaments or as a wall hanging.

 

 

I  love the old Christmas carols that are playing everywhere. Naturally, I had to make a wall hanging to commemorate that love.

 

 

What makes Christmas so special to me?  I think it is the wonderful and very powerful message sent to us via angles to the shepherds on a hill many, many years ago.

 

 



 

The gift that our family celebrates at this time of year is God's gift of His Son to us.  What a miracle He gave us. When the world looks like it is spiralling out of control, I have learned to lay it at God's feet and sit back to wait and see how he weaves it into a beautiful solution.

 

 

What is your favorite part of this very special season?





Christmas in July

Maybe it is the heat in Kansas this year or just a hankering for snow, but I decided to have a Christmas in July sale at my Etsy Shop. 

 

 

 

So starting July 1st and going through July 19th the prices in my Etsy shop have been lowered and everything that ships to the United States will have free shipping.

 

AndersonsCreation.etsy.com

 

This is not just for Christmas themed items but for everything in my shop.

 

 

 

Many sellers on Etsy are having a Christmas in July sale.  Just go to Etsy.com and put in either christmasinjuly (all one word) or CIJ in the search bar and see all the wonderful sales going on in July.  You could get your Christmas shopping done early or maybe buy that item you were hoping would go on sale.

 

Here are a few other items that can be seen in my shop.  Just click on the link AndersonsCreations.etsy.com to see everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love to shop for Christmas at this time of year without all the pressure and crowds. Why not check out all the wonderful artists that are having Christmas in July sales on Etsy. 

 

 

 





Crochet art

Have you ever thought of creating a picture using crochet?  I have.  I created a couple of wall hanging patterns and a sun catcher that hangs in windows.  Crochet is such a fantastic medium to make three dimensional shapes. 

I do not have a green thumb but with crochet thread I can have roses blooming all year long.  I added a prism at the bottom which gives me rainbows on my walls all winter long. 

A couple of years ago I made a fantastic wall hanging that would add a Victorian flair to any decor.

Here I mixed yarn and thread.  The background snow and edging done around the inside of an embroidery hoop was done in Caron Simply soft yarn.  (I really like how this yarn feels when I am working with it.)  I wanted the snow and edging to look soft and not take away from the Victorian Carolers in the wall hanging.  I think the mixing of the two worked really well.

This past year I have been working on Nativity ornaments that are unbreakable for young hands (i.e grandchildren) to hold safely.  I decided to make a Nativity wall hanging. 

I used Caron Simply Soft again for the background which allows figures to stand out against the yarn background.  This nativity wall hanging pattern shows how to make each individual figure as an ornament for a tree, wreath or wall display.  It also includes a free star pattern that works up quickly and could be added to gift wrapping or as an ornament. The pattern gives options on either sewing the figures to the background, which makes them permanent to the background, or how to use the figures as tree ornaments and add them to the background on Christmas morning.

What do you think about crochet being made into wall art?  What would you like to see hanging on your wall?

 

Crochet Nativity set

I have been designing a nativity set since October.  I thought I would make ornaments for our tree since Christ's birth is our reason for having this celebration.  I thought I started in plenty of time but this project has really taken time to develop.  Part of that is because I wanted to design a nativity that would express what a wonderful gift God gave us.

I started with baby Jesus.  Metallic thread can be found at Christmas season at local stores or online.  I grabbed a bunch of gold and decided to make that nativity to hang on a wall or a tree or a wreath.  Of course with grandchildren in mind, I wanted them not to have breakable parts.   My darling grandson was thanking baby Jesus for all his Christmas gifts this year.

 

Next comes Mary.  When I had my babies, I remember how I adored the baby. I imagine that Mary felt that and so much more since she knew her Son was God's gift to save her entire nation.  I worked and worked to try and get this feeling expressed in a crochet piece.  I stuffed her arms so that she could look down at her new baby with wonder and amazement.  She was an amazing woman in her willingness to carry God's child when she knew that the Jewish law said she should be killed.  Again, I wanted the ornament to be child proof and crochet works so well with that. 

 

 

 

Next comes Joseph, Mary's betrothed.  I am sure that he felt betrayed by Mary when he found out that she was pregnant and he knew it wasn't from him.  Obviously, he cared for her and was going to send he away and not take her to the temple to be stoned.  God intervened with a dream and helped him understand that she hadn't been with any man and that this was God's miracle to our world that she was carrying.  Once he understood, he did an excellent job of protecting Jesus and caring for his new family.  I gave him a walking stick since they had just come from a long walk to the stable where Jesus was born.  I also gave him an oil lamp that would have been part of their everyday life to see the new miracle that God brought to our world.

 



 

 

What an amazing gift of love God gave us in His son, Jesus, knowing the He would not have an easy life and would end up dying as a sacrifice for our sins.   

 





Well all the patterns have been tested and now are ready for next year's Christmas season so that you too can make children friendly ornaments that can teach them the meaning of Christmas.  What are your favorite memories of this season?  I know one of mine will be my grandson thanking baby Jesus for his Christmas gifts.



changing colors in crochet

With all the joyous activity that surrounds Christmas, I have not blogged as often.  I am currently designing a nativity wall hanging which will be ready next year as there is not way it will be finished this year yet.

I am using a striped pattern for baby Jesus and I realize that a tuturial on different methods of changing colors might be helpful.  Here is a picture of the baby Jesus.

 

As the picture shows, every other row on the body is a different color.  I will show the way to change colors in the round without cutting the thread and adding knots to the work.

Using the last stitch of the row, in this case a slip stitch, pull the new color up from behind the work to make the first loop of the new row.

 

Pull the loop through and start the next round using your new color.  (In this case you go from gold to white)

 

 

This can be done also if you are working on an item that is worked in rows.  In this case, at the end of the row, make a ch of 1, 2, 3 or 4 if the next row is sc, hdc, dc or tr.  Drop the old color.  (I usually pull up a large loop so that it won't unravel as I work on the next row.) 



Insert you hook in the next row's color loop, turning work to work across the row in a new color.  Again, when done with that color, add a chain stitch long enough to get past the next row and switch to the new color.

 

Here is another switch, using the next color.



 

To break off the color, the best way I have found to hide the ends and not have a lot of knots is to lay the broken off color along the top of the row and crochet around it as you work the next row.  This way you don't have loose ends at the end of your piece that has to be woven in.

 

 

I love color work.  It helps to bring out the design of a piece and just add that something extra.  Learning some of these little tricks has made the process so much easier. 

 

I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Season.  Do you know of any other other nifty tricks for working with color on crochet?











Christmas Nativities

Christmas Nativities are a big thing in my house.  What started out as a teaching tool for my children to teach them what our household believes Christmas is about, has become an obsession.  I have made many, many sets including some that don't get put out because they have been loved to death.  I thought I would share some of them here. 

I found this set in a series of magazines several years back and being a crocheter, I had to make it.

I bought this set from a local ceramic artist.  I just loved the simplicity of it.  Joseph is about 8 inches tall.  The pine cones are actually huge so I just had to put glitter on them.

 I love this set that I made years ago.  Joseph is only about 3 1/2 inches tall it is my smallest set.  My daughter in her youth made the counted cross stitch embroidery above it.

This is my newest set.  It is made with pom-pom balls, felt and different embellishments.  I love how it came out.

My main problem with all these nativities is I am running out of surfaces to put them on.  I would love to design a set one of these years but I need an idea that hasn't already been done.  There are so many wonderful patterns out there it is really hard to come up with something new.  The reality is it is a really old story that showed men just how much God loves each of us.

Do you have a favorite Nativity set that you set up at Christmas time?