Jack's Christmas stocking

I forgot to post about Jack's Christmas stocking last year.  poor guy has just slipped through the cracks ;)  but I did make it in time for his first Christmas.
I decided I didn't like the fabric I chose after I finished it, but I'm used to it now.  I think it makes the colored felt pop a little more.

  

he of course got a Jackalope, I put a xylophone on it to remember one of the first Christmas gifts we gave him, and his snowman is a cowboy.

I was on the fence about putting "Jackers" on it, but since that silly name has followed him beyond the family (and it'll probably stick until he's old enough to tell us to stop calling him that) I went ahead and did it.  he might not even notice.  I didn't notice mine said Candi until I was in highschool!

I loved seeing all our matching stockings out growing up, and hearing the jingle bells when they moved - such a simple but fond memory of Christmas as a kid.  it's something that I'm glad I carried over to our family :)  I'm already gathering ideas for the stocking I will be making next year!

advent calendar garland: finished!

this was a fun project to work on, and I finished it just in time!  the garland is hung with some clear command hooks in our entryway, but I'm hoping next Christmas, in our new house, we'll have a better place to hang it.

I wasn't sure how to hang these up to begin with, but after I finished them all off I decided to just make a long chain and attach them at each loop.  I might do something different with them later on, but I'd just have to undo to chain and they'll all be detached again.  maybe when the kids are older they can be hung on the tree after each day.

I used some number beads and buttons on each one, which are also easily removable in case I brainstorm a different way of hanging and numbering them in the future.  Leo has been good at keeping track of what day it is, so if nothing else I'm really glad to have this to help him understand dates!

I stuffed each one with a small goody for the boys to have everyday until Christmas, and the boys were already excited about it after the first day.  they wake me up early each morning to see what is in the next one.

advent calendar garland: crochet hats

I winged this pattern the first time and it came out exactly as I hoped, so I wrote it down.  I did it bottom up, which I normally don't like to do, but this one made sense to do that way since it was pointy, and the ribbing would match the look of the mittens and stockings (patterns available here and here).  you'll need 12 hats for the garland.

hat pattern

ribbing:
ch 7, 1 sc into back bump of 2nd ch from hook and following 5 sts, ch 1 and turn.
1 sc into back loop of each st across, ch 1 turn.  repeat for 26 more rows.
fold ribbing in half and sl st closed.

body of hat:
ch 1, make 30 sc sts, equally spaced, around the top edge of ribbing, sl st to join round.
ch 1, sc into each stitch around, sl st to join.  repeat for 4 more rounds.

decreasing:
ch 1, *1 sc into next 4 sts, 1 sc2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, sl st to join.
ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.
ch 1, *1 sc into next 3 sts, 1 sc2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, sl st to join.
ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.
ch 1, *1 sc into next 2 sts, 1 sc2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, sl st to join.
ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.
ch 1, *1 sc into next sts, 1 sc2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, sl st to join.
ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.
ch 1, 5 sc2tog, sl st to join.
ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.
fasten off with a 10" tail, using yarn needle, thread yarn tail through the front loop of the remaining 8 sts and pull tight.
weave in ends.

attach pom pom to top of hat.

optional loop:
fold hat in half, attach yarn to the top left corner of ribbing, ch 10, sl st to first ch, tie knot with starting tail and weave in ends.

advent calendar garland: crochet stockings

I sorta mixed-n-matched some patterns to make a stocking.  I used the basic starting point of the mittens (check out the previous post here for the pattern), but didn't increase for the thumb part of the hand.  when it was long enough to my liking, I did the heel and toe like Yolanda demonstrates in her Christmas stocking video tutorials.  you'll need 7 stockings for the garland.

stocking pattern

ribbing:
ch 7, 1 sc into back bump of 2nd ch from hook and following 5 sts, ch 1 and turn.
1 sc into back loop of each st across, ch 1 turn.  repeat for 20 more rows.
fold ribbing in half and sl st closed.

body of stocking:
use the same color yarn or attach new color.
ch 1, make 24 sc sts, equally spaced, around the top edge of ribbing, sl st to join round.
ch 1, sc into each stitch around, sl st to join.  repeat for 8 more rounds.

heel:
use the same color yarn or attach new color.
ch 1, sc into 12 sts, ch 1 and turn.
sc2tog into first 2 sts, 1 sc into each st across, sc2tog into last 2 sts, ch 1 and turn.
repeat decreasing row until you have 4 sts left.
2 sc into first st, 1 sc into each st across, 2 sc into last st, ch 1 and turn.
repeat increasing row until you have 12 sts again, ch 1 turn.
1 sc into all 12 sts across.
fold heel in half, right sides facing, and sl st or whip stitch seams together. 

foot:
use the same color yarn or pick up yarn from before the start of the heel.
ch 1, sc around ankle and heel (24 sts), sl st to join, ch 1 and turn.
1 sc into each st around, sl st to join, ch 1 and turn. repeat for 6 more rounds.

toe:
use the same color yarn or attach new color.
ch 1, *1 sc into first 4 sts, sc2tog.  repeat from * around, sl st to join, ch 1 and turn.
*1 sc into 3 sts, sc2tog.  repeat from * around, sl st to join, ch 1 and turn.
*1 sc into 2 sts, sc2tog.  repeat from * around, sl st to join, ch 1 and turn.
*1 sc into 1 st, sc2tog.  repeat from * around, sl st to join, ch 1 and turn.
sc2tog 4 times, sl st to join.
fasten off with a 10" tail, using yarn needle, thread yarn tail through the front loop of the remaining 4 sts and pull tight.
weave in ends.

optional loop:
fold stocking in half with heel on the left side, attach yarn to the top left corner of ribbing, ch 10, sl st to first ch, tie knot with starting tail and weave in ends.

advent calendar garland: crochet mittens

I saw a mini mitten garland in one of the shops on the Strand in Galveston and thought along with some stockings and hats, it would make a cute little advent calendar.

I started crocheting November 1st, my goal to make one a day so by December 1st it would be ready to go.  I always cram too much into my holiday seasons, why would being pregnant, having an ill household, and house hunting make the slightest difference in the workload I put on myself? :\  so far it's going okay, though.  one a day is definitely a doable goal.

I'm using up leftover scraps from my yarn stash, other stuff I had on hand, and the patterns are free.  this project mostly cost me my time in the evenings while I watch TV, so besides it coming along to be adorable, it is practically free and I love that! :)

so this first pattern is mittens.  you'll only need 6 of these. I would say this is the more difficult of the patterns, so once you learn this one the rest will come easier.

the preschool size mittens pattern from CrochetMe is what I'm using.  I usually prefer videos, but this written pattern is easy enough to follow.  I think hers is worked in a continuous circle from the way it's written, but the copy I have below is written so that each round is joined.  it's still basically the same, I just typed it out so it was easier for me to work from.

mitten pattern

ribbing:
ch 7, 1 sc into back bump of 2nd ch from hook and following 5 sts, ch 1 and turn.
1 sc into back loop of each st across, ch 1 turn.  repeat for 19 more rows.
fold ribbing in half and sl st closed.

body of mitten:
ch 1, make 23 sc sts, equally spaced, around the top edge of ribbing, sl st to join.
ch 1, 1 sc into each of the next 10 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 2 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 9 sts, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each of the next 11 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 2 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 10 sts, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each of the next 12 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 2 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 11 sts, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.

ch 1,1 sc into each of the next 13 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 2 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 12 sts, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each of the next 14 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 2 sts, 2 sc into the next st, 1 sc into each of the next 13 sts, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each of the next 12 sts, skip the next 10 sts (for thumb), 1 sc into each of the next 11 sts, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.

repeat previous round for 9 more rounds.

ch 1, [1 sc into each of the next 6 sts, sctog] 2 times, 1 sc into each of the next 5 sts, sc2tog, sl st to join.

ch 1, [1 sc into each of the next 3 sts, sc2tog] 4 times, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join.

ch 1, sc2tog 8 times, sl st to join.

fasten off with a 10" tail, using yarn needle, thread yarn tail through the front loop of the remaining 8 sts and pull tight.

weave in ends.

thumb:

join yarn to any thumb stitch and make 10 sc stitches around, sl st to join.

ch 1, 1 sc into each st around, sl st to join. repeat for 5 more rows.

ch 1, sc2tog 5 times, sl st to join.

fasten off with a 10" tail, and using yarn needle, thread yarn tail through the front loop of the remaining 5 sts and pull tight.

weave in ends.

optional loop:
fold mitten in half with thumb on the right side, attach yarn to the top left corner of ribbing, ch 10, sl st to first ch, tie knot with starting tail and weave in ends.

Sunday dinner

everyone came over for Easter again this year since we couldn't go anywhere yet.  we did dinner this time instead of our usual lunch.  it makes getting ready for it a lot easier since we have the day to prep instead of just a couple of hours in the morning.  we were pretty tired by the end of the day, though!

I did pickled beet eggs again, made my first Tres Leches cake, and some bunny cars.  the food was awesome and I forgot to get a pic!  everyone brought something yummy and Matt made a roast on his new grill.

Leo had just been wearing shirts while in his cast, but I wanted him to look fully clothed in our Easter pics (not that most of them turned out at all!) so I altered some of my old shorts for him with some Velcro along the sides.  I at least got some pics of the boys together.

 

for only $5 I made a new spring wreath with stuff I had and a few new things from Dollar Tree.  I'm limited on my errand running now so since I didn't see any ribbon at the Dollar Tree I just made some from paper towel rolls that I painted brown.  since most of the weight is on one side I added a small clear Command hook at the bottom of the wreath so it hung correctly and not all skewed to one side.  keeps it from swinging on the wreath hook or banging against the door when it's opened and closed, too.

I did another contact paper cut out for the door.  I was afraid my design would be too difficult to put on, but it went on without too much fuss.  I'm really liking my Silhouette cutter more and more :)

I got a Butterfly in a Jar forever ago and sorta forgot about it.  Leo loves it so I have to sneak it away from him to put out on the porch.