Christmas preparations already!

Christmas preparations begin!

Christmas preparations have to begin in November – especially if you’re going to make your own Advent Calendar or Christmas wreath… I know, it does still seem some time away, but I definitely want to have my Advent Calendar up for 1st December.

Why don’t you join me? I’ve designed a special crochet Advent Calendar that you can crochet along with. It’s being released in three parts – Part 1 and 2 are up now and you’ll be able to see the finished calendar next week (26th November). Here are all the little motifs that will end up on the finished calendar…

crochet decorations for Advent calendar

I think it’s so sweet! I particularly love my little Santa, who’s set to make his debut on the calendar on Christmas Eve!

crochet Santa motifThe first two parts of the pattern are over on the Patterns tab on this website. Go on, you know you want to make one… (All the assembly instructions and finishing touches will be up there next week).

I used Rico Ricorumi cotton DK yarn – it comes in 25g balls and a whole host of colours, so you can make your calendar as colourful as you like.

You could even just make the invividual motifs, and back them with felt to make tiny deorations for your Christmas tree…

crochet wreath applique

Tiny wreath

crochet bauble

Tiny bauble

Crochet Christmas tree motif

Tiny tree

If you do make one, I’d love it if you’d share some pictures of it over on Instagram (I’m at @pickingupstitches and the hashtag is #AdventChristmasCal) or leave me a comment here…

Xmas wreath

Speaking of Christmas preparations, I’ve also designed a new Christmas wreath.

Crocheted Christmas wreath

I’m teaching how to make it in a class in North London this month, and in a couple more in December. See here for dates.

If you’d like to find out how to make one but you’re not in Crouch End, get in touch to arrange a class near you if you’re in London, Brighton, Broadstairs or Margate. If you’re anywhere within an hour’s rail journey from St Pancras, I can try to arrange a class where you live too… just email me to find out more details. 

Alternatively, if you’d like me to make you one to order, see here (but don’t leave it too late!).

I’m thinking of making the pattern available too for a small charge – would anyone be interested in that?

Christmas market preparations

Finally, this month I’ve been busy making lots of gloves and cowls and all sorts of little stocking fillers ready for the upcoming Blink Yule Market in Crouch End London N8 which will take place at Earl Haig Hall on Saturday 1st December… If you’re nowhere nearby, though, I’m going to put a lot of my items up in my Etsy shop, so get your Christmas shopping done early and snap them up before I take them to market!

I’ll be back very soon with some very special features about four top artists/knitwear designers I had the pleasure of interviewing at the autumn Knitting & Stitching Show, so do keep popping back. 

And finally, don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter mailing list if you’d like to hear about what’s coming up in the following month.

Annie