DIY Life

Popular yarn manufacturer Berroco frequently releases new free patterns, so it's not surprising that they started with Christmas patterns back when we were still posting about Halloween stuff.

Their latest free holiday pattern is Minutia: a collection of twelve tiny, detailed sweaters knit from a sport-weight yarn. They're cute, and they only take a few hours each to knit. When you're finished, twist a hanger out of craft wire, hang the sweater on it (the only time it's acceptable to put knitwear on a hanger, as far as I'm concerned), and put it on a tree or a package.

These might be a better way to use up yarn scraps than a project to invest in, unless you're going to make a lot of them. Many of the designs are multi-colored, and it seems wasteful to me to buy a whole extra hank of yarn just so that one of these miniature sweaters can have a contrast stripe at the collars and cuffs.

Among Berroco's other holiday offerings, you might like Lattice, a colorful lattice-stitch stocking, the Silent Night cabled tree skirt that can also be made as a capelet (just eliminate one of the wedges), a collection of felted ornaments called Decorate that was released around this time last year, and John, a Fair Isle stocking.

There are some adorable new holiday crochet patterns at the Lion Brand Yarn site: an amigurumi Penguin, Reindeer, Santa, Snowman, Gingerbread House, and Gingerbread Man. The latter two make good ornaments, and there's also a Candy Cane Coat Hanger for kids to make. The only problem isn't really a problem: you have to be registered at the Lion Brand site before you can actually see the free patterns themselves (but click the first link in this article to see a list with photos).

Several of these amigurumi are made in their new Vanna's Choice acrylic yarn. I have to confess that I'm less-than-interested in using that yarn; I don't like to work with 100% acrylic. Because amigurumi should be crocheted tightly, the elasticity that wool adds to a yarn can be really helpful, and it's kinder to your poor hands and wrists. Vanna's Choice is worsted weight, so you'll have no problem using Wool-Ease or something nicer.

If you want to use Wool-Ease, try Mushroom for the body of the reindeer -- it's a lighter color than Vanna's Choice Taupe, but not too pale -- Cocoa for the feet, Cranberry for the collar, and Gold for the bell. The corresponding colors would also work for the penguin. He's mostly black and white but has some gold and red elements; you'll need to choose a green that you like, too.

These crocheted toys should only take an evening or two to make. They might be the sweetest hand-made stocking stuffers I've seen this year.

It was love at first sight: a humbly-sized Christmas tree hung with dried orange slices. This encounter took place on Saturday night, when I attended my town's annual winter festival. The tree had been entered in a Christmas tree decorating competition for local school children. The "orange tree" sure got my vote. What a pretty sight it made with all the Christmas lights reflecting brightly off the glistening citrus slices!

Later, I resolved to try it out for myself. If you want to have a go, you will need the following:

• three or four large oranges
• a sharp carving knife
• glitter and/or ground cinnamon (optional)
• fishing line or ribbon
  
• a needle or a pointy-tipped knife
  

Step 1) Slice the oranges crosswise in quarter-inch slices. Discard the ends.

Along with just about everyone else, I really like the sewing patterns created by Hillary Lang at Wee Wonderfuls: way back in July, I posted about her free Pointy Kitty pattern.

Last year, she gave us the Elf Stitchette embroidery pattern as a Christmas freebie; this year, it's a small pig to make out of felt.

You could make the pig alone, as an ornament or as a decoration for a package, but it's designed to sit on a small platform with button "wheels," like a pull-along toy. You could also consider altering the shape of the ears and snout, and making a little elephant! So cute.

In ye olden days -- those innocent days before electric-powered candles and robotic Santa yard decor -- people would handcraft their holiday decorations. And in the 19th century, the well-to-do would use oranges because at that time oranges were considered an exotic treat and, therefore, a bit of a holiday splurge. Quaint, huh? Makes sense, too, given that oranges are -- when you think about it -- extremely beautiful to look at. Then there's the heavenly citrus fragrance.

Back in those days, the ladies would make Christmas pomanders by decorating oranges with cloves. Not only did they look pretty, the combination of oranges and cloves also smelled terrific. Which I'm guessing was a refreshing change from normal household odors of the day like beeswax polish, horse manure, and oil lamps... Read more about the history of pomanders here.

Want to have a go at making your own orange pomanders?

Christmas ornaments can be very expensive. If you want them to last, you have to cave and spend a little bit more money than you would normally, unless you want to spend your Christmas picking up the shards of the ornaments the kids have thrown across the room because they wanted to see the ornament shatter.

This Christmas, save yourself the hassle of shopping the stores for holiday ornaments. When you bake Christmas cookies, set aside a few mounds of dough, and make your own dough ornaments. Most likely, you already have the cookie cutters, salt, flour, tough thread, and a vivid imagination.

Get the kids involved in making your dough ornaments. They can cut out the shapes of the ornaments, and help you decorate them. Just be careful with the paint, please, and watch the little peeps so they don't think that the paint is juice to drink!

Chicagoan Thomas MacEntee has a wealth of fabulous seasonal decorating and baking ideas to share. Meet Thomas by visiting any one of his three blogs -- count 'em: three! First is A Catskill Christmas, in which Thomas comes up with handcrafted Christmas decorating concepts, all inspired by his childhood in the Catskills. Second is And I Helped!, a site for lovers of food and baking. Here, Thomas offers up tempting recipes of his own design and those learned from his beloved late mom. Finally, there is Destination: Austin Family, a family history blog.

Right now, all three sites are overflowing with creative and heartwarming ideas for celebrating the holiday season. I love all of the ornament ideas at A Catskill Christmas, but wanted to share one in particular: Gilded Dried Pomegranates. Aren't these beautiful? Don't you agree they'd look stunning on the Christmas tree? Not to mention arranged in bowls, strung on ribbons, or tied in bunches. Full instructions are on the site, so I won't repeat them here, but note that Thomas says there's one drawback: dried pomegranates can be expensive!

UPDATE 12/12/07: check out Thomas's finished tree, all decked out with his many homemade ornaments. It's a beauty!

It's the first full week of December, and many of us are climbing into attics, basements, and other storage places to dig out our holiday decorations for the insides and outsides of our homes.

Ornaments are the official sign of the Christmas holiday, which means those who celebrate it will be setting up at least a few dozen ornaments on a real or fake tree soon. But, ornaments have escaped the tree in recent years to make their way above doors, doorways, hallways, offices and even bedrooms. Why not expand your ornament decoration outside of the tree!

And, it's never been easier -- especially if you have some colored construction paper, fishing line and a stapler nearby. You can create some excellent colored paper ornaments in only a few minutes using easier-then-easy methods. I'd suggest a straight-edge or ruler to make sure those cuts are straight. Other than that, have at it this season and get some of those home-made paper ornaments up this week. This is a great family activity as well.

Before you know it, Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa/ Solstice will be here. Actually, if some of the department store windows are to be believed, Christmas got here about 3 weeks ago.

In any case, what better way to take a step back from the holiday shopping madness than to make some festive holiday ornaments at home with your loved ones. Here are 10 great ideas to get you started.

1. Amy Butler fabric ornament and tree topper featured in Blueprint. If you get the chance, check out the latest issue of Blueprint - there's a picture tour of Amy Butler's House.

2. Button Wreath Ornament from marthastewart.com. I really like this one because after the holiday you can simply re-purpose the buttons.

3. Ribbon pine cone ornament from WhipUp. More traditional but very clever.

4. Polymer clay ornament from craftster. Classy.

5. Mitten ornament from the Feathered Nest. Made with felt, ribbon and glitter - infinite possibilities for customization.