Christmas Countdown 25... Christmas Tree #1

Background : It has become a bit of a Christmas tradition for me to write an Advent blog - a series of posts leading into Christmas from 1 December . In the past, I have featured Christmas characters by the alphabet, all you ever needed to know about Christmas cakes, Christmas Firsts and Christmas traditions. I usually find myself on 30 November, thinking what to do this year? However, I've had the idea of "crazy " Christmas trees in the back of my mind since last year. So this year, it's about non- traditional, unusual, crazy, weird Christmas trees. There will also be a "handmade" element to my posts, so there may even be some links to tutorials or other ideas....

So here we go. Christmas Countdown 25 - 1 December.

Source : https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/455285843573622091

This is the image which started this line of thought.... a yarn bombed, crochet granny square Christmas tree. I thought I would like to crochet a tree like this, but perhaps another year.... This tree was created by the Urban Knitting Zaragoza Group for the Plaza del Pilar, Saragoza, Spain. They covered a metal frame with knit and crochet squares with embellishments - helped by two children's yarn bombing workshops

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/35325178301076166/

Other places have had similar ideas Stoney Stanton, a village in the Blaby district, Leicestershire, England was yarn bombed for Christmas in 2016.

Source : https://www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/gallery/stoney-stanton-yarn-bombed-christmas-12286641

If you think time is not on your side for this Christmas, perhaps a tree skirt or some of the smaller Granny square Christmas tree projects might be possible.

Link to online tutorial for Christmas tree skirt

Link to a online tutorial for Granny square tree decoration.

And if Christmas trees and granny squares don"t sit well with you ... perhaps a fashion item for your Christmas party.... We have seen crochet granny squares used for all sorts of crazy wearable items and even in fashion shows and on the celebrity red carpet.

Sources : https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-menswear/moschino/slideshow/collection#57

https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-menswear/moschino/slideshow/collection#57

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/288019338654505631/

Source : https://www.demilked.com/crochet-shorts-schuyler-ellers-lord-von-schmitt/

Source: https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/135389532532708655/?lp=true

Here's a video tutorial on how to crochet a granny square - the beginning of many projects, even a Christmas tree.

For more information about Christmas trees go to a previous blog post.

12 Days .... festive or not?

Days 5 & 7 - the Gold Rush Era Stamp Series It seems so long ago now since we were celebrating Christmas and New Year.... hope you enjoyed a great festive season. I took some time out, not doing much at all but I did set myself a little challenge of doing some tidying up which meant spending a little time each day using scraps of fabric and paper to create something a little playful or as the mood took, useful! Unlike the long projects I usually undertake, this was a 12 day project ( 12 days of Christmas ) - completely random, but finishing half done projects or recycling. For example the first photo shows some collages I did on days 5 and 7 to use a postage stamp release, the Gold Rush Era series, first issued in Australia 1981 ... yes I probably have had it in my stash since then! Completing some other little projects was very satisfying .... On Day 1, I assembled a folded paper folk cube from a kit my daughter gifted to me las...

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

Too Precious to Waste

Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons More than a year ago, a decision was made. The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2] A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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