Christmas gnome ornaments

Every Christmas I try to find different ornaments for the grandchildren. There are now 13 grandchildren and I wanted to actually make the ornaments this year. I thought of cross stitching small motifs. There were little doggies in Santa hats, snowmen, gnomes or mitts but when it came down to it, cross stitch takes a long time. Even small things are time consuming and that was something I really didn't have. I did a little surfing on the internet and came up with gnome ornaments. These had a youtube video that were made from yarn, stuffing or cotton balls and either a toilet paper roll or a paper towel roll. Lots of yarn was needed for 13 ornaments but since I have a stash of different coloured yarns, it was nice to use some of it up.

This was so easy to make and the youtube video was very helpful and informative.

The nose was supposed to be a wooden bead but since I couldn't find any small enough in my local dollar store, I did find a sprig of greenery that had gold sprinkled 'berries' and I thought they could look very festive.

I actually made 15 gnomes. Two were my samples and I have since given one away. Eleven of the grandchildren live very close and they will be able to pick their favourite. Two have already been spoken for but I didn't want to hand any out until their Christmas tree was put up.

The youtube video was one put out by Taffleberry Lane.

Crocheting with wool - again

This is what my daughter picked out from the Wool Mill which is a yarn store just around the corner. It is almost the same yarn I bought for her from Michael's when we were in California visiting her last February.

I made this for her then. The beret recently went missing and so, I had to make another one to take its place. Gorgeous wool to work with and it took me very little time to finish it.

Giveaway and little things

I know Christmas is months away but you have to start sometime if you want to make something handmade for yourself or to give as a gift. Helen has a pattern "T'was the Night Before Christmas" that she is giving away. Go take a look.



On another note, I was uptown yesterday having lunch with a friend. It just so happens that she works right by the little shopping mall that houses the Toronto store of Mary Maxim. I had wanted to go visit the store for a while just to check it out. Loads of nice stuff for knitters, cross stitchers, rug hookers and crafters. This is what I ended up buying.

I have wanted the new DMC variegated threads and it just so happened that the store had a nice variety of them. The yarn was found in the back of the store where all the discounted items were and these were such a steal. I usually cannot make up my mind if I am given a choice between two and so this was not exception. I bought both. Who wouldn't at $ .99 each? I was going to see if I could crochet a flower or at the very least use it as a decorative accent on some sewing project.