Sunday 11 December 2016

String of Christmas Lights free pattern - no hydro required!

image (c) Ruth Windover
Well, you might need some hydro to be able to see to make them as it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon but once they're done they look beautiful all on there own ( . . . except you won't be able to see them in the dark . . . hmm, this is becoming cyclical.  Moving on!)


With the price of hydro lately here in rural Ontario, Canada it seemed like a good idea to create a strand of eco-friendly Christmas lights that don't need to be plugged in! This pattern fits a frame that my wonderfully husband, Hoss, made for me to hang our Christmas cards on (the how to for that is at the bottom ⬇)

Supplies to make the lights, cords and Christmas card frame:


MC - Bernat Premium Baby Blue (40 yards)
MC2 - Bernat Premium white (40 yards)
CC - Bernat Premium Soft Grey Heather (80 yards)


Polyester fiber fill (aka - stuffing)


3.5mm double pointed needles and 3.5mm crochet hook (for secondary cord)

image (c) Ruth Windover

8' 1x1 wood

4 screws

a whole bunch of wood staples

a staple gun



image (c) Ruth Windover
Pattern for light bulbs:

With MC c/o 3 sts.  Join to work in the round (it will be fiddly at this point)

Rnd 1:   KFB all sts (6)
Rnd 2 & 3: knit around
Rnd 4: *M1L. K1* rep from *-* around (12)
Rnd 5&6: knit
Rnd 7: *M1L. K2* rep from *-* around (18)
Rnd 8 - 10: knit
Rnd 11: *M1L. K3* rep from *-* around (24)
Rnd 12-19: knit

(secure starting tail inside light bulb at this point)

Rnd 20: *K2tog, K2* rep from *-* around (18)
Rnd 21: K2tog. K1* rep from *-* around (12)
Rnd 22: purl

Cut MC leaving a 6-8 inch tail to secure.  Join CC

Rnd 24-26: knit
Rnd 27: purl

20161109_123505-1_medium2.jpg
image (c) Ruth Windover
Secure the MC & CC tails inside the light.  Stuff the light at this stage. Not too firmly but enough so that you can sort of squish-shape the tip

Rnd 28: *K2tog* rep around (6).  

Cut CC.  draw tail through remaining sts and pull up. Weave in end.  Do not remove tail!! We need it to sew the lights to the cord.

Repeat pattern 4 more times with MC and 5 more times with MC#2.  Set all lights aside and complete cords


Pattern for main cord:

With CC c/o 3 sts and work an icord for 7’ 4”.  Cast off.  Secure start and finish ends together and weave in ends

image (c) Ruth Windover


Pattern for secondary cord:

With CC and crochet hook create a chain that is 7’ 4” long.  Set aside for now


Sewing the bulbs to the cord:

Sew lights to MAIN CORD at 8 inch intervals using each lights tail.  Sew one of the lights overtop of the start and finish cord join to hide it.

Wrap SECONDARY CORD around the MAIN CORD.  Secure the start and finish ends of the SECONDARY CORD and weave in the ends.


How to make the frame:
image (c) Ruth Windover
Using 1x1 wood cut two pieces at 19 inches long and two pieces at 25 inches long. Fasten together in the shape of a frame (Hoss used some odds and ends screws that we had laying around. The wood is also a bunch of recycled pieces from our basement renovation - this project was eco-friendly all around!!!). Screw together the pieces in the shape shown in the picture ↢

I stapled the lights to the frame (I may have used 1 - 2, ahem, 10-12, too many) with Hoss' staple gun

image (c) Ruth Windover
While I was out taking the photo's our neighbours cat, named "Garland" by our daughter and "Pumpkin" by it's owner, stopped by to see what I was up to. I wasn't one of the children with snacks to drop so she didn't stay . . .

As always, thanks for knitting!

To stay up to date on all my new patterns and to follow my adventures in knitting please follow me here on my blog or, now, on Instigram!


All images, unless otherwise stated, are the property of Ruth Windover.  Please do not use without permission.  The pattern can be used for teaching classes, personal use or small business sales.  If you do use the pattern for sales please provide a link back to this pattern.  Thank you!

Friday 2 December 2016

Baby Long johns - completed finished project

image (c) Ruth Windover
Our family Christmas photo session is tomorrow morning!!

And with less then 18 hours to spare I managed to finish off this project in order to *hopefully* (fingers crossed!) capture a unique photograph of my baby bear and my husband on this first Christmas with our third child.

The story behind the reason for creating this beautiful outfit goes like this:

My husband (who I nicknamed "Hoss" due to his hulking figure) and I meet online (I know - passé right?). The photo on his dating profile that convinced me to say 'yes' to a date was of him in a pair of red long johns standing with his dog.

This is our third baby's first Christmas and this last baby looks the most like my husband. That is why baby's middle name (& nickname) is "baby bear."

image (c) Ruth Windover
This year for Christmas we decided to do a family photo shoot. So, I have been diligently working on these gorgeous baby longjohns for the last couple of months in order to get them just right!


I absolutely love how this outfit turned out and cannot wait until the morning for our photos!!

I also decided to use this as my entry into the loveknitting.com festive projects hot tag competition to win a $250 yarn gift card.  Wish me luck!!! and please like my project (maybe it will help me win 😊) . . . and you should enter too!!
image (c) Ruth Windover

image (c) Ruth Windover
You can find my project notes on loveknitting.com here or on Ravelry here

To stay up to date on all my new patterns and to follow my adventures in knitting please follow me here on my blog or, now, on Instigram!

Happy knitting!!

Saturday 19 November 2016

Baby Bear Thumbless Mittens - pattern release

image (c) Ruth Windover
The Baby Bear Thumbless Mittens pattern is finally ready for release!!  The pattern is available for purchase in my Ravelry Store

These Mittens were designed to fit my Little Bear and are sized to fit 3-9 month olds.  The mittens measure 5 1/2 inches long (including the fold-able, extra-long cuff) and have a 4 1/2 inch circumference.

image (c) Ruth Windover
They are the ideal last minute gift for any new addition(s) to the family.  A pair of mittens requires less then 50 yards of the suggested yarn and a scant amount of contrast yarn for the claws.

These mittens are sure to please both parents and babies.  There easy slip on design and stretchy, extra long cuff make them easy to put on and keep on!

Find the pattern for sale HERE


Thanks for knitting!!


To stay up to date on all my new patterns and to follow my adventures in knitting please follow me!

Sunday 13 November 2016

Christmas Decor: Winter Snowballs . . . frost free!

A NEWER VERSION OF THIS PATTERN IS AVAILABLE! 


With hunting season in full swing here in Canada I am officially a "hunting widow."  That means it's time to start decorating for Christmas!!

This year I am hoping for a more authentic and handmade Holiday Season.  So I went through my knitting patterns notebook to find a few decor items.  The knitted snowballs have always been one of my favourites!  I blogged about them on a previous site that has since gone off line so I thought it would be fun to share this little pattern here.


image (c) Ruth Windover












 


My children absolutely love them . . . even if they are suppose to be just for decoration :)



*Please do keep in mind that they are designed as decorations and not toys*





Tuesday 25 October 2016

Christmas is coming . . .

. . . oh wait, it isn't even Halloween yet!

But I saw snowflakes in the air this morning!!  That means only one thing . . .



                         . . . knit faster!!


New patterns will be coming soon to a Ravelry near you

Thursday 20 October 2016