Christmas crafts roundup 2014

Now that it's 2015 (happy new year!), it's safe to post all the images of my various present-making activities from the festive season.

First, cards. Here are some from this year, on white. I think the most successful ones were the ones on coloured metallic backgrounds but those don't come out so well in photos.

I made these by printing, just using black printing ink, and a block cut with lino-cutting tools. I didn't actually use lino, it's the rubber stuff that you can get. Here's the cut out designs, on top of the doodles used for planning purposes. Halfway through cutting the snowman, I went for a swim and while I was doing it I realised that even though I'd taken care to do it the right way round, I was still about to cut it so that the snowman would come out black. I rescued it, but it's not quite the way I wanted it to look. Lucky I went swimming just at that moment! 

Here's a scarf I made for a friend's birthday present (on Boxing Day), the same as a previous one but in two solid contrasting colours rather than with a colour-changing wool.

In the photo above you can also see the corner of a little crochet purse I put chocolates into for another friend, and here's one with earrings in for a Christmas present.

This wasn't exactly Christmas-related except that I did it recently: I used this washi tape to make my ipad cover prettier. It's easily removable so I can change it if I get bored with it.

This is a necklace made for my mother, a straightforward bead-stringing affair but quite effective, I think. They're glass in the centre, and then there's malachite chips interspersed with a few metal ones and some bamboo coral (ethical version of coral).

But this was the most time-consuming thing: stiffening crocheted snowflakes. Making them is fun to do because it's relatively quick (maybe 20 minutes for a small one and a couple of hours for a big, complicated one), but then they're all floppy. So you dip them in some kind of solution (I used good old PVA glue and water) and then pin them out to dry, like this.

You have to use pins that won't rust and you should be a bit more careful than me about pinning them out neatly - not all of mine were very even because I didn't spend the time doing it properly. But some of them came out really well, and those made it as Christmas presents (the one that's large in the photo above is on our tree though, as it was not quite perfect enough but I like the design).

Here's a successful one, demonstrating the stiffness by holding it up.

 That was fun. I got a kit to knit little animals for Xmas as well.

Long wavy stripes

I made some crochet things for my mother's birthday. (At the moment basically everyone gets crochet things for their birthday.) I did this long scarf with stripes along its length. I like doing stripes this way because it's something you can't do with knitting, unless you had super-long needles because you have to make it in just a few rows with a LOT of stitches. I can't remember how many stitches per row for this one but it's probably over a hundred. The wavy pattern is made by making different height stitches (double, half treble and treble) and doing the opposite on the next row so the peaks and troughs match up. The ends of the rows were a bit untidy so I double crocheted the ends to neaten them up.



Then I also did this little purse, which is a really cute pattern: you start in the middle working rows vertically, and work increases into the last stitch each time to make the round part. You go back and forth around the centre. Hard to explain but it's from this pattern.


And finally, Tony made a linocut card, inspired by a fossil ammonite after we visited the shell grotto in Margate.

iPad cosy

Here's another very simple thing that I crocheted: an iPad cosy. It's extremely simple, but I like the colours and the way the stitch looks. It's from that 200 stitches book I linked to, and the rows slant in alternate directions. Not difficult at all, but I love it, people comment on it, and it cost me a lot less than the boring old cases you can buy. (If I have one criticism of the iPad, it's that it doesn't come in bright colours. Well, I fixed that.)

Stitches

One think I've really found that I like about crochet is how easy it is to make lots of different kinds of fancy stitches. Here's a couple of practice goes I had, of making rounds, chevrons, 'eyelash' stitch and one that I then used to make a complete project (photo soon).

Obligatory granny squares

One of the first things that most people learn how to crochet is granny squares: they're easy, quick, and use up little bits of wool rather than needing to buy big quantities. You can then put the squares together to make things like blankets and cushions (and more, if you're creative). Here's my first go at a cushion cover, not yet attached to a cushion:

When you attach the squares together you can do it with crochet, rather than having to sew them. Gives a nice neat edge. Some people actually crochet the lot together as they're going, building one on what's already there, but I made little ones and attached them in rows.

Phone cover

I've got into crochet since I last blogged, ages ago. I've made quite a few things so will try and photograph them and put some posts up.

This one is a phone sock I made for Tony because he was carrying his phone around in an actual sock, an old (clean) one. I made it in the pub, which caused excitement among the regulars.

It's just rows of double crochet, alternating every other row. It was approximately DK weight with a 4mm hook. I added a little button loop in chain stitch just to hold the phone in, as it's not a tight-fitting cover. 

Making paper beads

It's both my aunts' birthdays in early March, and this year I made them both necklaces made of paper beads. These are so easy to make (if a little bit of a faff) and they look great (if I do say so myself). 

If you're not keen on making them, you can very easily buy them. Get them from a supplier like this one and give some money to Ugandan women at the same time. If, however, you'd prefer to make your own, there are lots of Youtube videos and online tutorials to show you how, so I'm not going to do that here. This is a good, simple set of instructions if you want them. 

I made two very different necklaces with mine. For one aunt, I made them from Peter Capaldi. Magazine pages are good type of paper to use, as they're thin and glossy and good colours. I chose Peter because I thought my aunt would like the resulting beads - mostly dark grey, with pinkish highlights. Here he is being cut into triangles:

Peter Capaldi in the Radio Times being cut into triangles

Then I rolled them up, glued them and left them to dry, then varnished them. If you put them on cocktail sticks this is much easier to do. Mr T came up with this great idea for a stand, scrumpled up tinfoil:

Beads drying on cocktail sticks

Once varnished (two coats) and dry, they look like this:

Finished varnished paper beads

I strang them with grey seed beads in between, and a few silver-coloured metal ones at the front. They're from an African stall at Portobello Road market in London:

The finished necklace

For my other aunt, I used normal white paper and coloured it with permanent marker. You only need to colour the edges of the paper where it'll show when it's rolled, not the whole triangle. Then I did the same as with the Capaldi ones:

Beads drying

And I strang these ones with blue and red seed beads, and chips of malachite for super-bright contrast:

The finished paper bead and malachite necklace

Leftovers

I've been using up odds and ends of the things I've bought recently. Here's a necklace with heart shaped beads I've had for ages in the centre of those green shell rings - they're just the right size. I didn't have enough clear crackly ones to make exactly matching earrings so I made nearly-matching earrings with green ones.

Here, I combined more green rings with blue veined jasper squares, strung little seed beads in the centre and added dark blue, light blue and clear fire-polished faceted beads at each end to tie the colours together. The tiger tail is royal blue in this one (it was light green in the one above).

And the last ring left, turned into the centrepiece of a three-strand necklace. I'm not totally sure about this one actually, I'm yet to make up my mind about it. Anyway, there are random selections of green beads on each of the three strands, including leaves.

More blue swirly cube beads, strung with smaller beads between that aren't fixed so they slide about:

And the last of the blue jasper, mixed with some of those swirly round beads on a toggle-clasp bracelet. I've still got some swirly ones left actually, though only three.