More Christmas Projects

Once I completed the unfinished Honey in the Comb Christmas dishcloth that I'd started last year, I found myself on a roll. I love the vivid colours of holiday yarn, and the untouched skein of Bernat Handicrafter Holidays Ombres Mistletoe in my stash just kept calling out to me.

Mistletoe iCord Necklace
Free pattern (for personal use only).

I started my holiday knitting binge by making iCord necklaces to gift my friends at our annual Christmas party. The necklaces turned out to be very popular.

Materials:

• 1 ball of Bernat Handicrafter Holidays Ombres yarn in Mistletoe Ombre


• preferred tools for making iCord (knitting needles, loom or French Knitting Bee – personally, I prefer the French Knitting Bee)


• tapestry needle


• small Christmas ornaments (I used the handmade glass pendants from a set of wine-glass identifiers)

Instructions:

Create an iCord 26-28 inches long using your preferred method of making iCord.

Sew the two ends of the iCord together and weave in the tails.

On the side of the loop directly opposite where you sewed the ends together, sew on one of your holiday ornaments. Be sure the ornament is heavy enough to hang properly without being so big or heavy that it weighs the neck down.

The example in the photo is a hand-formed glass candy cane.

Tie a piece of contrasting yarn around the sewing to hide it and make a bow to dress up the pendant.

Mistletoe Lily Dish Cloth
I used the free Lily Knitted Dish Cloth pattern from the Dishcloth Boutique. Actually, started it in a Handicrafter Twist, using the 4.5 mm needles called for. I was well into the project before I realized how incredibly wide the dishcloth was turning out. Then I messed up (knitted half of one row of instructions and then the other half of a different row). I only made matters worse when I tried to pick it out, so I unravelled the whole thing. At that point, I decided to change to the Mistletoe yarn, since there seemed to be plenty left in the skein after I finished the iCord necklaces. I also changed to smaller needles (3.25 mm). Finally, I wrote out the instructions in detail (no repeats), so that I could tick everything off as I went and not mix up the row instructions.

Oops. I guessed wrong about the amount of yarn left. I ran short after finishing the pattern, but with 12 rows still to go. I was just about to take apart the last necklace (the friend I’d made it for missed the party) in order to finish the dishcloth, when another friend called out of the thin blue air asking if I wanted to go with her to Walmart (way, way out in the suburbs) that Saturday. Since that’s where the Mistletoe yarn came from, I crossed my fingers and hoped I’d find another ball of it there, so that I could finish the dishcloth without having to undo the necklace… and sure enough, they did! [Happy Dance!]

It came out beautifully, don’t you think? I actually like the reverse side better than the actual front.

Mistletoe Christmas Tree Hot Pad

So, once more I had lots of holiday yarn leftover. This time I decided to do the free Christmas Tree Dish Cloth pattern by Barbara Breiter. To my surprise, when I knitted it up, it was way too small to be a dishcloth despite the pattern’s name and despite using large needles. So, I’ll be using it as a hot pad for holiday dinners.

© 2009-12-27 N0Nightowl