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

Honey in the Comb Dishcloth

In addition to the Mistletoe Dishcloth that I found in my stored Christmas decorations, I also found a second half-finished dishcloth that I am referring to as "Honey in the Comb" because it's knit using the honeycomb stitch.

Basically, this dishcloth follows the Honeycomb pattern in Sandy Scoville's Knit Dishcloth Sampler (American School of Needlework, publication #1309), except I used two colours instead of one. Why? Because last year I had leftover both mistletoe yarn (from the Mistletoe Dishcloth) and red yarn from a dishcloth that I had done for a friend with a kitchen decorated in red. Neither leftover was enough to make a dishcloth, but the two together produced this lovely Christmas kitchen accessory. I simply used the red for the border in the pattern and the mistletoe for the centre.

I'm still trying to conquer joining two colours cleanly. This was the first time I managed to do it without leaving any holes, but the joins aren’t always clean, plus I made one major booboo. Instead of running the change-over yarn back through the body of the knitting, I accidentally looped it around the outside. Oops! By the time I noticed the problem, I wasn’t in the mood to unravel all my knitting. Since I was doing this dishcloth for me and not as a present for someone else, I decided to leave it as it was.

My Honey in the Comb Dishcloth now makes a striking Christmas decoration hanging above my kitchen sink.

Mistletoe Dishcloth

This year, for the first time ever, I wasn't looking forward to the Christmas holidays -- partially because I can't afford to travel to visit my family thanks to the economy, and partially because I have recently been diagnosed with diabetes, so will not be able to indulge in all the wonderfully delicious seasonal goodies. Determined not to give into depression, I pulled out all the Christmas decorations that I’ve collected over the years and decorated the apartment from top to bottom. The cat ran and hid, terrified I was going to stick a Santa Hat on him...

Among my kitchen decorations, I discovered this beautiful Christmas dishcloth that I had totally forgotten about. Then I remembered that I had started knitting it before Christmas last year but hadn't finished it in time to use during the holidays. So I packed it away, where it languished, unused and ignored, in storage. Now it has the place of honour, hanging above the sink and matching all my holiday-themed potholders, kitchen towels, Santa stove ring covers and vivid red rugs.

This dishcloth was knit using the free pattern for Alex’s Cloth designed by Vaunda Rae Giberson, and using Lily Sugar'n Cream Misletoe cotton yarn.

© 2009-12-07 N0Nightowl