Stars and Snowflakes

by Debbie Sullivan December 11, 2017 1 Comment

We're right in the middle of the darkest time of the year here in Montreal, with the sun setting just after 4pm these days. Elizabeth and I have both been doing some decorative crafting lately, which helps to brighten things up as we prepare for the holidays and anxiously await the solstice...

I've been working on some crocheted Starry Dream hanging ornaments, from a pattern I found through the Indie Design Gift-along on Ravelry. These use an overlay crochet technique that I haven't done much before, but once I got the hang of it they were super fun to work up. I'm using some leftover scraps from our Elora mini-skein sets, and I'm hoping to have time to crochet a few more in different colour combinations. 

Elizabeth has been working on some more kid-friendly decorating projects with her son this year. They've got some paper stars on the go, and various shapes and sizes of paper snowflakes. 

She used these instructions for the origami stars on the left, and suggested this tutorial for the 3-dimensional paper snowflake on the right. She says these ones look especially nice with origami paper that's patterned on both sides, and are a great project for kids because they'll still look beautiful even if the cuts aren't perfectly straight or even. 

We used to make cut paper snowflakes all the time as kids, but Elizabeth has taken them one step further this year. She's been ironing them flat and stiffening them using this recipe. She irons them on a low setting both before and after stiffening them, and her favourite tip is that the more paper you cut away, the more delicate your snowflake will be. 

Once they're stiffened, paper snowflakes are incredibly versatile decorations, for hanging on your tree, in the window or elsewhere. This morning's project was snowflake Christmas cards, and who knows what will be next! You can find the basics of snowflake folding and cutting here. 

Do you have any favourite homemade decorations that are brightening up your holiday season this year? 

1 Response

Lucie

December 13, 2017

I might have a go at the origami (5 points star), Good idea for kids artcraft.

Leave a comment

---

Also in News

"Year of Gnomes" Contest: Help Us Gname a Gnome!

by Debbie Sullivan February 23, 2022 36 Comments

Last December, just as we were shutting down the dye studio for a holiday break, we got an email from one of our favourite customers telling us all about an upcoming event we might want to look into: the Year of Gnomes Knit-Along. We loved the idea, and couldn’t resist joining in by dyeing up some mini-skein Gnome Sets for you to play with. We ordered in some special yarn as soon as we got back to work in January, and our Gnome Sets are now ready to head on out into the world!

View full article →

Reviews

Saltwater Gifts

by Elizabeth Sullivan November 15, 2020

Saltwater Gifts is the third book in the Saltwater Knits series written by Christine LeGrow and Shirley A. Scott. Like the first two books, Saltwater Mittens and Saltwater Classics, this book is grounded in Newfoundland tradition and includes many quotes, stories, and beautiful photography.

View full article →

Knitting Patterns

Free Pattern: Attic Windows Recipe

by Debbie Sullivan August 20, 2020 12 Comments

The story of this pattern starts back in 2008 when Elizabeth and I, along with our sister Margaret, decided that we wanted to make a blanket for our parents as a gift for their 25th wedding anniversary. Elizabeth suggested we base our blanket design on the traditional Attic Windows quilting pattern, and she came up with a simple technique to knit the squares.

View full article →