A Handmade Christmas {Week 5}

 Hello! Welcome to week 5 of a Handmade Christmas!
Have you started working on gifts yet? If you are I would really love to see or hear about your ideas!

Here are some of the gifts that we have completed recently:

Mara recently finished this cute cross stitch picture. She was given the kit as a gift and now is planning on giving the completed picture away as a gift. She totally enjoyed the process of working on it and now is busily doing another one.

The gift that I completed most recently is a pair of mittens for Mara. I was able to get the pair pretty much finished up while enjoying a few homeschool workshops on Saturday. I made the mittens using some leftover yarn from a ski hat that Mara had made for herself. I tried to creatively use the yarn so I would have enough and I just barely made it! It is always fun to be able to make something from scraps though.

When I make mittens I don't really follow a pattern, instead I have a guideline and then I make it to fit whomever I am making it for. Here are my basic guides:

• Cast on stitches in a multiple of 4. For these mittens (to go on a thin hand) I cast on 24 (divided between 3 needles), for a larger adult hand I would use 28 or 32.
• On those stitches I knit 2, pearl 2 around and around until I get the cuff as long as I want it.
• Then I switch to plain knitting (and on these mittens I also added in 2 stitches) and go for an inch or so until I get to the place I need to make the thumb.
• To make the thumb I put 4 stitches on a stitch holder. I then cast on 4 stitches to replace those and continue to knit the rest of the mitten.
• When it is nearly long enough I start reducing stitches until I am down to just 3 stitches and then I pull the string through and knot it up.
• Next I put the 4 stitches I had saved for the thumb onto a needle and then pick up 8 more stitches (4 stitches on each of 3 needles) and tie yarn on and knit around until your thumb is long enough and then reduce stitches and finish it off like the top.
• Finish off all the yarn ends.
• Make a second one so you have two!

I like to use double yarn as it makes it much thicker and warmer. Wool is always good too. To make stripes you just change your yarn whenever you want to change colors. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

So what have you been making? I am really looking forward to seeing what you link up! I so enjoy getting ideas from all of you.

TO LINK UP:
I can't wait to see what you make!

-Please link up (by leaving a comment with your link in it and then I will add the link to the post by myself) a handmade idea that would work for a Christmas gift, decoration or for eating. :-)

-Please make sure it is family friendly.

- Please link back to this blog. I would love it if you also would display my graphic either in your post or on your sidebar so that others can learn about and join this carnival too.

I am not using the linky this week as it hasn't been working very well for me anyway but I would really love to see what you are making. Please leave the link in the comments and then I will put it in the post for everyone to see!

Please visit.....

• Zimm's Zoo where she tells about making cute fancy gloves for little girls and slider headbands.