Happy Christmas!

I'm going to be shutting my Etsy shop tomorrow (19th December) and re-opening again on 26th December. I'd like to wish you all a happy Christmas and thank you all so much for your support over the last year. I hope you all have a happy holiday period, and I'll be back soon with new knitted birds!

If you'd like to download any knitting patterns over the festive period, they will still be available from Ravelry and Love Knitting because, you know, digital downloads don't need a holiday...

A Jeff is for life, not just for Christmas

There's lots of Jeff the Seagull knit kits going out in the post today to people who'll be finding Jeff in their Christmas stocking this year! And because his kit is only £10 plus postage, he makes a great Secret Santa gift, too. Just remember, Jeff is for life, not just for Christmas - along with all the yarn and notions you need to create a pair of gulls, you also receive a printed knitted pattern, so you can make as many Jeffs as you like, all year round!

Meet Noel the Partridge

Meet Noel the Partridge! He's a cute knitted partridge, who's ready to hop on your Christmas tree (or pear tree) and he'd make a great holiday season gift. He's 12cm tall, super friendly, and available as a knit kit or PDF pattern from Etsy, Ravelry and Love Knitting. The knit kit contains everything you need to knit Noel, apart from needles - and you also get a cute button badge of Noel and his much-loved pear.

Under the mistletoe

Mr Knitted Pheasant is waiting under the mistletoe for a queue of ladies to arrive...

Knitted Birds for Christmas

There's still time to order a copy of my book Knitted Birds, if you're looking for the perfect Christmas present for the knitter in your life! It contains over 30 different bird knitting patterns, along with nests and eggs. Maybe if you give it as a Christmas present the lucky recipient might knit you a bird or two in the new year? 

It's available directly from my blog, or from my Etsy shop, or you can buy it in all good bookshops (although if you buy one from me, I can sign it for you, for an-extra special present idea). 

Custom cross stitch

I'm still taking custom cross stitch sampler orders via my Etsy shop - these make the perfect personalised Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life.

This framed sampler style is $25 plus shipping and is large enough for 1 - 5 words, possibly 6 if they are not too long. If you would like a larger sampler, or one with more decorative stitching, then drop me a line for a quote.

All my samplers are worked on 100% high-quality aida fabric and use 100% cotton DMC and Anchor threads. No message will be considered too silly, or too rude. I'm unshockable. Here's your chance to get those private jokes and family sayings immortalised in needlepoint!

U900 Sleigh ride

If you like crocheted amigurumi toys, and you like ukeleles, you will love these little Christmas gems from Japanese uke duo U900.

Crochet Christmas Dove ornament

I love this little crocheted Christmas dove ornament from Lion Brand Yarn. Not just for the Christmas tree - this little chap would look rather jolly as part of a spring hanging decoration, or mobile. Or if you want to see nature red in tooth and claw, stuff him full of catnip and make a cat toy.

You'll need to register for the Lion Brand website to see the full pattern - it's free, they don't send you spam, and you gain access to an Aladdin's cave of free knitting and crochet fun.

Knitted Christmas bauble

Here's a pretty decoration from the Paton's Traditional Christmas family front room - a knitted Christmas tree bauble that you could make to co-ordinate with your decor, or Christmas jumpers.

I like these a lot, but won't be making them as the cats will think they are special cat toys and destroy the tree.

Yarn: Use oddments of DK.

Needles: 3 3/4 mm needles.

Tension: 24sts and 32 rows to 10cm in stocking stitch (although let's lighten up here a minute - these are Christmas tree baubles, they don't have to be precisely the same size as the pattern)

With main colour cast on 5 sts and purl 1 row.
Row 2: (RS) K1, *M1, K1; rep from * to end. 9 sts.
Row 3: Purl.
Rep the last 2 rows twice more. 33 sts.
Row 8: Knit.
Row 9: Purl.
Row 10: K3, *M1, K3; rep from * to end - 43 sts.
Row 11: Purl.

Joining in 1st and 2nd colours as required work the 13 rows of chart to make pattern. Continuing in main olour only, purl 1 row.

Row 26: K3, *K2 tog, K2; rep from * to end - 33 sts.
Work 3 rows in st st, starting with a purl row.
Row 30: K1, *K2 tog; reo from * to end - 17 sts.
Row 31: Purl.
Repeat the last 2 rows twice more. Cast off remaining 5 sts.

Join seam, leaving an opening for stuffing. Stiff firmly, and close opening. Sew a hanging loop to top.

Recycled card Christmas baubles

My photo does not do these babies justice. Just go to craftstylish.com and make some for yourself - they are really beautiful, and surprisingly easy to make. Follow the craftstylish instructions and you will get 7cm baubles, perfect for a Christmas tree. I can't resist fiddling with instructions so made these two giant ones out of recycled card by scaling everything up times three.

The result: very dramatic 20cm paper lanterns.
The general reaction: Squee! I want one.

Recycled paper star garland

Another decoration for the Transition Town Worthing Christmas bash - a star garland made out of recycled wrapping paper.

Take a length of twine and create knotted loops where you want each star to be positioned. Cut out as twice as many paper stars as you want on your garland, one for each star's front and back - there's a great star template at activityvillage.co.uk to use. I used wrapping paper, but old wallpaper or craft paper would be equally good.


Cover the reverse of one star in Pritt stick glue, use a glue gun to glue the string onto the star, and then sandwich another star on the top of the first one - you may need a dab more from the glue gun to keep the string in place. Glue gun a button onto the star, and you're done.

A very knitted Christmas

This family, from the Patons Traditional Christmas book, must have started knitting on Boxing Day last year to get this festive feast of yarnery ready for yule this year.

Christmas jumpers, knitted tree decorations, a throw, stockings, a decapitated Santa head, knitted place mats, knitted candle holder (the ultimate fire hazard), and Christmas hot water bottles all take pride of place in the Patons family lounge. The knitted brown thing on the table at the edge of the picture is sadly not a knitted turkey to rival Flo's turkey cake: it's a knitted wreath table centrepiece.

The little boy is looking worried because he asked for a video iPod Nano for Christmas. Dad is telling him the good news: he's got one right here in this sparkly box. The bad news is that Mum knitted it. Sorry, son.

Roast Turkey Cake

I don't eat turkey, but I do love cake, so this fantastic turkey cake and all the trimmings would probably be my perfect Christmas dinner. It was created by my talented friend Flo in Coventry and her equally talented workmates, as a leaving dinner for her boss.

I'll let Flo explain: "Boss was a real Blumenthal fan so we thought it would be funny to do him a Christmas dinner entirely from cake. It was made all the better by him complaining, five minutes before we unveiled this undertaking, that he was really sad he was missing our Christmas meal and also the one at his new workplace...

Basically, madeira cake was cooked in a big mixing bowl and cut to shape (reckon a heart-shaped pan might have done this, but the dome effect was good.) I bought two round chocolate sponge cakes and cut them into leg shapes then pinned the lot together with bamboo skewers.

Fortuitously, I had found turkey-coloured icing, sold as Teddy Bear brown, so that sorted that. Then I dimpled it all with the end of a spoon, and tried to add some details with black colouring which wasn't too successful.

Someone else made stuffing balls out of flapjack mix, lovingly dyeing some oats green to look like sage.



Someone else made fairy cakes and covered them in sugar syrup for roasties, another made shortbread, shaped and dyed orange for carrots, another rolled green marzipan peas, and another made a sponge cake and covered it with buttercream to make mash. Then all we needed was chocolate sauce gravy and bingo!

It was brilliant when he walked in coz we had carols playing and lights and tinsel and he really thought we'd cooked him a roast dinner - so his jaw dropped when he realised what it really was.


Problem was, we served it up as a plate of roast dinner which we all ate but it was ALL CAKE so we felt quite ill... didn't have thirds..."

Crochet snowflake Christmas decoration

One for the patient Christmas crafter - a pretty crochet snowflake made from crochet cotton or oddments of 4 ply, on 1.75mm crochet hook. This is a UK crochet pattern.

Make 10 ch, join into a ring with a sl st.

Round 1: Work (1 dc, 8 ch) 6 times into ring, sl st into first dc to join. 6 loops.
Round 2: 1 sl st into each of first 4 ch of first loop, work (1 dc, 6 ch, 1 dc) into same loop, 6 ch, 1 dc into next dc, 6 ch *(1 dc, 6 ch, 1 dc) into next loop, 6 ch, 1 dc into next dc, 6 ch; rep from * 4 times more, sl st into first dc to join.
Round 3: 1 sl st into each of first 2 ch of first 6-ch loop, 4 ch (count as one dtr), into same 6-ch loop work (2 dtr, 3 ch, 3 dtr), 5 ch, *miss 2 6-ch loops, into next 6-ch loop work (3 dtr, 3 ch, 3 dtr), 5 ch; rep from * 4 times more, sl st into 4th of 4 ch at beg of round.
Round 4: 1 ch, 1 dc into each of next 2 dtr, 3 ch, into next 3-ch loop work (1 dc, 5 ch, 1 dc), 3 ch, 1 dc into each of next 3 dtr, 4 ch, 1 dc into next 5-ch loop, 4 ch, *1 dc into each of next 3 dtr, 3 ch, into next 3-ch loop work (1 dc, 5 ch, 1 dc), 3 ch, 1 dc into each of next 3 dtr, 4 ch, 1 dc into next 5-ch loop, 3ch; rep from * 4 times more, 1 dc into ch at beg of round. Fasten off. Pour large Baileys.

Pin out, stretching evenly and spray with starch to stiffen. Leave to dry thoroughly, then sew hanging loop at one point of flake.