Knitted Snowman

It was a bleak wintry sky this morning. Still no snow, but cold enough for it.

Obviously we need to bring a little snow into our homes since the weather isn't providing it for us. Why not knit up a little frosty snowman? 

I used fingering weight yarn and size 2.25mm (1US) needles, but you can use any type of yarn and needles best suited for that yarn. This little snowman is 2 inches tall without the hat, and 2 3/4 inches tall including the hat.

Knitted Snowman

What You Need:
White yarn for snowman; Black yarn for hat
Set of 4 double-pointed needles (dpn's)
Small amount of fibre fill

Knitting Terms:
k = knit
p = purl
kfb = knit in front and back of one stitch
k2tog = knit two stitches together as one
st / sts = stitch / stitches

Pattern:
Using white yarn, cast on 6 stitches and distribute 2 sts on each of 3 dpn's
Join for knitting in the round.

Rnd 1: kfb of each st (12 sts)
Rnd 2: *kfb, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)
Rnd 3: k
Rnd 4: *kfb, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (24 sts)
Rnd 5 - Rnd 10: k
Rnd 11: *k2tog, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)
Rnd 12: *k2tog, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (12 sts)
Rnd 13: k
Rnd 14: *kfb, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)
Rnd 15: k
Rnd 16: *kfb, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (24 sts)
Rnd 17 - Rnd 22: k
Rnd 23: *k2tog, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)
Rnd 24: k
Rnd 25: *k2tog, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (12 sts)

stuff with fibre fill at this point

Rnd 26: *k2tog, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (9 sts)
Rnd 27: *k2tog, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (6 sts)
Rnd 28: k
Rnd 29:  k2tog to end of rnd (3 sts)

Break yarn, thread through darning needle and draw through last 3 sts. Embroider eyes, "coal" mouth and carrot nose. Run a single thread straight through his body, leaving about an inch of thread extending out from the body on both sides for arms. Tie a piece of yarn around his neck for a scarf.

Snowman's Bowler Hat

What You Need:

Small amount of Black yarn

Set of 4 dpn's

Small amount of fibre fill

Pattern:

• Cast on 3 sts, leave on one needle
• kfb of each st, use a separate needle each time you knit into one stitch, so that you have 2 sts on each of three dpn's
• Join for knitting in the round.

Rnd 1: kfb of each st (12 sts)

Rnd 2: *kfb, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)

Rnd 3: *kfb, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (24 sts)

Rnd 4 - Rnd 6: k

Rnd 7: *k2tog, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)

Rnd 8: *k2tog, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (12 sts)

Rnd 9: k

Rnd 10: k

Rnd 11: *kfb, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)

Rnd 12: k

Rnd 13: k

Rnd 14: bind off loosely

Stuff the hat with a tiny bit of fibre fill to give it some shape. Using black yarn, sew hat to top of snowman. You can embellish the hat with bits of embroidery thread for leaves & berries, or a silver band around the hat ... whatever you like.

I still haven't got my house back in order, and the kitchen still isn't quite finished. The four inadequately small drawers are being painted now, and all the utensils they hold are strewn across the countertop. No point in taking photos just yet. We all keep walking into the kitchen and pondering the look of the newly painted cupboards. It looks so bright compared to the darker stained wood. A ceiling fan still needs to be purchased, curtains need to be finished up and hung and we need to decide how best to cover the patio door. A day doesn't go by that I'm not reorganizing the cupboards. I've gotten rid of all kinds of dishes, but oddly enough there seems to be less space in there. It's frustrating me no end, and I won't stop shifting dishes around until I'm satisfied. My husband keeps reminding me that we most likely won't have huge gatherings here any more, so we can get rid of a lot of extra plates and glasses. I'm loathe to take such drastic measures and take my time deciding on each dish. I pared down my cookie tin collection and had two bags full of tins to take to the goodwill!

I still have to go deep into the back of my coat cupboard in the basement, open the tiny door to the crawlspace and with my flashlight crawl on hands and knees into the cold, dark and dusty interior to find the Christmas boxes of decorations and drag them out. Not a prospect I'm looking forward to. There are a lot of spiders in there :P  Of course whenever I crawl in there, I can't help but look over all the other stuff stored in there with a critical eye and drag out a bit more to send out the door. It's starting to be a catchall place, not a place to store seasonal items. 

I haven't got one decoration up, only a few presents purchased, no Christmas treats baked, no cards sent out. I'm cutting things a little too close for comfort this year. I think next year I won't be saying "Let's decorate the __room before Christmas this year!".  What was I thinking.

Knitted Santa is Coming to Town!

I knitted up a little Santa as a present topper last year, and wrote some haphazard notes for a pattern. Today I scrounged around, found the notes and retested the pattern. I would like to share the pattern with you today. You can make this in any size, depending on the yarn and size of needles you use. The Santa below was knit on size 2.25mm (1US) needles with fingering weight yarn. He's about 2-1/2 inches tall (and awfully cute at that size!).

The Santa below was knit on size 4mm (6US) needles with worsted weight yarn. He's about 4 inches tall. Whichever yarn you use, choose the needle size that best suits the yarn. This pattern is written from the bottom up. You will have a lot of yarn ends as you change colours. I just tie a knot when the new colour is introduced. There's no need to weave in these ends, just stuff them inside the Santa (I have noted when to do this in the pattern).

KNITTED SANTA

What You Need:
Scraps of Yarn: red (body & hat); black (belt); pink (face); white (hat brim); blue (eyes); gold (buckle)
Set of 4 double-pointed needles (dpns)
Small amount of fibre fill, or you can just stuff it with scraps of yarn

Knitting Terms:
k = knit
p = purl
kfb = knit front & back
k2tog = knit two stitches together as one

Pattern:
Using red yarn, cast on 6 sts, and distribute 2 sts on each of three dpns
Join for knitting in the round (see ** at end if you need help with this)

Rnd 1: kfb of ea st (12 sts)
Rnd 2: *kfb, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)
Rnd 3: k
Rnd 4: *kfb, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (24 sts)
Rnd 5: k
Rnd 6: change to black yarn ... k
Rnd 7: change to red yarn ... k
Rnd 8: k
Rnd 9: k
Rnd 10: change to pink yarn ... k
Rnd 11: *k2tog, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (18 sts)
Rnd 12: k
Rnd 13: change to white yarn ... k
Rnd 14: p
Rnd 15: p
Rnd 16: change to red yarn ... k
Rnd 17: k
Rnd 18: k
Rnd 19: *k2tog, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (12 sts)
Rnd 20: k
Rnd 21: k
Rnd 22: k

stuff with fibre fill at this point ... stuff all yarn ends inside the Santa at this point too

Rnd 23: *k2tog, k2, repeat from * to end of rnd (9 sts)
Rnd 24: k
Rnd 25: *k2tog, k1, repeat from * to end of rnd (6 sts)
Rnd 26: k
Rnd 27: k2tog to end of rnd (3 sts)

Break yarn and draw through last 3 sts, leaving a tail about 6 inches.  Make a tiny pom pom for the hat in white and secure using the red yarn. I made my pom pom the old-fashioned way with two tiny circles of cardboard, the centre hole was made with a hole punch (see photo below ... if you need help with that, just ask!). Embroider eyes and belt buckle using scrap yarn.  

---------------------------

these are the cardboard circles I used to make the pom pom

** This is how I join for knitting in the round. Cast on all stitches and distribute on the dpns as suggested. Arrange the needles so that the last stitch you cast on is on the left-hand needle, and the first stitch you cast on is on the right-hand needle.

1. Using the right-hand needle slip one stitch purl-wise off the left-hand needle and onto the right-hand needle;

2. Now with the left-hand needle slip the second stitch* from the right-hand needle over the slipped stitch in step 1, and onto the left-hand needle (*the stitch immediately to the right of the stitch you just slipped onto the right-hand needle).

Basically, you just exchange one stitch from the left to right and from right to left and it holds the stitches tight so you can now knit in the round.

I hope this makes sense ... let me know if you have trouble.

HO! HO! HO!

Five on Friday

... taking five minutes from my day to enjoy five things

One

This is the imprint of a mourning dove being smushed into my patio door recently ... hot on his heels (wings?!) was a Cooper's Hawk. Both birds crashed into the window, then to the ground, but the hawk recovered first and flew away with poor dovey in his talons.

Two

My favourite beautiful pink Christmas cactus from Mom. Once it's finished blooming I'll have to transplant it to a bigger pot, and hopefully have even more blooms next Christmas.

Three

The day following the hawk 'n dove crash into my window, the hawk made a reappearance. He struck the patio doors again!  This time he didn't catch a bird, and I wonder if he didn't knock himself a bit senseless. He perched upon the arbor in my yard for a while to recover himself ... he's a beauty!

Four

Oh yes, the kitchen makeover is finishing up now ... very excited to reveal it to you all soon!!

Five

A Christmas vignette at my front door. My baby sled and my favourite wooden toboggan that was a Christmas present when I was about 7 years old. The toboggan went down many hills at my country home, and through the woods at nighttime to Lowville where the entire village would be out on moonlit nights tobogganing.

Please be sure to visit these other gals with their "Five on Friday" posts today at these wonderful blogs:

Amy at Love Made My Home

Michelle at Michelle's Make or Bake

Jane at The Maple Syrup Mob

Leanne at Today's Stuff

Janet at Macque