christmas 'crafty' part one...

i'm not quite sure why i feel the need to create a 'winter wonderland' on the mantelpiece of my studio with only two weeks to go...and more to the point why i feel the need to 'crochet' this winter delight. however i am determined just like i was with the 'snowball' scene to 'see it through'...

i spent most of yesterday in between answering the door to 'pesky gnomes', thinking...yes that's right dear readers i had my 'thinking cap' on, i haven't worn it for a while so it felt a little 'odd' but never the less i kept it on and continued for the best part of the day to 'think'...

and then after all that 'thinking' i took up my 'yarn and hook' and started to crochet...to be honest i really didn't know quite what i was doing and where it would go but if i'll be darned, i actually managed to make three little cone shapes that i do believe could pass as winter wonderland trees. they get their 'jaunty' shape from the fact that i 'made it up as i went along' and not because of some 'preplanning' on my behalf...

i only have another twenty or more to go. ("are you insane, Tif?" i hear you cry) but that's where you do not need to fear for my sanity dear readers...you see, i am looking for an excuse every minute of the day to sit down in my 'where have you been all my life' 1950's George Mulhauser chair that i found whilst out and about with my folks last week...

all dusty and unloved, way up high in the eaves of an antique mall...the price was a steal and now he sits in the corner of my studio by the window all polished (thanks to my mum) and loved (thanks to my bottom)...the most perfect 'crafting' spot to sit and spend some time with a ball of yarn, a hook and a lovely cup of tea...

so i am now going to give you the low down on how to make a 'jaunty' crocheted tree for yourself, a loved one, a passing stranger, a pesky gnome or perhaps a squirrel in your back yard...and once again if you can follow my instructions and actually produce an item that resembles a tree, i think we will all believe in miracles at christmas time...

(deep breaths and here we go)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A 'JAUNTY' TREE

*you will need a mix of green colors if you wish to make a 'collection' of trees (of course you can use any color you wish but i used green), i used a medium weight yarn that called for a 6mm hook, which i changed out for a 3.5mm hook so i got a really tight solid material at the end, thus helping the tree to stand on it's own...without help from cardboard, stuffing or perhaps a passing rock...

the trees are made from the bottom up, just so you know.

*make a 'chain ring' of say around 30 (this doesn't really matter, the longer the chain, the bigger your tree will be...it's nice to make them all different sizes)

*row 1: chain one, sc around the ring, sl st to complete first row

*row 2: chain one, 1 sc, skip one, sc until you are a third way around the ring, skip one, sc until you are two thirds of the way around the ring, skip one, sc until end and sl st to complete second row

(are you still with me...)

*repeat rows 1 and 2 making sure you decrease three stitches every time on row 2, evenly around the ring...this makes the twisty spiral shape as the tree gets narrower

*once you have reached the top, with say about 6 sc left, you just keep spiralling and decreasing and 'making it' look right until you are happy with your pointy bit on the top of your tree. (that's the beauty of crochet, if in doubt just make it up)

*finish off and thread in ends.

here's a close up for you to see of how the end result should look

*"voila" should be the words you say, then with a bit of luck you will have a 'jaunty' coned tree shape, just add or subtract the number of chains at the beginning to make your tree larger or smaller...but continue the pattern just the same repeating row 1 and row 2.

right ho, she's thinking that she has made a complete pig's ear of relaying a very simple idea...and thinking she needs a 'pattern' writer to aid her ~ Tif