Deck the Halls...

...with boughs of yarn!  Although Christmas decorating has been slightly neglected in our household this year, I have had visions of how I would like to decorate my craft room for the holidays in the future.

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This picture popped up on Apartment Therapy last week and made me want to go around searching for stray buttons and remnants of pale-colored yarns.  How great would a couple of these look on my worktop?

This felt wreath by Pickles would be perfect on the doorwall by my workspace.  Have you been over to Pickles website/blog?  I am constantly inspired by all of their knitting patterns.  They just came out with a new book which I'm hoping will eventually be in english...please!?

Finally, I would have a tree adorned with all sorts of yarny goodness.  Charlene (aka Keppygirl ...you may remember her felted bags I posted about before) is a friend from Ravelry who submitted this quick ornament project. 

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All That Glitters…

No, that aren’t gold, but they are fast and simple to make.  Just what the fiber lover needs to help celebrate the holidays.



Yarn Ball Christmas Ornaments

Materials Needed:

Styrofoam™ balls – 3”, 2 ½”, or 2”

Yarn – color of your choice, I used an acrylic worsted weight yarn

Metal Ornament Hooks Glitter – color of your choice

Spray Adhesive – Krylon All Purpose 7010

Glitter – color of your choice



Using your choice of 3 inch, 2 ½ inch or 2 inch Styrofoam™ balls, wrap with the yarn of your choice.  I used an inexpensive acrylic yarn.

Wrap with layers of yarn until the Styrofoam™ no longer shows. Tuck the end of the cut yarn under the wraps.  Use a pliable lightweight metal ornament hooks, reshape the ornament hooks into a “U” shape.  Cut a 6 to 8 inch length of yarn and tie the ends together forming a loop.  Tuck the knot under one of the wraps on the yarn ball and insert the reshaped ornament hook into the Styrofoam™ ball so that it straddles the loop of yarn.  Push the ornament hook all the way down into the Styrofoam™ ball.

Then apply spray adhesive evenly, but lightly over the surface of the yarn covered ball.  I prefer the Krylon™ brand all purpose 7010 spray adhesive.  Note: it is important to spray outdoors or in a well ventilated area.  Also be certain to protect the table top or area you are working in for overspray.

Have a fresh sheet of newspaper under your work to catch the glitter that doesn’t stick to the yarn ball.  Then lightly shake your choice of glitter over the yarn covered ball.  Hang to dry.

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Besides this super easy project (talk about stash busting!), I would also adorn my yarny tree with all sorts of knitted ornaments.  I will make this a long term goal- maybe a couple new knitted ornaments a year- here are some of my favorites:

These ornaments come as a kit from Knit Picks.  For 19.99 you get 9 skeins of Palette yarn, plus the patterns for all of the ornaments.  I love the little sweaters, but my favorite part of this kit may be the felted string of lights.

Mini Christmas Stocking Ornament is a free pattern on Ravelry and has been a long time favorite of mine.  Not only would these look great on my craft room tree, but I think they would make a great quick gift if you needed something in a pinch.

Again from Knit Picks is this free pattern for a knitted advent calendar. Fill each of the 24 mittens with a little something special as you countdown to Christmas- what a great idea!

Finally, I love these cabled ornaments from Kalamazoo Knits.  Deck the Balls with Aran is a pattern from Kelly Jensen and is available in her Etsy shop.

So although I am not taking the time to whip up any knitted holiday cheer, I figured I could at least document some of my favorites so I have them saved for the future.  For now I am still busy working on Elise's holiday outfit which I am making a ton of modifications to.  The original pattern was seeming a bit too boyish so I decided to change it up. I have a vision for some super cute booties to go along with the outfit- only a few days left!