Eye to Inspire - Merry Christmas

From the Marie Claire Mansion via Habitually Chic

I wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas. These darker toned images have been catching my eye–beautiful and bright in their contrast and so different than my typical photographic style. 

Eggnog Cupcakes via Baker's Royale

Satsumas via Bakers Royale

Gold Glitter Garland  by Glitter and Grain

I'm enjoying having my family all together for the first time in many years. They are all here staying in our new home–our first Christmas in Baltimore. What a special holiday for us all. May your holidays be bright, glittery and gold. And, full of love and laughter, especially.

 xo anne

Finger-Knit Wreath–a Five Fabulous Finger-Knitting Project

I was musing the other day after my finger knitting kit post about how much I love the texture of finger knitting and how it mimics the gorgeous chunky knits I've been seeing everywhere. Suddenly, boom!, the idea of a finger-knit wreath hit me and absolutely had to come to fruition. What a beautiful way for your kiddos to lend a hand with making holiday decorations. And, bonus, it's a wreath you'll want to hang for years to come. 

 

I love neutral wreaths with just a touch of holiday color. I adore that rich green against the cream, but the metallic taupe dupioni silk ribbon is so lovely, as well.

Those double doors you see are my new front doors–very dramatic and fantastic until you have to squeeze in and out that little half door with eight bags of groceries! But, I love them, regardless.

This wreath is a perfect way to wrap up my Five Fabulous Finger-Knitting Project Series! Don't fret though, it's not the last time you'll see a finger-knitting project from me. To see all the projects, click on the button below.

I know it's late in the season for wreaths, Christmas is in four days, but you really couldn't think of a better way to keep your kiddos hands busy and happy during this long break than finger knitting.

Also, if you make the wreath neutral, you can change ribbons and embellishments with the seasons.  This would look great with fall leaves, Easter pastels, spring flowers, etc. It's as easy as weaving something new in to the yarn and styrofoam.

Here it is!

Materials

Two styrofoam wreaths.  (The ones I found at Michaels weren't round, so I just put two of their forms together)

150 yards of chunky yarn to make a whole lotta finger knitting

24 gauge floral wire

You need to begin by finger knitting your yarn.  Here is a step-by-step finger-knitting how-to.  Kids are great at it and it is a fun project for them to do while listening to a book read out loud.  Read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens while you do it and your family will remember it for years to come. You will likely have to do more than one ball of yarn, but I show you how to join them below.

Next, you need to thread the floral wire through your strand of finger-knitting.  This is much faster than it sounds so don't let it stop you.  Make a loop and twist in the wire so it is easier to thread without getting caught on the yarn.

 

Thread the floral wire through the strand by going underneath one strand per row. Don't cut the wire yet.

For ease, you may want to work with the finger knitting bunched on the wire and then stretch it out as you apply it to the wreath.  For this you need the amount of wire to be flexible. 

 

I simply held two wreath forms together, flat sides facing.  If you found a round one, that that will work on its own.

Begin by wrapping a length of wire around the forms. wrapping in the strand from the end of your finger-knitting.  The paddle with the wire should be at the other end.

Start wrapping the strands around the form, pulling the strand tautly, but not too tightly on the wire. In the beginning this is a little more challenging because you have to pull the entire mess through the middle.  I tried making a ball of it and pulling it through, but it just ended up twisting the strand too much. It won't take long before it's more manageable.

Condense the strands on the inner side of the ring as you go.

 It should look like this.

 Once you get to the end of your strand, cut the wire, leaving about 8 inches extra wire.

To join two strands, thread the wire from the end of the strand around your wreath into your new, already-wired-strand.

Thread the wire about six to eight inches in and twist the end around the wire that is already there. Repeat this process with the wire from the new strand into the old strand.

 Then, thread the yarn ends of the finger knitting chain through the strand in the same way.

 Pull tightly together and continue wrapping.

When you get back to the beginning, and you still have wired finger knitting left, hold it about where it would turn around the inside of the wreath.

 

Cut the strand an inch or so below that point.

Pull out the extra little bits of cut finger knitting until you have the four loops (the ones that would be around your fingers).  As you pull out a row or two you'll get a length of yarn again.  Thread the loose yarn that you've pulled out through the four loops as if you were ending a strand of finger-knitting.

 Twist and weave the end through the back of your wreath.

 I did it such that there was a bit of hanging thread left, that I wove to come out the top of the wreath–perfect for hanging.

 Voila!  You're done.

I especially love it with that long green ribbon with long tails.  I only had one length of that ribbon, and I wanted to hang them on the doors, so I had to cut it in half :(.  But, please, adorn it with a beautiful long-tailed bow!

Or, try a bunch of red berries.

Alright, alright, it's time for me to get back to my other holiday duties.  My family is coming in to town, including my mother, sister, brother and my sister-in-law.  It's going to be a crew! but I'm looking forward to it.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!  I'll see you on the flip side with a fun New Year's Eve jewelry tute!

Finger Knitting How-To Kits

I have been surprised at the overwhelming popularity of my finger knitting posts.  I've been emailed and asked so many things about finger knitting that it is clear there are not a lot of good resources out there. One of the biggest requests is for a pdf of the instructions. Well, it's done. I created these sweet, little finger-knitting kits available in my shop and just perfect for spending time with your little ones this winter break.  

UPDATE:  The stand-alone PDF is also now available in the shop.  

 Each kit comes with the finger-knitting pdf, a ball of cozy lion's brand wool thick & quick, a reusable project bag and a list of links to great finger-knitting projects.

I donated this actual kit to the kid's winter school auction last month. This kit is ideal to keep in reserve for a snow day or to bring as a gift with you for a visit with family or friends with young kids.Though you can find these kits in my etsy shop, if you'd rather, you can go straight to the finger knitting how-to post and do it up straight from the computer.  I know most folks think finger-knitting is just for kids, but really, it is just as relaxing and therapeutic to finger-knit as it is to knit with needles.  So truly, give it a whirl if you get a chance.
May you have miles and miles of finger-knitting and busy fingers in front of you.  For ideas on what to make with all your finger-knitting, try this gallery of 5 Fabulous Finger Knit Projects!

Five Stranded Braid Bracelet

I love braids. There is something magical about how they work. I love how the strands weave in and out of one another–so pretty. This is a five-stranded braid, and it's easier to work than you might think. Once you have the pattern down, it's a snap, and yet, doesn't it look complicated? You could do this bracelet in all sorts of fun color combinations, or all in one color and it would be fabulous either way.

Charlie was wanting a new bracelet and I thought this would be fun for him. But, if you use some nice jewelry fixings, it would take it up a notch and work for you or me. These bracelets would make great easy gifts for friends, as well. Don't be scared off by the braiding part. Give it a whirl!

For more great jewelry and gift ideas, check here or here or click on the buttons below:

 

Here is the diy for the bracelet:

Materials:
Five colors of DMC 5 Pearl Cotton Embroidery Thread
Hook and eye
Needle and thread
Sewing macine
Alternative: jewelry fixings to clasp strands, jump ring, clasp

Cut four strands of each color approximately 24" long.

Tie the five colors together in a knot with a few inches remaining above the knot and tape it down to a surface.  I chose to alternate in color value.  

I've worked the diy for the braid two different ways, depending on how your brain works.  I think it helps to look at both ways. Don't let the numbers scare you. It is quite easy once you get it down. If the numbers seem overwhelming, skip to the other set of directions!

For the mathematical, pattern-following sort of brain: 

Here is how the colors start, the colors keep their assigned number throughout the braid: 1: tan, 2: cream, 3:brown 4: peach, 5:orange

In the first step, strand 1 moves to the right over strand 2 and strand 3 moves over strand 4. You end up with the order below, 2  1  4  3  5.  Note that 5 stayed where it was.

Next, move strand 4 over 1 and strand 5 over 3 to the left. Strand 2 stays where it is.

Then, go back to the left side. Strand 1 goes to the right over 5 and strand 2 goes to the right over 4.

 Now, back again from the right, 5 goes over 2 and 3 goes over 1. And, so on.

Here is the numerical pattern:
1   2   3   4   5
2   1   4   3   5
2   4   1   5   3
4   2   5   1   3
4   5   2   3   1
5   4   3   2   1
5   3   4   1   2
3   5   1   4   2
.   .   .  
Do you see how each number moves across the pattern diagonally and then hangs out at the edge for two turns and moves back the other direction?  Look at one number, the 1, for example, you can see how it is moving to the right with each step and then stays to the right for 1 step and then moves back again.  Each strand goes through this process. You could use tape to label each strand and follow this pattern if that helps you.

Or, if you are more visual - try this.  My mantra while I do this is two to the left, two to the right, two to the left, two to the right.  See the strand farthest-most to the right, and the strand in the middle?  I've put arrows on them.  These two go to the left, over the adjacent strand.  The strand farthest to the left, stays where it is. 

Then, you do the same on the opposite side.  The strand to the farthest most left and the middle strand each move over one strand to the right.  The farthest right strand stays where it is.

You repeat that over and over.  The two with the arrows move to the left.

 Then, move the two with the arrows to the right.

And, so on.

 Continue with the braid until you get to an inch or so past desired length.

You could finish this bracelet with jewelry fixings and make a "fancier" bracelet. There are wide fixings that collect all the strands–you attach this to a jump ring and a clasp of your choice, and your done. This one was for my son, so I just wanted to use something easy that I had on hand and nothing too girly.  I taped the end so that it wouldn't come apart while I was sewing the ends.

 With a small zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine, go back and forth over the braid.

Do this to both ends at desired length.

 Clip the extra length with a scissors. Sew on a hook and eye on each end of the bracelet.   

Voila, you're done!

Now, you can go around looking super cool.

Throw one in each of your kiddos stockings for Christmas or do one as a little Chanukah present. Have fun!