| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| wellington womble |
Thingymas DecorationsEvery year, I look at my Christmas tree, and think it could really do with a few handmade trinkets to dress it up more. And every year I put off buying some, because next year I'll make some. And by the time the tree is up, I am too manically busy dealing with all the other last minute stuff to do it. And so on. For about 5 years.So what can I make now to make my tree beautiful in December? Knitted stuff especially welcome, but all crafts considered. |
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| Bernie66 |
It's September!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Christmas is DECEMBER 
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| judith |
We had a corn dolly-making demo at WI last week. It is incredibly easy to do - I made a quite respectable-looking ornament in about 10 minutes. I have a vague plan to make a lot of trinkets for the tree this year this way.
It will probably never happen though. 
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| sean |
Knit a Christmas tree? 
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| Chez |
Stop it. Stop it NOW.
*backs gently away, gibbering* |
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| Bernie66 |
Cancel Christmas, it's a consumerist money making orgy of self indulgence and overspend.
And sooo bad for the environment in terms of waste packaging etc. Bah humbug |
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| earthyvirgo |
Hear hear. I noticed that 'the shops' now have the Christmas aisle fully stocked 
One to avoid, particularly when shopping with Mr Bah Humbug himself. |
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| mochyn |
The problem with that is that if you make pressies (e.g. cardigans or prints  ) you need to start now!
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| Midland Spinner |
When I was a child we had some beautiful long strings of ..... Swarf on our Christmas trees!!
I'm not kidding, we really did They were pretty, cheap and most importantly taught all of us kids at an early age to respect swarf. Not only did they cut your fingers if you weren't careful, but they were fragile and didn't look as pretty when broken into short lengths. I still think of Christmas whenever I walk through the machine-shop at the Railway. |
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| pookie |
here try this site, I posted this link on Fee's request for knitting projects on holiday thread.
http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/christmas.php |
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
I'm making these sorts of things for Christmas at the moment (sorry picture is a bit rubbish) they smell quite nice too 
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| judith |
Or even full one.
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| Bodrighy |
Not done these myself but intend to at some time.
Pete |
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
They would be very special wouldn't they 
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| Gill |
They look good, Pete. Should keep you busy for half an hour .
Our tree is decorated with lots of these three dimensional wooden baubles, compound cut on a fret saw: 
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| earthyvirgo |
Those are lovely Frewen, so much nicer than all the glittery, tinsely stuff. S'been ages and ages since I made Christmas decorations. EV |
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| Bodrighy |
Woodturners have a special list. It's called a tuit list. You can get special little plaques like this. These are on my tuit list
Pete |
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| Bodrighy |
I was looking at your instructions on these the other day. A new lathe is now my top priority and so I have had to forgo the pleasure of scroll sawing until I sell some more things. Suspect it would be a while before I achievd that level of competency anyway.
Pete |
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| Cathryn |
Can we do this when we meet up before Christmas maybe? Hmm, bit off the top of my head but there are things that wouldn't need loads of equipment. (Still haven't repaired sewing machine...) |
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| vegplot |
Bonfire night wasn't originally about Guido. It was to teach those who started wittering on about Christmas before they should have. | ||||
| Bodrighy |
I would like to note how nice it is to see most people using 'Christmas' and not 'Xmas'
Traditionalist Pete |
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| vegplot |
It's Crossmas  well before Christmas.
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| cinders |
Not a trinket but stringing popcorn is fun and looks nice,it also can be composted.How about decorating small boxes(recycled of course) and put things inside for members of your family,could be kept for years to come. | ||||
| wellington womble |
Oh for goodness sake, you lot, cheer up! I did say that I want to make things now, because later will be all tied up with making/cooking/wrapping/buying festive things for other people. I'm not planning to display them until the appropriate month
Thank you to those of you who posted sensible ideas. |
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
You could make them with commercial felt instead of the stuffed hearts and birds, then you wouldn't need a sewing machine at all
I've stuffed some of the hearts with lavender too, and I've made a few christmas geese holding bells or straw decorations - I've also done a few origami bags and dammit dolls too...I'll try and post pics later (the things we do for the Christmas village bazzar ! :wink) |
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| Cathryn |
Or make flat felted ones and decorate with beads an stuff.
(Some of us could stitch by hand...) |
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| mochyn |
Re the 'do' before mid-winter (mid-Wales version): anyone fancy doing some basic crafts on one of the days? I've booked the hall for both... | ||||
| Cathryn |
Yep, you could thread needles for me.
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| mochyn |
OK: bring plenty of needles and every colour of thread you're ever likely to need and I'll thread them for you!
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
I so wish I was coming
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| judith |
Could you get over here? With the tiddlers, of course.
Accommodation could be provided. |
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| bernie-woman |
Theres some nice christmas stuff on Drops - I particularly like the bell ornaments here | ||||
| judith |
These are quite cheery too. | ||||
| Nick |
Long spirals of steel, cut from some block as waste? If I'm thinking of the right thing, how lovely! Hope they smelt slightly of oil.... |
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| Midland Spinner |
Yep that's the stuff, some of it was blue at the edges where the heat generated by cutting had caused it to turn colour. Very pretty .... & very dangerous. If we did it today I expect that the thought police would come down on us like a ton of scrap. And yes, I think that it originally smelt of oil, although over the years it faded to be replaced by the smell of pine needles and the faded tissue paper that it was kept in. Having said that, my whole childhood seemed to smell of oil.... |
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| AnnaD |
I like those crocheted snowflakes people make, and I'm sure you could probably crochet anything from baubles to snowmen. | ||||
| Bugs |
Don't suppose anyone recalls a site, I'm sure it was posted on here once, which had a variety of miniature decoration knitting patterns, definitely stockings, I suspect also little jumpers?
I think it might have been a Norwegian site but the patterns were available in English - not Drops, but an individual's website. Possibly something like their_name.no And, it might have been turquoise. A very simple site, and the patterns very brief. There are lots of others on google but I remember looking at this one several times and thinking they looked quite promisingly quick to do. |
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| Bugs |
I guess that would be a "no" then... | ||||
| Jamanda |
The one Bernie woman linked to is Norwegian. |
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| Bugs |
Thanks v much but Bernie's is Drops, which does have lovely stuff, but the one I'm thinking of is more like an individual's home page, with a few patterns for terribly simple, very tiny items (something like cast on 8 stitches and knit 12 rows or so)...achievable even with my over-optimistic estimation of my own skills
No doubt it will come to me. In January, probably... 
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