Nativity scene: Mary

CC-BY Lara H

Two weeks ago I posted about making a nativity scene. Well, I tried making the pattern I found, but it didn't work. I should have read it before - the increases were so not normal. I scratched around a bit more before I decided to take the plunge and make my own one.

I'm pleased to share with you my very first crochet pattern - Mary of the Nativity Scene! Please do send any corrections through, it needs to be beta-tested.

Uploading it on Ravelry was harder than I thought. I had to figure out all sorts of things. Hopefully now that I've set up my store it will be easier.

Merry Christmas!

Nativity scene

When I was a kid, I knitted up this nativity scene:

Photo by sallybarrett

It was probably the biggest knitting project I'd ever undertaken at that point in my young life. And it didn't look too good. Evidence of that can be seen in the fact that my mother stopped putting it out once I move out the house (I know you still love me, Mom!).

Since switching to crocheting, I've always wanted to crochet myself a nativity scene. I've got one made out of led that I don't like much, and one made in a tiny wooden carving gifted to me by a friend which I love, but I want to crochet one.

So I trawled through Ravelry and Pinterest, hunting for patterns. None of them came very close, so I think I'll make a mixture of them.

I like the figures in the one shown below, but it's missing some animals. The pattern is to the accessories; the figures are made from this pattern. I'm a bit worried about the stability of the figures. The designer said she put plastic pellets in her's to weigh them down, but I don't know where to find those in the stores. The Baby Jesus face is a little strange to me, I might modify that.

I thought to make the animals from this other nativity scene. They might be too big, but that might be charming. I don't like the figures much, perhaps they'd be better with some eyes. The figures do look more stable though, so I might just switch to this one if the first figure doesn't work out. I like this Baby Jesus better too.

I love this case. If I'm feeling ambitious at the end of the year I'll make a similar one - this one will be too small I suspect.

Of course Ravelry and Pinterest are loaded with more inspiration and gorgeous (pricey) patterns. If you'd like to do a CAL (crochet-along), let me know which pattern you choose in the comments. I'll be posting progress on my nativity scene throughout the year.

Merry Christmas!

The plan for 2016

Image from here
(Public domain)

November always comes on me suddenly. That's the month I realize that it's too late to do all the things I wanted to do for Christmas. 2016 is the year that that changes. Instead of thinking about Christmas only in November, I"m going to devote the whole year to all the Christmas related projects that I've wanted to do for years.

There are a couple of reasons why 2016 is the year to do this. Firstly, I have my own house. For the first time in many years, I know exactly where I will be come 25 December. Being in my space, I can see what needs to be done to rock Christmas.

Secondly, we are going to host Christmas in 2016. It will be quite a big gathering, with my husband's family and mine, and there are a number of traditions on either side to live up to.

And thirdly, it will be my baby's first Christmas. And while I know that 8-month old babies will not remember any of it, I sure will. The new addition will be in all the photos, and I want to make the setting really something.

Here's a provisional list of all the things that I want to get done this year:

• Jesse tree/Advent calendar (see next week's post for more detail on this)
• Nativity scene
• Christmas gifts
• Christmas cards
• Bunting, wreath, table settings and other decorations

I'll post every Sunday (or try to) so that you can track my progress. Feel free to join in with any of the projects.

Merry Christmas!