Last Minute Handmade Ornament Ideas – The Cuttle Corner #15
Welcome to the fifteenth edition of The Cuttle Corner! I’ve got some last minute handmade ornament ideas for you, and lots of knitting and crocheting.
If you missed last week’s post, you can take a look here.
Now, let’s get cozy!
What’s going on
Homemade Ornaments
My family got together this weekend for a homemade ornament exchange. Everyone brings a wrapped ornament that they’ve made and takes turns opening a random one and getting a chance to “steal” from someone else.
I love getting to see other people’s creativity, especially the creations of people who don’t usually participate in crafty activities. Here are a few of the ornaments people made. Hopefully you can find some inspiration to make your own decorations!
Axolotl Snow Globe
This ornament was super fun! My brother-in-law’s sister-in-law (we are closer than it sounds) made this adorable hanging snow globe featuring Baby the axolotl (who is their actual pet). He looks so festive in his Santa hat!
If you can find a clear ornament that opens, you can add whatever you like to make your own snow globe.
Quilled Poinsettia
My mom has been doing quilling for several years. She made this gorgeous poinsettia ornament out of paper!
Wood Carved Star
My dad, on the other hand, has been making things with wood for decades. This wooden ornament was made on his CNC machine.
Dungeons and Dragons Mimic
It should come as no surprise that my family has some geeky people. This Dungeons and Dragons Mimic was 3D printed, then painted.
Felt Rain Cloud
I am in love with this little rain cloud my niece made. She sewed together some white felt, stuffed it, and added some bead “rain.” This would be a quick project to whip up!
Beaded Snowflake
My sister made this beautiful snowflake with some beads and wire. She made the opaque beads herself with paper, but you could make all kinds of different ornaments with whatever beads you would like.
Felt Santa Ornament
Another felt creation that would be fun and quick to make!
Other Ornament Ideas
There were so many more creative ornaments this year! If you want more inspiration check out this post for embroidered Christmas ornament instructions. You could also follow one of my crochet earring patterns and replace the hooks with simple loops to hang them on a tree!
What I’m working on
Crochet
I’m still working on my version of the Hygge Burst granny square blanket, but it’s almost done! I’ve got one 50g skein of yarn left to add to the border and a few ends to weave in, and it will be done. Based on how far the last skein went, I should have just enough yarn to complete two more granny square rows with just a little yarn left over.
At this point, it is very tempting to just stop when I finish the next row of the border. But I know I would rather have a slightly bigger blanket and no (or very little) leftover yarn.
Knitting
Kildalton Cardigan
I am still working on the back panel of my Kildalton cardigan. I’ve finished the shaping portion, but I still need to knit until it is the same length as the right front panel.
This cable pattern looks intricate, but once I finished the first repeat, I’ve been able to follow the established pattern without having to look at the chart. It is a very satisfying cable pattern to knit, and I love watching it grow with each row.
Sophie Scarf
Even though I have plenty of projects to work on, I couldn’t help casting on another small project this week.
I was wasting time I don’t really have on Instagram and saw a get ready with me style video where someone was putting on a bunch of layers of wool clothing to go sell chocolates in freezing weather. At the very end, she wrapped a small knit piece around her head so it covered her ears and would keep her head warm. It was like if a small scarf was earmuffs.
I looked at the caption and saw she had tagged the Sophie Scarf. Looking that up on Ravelry, it looked just like what she had wrapped around her head. The Sophie Scarf is generally worn tied around the neck, like a neckerchief, rather than a scarf. I don’t love it this way, but I wanted it to wear on my head.
As much as I love a knit hat, they don’t work well with my usual style. I almost always have my hair up, either in a claw or a bun. This makes hats particularly difficult to style. Wrapping the Sophie Scarf around my head, however, should be a nice way to keep my head warm without having to fit a hat over all of my hair.
Sadly, I didn’t “like” the reel where I saw this, and I can’t remember who made the original post. I’ve tried to find the post again, but the Sophie Scarf is a very popular tag and I couldn’t find the one I saw again.
The pattern is simple but well written. I especially like the i-chord boarder. It is also the perfect way to use some of my handspun yarn.
Working with my Handspun Yarn
For this project, I pulled out the teal merino yarn that was my first spin on my Norwegian spinning wheel.
Projects like this work great for handspun yarn. It’s small enough that I’m not worried about running out of yarn, it’s a simple design that will show off the yarn, and since it is an accessory, the gauge doesn’t matter very much.
Knitting my handspun yarn is a great way to learn how to improve my spinning. Overall, I like this yarn. There are places where the size is inconsistent, and I was prone to over twisting. A big part of this was spinning this on a new (to me) wheel. I wasn’t used to how my Norwegian wheel felt, and the yarn reflects that. I’m sure the more I spin on that wheel, the more consistent my handspun yarn will be.
In another fun twist, I ended up with my yarn, needles, cables, and project bag all matching!
Writing
All the momentum I built on writing in November seems to have fizzled out. I don’t know how I managed to fit time in nearly every day to write. I’ve squeezed in a little writing here and there, but don’t expect a finished story any time soon.
Until next time, keep cuttle-ing!
What are you working on? I’d love to hear about your projects in the comments below!