Merry Xmas!

Finally time for the Christmas holiday, I've had so much to do the last couple of weeks I kind of feel like just sleeping through the next week! But I've got 2 weeks off and I intend to enjoy them by knitting and reading as much as I can.

And yes, I have some knitting to share. Unfortunately, I only have one photo of what I've knit... namely another star! This time out of some really bulky Novita (Hile?) and the same blue star as last time (I added the button detail, I'm not 100% sure about it...) I also knitted two crowns out of the same yarn (A Very Regal Crown by Kayleigh Will on Ravelry) for my niece and nephew. I really like the crown pattern, it's a great last minute gift :)

Remember to take it easy this Christmas, don't worry if you haven't finished all your knitted gifts!

Stars in our eyes pattern

I've got a three day holiday coming up, yay! To celebrate here is my pattern for a star/Christmas tree ornament.

The white star was knit out of Hjertegarn Ribboo (Sport weight) with 3mm needles (US 2.5)  and the blue one was knit out of Hjertegarn Woolcott (DK weight) with 2,5mm needles (US 1.5). The blue star took about 12 m (13.125 yards)  of yarn and is 10.5 cm (4.1 inches) tall.

You can use any yarn you like, thinner yarn will make a smaller star and thicker yarn will make a larger one. Use smaller needles than the yarn calls for though, otherwise the stuffing will show through! You can also easily make the star bigger (or smaller) by changing the size of the initial pentagon.

Abbreviations
kfbf              knit into front, then back and front of stitch (making 3 out of 1 stitch)
kfb               knit into front and back of stitch
w&t              wrap and turn
sl2k1psso     slip two stitches together (as if to knit), knit 1, pass slipped stitches over
**                 repeat
sts                stitches

Cast on 5 sts using crochet (or provisional) cast on and join in the round. Divide sts on 5 dpns.

Increase section/Initial pentagon:
Round 1: Kfbf five times (15 sts)
Round 2: Knit all sts
Round 3: *kfb,k1,kfb* five times (25 sts)
Round 4: Knit all sts
Round 5: *kfb, k3, kfb* five times (35 sts)
Round 6: Knit all sts
Round 7: *kfb, k5, kfb* five times (45 sts)
Round 8: Knit all sts
Round 9: *kfb, k7, kfb* (55 sts)
Round 10: Knit all sts

Shaping section/Peak:
Round 1: Knit 10 sts, w&t
Round 2: Purl 9 sts , w&t
Round 3: Knit 8 sts, w&t
Round 4: Purl 7 sts, w&t
Round 5: Knit 6 sts, w&t
Round 6: Purl 5 sts, w&t
Round 7: Knit 4 sts, w&t
Round 8: Purl 3 sts, w&t
Round 9: Knit 2 sts, w&t
Round 10: Purl 1 sts, w&t
Round 11: Knit 1 sts, w&t
Round 12: Purl 1 sts, w&t
Round 13: Knit 2 sts, w&t
Round 14: Purl 3 sts,w&t
Round 15: Knit 4 sts,w&t
Round 16: Purl 5 sts,w&t
Round 17: Knit 6 sts,w&t
Round 18: Purl 7 sts,w&t
Round 19: Knit 8 sts,w&t
Round 20: Purl 9 sts,w&t
Round 21: Knit 10 sts,w&t
Round 22: Purl 11 sts, turn
Round 23: k11
repeat this section 4 more times

Decrease section/Second pentagon:
Round 1: Knit all sts
Round 2: Move 2 sts from the end of the round to the beginning, then: *sl2k1psso, k8* five times (45 sts)
Round 3: Knit all sts
Round 4: Move 2 sts from the end of the round to the beginning, then: *sl2k1psso, k6* five times (35 sts)
Round 5: Knit all sts
Round 6: Move 2 sts from the end of the round to the beginning, then: *sl2k1psso, k4* five times (25 sts, this is a good time to stuff the star!)
Round 7: Knit all sts
Round 8: Move 2 sts from the end of the round to the beginning, then: *sl2k1psso, k2* five times (15 sts)
Round 9: Knit all sts
Round 10 : *sl2k1psso* five times (5 sts)
Cut the yarn and slip the end through the remaining sts and tighten. Remove crochet cast on, weave in the ends and you are done!

This pattern has not been knitted by anyone but me, so please comment here or send me a message on Ravelry if you have any trouble (you'll find me under the name Trillian)

Christmas knitting '13

I don't know about anyone else, but I haven't done any Christmas knitting this year and with a full course load I probably won't have time to knit anything big/personalized for anyone. So I dug some leftover yarn from my stash and tried out a 'design' that has been bouncing around in my head for a while. It's a star shaped Christmas ornament knitted in the round and shaped with increases/decreases and short rows. This is the first draft, I still need to work out some kinks. The photo is of the 'decrease side', I didn't think to take a photo of the 'increase side.'

I'll post the pattern once I've worked out all the kinks (basically just need to figure out which decrease and increase to use). I think this'll make a good (last minute) present because it only takes a few hours to knit and it can be made from leftover yarn (my budget doesn't really allow for any new yarn right now). I might knit a pillow-sized one for my sister's birthday next year, she loves stars!