HITTING THE WALL

There comes a time in every crocheter’s life when s/he is completely unmotivated. Nothing looks interesting. The yarn looks old. Nobody NEEDS a gift. No inspiration in sight. What to do?

I find that a couple of things will get me back in the groove. One thing is to leaf through some older magazines and books. There is always something I wish I had made or that I see with new eyes. Maybe my situation has changed and I now have better skills or the world of fashion has changed to make something old, new again.

This past weekend is usually a great source of inspiration for me – the Missouri Fiber Festival. But, DJ and I had to miss it this year. Too much going on. So, we decided to have our own Fiber Festival (read Mom’s Weekend Away) and celebrate crochet and, um, probably ice cream.

We also enjoy going to thrift stores together. The small town we visit has several excellent thrift stores. Items there are typically in better shape and cheaper than our local thrift stores. There are also many items in the stores that give us ideas. Ideas like – we could make this little thing cuter by adding a crocheted flower to it – we could hide this stain with a few buttons – we could make this longer with a crocheted edging. You get the idea.

Here’s a smart cookie who used two of ‘my’ ideas:

http://creativeramblings.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html

Boy, we are two cheap dates! But, we have fun – and manage to consume an inordinate amount of chocolate in the process.

This free Christmas Tree Pot Holder is one of those classic holiday crochet projects that feels both decorative and useful at the same time. It has a lovely vintage handmade feel, with a tree shape worked in green crochet cotton and red detailing that gives it a festive finish. The pattern is presented as a practical kitchen project, but it also doubles as a cute seasonal decoration for anyone who likes to hang handmade pieces in the kitchen during Christmas.

What I like about this pattern is that it is not just a flat novelty shape. The design uses rows of double crochet with decreases to build the tree silhouette, and then red crochet is added to join the sections and create picot details, which helps give the finished piece a more decorative look. It also includes a covered ring at the top so it can be hung when not in use.

The materials list is refreshingly simple too. The project calls for green and red crochet cotton and a size 7 crochet hook, so it is a good stash-friendly make if you already keep cotton yarn on hand for kitchen crochet. Because it is made with cotton rather than soft acrylic, it has that more traditional pot-holder feel that suits the project well.

This would be a sweet little project to make for holiday gifting as well. I can easily see these being worked up as stocking stuffers, hostess gifts, or part of a handmade Christmas kitchen set. One of the comments on the post even mentions making them for stocking stuffers, which feels like exactly the right fit for a pattern like this.

Overall, this is a charming old-school Christmas crochet pattern with plenty of handmade appeal. If you love festive kitchen décor, practical holiday crochet, or just enjoy making seasonal projects that can be used year after year, this Christmas Tree Pot Holder is a fun one to bookmark.

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