That Time of the Year!

Well the Christmas Season is upon us once again. The hustle and bustle of shoppers fills the stores and the smell of baking fills the air. The excitement of the children is enough that you think they are going to burst for sure. Secrets held tightly to the heart.
The Christmas tree, the symbol of Christmas is erected in the homes and decorated with all sorts of decorations and glimmering lights. (to the delight of the hydro companies who will line their pockets with glee)
When Janet was about 11 she thought it would be fun to make some ornaments for our tree so off we went to the craft store to peruse some magazines and books for ideas. We found some patterns for some bead ornaments and some popscycle sleds so home we went to make some. Then we discovered a book of patterns for crocheted ornaments and were delighted. They were time consuming little things, for once they were crocheted then we had to find something to use as moulds so they would keep their shapes when they were dipped in hot starch. Then once the starch was dry, we had to get the mould out without damaging the ornament.. piddly work. But the ornaments were worth it. The first year we had them on our tree, word of mouth had so many people coming to see them that they were selling off the tree faster than we could make them. Eventually I had to put my foot down and say no, if you want them, order them and I will make them to order but you can`t buy them off my tree. Finally it got to the point were I had to say no more orders, it was impossible to keep up. For some reason the little mouse was the most popular, everyone wanted him.



These are the ornaments:
There were two different kinds of baskets.



The bell and the sled.


I devised this birdhouse after trial and error. I had to use Balsa wood so it wouldn`t be too heavy.


I didn`t think I would like this one but after it was done I didn`t think it looked too bad.



I think the French Horn was always my favourite.



I had several different patterns for the hats, some from Barbie patterns that I had from when Janet was much younger.



Two different birds, on with a large tail and one with a small tail.




Two different parasols, one open and one closed.




I had twelve different snowflakes.


I loved the teddy bear.



The Victrola and the Violin.



This one took me a long time to complete, I crocheted four sets like this and yes, even the trees are crocheted.