xmas Archives - Lucias Figtree

Is it TOO EARLY ????

Lucia & Francesca / October 2, 2018November 5, 2020 / Lifestyle, Patterns, seasonal pattern

Hello everyone!

You might be wondering what the title of my blog is all about…

it is about, surprise, surprise…COLOURS.

So let’s take a step back and give you a bit of a background… Many of you are probably aware that, as every year, October is the time for the

STYLECRAFT BLOG TOUR!

Back in July, at our summer meeting, we got given two packs of BELLISSIMA yarn to choose from. I loved them both but I decided to opt for the Autumn Leaves ..because somehow the hues reminded me of Christmas!

Then I start to think Gosh is it October too early to talk about Christmas?? probably it is, at least in my book, but I might be forgiven this time as you can decide to make the cushion ANYTIME!

I am not going give you a time or a deadline to download the pattern I decided to leave it free and available so you can enjoy it whenever you feel “Christmassy”

I also made sure that looks pretty both sides! hahhah because, let’s face it, cushions are there to be used and not just to be displayed..so we want the bottom part to be as nice as the front!

I really hope you will like my cushion, it is a quick, cheery, little project, something that you can make it in no time ( the yarn is used two strands together), It is something for your home or to give to a loved one , or something special you can add to a hamper full of Christmas goodies!

I am going to add a Christmas picture of my studio to put you in the mood..:

Please, if you make one, let me see it! Join us on our facebook page: “Crochet with Poppy’s and Lucia’s Figtree”

it is a closed group where we share projects, tips and also you can get discounts for yarn and giveaways https://www.facebook.com/groups/crochet/?hc_ref=ARQTzC0B_0QGNHRJfadJfD7Z-BfC7Nno93j6pXunCuGmaMYRrj4XH3xx8zJhoTiuXHI and spam me with your cushions!!!

The yarn is perfect for the project, it is soft, but has a beautiful stitch definition. which is a perfect base for Cross Stitch.

If you have never attempted cross stitch on a crochet cloth, please give it a go! it is easy, very effective and it will open lots of options for your future projects.

bottom line?

DO TRY my little cushion!

As always there is an opportunity to win a pack of yarn entering this giveaway,

LINK FOR FREE PACK GIVEAWAY!!

share my page and give an opportunity to your friends to try.. and I cannot wait to see all your lovely reindeers !!

as always,

lots of love and thank you for reading my blog.

Lucia xx

HERE IS THE PATTERN!!! PRESS THE LINK!

Reindeers Cushion Download

DECEMBER’S blanket,Frau Holle and a little girl called Annabelle…

Lucia & Francesca / December 29, 2017November 5, 2020 / Lifestyle, Patterns, Stories

29th of December…in Italy, we say “meglio tardi che mai” which translate… “better late than never”…..

Firstly, I am so sorry for the lack of posts…and thank you for your patience and I hope you are all enjoying your festivities.

What have I been doing?

This month has been a bit of a blur … I had things to finish that, unfortunately, I can’t share until next year…I also had work, family and all the rest to manage as December seems to be the busiest time of the year!!! Yesterday was also my birthday.

If you are following me on facebook you might have seen some post about Frau Holle as she is the theme for my December blanket. So let’s start introducing this special lady which has been part of my Christmas since I can remember…

I should start by saying I have been brought up with books… and yes, as you might have guessed, I am old enough to remember apple just as fruit- yes, a time before iPads, mobile phones, internet and computers.

It was the time when entertainment meant books and I was so lucky to have a grandmother with the most extraordinary knowledge of folk tales and stories and the will to share them.

I was the little girl that always said ‘another one, please’…

I know now, after 50 years, that my grandmother loved mixing and matching.

she picked what she wanted from the stories, she also made some up on the spot.

One night was an episode from the Odyssey or Eneid, the other was some mythological beast. Another night was some exotic location, the other a tiger out of a Salgari’s book ( if you are Italian you might know him). One night would be some little girl lost in Nordic landscapes, a god with one eye, a grey horse with eight legs , a magical tree with lots different worlds and my favourite …GHOST STORIES!

and I mean proper ones…none of this wishy-washy Twilights saga….

The common denominator of all these stories were that none of them were PC ( politically correct) , no annoying pig which jumps in puddles (she who must not be named).

My nonna’s stories were full of monsters, gore, dramas, swords, heroes, felons, dragons and skeletons on horseback, a LOT of pre- Disney’s faeries, and amazing goblins lost little creatures which were always rather nasty … (I am still quite wary what is lurking under a bridge over a creek…)

so tales of all sort, I loved them so much and I still love them now.

One of my favourite stories is from the Dolomites, a range of mountains in northern Italy on the border with Austria.

I love those mountains so much, they are home to me and to Frau Holle.

You might be familiar with one of the versions of this folk tale’s figure. The story is as old as the 1st century BC when Germany was populated by tribes.

The legend tells the story of an Earth Goddess that we know as Frau Holle or Hulda.

She was known in Northen Hesse and quite popular on my mountains too until she became famous in the 19th century thanks to the work of the Brothers Grimm. So if you don’t know it you should read Wilhelm’s version- it is a lovely story.

For us, on the Dolomites, Frau Holle is not just the depiction of a nice lady who shakes her pillow and the feathers which fall become snow on Earth… she is also the sky queen who, besides mastery of clouds and winds, she had the power of granting sunshine and prosperity to the fields. She is the motherly protector of women’s lives, she controlled feminine work, namely favouring spinning, and, as Frau Holda or Holle, she kept the souls of the unborn children.

In some countries, it was said that her home was on a mountain, a magnificent cave, and still in some others, it was in the waters of some fountains or ponds it all depends on where you are.

So I made a little one to hang over my table to remind me that, sometimes, we all need a bit of magic too!

anyway back to the blanket…

A new baby girl has just joined the family, she is the daughter of my husband’s cousin Siobhan. Her name is Annabelle and she has a beautiful big sister called Rose who is truly adorable.

Annabelle was born about 6 weeks ago and she is well overdue a blanket!

I made a blanket for her older sister so I making one for her now. I used, as inspiration, one of several beautiful images of Frau Holle from the Grimm’s tales…

I loved the colours and the details of these illustrations as much as I love the story.

So here it is my last blanket on the go..hopefully it will be ready in a few days but here you can see the first square…on some very “on theme” fresh snow!

and the usual production line on the go…

and some very appropriate, fresh snow, shot of the garden this morning…

The colour choices are mine but the pattern is not- I bought it online, I will give you all the details once I have finished the blanket.

To you all, I wish you a peaceful New Year and the best for 2018!!

I will write a final post with a summary of this amazing year VERY SOON

lots of love

lucia xxx

It is that time of the year….

Lucia & Francesca / December 1, 2016November 5, 2020 / Lifestyle, Patterns, Stories

I am one of those people that love winter and all the trimmings that come with the season, dark nights, log fires, candles, hot chocolate, lots of carbs,cosy scarfs, mittens, blankets, handmade socks, friends and family gathering for the festive season and most of all I like to have an excuse for making small things to decorate the house with.

Other things I like are Scandinavian decorations and imagery. One of my favourite artists is Lennart Helje,in particular I love his whimsical snow-cloaked world of Tomtes , woodlands and animals, also a few weeks ago I saw a short motion posted on facebook of a knitter tomte from Mochimochiland and I thought was lovely

http://giphy.com/gifs/love-comfort-knitting-3oriO6qJiXajN0TyDu

so I decided to make a small guardian as a central piece for my festive mantelpiece’s display.

If you are not familiar with the concept Tomte, is the Swedish name for a brownie or a hob, they are mythological folklore creatures typically associated with the winter solstice and yuletide. they look after the house and the occupants , they are small, with long beards and wearing a conical cap. they also can have a bit of temperament if ignored but a good porridge and a beer will make them very happy.

My Tomte is made with some ODD ENDS OF CHUNKY YARN, I used some leftover Alafoss Lopi, some DK YARN in red, pale rose and grey ( Stylecraft special ) , SOME SAND or RICE,( can be little pebbles anything that weight down and fit the body), some TOY STUFFING and a bit of WOOL TOP for the beard.

You can change anything of the above to suit your stash or your decor but you need the wool top , the most distinctive feature of a Tomte is his beard so has to be wool top in my opinion.

I didn’t write a pattern because it is straightforward, especially if you are familiar with amigurumi patterns. You have a cone for the body, another cone for the hat, a small half sphere for his nose. I added to mine two little arms with large mittens and a big heart.

Just decide how big you want your Tomte to be. Then start a dc circle ( same as the cushion I posted the other day). When you are happy with the size of the base stop the increases and keep crocheting; the sides will start to come up. Again when you are pleased with the height, place a round of even spaced decreases, more rounds and some more decreases your cone will start to form.

At this stage, it helps to start filling the body. I place a little bag of sand in the bottom to stabilise and stuffing all around.It is up to you how tall, slim you want your Tomte to be, mine has a 9inches tall body and 12 inches tall hat.

The hat is a cone too, start really small, and I added some increases for the rim to give it a’ Gandalf’s look’. Nose a semi-circle with some stuffing.

For the arms I used the A:15 pattern from Kerry Lord’s ‘Edward’s crochet Imaginarium.’ grey dk for the arms and the chunky for the mittens.

Edward’s crochet Imaginarium is a fabulous book. Probably the best I bought this year. Very useful for all sort of little creature projects. The pages are split into three parts: HEAD-ARMS-FEET plus some bodies patterns at the end of the book, so you can combine and make whatever you like.

You can use the body pattern for your tomte too.

The heart….

I found an amazing free pattern online by Mia Zamora Johnson this is the link:

http://owlishly.typepad.com/owlishly/corazoncitos-amigurumi-hearts-pattern-free.html

It comes in 3 sizes: small, medium and large. I used the medium pattern for my Tomte.

The mistletoe on his hat is pattern 53 from Lesley Stanfield ;’100 flowers to knit & crochet’ again anothe good book to have.

Make one it is really fun and a good omen too , all homes should have their own little guardian!

In the next post I will show you some more crochet decorations and how I used them .

Happy hooking! xxx