Advent

Dear Pioneers of Life,
I'm sorry that I have been absent for so long, and I won't try to make any excuses, but I hope that what I'm going to say and do next will make up for it.

In the days of pioneer life Christmas was a lighthouse, guiding through the dark days of winter. It was something to look forward to, something to remember and tell stories about, and a good excuse to gather and find warmth in each other's company. This still holds true for each of us in some way, so we spend a lot of time preparing for it.

Every year getting ready for Christmas is my most productive time of year {at least in terms of crafts}, I am frenzied, panicked, and out of control. However, over the years I've come up with quick crafts and recipes that save time and make it seem like I know what I'm doing. This year I will be sharing these crafts and recipes with you through my blog, like any good, neighborly pioneer.

I'm doing a Christmas craft-along!
Here's how it works:
Starting today, I will post a craft or recipe that I've done, with pictures and my time-saving tips, as often as I can until Christmas. Each craft or recipe will come with a difficulty rating of 1, 2, or 3.

1 - Super easy, anyone can do it.

2 - Easy, may require some previous experience.

3 - Not as Easy, requires previous experience and patience.

Let's get to it!

Advent Craft #1:

Holiday Hats

Difficulty rating: 3

If you're a knitter, mark the difficulty rating on this down to 1, all instructions for this craft will be written for people who have knitted before, so you might need someone who knits to explain if you want to try this.

Most hat patterns are based on the same set of measurements, so it's easy enough to free-style knit a hat. Here are the specifics on how to do that, as well as some quick and easy patterns I recommend.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Worsted weight yarn, about 130 yards per hat.16"

Circular knitting needles, whatever size needed to obtain guage of 4 stitches x 6 rows = 1" square, or guage called for by separate pattern.

1 stitch marker, to mark the beginning of the round.

☙ The basic formula for creating your own hat pattern ❧

Cast on edge should measure about 24", so around 80 stitches should be about right. Keep in mind that it should be an even number.

Knit in your preferred style of ribbing for an inch and a half.

{Special note}

Most patterns say an inch, or 2 inches, but an inch and a half looks just right. That might just be me.

Continue knitting in whatever style you choose, until the hat measures 7" from the bottom edge.

Start decreasing every third or fourth stitch on alternating rows until you have 6 or 8 stitches, then finish off in preferred fashion.

Here are some great free patterns I have done and recommend:

Ditto, a cabled hat by Anne Gagnon

Daisy Stitch Hat, by Jenny Lang, which can be found on Ravelry or on her blog.

Big Chunky Comfy Hat, by Erica Kempf Broughton

Tips:

The chunkier the yarn, the faster the hat goes.

Ribbing throughout on a chunky hat makes it go faster, and helps you keep track of your decreases.

You can always knit the body of the hat a little longer rather than running a little short, slouchy beanies are supposedly stylish.

You can always add stripes and color work to mix it up a bit.

That's all for now folks, merry Christmas crafting!