Christmas Balls

I have thoroughly enjoyed Arne and Carlos' Christmas Countdown on YouTube. They published a new set of 24 Christmas balls for Advent 2020. The pattern can be purchased here for a mere $8 US. This has been such a fun activity during these grey days as we head to the Winter Solstice.  Every day at 1pm ET I look forward to their daily vlog which includes a little story or memory which inspired that day's design and the big reveal at the end when that day's ball is hung on the tree.

 I have only knit one of the 2020 Advent balls, though. 

I used sock yarn and 2mm needles so it wouldn't be too big. The finished size with these materials is 2.5" in diameter. With the called-for materials it would be almost twice the size.

In other years, I have knit others of their design, again with sock yarn and 2mm needles.

A traditional 8-petaled Nordic flower.

Snowflake

The traditional Nordic Yule goat is usually made from straw and in modern times wrapped with red ribbon. The history is quite interesting and dates back to the Norse god, Thor, who rode a chariot through the skies pulled by two goats.

However, I have been using the sock yarn on my sock yarn blanket so I didn't want to deplete my supply of red and white. 

I also did a Fair Isle ball, not concerned at all about using Christmas colours. I just used random sock yarn remnants. I just realized it is upside down because right side up the stitches should look like 'v's. Oh well. 

Then A & C did a vlog about the mini-Christmas balls they did in 2012 for Schachenmayr - a yarn company that ran a line of Arne and Carlos designed yarn. That sounded like less knitting for me so I bought that set of patterns, too. Schachenmayr sold the patterns in a booklet in the shape of a sock. I guess the contract with them has expired and A & C are now selling it on their own. It, too, is $8.

I have been using DK weight yarn from my seemingly bottomless stash: Peer Gynt red and Smart superwash white. Both are by Sandes Garn, a Norwegian yarn company. Myrtle Station Wool  in Brooklin (Ontario) has a vast inventory of their yarns. 

A traditional Nordic pattern,

and moose.

This one is hung upside down so the crosses would look like Fleurs-de-lis.

This is to emulate the folded paper hearts - a Christmas craft and decoration from Denmark.

What are those sparkly things, you ask? Inspired by Arne and Carlos' Swarovski crystals and my friend, Jeanette's, HotFix bedazzling tool, I had to order a 'bedazzler' of my own. I blinged up as many of the ornaments as I could within tasteful parameters.  They really do glisten when the lights are on when they move a bit.

These all turned out the same size as the regular-sized ones because of the thicker yarn and bigger needles (2.75mm) that I used.

I have enough of the DK yarn to knit a couple more.