🎄12 Days of Christmas-CAL: Day Twelve 🎄

Hello, Yarnies <3

One of the most challenging things about this CAL was choosing the order of projects... How do you decide who will 'kick it off', who will 'fire up the middle', or even who will 'end with a bang'... I am so glad that the decision wasn't up to me, I would still be internally debating. That being said, there was a collective 'that one!' when choosing who should fill our final slot. This little guy....this is the one we have been bursting to show you! It feels totally unreal that we are finally putting him out in the world... 

But you'll have to wait just a little bit longer, because I have some things I want to say first! 

To Nicole and Shelby! You guys have done an absolutely brilliant job at organising the CAL. From its conception, this CAL has been such an enjoyable experience, and Yarnish has hosted something truly awesome! Thank you for all you hard work and dedication to this crafty lil' business. I know that some many of our readers will agree with me when I say we hope you have an absolutely brilliant time away this Christmas, you totally deserve it <3 <3 <3 

To our amazing Emma! Thanks for rallying the troops, and keeping us designers motivated and organised for the CAL! You are so wonderful and we hope you have a beautiful Christmas with your family <3 

Ok, let's see what we are making for Day Twelve: 

 🎵 On the twelfth day of Christmas-CAL, Mrs Yarnish sent to me 🎵

Not one, not two...but THREE cheeky gnomes, by Melody Tallon of Artefacts Crochet.  

Check these little guys out! Aren't they so adorable! And one's nudist! Which was totally by accident... Melody strikes again with her cute little creations. No Christmas is complete without these little critters causing havoc! 

These quick little projects are so easy to whip up, which is a good thing! Once your friends and family see yours, they will be asking you to make one, we are certain of it! 

In the 'Day five' blog post, I asked Melody some questions about her design and her most treasured Christmas Memories. You can read them by clicking here. I have copied some of her answers below, as well as her specific points about her quirky little trouble-makers: 

When asked the inspiration behind her design, Melody said:

"Large gnomes were the rage across Ravelry last Christmas, so I thought I'd do a mini version that could fit in your pocket."

Melody shared some hot tips, for when working on her design:

"Where the hat narrows down to 3 sts, make those stitches loose so you can work into them more easily. Don't stress if it just doesn't work for you - just make a chain instead."

What is your advice to beginners?

"Read each row's/round's instructions carefully before you start working it, to get it clear in your head. If there are stitch counts, check your stitches with them to prevent things from getting out of hand later on!"

Are you team Rustic, Merry or Frosted?

"I really don't like the cold, so Frosted is out, and I get a bit tired of the 'regular' Christmas colours, so it's Rustic for me."

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

"When my kids were small, our favorite tradition was to watch 'Carols By Candlelight' on TV on Christmas Eve, sometimes while eating mangoes."

What is your most treasured Christmas memory?

"When I was a child, my family would spend Christmas at Lake Conjola on the NSW south coast. On Christmas Day, we would have lunch at my great-uncle's house on the foreshore of the lake, and friends would drop in over the course of the day for a chat and a drink, then after lunch, my sister and I would grab our foam surfboards and paddle with the tide to almost the lake's entrance. A different sort of memory was from 2001: my husband was a paramedic at Warragamba Ambulance Station and was single man (as was normal out there at that time) on Christmas Day. Because it was a quiet area, the kids and I went to join him for opening presents and to have Christmas lunch together. We could see the smoke of the fire across the dam but weren't concerned... Just after lunch, hubby got called out to a job at Bent's Basin, so the kids and I went home. An hour or so later, the fire had jumped the dam and 50 homes and businesses were destroyed, and the road in was cut for a few days - such a sad day for so many."

Thank you so much for sharing, Melody <3 

Melody's story and the bush fires raging across NSW and QLD are the reason we must cherish each day and those around us. 

So that's it! The very last pattern of our Christmas-CAL. 

We hope you had an absolute blast these last 12 days. We are so pleased with how everything came together and we are absolutely stoked by your incredible creations. Stay tuned for our Christmas-CAL round-up! Keep posting your pics for a chance to be featured on this blog and for your chance to win the CAL Makes competition! :)

Competition you ask?

Last Tuesday on WITB, Nicole surprised us (and even Shelby) with a 'challenge' ;

To enter, you need to have completed a minimum of 10 of the 12 Christmas Designs - bonus points for all 12 - and upload a single image which includes all completed pieces by Christmas Day (there will be a designated thread to do this on starting 13th December).

Nicole and Shelby will pick up a ‘little something special’ on our travels to bring back for the winner. This is an awesome prize!!

The reason we say 10 out of the 12, because if you didn't pick up the kit it may be a little hard to make some. If you make 10, you receive 2 points and if you managed to make all 12, you get 3 points!

Nicole and Shelby said that they might draw the prize in Sweden, and they might even ask their relatives to draw the winner. How exciting is that!

Merry Yarning,

Renee 

xxx