Christmas Crochet Blog Tour and Giveaway!

**The Giveaway may be over, but I'd still love to hear what your favorite Christmas Crochet projects are!**

I have a confession to make:  I'm a Christmas Craft Procrastinator.  I know, it's sad, but true.  I chronically wait until after Thanksgiving to even start THINKING about Christmas projects. This means that every year I stay up way too late most nights, and still don't get everything finished in time.

But not this year!  The folks over at Storey Publishing sent me a copy of their new book, Christmas Crochet for Hearth, Home & Tree by Edie Eckman.  Kids, Christmas is finally coming early for the Dynamite family!!

The first thing I wanted to make was some new stockings for the whole family.  A few years ago tragedy struck and our beautiful, handmade stockings were lost.  That year I just purchased some dollar store cheapies, promising that someday I would make us new stockings.  Four years later, I've finally made good on that promise!

There were so many stocking patterns to choose from (9, plus many variations!) I couldn't choose just one.  Mims got the Mix-and-Match Stocking (in Gryffindor house colors!). I got the Colorful Stripes Stocking. Jake got the Basketweave Stocking, which was my favorite to make out of all of them.  The single color, but great texture, made it really fun to work on, and I didn't dread weaving in ends when I was done!  I think they look so cute hanging from the mantle!

There are so many great decorations in the book!  I'm planning to make some cool crochet trees for the mantle, and there are a whole bunch of felted ornaments that I'm just dying to make with Mims.  There's even a tree-skirt pattern, which I desperately need since I usually just throw one of those fake "snow" blankets around the bottom of the tree and call it good.  

I think my favorite patterns in the book are for the crochet stocking and mitten Advent Garland.  The little stockings and mittens work up so quickly (Oh, how I love simple, well written patterns!).  However, I don't plan to turn them into the cute garland that they show in the book.  I'm planning to use them as gift-card holders!  I'm going to stick a candy cane (or a burt's bees lip balm!) and a gift card in them, which I think will make a great handmade present for Mim's teachers, my teenage cousins, and I'm even making backups for unexpected holiday guests!  

 Isn't the mitten so cute?  I set up our tree just to show you how adorable it is as an ornament!

By the way, seeing the tree up so early this year was shocking to Mims when she got home from school.  "Woah. Um, Mom, you ARE going to put other ornaments on it, right?"  LOL!!!

The little stockings are also super cute!  The purple and white stocking on the left was made with Red Heart Soft, and the Red and White stocking was made with Red Heart Super Saver.  I only mention it because the stocking is MUCH smaller with the Soft, which might, or might not be a good thing.  For a gift card and candy cane, it really doesn't matter, but if you wanted to put something else in there, you might want to use a worsted weight yarn on the larger end of the spectrum.

I think that Christmas Crochet for Hearth, Home & Tree is a cute little book, full of projects to decorate your home for the holidays.  It's just the right size to travel with you everywhere you go for the next 6 weeks!  Don't Christmas Craft Procrastinate!  Start your Christmas projects now!!!

Okay, so do you want to know the best part?  The amazing folks over at Storey Publishing are letting me give away a copy of Christmas Crochet for Hearth, Home & Tree!  If you'd like a chance to WIN your very own copy of this awesome crochet book, leave a comment below telling me your favorite projects to crochet at Christmastime along with a contact email address!  The giveaway is open from now until 11:59 pm Sunday, November 16th!  I'll use Random.org to draw a winner on Monday, November 17th!

Psst!  If you'd like more chances to win, check out the other blogs on the book tour!  They're all giving away copies of the book too!!!  There are only a few more days left!

3-Nov Don't Eat the Paste

4-Nov Moogly

5-Nov Liberty's Yarn

7-Nov Rambling Designs

10-Nov Plus 3 Crochet

11-Nov Crochet Dynamite

12-Nov Jenn Likes Yarn

13-Nov Crochet Nirvana

14-Nov Yarning4aSmile

For even MORE information about Christmas Crochet for Hearth, Home & Tree, check these out:

Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/christmas-crochet-for-hearth-home--tree/patterns

Storey: http://www.storey.com/book_detail.php?isbn=9781612123295&cat=Crafts&p=0

Facebook: Edie Eckman and Storey Publishing

Twitter: @EdieEckman and @StoreyPub

Instagram: @StoreyPub

xoxo

11/17/14 - - The giveaway is now closed! Thank you to everyone who commented!  I LOVED hearing about all your Christmas projects!!!

I used Random.org to pick a winner:

Congratulations to ajz!  I'll be sending you an email very soon!  

xo!