Are you ready for the Christmas CAL pattern?

Have you all been waiting with bated breath to see which pattern we’ll be crocheting for the Christmas CAL? Well, my biggest fear came true. We have a tie! So, what I have decided to do is pick one pattern for us to crochet at the end of this month, and then we’ll crochet the second pattern the first week of November. How does that sound? But. . . I’ve decided to keep the second one a secret until mid October, so you’ll be surprised. 🙂

For now, the first pattern of our Christmas CAL is. . .

Yay! This was the one I was hoping would win. I can’t wait to make a few for my mantle.

Since this pattern is found on the Lily/Sugar Cream website, you will need to sign up for a free membership. I think they only require an email address. Once you do that, you will have access to all of their free patterns!

I took a peek at the pattern last night and noticed a stitch that might be a little confusing for beginner crocheters, working in back loops only. So, I am going to scour the web for instructions on how to do this and the other stitches required for this project. I’ll begin posting what I find next week, so you can get a jump on practicing.

Once you’ve mastered your stitches, you’ll need to pick up your supplies. Or, if you are like me, you can find them in your stash!

Materials needed:
Lily Sugar and Cream yarn (Hot Green)
Size 4mm (US G or 6) crochet hook
Polyfil
Buttons
Green felt & thread (or color of your yarn)
Light cardboard

The greatest thing about this yarn is that it is pretty cheap, about $2.00 a skein (or less). And, you only need 1 skein for the trees. Sometimes Michaels, AC Moore, or even Walmart has it on sale for a $1.00 a skein. That is when I grab a ton!

You can really use any green you want, but if you want your trees to look like the picture, Hot Green is the color you need. You can also crochet your tree in white, pink, or any other color too!

The CAL will be running September 27-October 1, so you’ll have a few weeks to brush up on your crocheting and get your supplies pulled together. If you are a beginner crocheter and are having issues with the stitches you can send me an email or leave me a comment. If I can’t answer the question I’m sure I’ll be able to point you in the right direction.

I’ll also be running a little crochet contest in conjunction with the CAL. All you will have to do is post a link to your completed tree(s) by the end of the CAL on Friday, October 1. I’ll choose a name that weekend and announce the winner the following week.

If you don’t have a blog, that is okay You can link your picture from a Flickr or Photobucket account, or even from Facebook, I think. I’ll have to check on that. 🙂