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Blaschka Glass – A History of Glass Models

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This is glass...

This is glass...

Some of the most amazing glass objects were created at the turn of the last century, not this one. Specimens and models of flowers and sea creatures so realistic you can hardly believe they were made of glass. These pieces were made by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, a father and son glass working team. Their work can be seen in the museums at Corning and Harvard as well as other places around the world. I stumbled on a video on You Tube that provides a history of Leopold and his son and their work. I highly recommend watching it if you love glass.

this is also glass...

this is also glass...

When Harvard saw the flowers and plant life that Leopold had created he was commissioned to create models of sea creatures for the Harvard Museum. I am certainly not doing their story justice so I highly recommend you learn more about the Blaschkas. I know it has made me appreciate the glass technology I am allowed to work with.

and yes, this too is glass...

and yes, this too is glass...

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Christmas Stocking Knitting Patterns for Your Pets

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings