Have you seen the new Tidings of Joy kit yet? When we had the first staff meeting about Nina’s holiday ornament kit, I was surprised to see a knitted pickle included as one of the patterns. Tina explained that it’s a tradition for some families to hide a pickle ornament on their Christmas trees, and the first person to find the pickle is supposed to have good luck for a year. I’m not sure about the luck-pickle connection, but I do know that I laughed out loud when I first saw the knitted sample.

We’re offering the pickle pattern as a free download as a little holiday treat, a sort of early Christmas present for knitters who think squishy pickles are hilarious. It’s the only one we’re releasing for free from the Tidings of Joy ornament kit, but we’ll have some other exclusive freebie patterns coming up over the next few weeks for you to enjoy. If you’re interested in the other Tidings of Joy patterns, though, be sure to check out our online catalog for October when it comes out for a fun pickle-related contest and a chance to win the full Tidings of Joy kit.

My family always had a big Christmas celebration each year while I was growing up – tree, party, eggnog, the whole enchilada. My husband Dan is Jewish, though, so he and I have a little 13″ “compromise tree” each year that’s covered in blue and white ornaments. I think adding a pickle to our mix-and-match holiday tradition will really add to the tree’s class and fanciness.

Especially if it looks like this little guy:

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