Knitted nativity set - has anyone else made one?

I make a gingerbread stable each year, then we sit down and the GC add in the figures as we tell the Christmas story. Its one of my favourite days of the season!
This year they will be old enough to help with making the stable, so results may be less ..... level

(a double rear wall means a night light can be added, so the star lights up)

I hope you'll enjoy it, Nana3 - I certainly have so far.
Only reservation so far is that I'm beginning to wonder whether the whole set plus stable (once I've worked out how to make that) is going to be rather big for dd to find room for. I'm sure she'll say it's fine anyway but her house is not exactly huge - we shall see.

Thanks for this thread Witzend, I've sent for the pattern book and look forward to knitting the nativity. You're getting on with it quite quickly. I have enjoyed everyone's posts and photos.

I'm very impressed with the Jean Greenhowe pattern - the instructions are so meticulously detailed.
3 sheep, one wise man and one shepherd down - the rest will be on hold for a while since we're going on hols on Thursday morning, and I haven't even thought about packing.

I sometimes wonder if people in those times used their full names or diminutives - eg Joe, Pete, Matt, Beth, Andy, Jim etc.

Embroidering Baby Cheeses's face was the worst part. It felt sacrilegious somehow.

I crocheted a complete nativity set for my GC - it comes out every year and has pride of place, in spite of the fact that the camel tends to splay its legs and sink delicately to the ground!

GS loves "Baby Cheeses"!!!!!

Actually there are only 2 shepherds - I must have been mistaking Joseph for one of them (similarly drab clothing!) so Dan and Ben would be good, Jalima!
Yes, BB, I did beard A last night. I do enjoy knitting titchy little things - finished before you know what.

Was pleased last night to unearth a very old school geometry set, so I have the pair of compasses needed for drawing cardboard bases.

Dan, Ben and Joe for the shepherds?

(good Jewish names!)

I think you will enjoy knitting them Witzend, especially when it comes to knitting the beards!

Oops,
Caspar!

He was Casper Witzend. Happy knitting!

All my cheap and cheerful colours have arrived - I'm going to have so much left over! The balls are huge, but still a fraction of the price of even the cheaper stuff in John Lewis.

I've started one of the Kings - I'll call him Melchior. IIRC there was a Balthazar, but can't remember the name of the other. Anyone know?
I dare say the shepherds will be Tom, Dick and Harry...

Love your sheep Witzend, my donkey is a bit knock-kneed due to inadequate stuffing! still I enjoy it, husband said my Joseph bears a striking resemblance to Bin Laden!

PS, found the JG donkey pattern online.

Oh, Billybob, where did you find the donkey pattern? I'd love to include a donkey!
Here are my 3 sheep! (Had to send a pic to the sister who thinks I'm off my head to be doing it!)

Only yesterday I found my book of Christmas knitting patterns and decided to do a nativity set. I got the book on Amazon and it’s got lots of lovely small Christmas bits to knit. I think the figures are smaller than the Jean Greenhowe ones but they look very cute. I have quite a few bits of wool to make a start and see what else I need as I go along, There is a wool company on line that sells small balls specially for craft work but not sure if I can name them. I did warn my Grandaughter I wasn’t promising which Christmas the set might be done for ! Going to start with one of the three kings this afternoon.

Witzend - I have knitted the complete nativity set a few years ago, even knitted a donkey to go with it! It was from the Jean Greenhowe pattern. With the leftover wool I knitted Christmas decorations for the tree, its my hobby.

Meant to add, thanks for that, Shysal! The pattern is lovely - something else I know Gdcs will love.

While waiting for my umpteen colours of cheap-and-cheerful to arrive, I dug out just enough cream from my meagre stash and have made the 3 sheep! The ears and tails have to be the tiniest things ever to come off a pair of knitting needles.

Just as well I had held on to a big bag of polyester stuffing, left over from washing and restuffing a huge floppy elephant a dd had coveted for Christmas at about 10. He had been languishing in a wardrobe for ages, grubby, coming apart at the seams, and missing a lot of his 'innards'.

Last year a made a knitted Christmas tree and ornaments, for which I read about the free pattern on GN. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it. The decorations were very simple if you need more ideas to use up your wool, witzend. I hope you solve the stable problem.
www.knitting-bee.com/free-knitting-patterns/free-knitted-toy-patterns/advent-christmas-tree-free-knitting-pattern

PS - thanks for tip about tangerine boxes, Grandetante, your pic is lovely.
I've looked through the instructions, and obviously a lot of it will be fiddly, since pieces are so small, but at least it's all just garter or st st. I just can't cope any more with fancy or lacy stitches, always ended up going wrong, cursing, and having to undo it.

Another thing I know I'm going to need is a much better 'reading' light, which I've been meaning to get anyway.

Pattern arrived yesterday, and since I don't have nearly enough 'oddments', I spent ages ordering all the different colours. The only place I can buy knitting wool locally is John Lewis, and theirs tends to be the considerably more expensive types, so I was glad to find umpteen colours in a cheap and cheerful yarn online.

I will have an awful lot of 'oddments' left at the end of it, though, since only a very little of some colours is needed.
I can foresee a 'rainbow' blanket some time in the future, or maybe Battersea Dogs' Home wouldn't object to rainbow coats for the dogs?
Mind you if (!) I have time at the end of it, there are some nice little tree decorations in the book as well.

The kind of thin wooden box that tangerines are sold in are fine for stables, either used as they are, or taken apart and put together to make a stable if you or your OH is good with a glue gun or a hammer and small tacks.

I don't knit well enough to contemplate a nativity scene, so I am full of admiration.

Hope you can see photo I tried uploading

My darling mum knitted at least three of these nativity sets. I still have mine and , when I bring it out each year, still marvel at her patience.

Good luck Witzend, it will be worth the hard work