Tag Archives: christmas gifts

T’was the week before Christmas

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If you’re still knitting gifts for Christmas, good on you.  But I’m afraid that I have some unwelcome news.

You have just about a week before Christmas is officially here.

I’ve got faith in you that you can make it- you’re a knitter, after all, and knitters Get. It. Done.

But, if you’re a knitter who has to make a lot of gifts in a short amount of time, well, might I recommend one (or two… they’re small) of these little patterns.  They all take less than 50 yards of yarn, which means they should work up pretty quickly.

Plus, they’re totally cute!

I love these tiny, adorable long-johns (complete with butt-flap).  They look a little bit fiddly, but, man, they’re cute.  They’d make a really sweet little Christmas ornament (especially if you bent a bit of wire into a teeny-tiny hanger).

Little Long Johns by Susan B. Anderson
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If your recipient is more of a “classy Christmas” type of person and less of a “butt-flaps are funny” type of person, I think these little wreaths are just darling. (Ugh… they’re so fancy that they turned me into a person who says things are “just darling.”  That’s real fancy.)

Holiday Wreath Ornament by The Big String
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And these little guys are just straight-up cute.  They’re somewhere between Dr. Seuss and the kind of window displays you might see at a really nice department store in New York.  I kind of want a tree covered in trees.  How cute would that be?

Wee Three Trees, by Tricia GilbertOtober_Still_Life111052_medium2

If you’re still working on your Christmas knitting, good luck!  You’ve got this!  If you’re done (or just not bothering, like me), congratulations!  Sit back and have a cup of hot cocoa.

Are you making any gifts this year?

It’s Time To Call It

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You’ve fought a tough battle.  You’ve spent your winter (and probably a good chunk of your fall) working on your Christmas knitting.  It’s now time to rest.

If you’re an amazing go-getter, maybe you’re already done. You can wrap up your gifts, pour yourself a nice glass of eggnog and take a nice Christmas nap, knowing that you’ve completed everything you need to do.

If you’re a human being, you’ve probably got a pile or two of half-finished projects still hanging around.In that case, I’ve got a little poem for you to use on Monday morning, explaining what’s happened.

An Apology

Rudolph has his reindeer

And Santa has his elves.

There’s only one of me, alas

Just knitting by myself.

I tried to get everything done

And bind off all my rows,

But Christmas comes just when it comes

And that’s my source of woe.

I haven’t finished up your scarf.

Your sweater has one sleeve.

I haven’t completed your present

Though it’s late on Christmas Eve.

I beg of you forgiveness.

Let me knit the last few rows.

As soon as your gift is bound off,

I’ll deliver it wrapped with a bow.

And, I’ve made it into a nice, printable format, so you can print it out tonight, wrap it up and give yourself the weekend off.

You can get the printable version here: Christmas Printable 2017

Enjoy your weekend!

Christmas Cheer

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It’s almost time!  You’re almost there! You can do it!

You’ve got until Monday morning to finish all your Christmas Knitting!  That’s five whole days!

And, heck, if you don’t make it, it’s no big deal, really.  Christmas will come either way, whether your presents make it or not (isn’t that the moral of How the Grinch Stole Christmas?)  I’m a big believer in doing what you can, then letting go of the rest.    I love a good plan, I love big ideas and lofty goals, but there comes a point in every holiday season when you just have to shrug, and go “good enough.”

BUT WE’RE NOT THERE YET!

Go!  Knit like the wind!  Weave in ends like a champ!  Block like there’s no tomorrow!

You! Have! Got! This!

Ollie believes in you!What are you finishing up this week?  (Or are you being lazy like me, and skipping the Christmas knitting entirely?)

Christmas Is Coming

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Oops!  I totally spaced, you guys.  I was going to give you a 100-day warning about Christmas, but… I forgot.

So this is your warning.

81 days until Christmas.christmas-bmo[1]I’m so sorry.  I know it’s early- Halloween isn’t eve here yet.  But, we’re knitters, and Christmas Knitting is our Superbowl- you can never prepare for it too much.  So get out your Christmas giving lists, dig through your stash, and start trolling Ravelry for good gift ideas.

Good luck!

Inspiration: Last Minute Gifts

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We’re in the home stretch, folks!  So, today, I’m highlighting a few (FREE!) patterns for last-minute gifts from yours truly.

If you’ve got a week until Christmas, think about knitting up a Lazy Susan Beanie.  Worked in the round with worsted-weight yarn, this little hat goes super quickly.  And, the clever spiral stripe technique creates jog-less joins with virtually no effort.  Try knitting one up in your nephew’s favorite colors, or your cousin’s school colors.

P8265286_medium2[1] Get the pattern here:  Lazy Susan Beanie

What’s that? You’ve only got the weekend?  Maybe try working up a Cabled Coffee Sweater!  These use just a fraction of a skein of yarn, so you probably have plenty hanging around your stash.  After all, everyone likes coffee!  (Or is that just Seattle?)

coffee_sleeve_medium2[1]Get the pattern here:  Coffee Sweater

Oh no!  You’ve only got a half hour?  Well, then you’ve got to break out your scrap yarn, glue and toothpicks and make yourself a WIP Ornament.  With a total of only about 50 stitches, these ornaments knit up in literally no time.  And they’re so cute!

PB175734_medium2[1]

Get the pattern here:  WIP Ornaments

What is your go-to last-minute gift pattern?

A Christmas Eve Gift to You

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If you’re anything like me, you’re probably trying to finish up some last-minute gift knitting.  Maybe it’s 11:00 on Christmas Eve, and everyone else is tucked up warm and snug in their beds, and you’re frantically knitting and purling.  Maybe the house is quiet and still, except for the furious click-click of your US2’s as you try to finish turning that last sock heel.  Maybe all you want to do is drink some eggnog and watch the Muppet Christmas Carol.

I understand.  Believe me.  (The Muppet Christmas Carol is great.)

I have a solution:

Stop knitting.

Just stop knitting, and wrap up your WIP, needles and all, and put it under the Christmas tree with one of these specially-made gift tags:

tag2or:

tag1or maybe:

tag3Then go pour yourself a big glass of eggnog (with a generous helping of rum… it’s the holidays after all).

Get the printable .pdf here:

Christmas Tags

It’s Just Christmas, Don’t Kill Yourself

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Christmas is in two days.  If you’re like me, then you probably have about 72 hours worth of knitting left to cram into the next 48 hours.  I’m here to tell you that it’s going to be OK.  I promise.  Do what you can, but don’t kill yourself over it.  Don’t stay up until three in the morning trying to finish that sweater.  Don’t forgo eating to work on those socks.  Don’t skip your friend’s Christmas party to stay home and felt that pair of slippers.

And if (or when) Christmas comes around and you’re still not done knitting your gifts, you’ve got two options:

1.  Write them a really nice note about the project you’re working on.  Maybe include a sketch of the finished project, or a photo from the pattern.  Here’s a vintage card you can print out:

antique xmas cards12.  Wrap up that sucker anyway.  There’s no shame in gifting someone a sweater still on the needles, or one and a half socks.  They’ll be able to ooh and ahh at the softness of  the yarn, the beautiful colors and the pretty pattern, but then you get to take the project back home with you at the end of the party to finish up later.

Inspiration: Awesomely Bad or Just Plain Awesome Christmas Gifts

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Christmas isn’t Christmas without terrible, terrible presents.  Or at least terrible presents “as seen on TV.” You could just buy your friends’ gifts from TV, or the local CVS Pharmacy, but that would be too easy.  You are a hand-knitter.  You over-complicate projects.  You spend too much time thinking about things that normal people don’t even know exist.  You make things difficult for yourself.

Let’s knit bad TV-infomercial gifts.

You could give your father an always-classy Christmas tie.

images_w22_image2_ties-xmas[1]Or, you could knit him a super fabulous seed stitch one. (Knit Necktie by Lion Brand Yarn)

MyPicture__1__medium[1]How about the perennial classic, Chia Pet (which I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen in real life, and I honestly kind of want)?81vPzG13LRL._SL1500_[1]Or, you could transform a stuffed animal into a Chia Pet like this poor, scared-looking slug.completed[1]And, of course, there’s always the epitome of laziness/the most genius invention ever (that I would totally wear the hell out of if I had one):  The Snuggie.41DW7GnBa-L[1]But why wrap yourself in polyester fleece from the drug store, when you could be wrapped in knitted woolen comfort? (Wrap-ghan (knit) FP5826 by Bernat Design Studio)image_4044_medium[1]And, don’t forget Barbie.  Because after hours of princess-ing/veterinarian-ing/lounging by the pool/whatever else Barbie does these days, there’s nothing Barbie wants to do more than curl up on her hard plastic furniture in a pink Snuggie. (Fashion Doll Snuggle Up with Sleeves by Marianne Forrestal)WR1926_doll_snugglet_medium[1]

Christmas Knitting: Kiddos

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Kids are great.  You can make all sorts of ridiculous stuff for them to wear, and they’ll do it!  If you made a hat shaped like a fish and gave it to your sister-in-law to wear, she’d probably look like you were a tiny bit insane.  If you gave the same fish hat to your kid brother, you might just win Christmas.  Here are some fun knits for kids’ Christmas gifts:

Fish Hat [Dead or Alive?] by Thelma Egberts

fish

Pocket Ted by Frankie Brown

ted

Owlet by Kate Davies

owlet

Baby Alligator Scarf by Morehouse Designs

aligator