Gift Knits: 10 Quick Projects for Holiday Knitting

Knitter's Gift Timeline via PinterestIt’s that time of year again! Time to start thinking about the holiday gift knitting. Unless you’ve been in our Spring and Fall Giftables Club, in which case, you have already completed several quick projects and have them tucked away, ready for the holidays! I came across this Knitter’s Gift Timeline on Pinterest and thought it was a perfect description for how I go about getting gift knitting done. For those of us still thinking about what to make for the different people in our lives, here are 10 different project ideas (with a few options for each one) for quick knitting for Christmas gifts. (71 days. Did you need to know that? I didn’t.)

1. Hats – great for males and females, young and old! Here are a few of my favorite hat patterns: Wurm, Windschief, Koolhaas, CrosscheckWho?, and Felicity.

2. Scarves – also great for all ages and stages. A few ideas: A Little Jazz, Black Cherry Lambic, Cerus Scarf, Palindrome, Favorite Scarf Ever, and Strangling Vine Lace Scarf.

3. Fingerless Mitts – great for kids and adults alike. Check these out: Fetching, Treads, Cafe au Lait, October Leaves, Part Deux Mitts, and Felicity Mitts.

4. Mittens – for those who prefer their fingers covered! Try these: Bella’s Mittens, Horatio and Oren, Grove, Wood Hollow Mittens, Basic Children’s Mittens, and Waiting for Winter Mittens. Add a tub of Lavishea to keep their fingers soft!

5. Gloves – these take a little more time, but there are some beautiful patterns out there. A few ideas: Knotty Gloves, Froot Loop Gloves, Spice Route (ok, not quick, but beautiful, right?), Finlay, Absinthe Gloves, and Char.

6. Small Shawls/Wraps – typically knit up with one or two skeins of yarn, and used around the shoulders or around the neck. Check out: Jadyn Shire, Granlibakken, Amaranth Shawl, Boiseau Wrap, Andromeda Shawl, and Allis.

7. Dishcloths or Facial Cloths – it’s always nice to pair these with handmade soap (like TwentySeven Soap). Some pattern ideas: Leafy Washcloth, Double Bump Washcloth, Shaker Dishcloths, Pinwheel Flower, Lacy Mock Cable, and Ballband Dishcloth.

8. Cowls – quicker than a scarf, but just as warm around the neck. Here are some of my favorites: Song of the Sea, Zuzu’s Petals, Willow Cowl, Calm Cowl, Pretty Thing, and Lila Blue.

9.  Vests – usually a bigger investment of time, but leaving off the sleeves makes it quicker than a sweater! Try these: Vine Lace Vest, Angostura, Memory VestCloud Chaser, Mondo Cable Shell/Vest, and Dr. G’s Memory Vest.

10. Socks – the heavier the yarn, the quicker they knit up. Ideal for all ages. Here are some sport/dk/worsted options, to they knit up quickly: Simple Skyp Socks, Blueberry Waffle Socks, House Targaryen Socks, Diagonal Rib Socks, Tern, and Mudslide Socks.

Or how about a kit that contains yarn/pattern/fun extra, all ready to knit up? We have a few August Giftables Kits (with an exclusively dyed skein of Biscotte & Cie Self-Striping yarn and a pattern for fingerless mitts and ear warmers) and a few September Giftables Kits (with an exclusively dyed skein of Dream in Color’s Wool/Alpaca worsted weight yarn and a pattern for The Path Less Traveled hat) still available. We’ve also put the patterns from last spring’s Giftables up on the website: Lila Blue infinity cowl, Crosscheck hat, and Allis shawl/scarf, which are all great patterns for quick gift knits, which is the whole premise behind our Giftables Club! (The October Giftables Kit will be out at the end of the week, for those of you who have signed up for it.)

So how are you fixed for gift knitting? Done? Haven’t started? Halfway there? Pick a pattern and pop over for some yarn. We’ll get you fixed right up and on your way!

Sheri stillneedingtomakealist.That’sagoodplacetostart.

First Quarter Challenge

We have a lot of fun with our Quarterly Challenges each year. Be sure to take a look at the projects completed last year in the challenges for First Quarter, Second Quarter, and Fourth Quarter. (During the summer we do Camp Loopy instead, which involves a monthly challenge for 3 months in a row. You can find those photo galleries here, here and here. Lots of beautiful projects in there!)

Before I announce the First Quarter Challenge for 2013, we need to vote on a Reader’s Choice award for our Fourth Quarter participants. Take a look at the Fourth Quarter gallery and email us your favorite project (support@theloopyewe.com) and we’ll announce the winners soon. Thanks for your voting help!

Our first challenge project for 2013 involves 1 skein of yarn and cables. You’ll need to pick a one-skein project that features cables in the design. You can use any weight of yarn, but just a single skein. You might consider Hats, Cowls, Socks, Shawls, or Mittens/Mitts/Gloves. One of my favorite cable projects was my Camp Loopy 2011 mittens (All the Water by Through the Loops, shown above.) At that time, I mentioned wanting to make a pair of red mittens, and a pair of yellow mittens, too. Of course I haven’t done that yet, so maybe now is my time. Although I could use a new cabled hat, too. And I saw some really cool sock patterns with cables. Choices, choices.

Details:

– The challenge runs from today through March 31st. All projects must be done and photos uploaded to our First Quarter Challenge 2013 Gallery by 3/31.

– If you’d like to order yarn for this project, you can get 20% off of the skein you choose to work with. This discount is available between now and next Friday, January 11th. You must leave us an order note, letting us know which skein you will be using for the project so we know which one to apply your discount to.

– If you purchase this project yarn between today and 1/11 and finish your cable project and upload a photo of it by 3/31, we will double your Frequent Shopper points for that skein. So if your skein is $18.50 after discount, you will see 18.50 added to your point tally when we ship the yarn, and another 18.50 added to your point tally when we have received your completed photo (by 3/31). With our new Loopy Rewards Program, the extra points accumulate to earn you even more rewards!

– You are also welcome to participate using stash yarn, as long as it’s a line that we carry here at The Loopy Ewe. You won’t be eligible for the double Frequent Shopper points, but if you finish in time and upload your photo to the gallery,  you’re still eligible to win a Reader’s Choice award or our random drawing done with all entrants.

Do you need some pattern suggestions for one-skein cable projects? I’ve started a list for you! If you have other ideas, please feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Hats: Princess Lace Beret, Soft Shimmers Hat, Koolhaas, Antler Hat, Declans Hat, Claudia, Gretel, and Iced Hat.

Mittens/Mitts/Gloves: Bellas Mittens, Fetching, Knotty Gloves, Vancouver Fog, Eugenia’s Mittens, Wanderlust, Yummy Mummy Wristwarmers, and Wood Hollow Mittens.

Socks: Owlie Socks, Java Socks, BFF Socks, Neely Ohara, Katniss, Sunshine, Aragorn, and Smaug.

Shawls: Marin, Creekwood, Batik, Sunset ShawlTheia, Dubliner, and Lafant Wrap.

Cowls: Cream and Sugar Cowl, City Creek Cowl, Lava Flow Cowl (shown here), Nennir, Cabernet Infinity Scarf, Heart on a String, Tom’s Crossed Cowl and Caera Cowl.

Are you up for the Challenge? And if so, what are you going to make?

Sheri contemplatingyarnchoices