What can you knit for Christmas? (by Ina Gilmore)

I don’t know about you, but the Christmas presents I remember most are not the most expensive.  No, the ones I remember most are the ones that came from the heart.    

They may have been as simple as a young child helping his busy mom make Christmas ornaments for everyone.  Or as complex as a favorite aunt making matching hat, scarf, and mitten sets for my sisters and me — while taking care of her own growing family and working full time.    

And in an economic downturn, maybe it’s time to consider — or reconsider —simpler . . .more practical . . .less expensive gifts.    

So what are some projects to knit for Christmas?    

• A lap-ghan or baby blanket  This recommendation comes from Vanna White of Wheel of Fortune.  She’s an avid crocheter, reportedly preferring these gifts.  And yes, they do work also for knitters!What’s a   lap-ghan?  It’s a half-size afghan that an adult uses to warm his or her legs.  This is a favorite of those bothered by chills and drafts.  And yes, it’s not just confined to the northern areas.  Southerners get chilly too!
• Scarves, hats, and mittens  Well these will get more use in northern climates.  Hats and mittens usually require knowledge at least roughly of the size of the recipient’s head and hands.  Scarves on the other hand are small projects.  And even beginning knitters can knit garter stitch scarves.  Actually their biggest challenge may be binding off!Tip:  When you want to make a scarf faster, knit it lengthwise.  Instead of knitting back on forth on only a few stitches, cast on enough for the entire length of the scarf.  This way you only have to knit a relatively few rows.  Although they can get quite long!
  
• Toys  You can knit toys for children, such as a teddy bear or doll clothes.  You can also knit a cover for an I-pod or cell phone to protect an adult’s “toys.”

These ideas can help you get started for knitting your own memorable gifts.    

And when you want to knit a special gift for use every Christmas, consider knitting a Christmas stocking.  You can personalize it with names if you are so inclined . . .or just your own knitting style.  When you’re looking for Christmas stocking kits, be sure to check out the kits Naughty Knitterz offer from patterns I designed.  (Insert link)    

   

  

 

 

Best knitting project of 2009 (video)

We Naughty Knitterz voted on a number of knitting projects submitted by members.  We selected a colorful afghan createded by an experienced knitting enthusiast as the best knitting project of 2009. The winner has many years of experience and enjoys being the instructor for her local knitting circle.  She wishes to remain anonymous.

The afghan she created is featured in the following video.  We hope to be able to select a best knitting project, given enough submissions, every three months.   If you’d like to submit one of your knitting efforts to our contest send a brief write up, including a bit about yourself, along with pictures to info@naughtyknitterz.com.

If your project wins we’ll send you your choice of coffee mug or tee shirt from our Naughty Stuff.  We will also create a video of your project or you can send your own video. Good luck!  Here’s is the video we created for the 2009 winner.

Yarn: It does matter

I hadn’t been at it that long but I wanted to graduate from knitting simple projects to knitting something larger. I learned by knitting scarves.  Now that I’ve done a dozen of them, I find myself wanting to do a bigger project.  Nothing too complicated but something larger.  How about an afghan?  That might be nice. Not too hard but certainly bigger than a scarf. It’s also something I could make good use of during a cold evening.

 

Ok, I’ll knit an afghan. What do I need to do first?  First I’ll find a pattern for my project.  A friend from my knitting class gave me a pattern she had used.  She knitted an afghan as a birthday present for one of her family members.  My friend also told me she was pleased with how it turned out.

 

The pattern tells me everything I need to know. It tells me the needles I should use.  It tells me what type of yarn to use. The pattern also tells me the amount of yarn I’m going to need. It tells me my afghan project requires 42 ounces of yarn.  So, I need to buy 7 skeins or so of yarn.  Now being frugal, some might to say downright cheap, I shopped for yarn to fit the budget I set.  I found yarn at a wide variety of prices. Thinking cheap yarn would work as well as more expensive yarn, I chose for the lower priced stuff.

 

I finished the afghan. It looked great. The first time I used the afghan it seemed ok but I wasn’t totally satisfied with was how it felt.  It wasn’t as soft as I thought it should be.  I quickly realized that was due to the less expensive yarn I used. Knitting is very rewarding but it can be an expensive hobby. Remember, what you knit will only be as nice as the yarn you use. Don’t skimp on what’s important.  Yarn is a critical component of any knitting project.