Holiday Knitting Is A Marathon (by Robyne Devine)

Say what you will about me, but I’ve already begun my 2010 holiday knitting. One of the joys of the holiday season for me is giving the gift of something hand-made; from hats to sweaters to mittens, I love the look on a loved-ones face when they open a package full of items I’ve made just for them.

Gifting handmade takes far more time than gifting store-bought, however. Making each individual item takes a far amount of time – there’s the picking out of patterns and yarn, sizing items properly, not to mention the actual knitting! To keep myself from losing my mind (and giving myself Carpel Tunnel) this November, I’ve already begun my holiday knitting.

Getting your holiday knit on this early is as easy as a few simple planning steps. Here’s how I got myself into the holiday groove so early.

First, I spent some time making my Gift List. I put everyone’s name into a document on my computer, and started to figure out what each person might like. For some, it’s as simple as a hat or a pair of mittens. For others (like my nieces and nephew) something more substantial like a sweater was in order. I made this list as large and “Ideal World Knitting” as possible – practicality comes into play later.

Once the list was made, I started to figure out what I already had yarn for. This is key in getting as many hand-knits made for the holidays as possible, truth be told. If you’re constantly running to the store for more yarn, you’re cutting into precious knitting time and spending far more money than you may want.

If you’re lucky, you’ll find much of the yarn you need in your stash – in my case, I had enough yarn for at least five of the projects on my list. That’s when the fun really starts. I updated my list to reflect the yarn I already had, so that I could start figuring out what yarn I needed. If you don’t know what you need, you won’t know what to get!

I watch the sales at my local yarn shops as well as at the big box stores, and when I saw yarn on sale for a holiday knitting project I wanted to tackle, I snapped it up. Thanks to this, I was able to purchase almost all the yarn I’ll need for holiday knitting before April 1!

Once you have your yarn, or have begun to figure out what yarn you already have for your projects, you can begin knitting! I started knitting some of the smaller items (scarves, mittens, etc) right away. With the weather turning warmer every day here in the Midwest, I don’t want to get bogged down with too many larger pieces on my lap. Plus knocking out a bunch of smaller items will get more names crossed off the list faster – a huge mental boost! Figure out which project you want to knit first, and jump right in!

Finally, I designated an area in my craft room for holiday presents – it’s actually the top drawer of my “knitting dresser” for now. As I finish gift-able hand-knits, I write down basic information (who it’s for, yarn content, care instructions) and pin that piece of paper to the hand-knit so it doesn’t get lost. Then I store finished items until it comes time to gift! You may also want to keep a running list of what you’ve knit up and who it’s for, to help remind you at a glance which projects still need to be tackled. I’ve been using Ravelry for that so far, with much success.

Even if you don’t start your holiday knitting as early as I do, if you love to gift hand-made presents, a little organization can go a long way to keeping your gift-giving in order – and help keep you sane!

Cotton Craze…Great Handmade Gifts (by Natalie Badolato)

I’ve recently moved which forced me to pack my ever growing supply of craft materials. It wasn’t until I unpacked my supplies that I realized I have an incredible stash of yarn. So in an effort to depart from my norm of crocheting gifts for family and friends, I’ve decided to dive into my pile of 100% cotton and crochet things to sell at a community craft fair.

I jumped online to get inspiration and found that cotton kitchen and bath items are a hot ticket item. Now I’m happy to report that I’m not just drowning in balls of cotton but I’m also drowning in spiral scrubbies, wash cloths, bath puffs, cotton pads and apple cozies.

With the holidays quickly approaching and the economy as it is, I wanted to make something affordable that people could buy more than one of.

These cute and affordable pieces are perfect gifts for those hard-to-buy-for people on your list like co-workers and teachers. If you are looking for some really quick gift items, I recommend crocheting some spiral scrubbies. They take a small amount of cotton and you can bang a bunch of these out in an evening.