Gift-Giving...5 weeks and counting

Gift-Giving...5 weeks and counting

Yes, we know that we're all still dealing with the leftover Halloween candy, but it's time to get serious about the end-of-year gift-giving calendar. Each week for the next five weeks, we'll be offering some project suggestions that can fit both your time frame and budget!

With 5-6 weeks to go before our shipping deadline (Dec. 10--mark your calendars) and to give you some wiggle-room, here are some project suggestions.

Late fall is the perfect time to start a shawl--many of the mystery knit-alongs have been revealed, and you can select a project that will be fun for you to knit AND something your gift recipient enjoys. An added bonus--most knit-alongs are designed for a 4-6 week time frame, so you know you'll have plenty of time to get this done, clue by clue. Some of our favorites from 2021 include:

Knights Who Say Knit by Mary Annarella was a Very Silly MKAL (now a complete pattern) for a rectangular shawl.  It’s a “festival of stitches” sort of project that features several different stitch patterns, many of which were repeated in the project, and some that made only a cameo appearance (Zoot would understand). The finished shawl is shown in the King Arthur colorway, and all the sets (and their punny names) are still available. 

Just Beachy by Lisa K. Ross features simple, relaxing stitches that encourage you to play with garter and stockinette in new ways, and experience unique construction that, like any good beach read, will keep you guessing what comes next.  Our Just Beachy sets are made up in Yummy 2-Ply and include 2 full skeins of and a 7 skein gradient set.  Our sample is knit in the Just Beachy colorway.   

The Neutra Wrap from SweaterFreak is a graphic and easy knit that results in a wearable modern accessory. The construction presents a lot of interest - the wrap starts and ends with just a few stitches, so you never cast on or bind off a lot of stitches. Our Neutra sets are made in Yummy 2-Ply, with two skeins of a neutral background plus one six-skein gradient.  The sample is knit in Draconis and Frozen
The Sharon Show from Casapinka is all about color!  Designed by Sharon from Security (Casapinka's cat), The Sharon Show is all about fun, and features two different skill levels (absolute beginner and advanced beginner). You can use any of our four skein quartets (in Yummy 2-Ply, or Caroline), but Sharon recommends monochromatic colors (or, at the most, only one variegated).  
Five to six weeks is also enough time to knit (and, importantly, finish) a sweater!  The key to a quick knit isn't necessarily using a thicker yarn--sometimes adding mohair allows you to work at a larger gauge and finish up quickly.  The bonus?  Mohair adds warmth without bulk or weight, so the resulting sweater will be lightweight and snuggly.  Our recommendations for "knittable in 5-6 weeks" sweaters are:
1. Love Note by Tin Can Knits is a sweet little sweater that knits up quickly from the top down. The combination of mohair lace and single-ply merino creates a fabric that is floaty, soft and sensual. There are two options for the length, too.  We knit our sample in Yummy 2-Ply (in Sugar) and Moonglow (in Aubergine), which created this lovely marled look. 
2. Ranunculus by Midori Hirose is another top-down sweater with a lacy yoke that combines mohair with a fingering weight yarn.  There are multiple ways to customize the pattern for your perfect fit.  For our sample, we used Moonglow and Yet in Oyster. 
3. If mohair isn't quite your jam, Soundtrack by Olive Knits is a great option.  Initially a knit-along (that covered 16-32 days, so it fits our timeframe), Soundtrack is circular yoke pullover knit in a DK-weight yarn (we used Yowza in Coreopsis and a Yowza Mini in Hot to Trot for the contrast color). With a gauge of 4.5 stitches to the inch and totally simple stitches, the sweater will fly off your needles!
This should keep you busy! Check back with us next week, and we'll have some four week projects for you!
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