The November AKG meeting program kick started ideas for projects. Basic and deluxe gift knitting ideas were shown. Examples included a “beer hat”, socks in striped and hand-dyed yarn, trendy armwarmers, and the Saroyan shawl in varied basic and luxurious yarns.
Inspiration for holiday knitting can come from noticing your intended recipients need for winter warmth, with quick knits such as a new hat, fingerless mitts, scarf or cowl as possibilities. Enticing project ideas might come from your local yarn store, knitting magazines, web sites, or friends’ knitting projects. Using bulky yarn and large needles will make a project go faster, and knitting the same project several times will help build knitting speed.
Check out the AKG Library to find books on holiday knitting for inspiration; Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice, Holiday Knits: 25 Great Gifts from Stockings to Sweaters, Christmas Stockings: Holiday Treasures to Knit, Knit Noel, and Knit the Christmas Story. The Knitters Almanac has a few Christmas designs. Search the library here and contact Lois Mitchell, AKG Librarian at library@atlantaknittingguild.org
Timeless or Trendy?
This list will give you options for either in your quest for a suitable gift to knit.
Yarn store web sites/blogs:
Cast-On Cottage Holiday Gift Knitting Ideas (2 parts)
Purl Soho Purlbee’s ribbed cowl and other projects
Webs Online Store quick gifts to make:
Knit Picks Holiday Knitting Central
Knitting Magazine Holiday Issues:
Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts Issue has a cute kids gator hat, a manly cowl and scarf patterns
Vogue Knitting Holiday Issue includes patterns for legwarmers, and for using ruffled yarn for purses
Creative Knitting has a pattern for 2-hour mittens knit with bulky yarn
KnitNStyle The December issue has a free pattern for a quick to knit headband.
KnitSimple Holiday 2012 Issue has a pattern for 3 different size knitted notions bags requiring only 1 skein of yarn and multiple patterns for mitts
The Winter 2012 issue of Interweave Knits has patterns for a hat and mittens by a local knitting luminary, Charles Gandy
Trendy
You can stroll the mall and notice bulky, chunky cabled scarves in store windows. Just a few of the possibilities:
Anthropologie’s knitted accessories are a barometer of what’s trendy now, along with Urban Outfitters collection of accessory scarves and hats.
Gifts for the home from stores like Pottery Barn can serve as inspiration, such as the cable knit pillow covers or lumbar pillow with 3 mini stockings
Restoration Hardware has knitted throws and pillows shown this season
Ravelry has a “hot right now” section under the patterns tab
Comments are closed.