In an impressive and entirely predictable turn of events, the planned post about finishing isn’t finished, mostly because the finishing isn’t.  There’s a little thing I’m making for Christmas.  The thing is little, but the amount of work isn’t, and the first wave of all the pieces is done, and now there’s just the finishing.  It’s a fussy little Norwegian baby sweater, and just the sort of thing I like, although you wouldn’t have known that from the impressive wave of regret I experienced yesterday when I realized that although I’m done, I’m far, far, far from done. 

That there is the tiny little pieces.  A sweater body, and wee sleeves, and if you look you can see that not only isn’t it sewn together, but that the sleeves, body and hems look funny, and that’s because every single one of them needs for me to sit down and sew the snot out of them.  I started yesterday and just about came undone.  Sewing up one little sleeve hem took about 30 minutes. It’s all so tiny and so particular, and like I said, I’m usually all over that kind of particular. It’s less fun on a deadline – and really, I’m not ready to talk about the duplicate stitch. 

There’s a pattern on the front in the picture, and I swear that I thought it was intarsia. When I got to the place in the pattern where I was confident the colourwork should start, it didn’t. There were no instructions for it, and I sat there looking at the pattern, trying to figure out what that meant.  Skip to the end of the pattern, and there is is. The entire front design is duplicate stitched on, and that, my friends, was a plot twist I didn’t see coming. That lands the finishing on this sweater that I thought was going to be finished a long way off, and we haven’t even talked about the neckband. Or the button plackets, or oh, man – the bodice tuck. (That’s right, there’s a bodice tuck.) 
All I need is one good Christmas movie and I think I can have the bulk of it done, but it means that there’s a few more hours in this than I thought there were, and that throws off the socks and… now it really feels like Christmas. The pile of yarn I showed you two weeks ago is being slowly converted to knitting, but maybe not fast enough, and the only thing keeping me relaxed and easy going is that I refuse to face the music.   Denial is a powerful tool, and I’m using it.

Ready for a few more gifts for knitters? Go!

Needle cases: Needle storage can be a big problem for knitters, and there’s lots of good solutions your knitter might love.  If you see knitting needles strewn around your house like kindling or the occasional dpn is found wandering your home or drifting through your knitters bags, then one of these might be the ticket. Della Q has several beautiful ones, and I especially like the look of this travel wallet, but their circular organizer is pretty fly too.  This from Crafter’s Tool Butler from  Jordana Paige is awesome, but it’s hard to go wrong with anything from them.  Lantern Moon makes pretty needle rolls, and dig Namaste’s Double Wide Circular case. (Trust me, faithful non-knitter. That’s a sweet ride.)

Of course, knitters (being makers themselves) like handmade things too, so maybe something from another maker would turn their head?  How about a beautiful handmade needle case? This  DPN needle case is so beautiful (and it’s organic linen and has a vintage button) this one has glasses on it, this one zips up, this one has skulls, and this one has little birdies. Like project bags, there’s a million choices.

If you’re looking for more of a stocking stuffer, something like this Clover Knitting Needle Tube Case would come in handy if your knitter uses DPNs. (Those are the short needles with points on both ends.)  

Books for knitters: These are some of my favourites, and if your knitter doesn’t have them on his shelf, I know they would be useful.  These are the "Joy of Cooking" for knitters.  Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book,  The Principles of Knitting,  Finishing School: A Master Class for Knitters, Reader’s Digest Knitter’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handkni
tting.  If your knitter likes to read this website, then may I humbly suggest  Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot’s Bag of Knitting Tricks?  It’s the only useful book I’ve ever written, and it’s got some handy stuff in it, I swear.  If your knitter already has those? This new book is getting rave reviews.  Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting.

Books knitters would like kids to have: Let me tell you what knitters would love. A world where knitting is seen as normal, and the path to that starts with the young.  These books are wonderful introductions for knitting families. Yetsa’s Sweater (a wonderful story about Cowichan sweaters)  Woolbur,  Knitting Nell,   Extra Yarn,  Amos’s Sweater (that one is a favourite in our family.) For something festive, consider  Shall I Knit You a Hat?: A Christmas Yarn.