The idea that I had, the one that I was going to give 48 hours, and see how it panned out?  That single decision turned my living room into a mitten factory. 

I had it in my head that that funky stitch could be fabulous mitten cuffs, and truthfully, I’ve been feeling a mitten thing coming on for a while, but when it couldn’t be decided by any reasonable vote whether they were better with black or not with black (although thanks to the hundreds of you who had an opinion) I decided to do both, and that only made it worse.  There were suddenly hundreds of combinations and permutations made possible by that wave of indecision, and knitting four single mittens (there is not yet a pair) has done almost nothing to take the edge off.

The beauty of it is that these mittens are worked using only one colour at a time.  No stranding, no intarsia, no fooling around, and that makes them fast and addictive. 

I’m trying to stop now, and at least turn them into pairs, but it would seem that I’ve contracted yet another case of OCMD. (Obsessive Compulsive Mitten Disorder.)  Trying to stop has only filled me with anxiety and an overwhelming sense of loss, as I ponder all the possibilities that won’t get knit if I quit now.
There’s really no way to tell what’s going to happen next. I am a woman of considerable self control, but dudes? Do you see these mittens?
I am helpless. It is grey and cold outside, but inside? My mitten factory is a thing of beauty.

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Gifts for Knitters, Day Five

Dear Non-knitter who loves a knitter, 

Remember how yesterday I was saying that sometimes, not only does a knitter need tools, but he might need many of that tool?  Today is like that. Today’s gift is project bags.  Knitters very frequently have many things that they are knitting at once.  A few pairs of socks, a hat, a couple of mittens, three sweaters…   This is NORMAL.  Not every project is appropriate for every day or occasion.  Knitters need choices.  This means that nifty bags for them to store them in are really handy.  So handy that you can be pretty sure that you’re knitter would enjoy a project bag.  Even if your knitter is the kind that only knits one project at a time, you can bet that they don’t plan one project at a time, and these little bags can come in really handy for queuing up stuff and keeping it tidy and clean.

A classic favourite project bag are the ones from Tom Bihn.  I’ve got a bunch of these.  I like them a lot – especially the ones with the clear bottom.  I store them bottom up, and I can see which project is which.  Very handy.  I grab whichever one I like and take off.   There’s the fab drawstring ones, that come from lots of different sources (I love Stitchy McYarnpants, but who doesn’t?) There’s ones where the handles overlap. (I like the app screen on that one.)
There’s ones in the shape of pyramids – (love this one) Costumedeeva makes a bunch, although she thinks they’re toiletry bags. 
Then there’s the fancier ones,  like (I am in love with these) the box bags from Splityarn, I get a little flutter in my heart when I think of the biggie boxes. (They hold a whole sweater.)

Finally, if you’re so inclined,  it’s not that hard to make a simple project bag, and knitters do appreciate handmade. 

I was going to take the weekend off, but decided this morning that I really didn’t want to do three days worth of Gifts for Knitters tomorrow, so fueled by coffee – Off we go.

Day Three, and Day Four

Dear Non-Knitter.
Knitting is like woodworking – it’s a skill that can be accomplished with the simplest of tools, but is made easier and infinitely more pleasant with nice ones. The same way that you wouldn’t be surprised if a woodworker had several saws or chisels, each for a specific task, you shouldn’t be surprised that a knitter needs lots of tools, and sometimes several similar ones.  If you don’t see the tools I’m about to describe here in your knitters home, they would be a good gift. 

A swift.  A swift is a yarn holding device. Some yarn comes in skeins, or hanks, and need to be wound into a ball before they can be used.  A swift sits on or clamps to a table (or something) and twirls as the yarn unwinds onto (usually) a ball winder.  (More on ball winders later.)

There’s this kind, a metal and plastic one, that’s sort of the entry level swift.  It’s small, light and handles most average size skeins of yarn. Or you can get  a wooden one, that’s a little prettier (to my way of thinking) sturdier and has (at least in my experience) held up well to constant use.  It is bigger though, and harder to store. You can get a sort that sits on the table – this kind is pretty common, but there’s a whole lot of really amazing woodworkers out there making really, really beautiful handcrafted ones. Dig this from Hornshaw Woodworks.
Any way you slice it, a swift is a really cool tool for a knitter, and comes with a bonus for you – you’ll never be asked to hold a skein for them again. 

Usually, a knitter uses a ball winder with a swift.  Like swifts, there’s a couple of different kinds, and mostly they’re about longevity and durability.  Almost everybody I know has a Royal ball winder.  I do.  They’re great – although they do wear out with time (and when the gears start to go, they begin to make breast shaped balls. It’s very entertaining) and the design of them means that you can’t wind really huge skeins onto them.  They’re going to meet about 90% of most knitters needs for a few years, then need replacing, but they are easy to find, and reasonably priced. If you’re looking to start moving up the food chain – take a look at the Strauch Ball Winder.  It’s an animal.  Gorgeous, long lasting, makes really big balls. (There’s a joke in there, but I’m going to skip it.) It’s a serious tool. (There’s another chance at a joke.  It’s hard to talk about ball management without running into them.) 
Pro-tip: If your knitter really, really likes managing wool by hand, consider a beautiful Nostepinne.  It’s a way of winding balls by hand, and they might love it.

For day four, I want to talk about cases for knitting in progress.  You know your knitter might love these if they’ve always got holes in their bags, and someone in your family has been poked by a sock-in-progress from within that bag.  You can get inexpensive ones made out of cardboard or plastic – but I like the durability and style of  the Knitzi, There’s several versions, they’re all pretty cool. There’s also several woodworkers making very elegant and gorgeous versions – all a little different.  I’ve got one called a Sock Safe, made by Karen Sandberg, and it’s inlaid figured maple.  Keep your eyes out.

Finally, a note about choosing what sort of tool to buy your knitter.  Before you buy, remember to think about how much time your knitter spends at this craft, and how seriously that might mean they take it.  If you knew someone who spent several hours a day in a woodshop, would you think they probably wanted beginner tools? Helping your knitter invest in wonderful tools is a nice way to show them that respect their craft, and them. 

PS: This means that all mentions of Signature or DyakCraft needles should be met with enthusiasm on your part. 

PPS. If you are a woodworker who loves a knitter, I bet they would love it if you made some of this stuff for them. 

A few weeks ago, at Port Ludlow, I had an idea.  It was an interesting and delicious idea, and one that I tucked away in the "someday I’ll have time" pile.  The idea wasn’t really happy with it’s placement in the queue, and as the days have trickled by, it has sat in the back of my brain like Glenn Close in that creepy movie where she will not be ignored, and I have finally lost the battle.  I think my critical error was my belief that buying the yarn for this project would take the edge off, and instead it pushed me over. (There’s really no excuse for thinking that would work.)  By yesterday I had it all wound up:

and by last night I had convinced myself that the idea had Christmas present merit, and could therefore be indulged.  I’m going to let the idea sprout and be swatched for 48 hours, and then retire it, unless it’s paid off the way I think it might.  This is December.  There is no time for fruitless knitting. 

I ‘ve started the swatching, and now I have two that I love, though I can’t tell which one I love more.  With black, so the little windows remind me of stained glass,

or without the black, so little scallops of pure colour dance along?

I can’t stop thinking about it.  What colours? In what order? To what end? (Secretly, I know the end, or I think I do.  Winter is coming.)  In any case, this idea has 36 hours left to get itself together, or it goes to the curb. Do you guys prefer the version with black, or without?

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Gifts for knitters, Day Two.

Jewelry.  I know, right now you’re thinking that you’ve bought jewelry before, and it wasn’t really a knitter thing, but what we’re talking about here is jewelry for knitters.  You’ve got three ways you can think about going, depending on your particular breed of knitter. 

1.  Actual knitting themed jewelry, made by someone else.  Like all this really cool stuff from Sassafras Creations.  They take knitting needles and chop them up and reform them into really beautiful things. (Personal favourite, and on my own shopping list – the Floating bubbles necklace.) Maybe a yarn pin from Pinderella?  A sterling silver ball of yarn from Schoolhouse Press? Knit/Purl earrings from Knitpurletc?

2. Knitting tools that look like jewelry, but are secretly useful, like the Knitting Abacus, which looks like a funky bracelet, but is a row counter.  (Trust me, non-knitter, counting is a big deal to your knitter.) Or how about a necklace that’s going to look like a regular piece, but to your knitter and all of his or her friends, it’s a needle gauge? There’s a beautiful one in sterling silver from Knitpurletc, or a fun one that looks like a seashell from Debra’s Garden. (Trust me again here, it’s like the counting thing.  Knitters have to do a lot of measuring and gauging. It’s far more technical than you might have guessed.)

3. You could set your knitter up to MAKE some jewelry, if you think that’s the sort they are.  Dig these beaded kits from Laura Nelkin,  or these kits where your knitter can knit wire to make neat bracelets and necklaces.

I know that this seems like a tough category for the male knitter, not that any of those things wouldn’t work, depending on the taste of your particular knitter, but as a special mention, check out these hilarious buttons for men who knit from Slipped Stitch Studios.  I love them all, but I think my favourite is "Real live knitter: no, you can’t touch me." (The unisex buttons here are also hilarious.)

More tomorrow.  Hang in there non-knitters, and remember, when your knitter says that he’s got a tight knitting deadline, that means you should make dinner. 

Dear  Non-knitters who love a Knitter,

Today is the first of December, and I think it’s probably pretty inevitable that you’ve heard from someone by now that Christmas is coming. (Pro-tip: They have scheduled it on the same day as last year. I think it’s pretty consistent.) While regular people are about to have a very busy month, Knitters are under a special and unique strain.  They have to do everything that regular people do, and in addition,  they are undoubtedly knitting one or more items as gifts for Christmas, maybe for you.   They are going to need special love and attention for the upcoming month, and we can talk about that more later, but for now, this is all you need to know. The knitting all-nighters, the frequent trips to the yarn store, the desperation and sobbing when the last darning needle is gone, the way that at least once in the next month they’re going to yell "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND WHY WOULD I WANT TO GO TO A MOVIE WITH YOU I CAN’T CABLE IN THE DARK YOU ARE SO INSENSITIVE" is about to start for you and your knitter. (If you know or are related to more than one holiday gift knitter, you may want to connect with others in the comments so that you can form a support group.  Multiple knitter contact in December can be emotionally difficult.)

Some of you may believe that it’s the knitters choice about whether or not he or she does this to themselves every year, but it isn’t. For many knitters who suffer from this variant, there is no choice.  Sure as a nightingale has to sing, a gift knitter must knit – and the opportunity to knit a gift is – to your knitter, a chance to make the love that they feel in their hearts tangible, visible and warm.  No matter how it looks (and we admit, it is difficult to see the love when a hat knitter is using filthy language to describe Aunt Alice’s head size at 3am) gift knitting is a powerful and meaningful expression of human affection.  Each stitch contains the most precious thing a knitter can give – time and talent, and every person who receives said gift of time and talent should be nothing short of stunned with joy and gratitude.  Think about it.  Other people are going to spend 20 minutes at the mall picking out a present for you.  Your knitter loves you so much that their gift to you took hours and hours and hours of time that nobody else deserved.

Now, if you’re normal, right now, my dear Non-knitter who loves a knitter, you’re feeling pressured.  You’re thinking "Holy mittens, what the heck do you give someone for Christmas when they’re going to give you something that amazing?" and dear non-knitter, I’m here for you.  I know you love your knitter, and I know you know your knitter loves knitting, and I know that in the past, you’ve thought about buying some knitter stuff for them for Christmas, but it was all too much and then you bought that sweater for them instead and you think they liked it, because it was wool – and knitters like wool, right?  You betcha, but let’s move on.   Over the next 25 days, I’m going to try and make some suggestions about stuff that knitters like that would make good presents. 

Remember though, that knitters, while they have a lot in common, are also really unique.  Follow your gut, do the recommended detective work, and follow these rules:

1. If your knitter has a lot of something (bags, yarn, magazines) this is because THEY LIKE THEM A LOT.  I know that you would think that if someone has a lot of yarn that they wouldn’t want more as a present, but you would be wrong.  Having a lot of something means that your knitter enjoys that thing. It is a good thing to buy.

2. About that sweater that you bought?  You were so close.  The only thing you need to know is that knitters like sweaters, hats, scarves, mittens… but they like them to come "some assembly required."  Pattern and yarn is a better idea than finished item. 

3. Most knitters stashes are arranged in chronological layers, like in archeology.  If you go into the stash to see what they like, remember that the newest stuff (the stuff that your knitter is into right now) will be on the top or "canopy" of the stash.  Things deeper down are less reliable, and if you go deep enough to find mint green chunky brushed mohair? Give up.  You’ve hit the 80’s.

Let’s begin. 

Gifts for knitters,  Day One:

Today’s suggestion is knitting paper goods.  Note cards, tags… knitters usually like knitters specific stuff, and they usually know other knitters that they would like to share this stuff with. These are some of my very favourites, but if you don’t like what I like, try googling "Knitting stationary" "knitting cards" or "Knitting notes." Etsy (a place where you can buy handmade stuff in a variety of online shops) is a really good place to look.  Knitters make handmade stuff, they appreciate the stuff other people make too. 

Is your knitter super classy? Does she send thank you notes?  Write letters?  She might love these beautiful embossed knitting notes from Papersheep press.

Tilly Flop  makes classic, wonderful knitting notes that I adore.  Right now my favourite is "Keep calm and cast on"

Finally, and this is a good one if your knitter is a bit of a smartarse,  Kniterella.
I have a special fondness for the notecards that say stuff like "If Knitting is wrong I don’t want to be right", and I love the gift tags, that say things like "Just because it’s handmade, doesn’t mean it was cheap"

Good hunting, and if it seems to you like this isn’t right for your knitter, don’t panic.  I’ve got 24 more ideas coming your way.  Hang in there, and don’t panic.

PS. In case you’re wondering, nobody paid me to promote their products. This is just stuff I like.  

PPPS: For the Non-knitters.  See that? I have yarn, but I still bought more.