The Sweatshop of Love Blog

It’s November 9th and this is my very first post about making holiday presents. Late right? I’ve been working on a few things here and there, and I’ve got a plan: all homemade or small business supporting, but no knitting. That is right! I’m not knitting anyone anything this season for the first time in probably 11 years.

A few needlepoint and cross stitch projects have found their way into my holiday crafting queue, and it’s downright delightful. This Batman and Friends cross stitch pattern from Pixel Power Designs is crazy cute!

The pattern is fantastic and clear – and I had most of the colors necessary for the pattern! I only had to pick up 3 new DMC floss colors to have everything I needed to get started. So I just worked around those colors until I made it to the store.

Who is the recipient of this fun cross stitch? My nephew Baby Nolan is getting this hung on his wall! He is too young to think it’s lame to get cross stitches for Christmas, and in a few years this is sure to solidify me Favorite Aunt status.

So far Batgirl is my favorite, though I’m looking forward to Alfred! Those lips, right?! And, in the interest of full disclosure, I had absolutely no idea who Nightwing was before starting this project. Some Superman/Batman franchise hybrid? Eh, who cares? His hipster hair won over my heart.

Pixel Power has some really amazing cross stitch patterns and if they are anything like Batman and Friends, they are well written, clear, and crazy fun. Mythbusters, Mad Men, Spice Girls, Johnny Depp characters are standouts for me, but they are all good.

Every single gift I’m giving this season is handmade. 100%. If I didn’t make it with my own two hands, I bought it from someone who did.

I knit 15 gifts this year. I started in July! I worked in other knitting along the way and I’m taking a break from putting the finishing touches on a few things to write this post, 3 days before Christmas. There is stuff in that pic I haven’t written here about yet because I want them to be a surprise! So yeah. I’ve been a really busy knitter.

I’m lucky to have a lot of people in my life who appreciate handmade gifts. And I’m pretty good at finding patterns for ridiculous things that are joke gifts, which helps!

I’ve also got people on my list that don’t appreciate hand knits as much as others, so in those cases I’ve found other people to fill in the gap. I got this print of a Chicago L sign for Soldier Field for my dad, because while he is a Lions fan, he comes to Soldier Field every year for a Lions Bears game, and Chicago is awesome, so this printed canvas is a fun reminder of that. CitizenShay has lots of fun Chicago L signs and are worth checking out!

I thought my brother Matthew would like this print from Octophant, who does a lot of crazy interesting prints and illustrations. My brother is really into history and music, and the medieval feel of this gig poster I thought fit the bill.

So there you have it! I’m 100% handmade for the holidays. There is always room for improvement, of course. I bought my holiday cards and never got to the mitten gift tags I wanted to make. Next year I’ll be even MORE hand made. Because that is just how we roll.

If you are reading this I’m guessing you are a knitter and/or you love a knitter. With only 2 weeks to Christmas there isn’t a lot of time to mess around, so here is a breakdown of some thoughtful and quick gifts from knitter to knitter, non-knitter to knitter, and knitter to non-knitter.

Gifts from a Knitter to Knitter

1. Slippers!

Slippers like these DROPS Design 121-13 Slippers in Rib are knit with size 10 needles and super bulky yarn. You can knit a pair in an evening and are a great gift for a knitter because knitters generally don’t knit practical items like this for themselves.

I would LOVE these, but I will never knit these for myself. Why? Don’t know! But if I got these I would be tickled damn pink.

Run to JoAnn, get a skein of Lion Brand Thick N Quick. Print the free pattern. If you’ve got time you can even jazz them up with fabric covered buttons!

Check them out on Ravelry here.

2. Put together a thoughtful knit kit.

Do a little research on your friend’s ravelry page. See what is on her queue and buy the yarn for that project. Put it in a gift bag with the printed pattern. It will take a trip to the yarn store or an express shipping fee, but no knitting time is involved, and you will know better than anyone what your friend really wants to knit.

She doesn’t have ravelry or you can’t scope it? Get 1200 – 2200 yards of something pretty, depending on her size. That is enough yarn for most sweater patterns!

Gifts from a Non-Knitter to a Knitter

1. Toys!

Here is a list of things you can easily find at any craft store that we will always appreciate and rarely buy for ourselves:

1. Stitch Holders

2. Cable Needles

3. A Row Counter

4. Stitch Markers

5. A Pair of Tiny Scissors

6. Those Needle End Stopper Things

7. A Small Tape Measure

Get a couple of these and find a small, cute zipper bag to put them in. Any knitter will lose her shit.

2. A Pre-Made Knit Kit.

Hop on etsy.com and search knitting kit, and look for an accessory you like. The knit maker will have put in the kit everything your knitter will need to make that project. Steer clear of bigger projects like sweaters, because those are harder to judge of your knitter will like to knit that project, but any smaller project will be loved.

Gifts from a Knitter to a Non-Knitter

1. THINK SMALL!

It’s go time, people. With 12 knitting days till Christmas, and 5 knitting days till the last safe shipping day before Christmas, time is of the essence.

Here is a list of small project that can be completed in a night or two:

1. See Gifts from a Knitter to a Knitter, #1

2. A Change Purse

3. A Cowl Knit with Super Bulky Yarn and FAT Needles

4. Hand Warmers

5. Dish Cloths

Don’t kid yourself that you can do too much more than this. It’s not just about nights you have to knit, it’s about all the other stuff you need to do on those nights. It’s cookie baking season, and you can’t bake and knit. Be realistic, and don’t kill yourself knitting for people who, let’s face it, won’t appreciate what you knit them as much as you deserve.

2. A Book.

Go to Barnes and Noble, or Borders, or your local book store, and buy a book.

If you find yourself sitting down to watch It’s a Wonderful Life, find some self striping sock yarn in your stash, CO 16 sts, and garder stitch till the movie is over. BO, make a 4″ tassel and loop it in the middle of your CO edge. Put it in the book.

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ENJOY THE SEASON! Read Christmas books to your kids. Go to parties. Have cocktails and cookies with friends at every opportunity. Bake, and cook, and sing All I Want For Christmas Is You at the top of your lungs 6 times a day. Do the things you enjoy doing! Killing yourself to finish projects at this point is just not worth it.

Worst case scenario? Write an IOU. But be sure to complete the project by the end of January.