I need to start this post with a non-knitting handmade item because it is just too cool. I went to a grad student holiday party last night and my Secret Santa gave me an origami horseshoe crab:

 

Check out those legs! How cool is that?! I was super impressed, and touched. I love handmade gifts, especially something so personal and thoughtful.

Now I have a couple of my own FO’s to share. Here is a Mustard Scarf:

in Malabrigo Chunky, colorway Bobby Blue

This pattern is free and makes a great, quick gift with just one skein of bulky yarn on size US 15 needles. I think the button really makes this neckwarmer, I hope the recipient will like it!

And finally, a pretty little linen-stitch cuff bracelet:

in Malabrigo Sock, colorway Abril

Malabrigo yarns make such nice-yet-affordable gifts. The pattern is Pretty Twisted and it is also free on Knitty, with a few different versions to make. This cuff took just under 5 grams of yarn so it would be great to use up sock leftovers or miniskeins (although I did make it child-sized, only 6″ long). With only 5 days to go until gift-giving time, I’m hoping I can bang out another one of these bracelets, 3 bulky hats, 1 worsted weight hat, 1 worsted weight pair of fingerless gloves, and some baby booties. HAHA, so ambitious. This is a much-reduced list of what I had originally wanted to knit, but I think it is doable. Two of those bulky hats can be given to the recipients as skeins of yarn (or “hats-to-be”, as I prefer to call them) since I know they’d understand with minimum amounts of teasing. And the baby booties can wait until the week after Christmas. But still, better keep on knitting…