Here’s a public service announcement for the holiday knitting season: if you’ve been knitting so many gifts lately that your (insert weird place to feel pain here) is swollen and sore, then you should give yourself a rest. I might have had to take Monday night off from knitting because I might have overdone it a bit over the weekend — my knuckles were very unhappy. Oops. I’m trying not to feel anxious about the lost time but (taking a page from the Yarn Harlot) my knits-to-gift pile still looks like this:

Yes, I realize there is only a week left. Oy.

That pile represents: a secret gift hidden in the pretty blue project bag, cheerful rainbow armwarmers, a pair of Miscreant cuffs I just started to compensate for the scarf I know I won’t be finishing in time (especially because I seem to have misplaced it somehow), a pair of stripey socks, a completely un-started soon-to-be hat, and a half-finished toddler vest. For those counting along, that’s 6 projects left to finish in the next 7 days. I think the reasons I’m not totally panicking right now are: 1) almost everything is well underway (except the hat), 2) I still have 2 nights of uninterrupted knitting before I travel this weekend, and 3) I’m doing a lot of traveling over the next week and travel time = knitting time. I think I’ll be spending at least 13 hours in some state of transit before all the gifts need to be given so that helps. Some details!

Simple Seaside Stripes:

Knitpicks Felici Sport. Click for project page.

The key to (last-minute) gift knitting is to keep things simple. These socks are just 3×1 ribbing, it’s the colors that make them interesting. An afterthought heel also keeps the knitting simple: no stopping and stalling out to deal with a fiddly flap and gusset. Save all the fiddly bits for the last minute, when I’ll really be rushing, woohoo! (In retrospect, this might have been a bad plan.)

Bigger Dyvest:

Malabrigo Rios, colorway Bobby Blue. Click for project page.

Like the adorable tiny one I finished earlier in the week, this vest is moving along at a good clip. It’s also largely the cause of my poor sore knuckles. However, I’m just about at the front/back split for the armholes and at least with the little one I got through that and the finishing in just a couple of nights, so I’m pretty confident this gift will be finished on time. I tend to prioritize gifts for the very young and the very old, everyone in between should be able to understand if I’m a bit late with a gift. (Right? Right.)

Bigger Miscreants:

The Verdant Gryphon Codex. Click for project page.

I’m using leftovers from my mom’s Brazen shawl to knit a pair of cuffs. I’m actually not loving how this yarn is behaving in the slipped stitch rib patterning so this project might be frogged, in which case poor Mom will just have to wait a bit longer for her scarf and some other knits I have planned (more chemo caps and things of that nature). I finished the Little Miscreants I was working on earlier, though:

Madelinetosh DK, colorway Cathedral. Click for project page.

I think the pattern works best with a really spring, bouncy wool. It’s simple and quick but the nature of the fabric means it doesn’t have much stretch, so you want to give it as much as you can to start with by using a more elastic yarn. The other gift WIPs in the first photo haven’t been touched this week, except for the Fiasco’s secret gift, which you can see if you click here (RICHARD, DO NOT CLICK).

Phew! I’d chat more, but I need to keep knitting! Check out more WIPs at Tamis Amis.