I’m making “sweaters” for my classmates as Christmas presents.  They are all in the Harvard colors of crimson and white.  I need to have 19 made by November 11!  So far, I’ve completed 7.  I thought you would all like to see them, so I’ve taken them up to the shop.  DeeAnne has made a super little display by the front door.  I’ll be adding to it as I complete them.

The pattern is free and can be found here:

I would love to see others add their own ornaments to the tree (maybe in your college colors) to keep us all inspired to finish presents for Christmas.  Put your name on the inside so we know to whom it needs to be returned in time for the holiday.

Given that many of us are in a knitting countdown, here are three recommendations for last minute gifts.

Fastest:
Elf Shoes by Pamela Wynne. FREE!

Alie's Elf Shoes. Wild, huh?

Alie knit a pair of these in an afternoon. Really. Recommended yarns: Ella Rae, Lamb’s Pride Worsted, Cascade 220, Nashua Julia. You can knit them plain, add stripes from leftovers from previous felting projects, embroider on them, and if you want to be truly annoying, put jingle bells on the toes. Remember to put some newspaper or recycle-bound paper in the toes to get that upturned shape post-felting-while-drying.

Not as fast, but also cute:
Quarters Cap by Kristin Nicholas. $4.50, available online only.

Quarters Cap on Joel, the reluctant model

I knit this for my husband, and it’s sized from baby on up. Recommended yarn is Nashua Julia, named for Kristin’s daughter Julia. It’s ALL GARTER stitch. I’m cheating because I mentioned this earlier in the week on Ravelry, but still. Julia is worsted weight yarn, so it’ll also work with other worsted weight yarns. This is knit flat, then seamed using mattress stitch. Color options: I used 3 different colors to create stripes in each quarter, with one color staying contstant throughout the hat. You can make each quarter a different color, stripe 2 quarters, whatever suits your color personality or the color personality of the giftee.

New, more challenging, perhaps for a New Year’s present:

Knotty But Nice Hat by Natalie Larson. FREE!

This hit the boards this week from Knitty. It’s a lovely cabled hat knit in the round. This pattern calls for Cascade 220, but you can use any worsted weight yarn (Ella Rae, Lamb’s Pride Worsted, Julia, Noro Kureyon, some of the new Classic Elite and Berroco yarns in the shop). I’d love to see this knit up in a tweedy yarn.

NOTE: ALL of these use worsted weight yarns. While I love working with laceweight and sock yarns, when you’re down to a knitting deadline, it’s great to be able to use size 7 or 8 US needles and a worsted weight yarn to rock out a project on time. If you make any of these, please share your photo with us!