‘Tis the season for gift guides, and if you’re anything like me at this time of year, you’ll find yourself realizing you’ve only checked a few people off your list and you have a whole bunch more to go. I thought I’d put together a few of my favorite things that would be perfect for gifts – whether you’re a knitter giving gifts to someone else, a non-knitter shopping for a knitter, or a knitter shopping/knitting for another knitter! I’ve tried to cover all the bases.

Last-minute knits

No matter how busy you are, you definitely have time to knock out at least one of these in the next few weeks.

1. Toatie Hottie by Kate Davies, available as a kit (including hot water bottle!) here. (£15.99)

2. Brig, a hat and scarf set, by Veronik Avery for Brooklyn Tweed. I’m pretty in love with the simple seaman’s cap that’s a part of this set. Definitely a quick knit! ($6.50)

3. Earl Grey Mitts by Bristol Ivy. Quick, simple, beautiful, unisex. How can you beat that? ($2)

4. Whichaway Mitts by Karen Templer, a free pattern. These genius little colorblocked mitts can be worn in either direction.

5. The Tolt Mitts & Hat, by Andrea Rangel. Designed for the opening of Tolt Yarn and Wool in Carnation, Washington, either the hat or the mitts would be a perfect last-minute knit and a great introduction to colorwork. ($8)

6. The appropriately-named Jul Hat, by Jenny Gordy ($6.50). ‘Jul’ sounds like ‘yule’ and it means Christmas in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. I love Jenny Gordy’s simple knits and her styling is always impeccable.

Project bags

I tend to work on a lot of projects at the same time, so I’m of the opinion that you can never have too many project bags. My all-time favorite is my bag from The Fibre Company, but any of these would do well!

1. Bento bags from Fringe Supply Co. ($16-$18)

2. ‘A Daily Dose of Fiber’ designed by Vera Brosgol and available from Ravelry. They also stock this bag with the spelling ‘Fibre’ which you can find here. ($15) Update: it appears they only have the latter bags in stock (spelled ‘fibre’).

3. Bags by The Fibre Company. Available in several places online, including here & here, or you can find a stockist near you here. (~$12)

Magazines

Subscriptions are available for a few of my favorites:

1. Pom Pom Quarterly, filled with beautiful knit and (often) crochet patterns, with a focus on creative life in general. Wonderful recipes in the back of every issue. A subscription gets you four issues and is £37.

2. Knitscene is perfect for any knitter, featuring a range of patterns in different styles, but none too complicated. Any knitter could confidently tackle a Knitscene pattern. I love these guys. A subscription gets you four issues and is $24.

3. Extra Curricular isn’t strictly a knitting magazine and you actually aren’t likely to find any knitting patterns in this one at all, but they do always have some DIY project or another you can try out. This NZ-based magazine is one of my absolute favorites, and they’re focused on creative folk of all sorts. A subscription gets you three issues and is $42 (NZ).

Project Notebooks

I might be a notebook hoarder, but like project bags, I really don’t think you can ever have too many.

Moleskine. Call me boring, but I have no interest in any of the busy new editions Moleskine keeps coming out with – I’m a devotee of the simplest, plainest, most elegant notebooks they carry. You can’t beat a classic. Available here from the Moleskine website, where you can choose your size, paper type (plain/lined/graph), cover weight, and color, among other things. ($9.95-$20.95)

In contrast to Moleskine, I love the special ‘Colors’ editions by Field Notes. Their most recent edition is pretty beautiful: Cold Horizon. These come in three-packs and they’re pocket-sized. Good for almost anything. ($9.95 for a 3-pack)

Knitter’s Graph Paper Journal from Fringe Supply Co. How many times have I wished I had one of these on me? If you do any charting yourself, or you know someone who does, this is a perfect gift. The grid is laid out like a knitting chart, so the columns are wider than the rows are tall. Perfect for visualizing a colorwork design or working out the kinks of a new cable. ($12)

Notecards

Looking for the perfect card to go along with your package? Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Set of 5 sweater notecards by Brooklyn Tweed ($25)

2. ‘Bummer’ notecard by Knerd ($5)

3. Notions notecards from Ravelry ($6)

Are you knitting any gifts this holiday season?