Knitting

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Never Look A Knitted Gift Horse In The Needles?

by

Or something like that! A Knitted Hobby Horse, that’s what it is!

I recently came across a copy of this book that I’d like to giveaway. Not because I don’t want it, but because it’s an awesome book (yes, it really does have a knitted hobby horse in it, as well as cat toys…).

30 projects all packed up in this book, everything from bags, baby buntings and bookmarks to socks, scarves and sleeves.

Does your coffee need a coaster because it’s hot, and a cozy to keep it that way? This book has it (as well as dishrags to wipe up that coffee that spilled). Mittens, gloves and wrist warmers, toys, blankets, hats and pillows, there’s no end to the versatility. You got a persnickity person to knit for? There’s a project in this book that will save the day.

Want to learn a new technique? This book features projects in fair isle, stranding and felting. Embroidery, cables, lace, bobbles, and then it covers finishing techniques!

Knitted Gifts offers more than 30 projects for every gift-giving occasion. Designs include garments and accessories for the entire family as well as gifts for four-legged friends and the home.

What do you have to do to get this book? Tell me what your favorite, last minute, quick to knit idea is.

Giveaway ends Friday the 19th, hurry!

And.. just for a fun little kicker, I’m going to throw in another book featuring a popular gift item, hats! Hat Heads by Trond Afinnsen.

2 for the price of one…… GO!!

Comments

  1. Wow! Great books! My favorite quick knit is a hat. Especially for a baby gift! Thanks for the great giveaway!

  2. Dear me, I’d jump through fire for the Hat Heads book alone!

    My quick gift is: Christmas ornaments. Great for housewarmings, wedding gifts, Baby’s First, etc. And you know that the recipent will think of you every year they pull that out! I have yet to see a knit ornament being resold at a thrift store, but there are thousands of hats, scarves, baby blankets and Granny Square everything’s resold!

  3. scarves are my go to gift and even when someone has one of mine already they seem happy to get them 🙂 baby blankets too. But seeing the previous posters answer, I may have to start thinking ornament 😉

  5. Sounds like a great book! I love to knit owl hats as a last-minute gift. Less than 1 skein of Cascade 220 or Patons Classic Wool Merino + a free pattern!

  6. My last minute, quick to knit gift idea is fingerless mitts. But I like the Christmas ornament idea, Liz, I’ll have to try that!

  7. I don’t have a quick-knit gift, because I JUST started knitting! But my quick-sew gift is Amy Smart’s 32-minute messenger bag 🙂

  10. Dishcloths/washcloths are the quickest to do, but my second favourite is the Felted Clogs from Fiber Trends. They take a little more time to make, but they are SO well received! I’m currently working on the second go-round on these (the gifted ones from a couple of years ago are starting to wear out!).

  11. I love to make fingerless mitts. I would like to learn Fair Isle on a smaller project. I have issues with instant gratification.

  12. I try to avoid last minute situations by keeping a few hats and scarves around, along with little items in other crafts, and some thrift shop treasures. In a pinch a scarflette or cowl in superchunky yarn on size 17 needles works up very quickly. These are two great books, thanks for the generous giveaway!

  14. I’m a slow knitter, so I can’t do last-minute gifts. I crochet a tawashi or sew a coaster if I need a last-minute gift.

  16. Definitely hats… They don’t consume too much yarn and I can whip out a simpe one in one evening. I’ve also done some cute ornaments for the holidays- out of my stash of course.

  18. My favorite projects to knit are scarves, socks and hats. They are perfect as everyone needs them.

  19. Mittens. I have my Gran’s old pattern, and can whip up a pair in a weekend. The beauty of them is that for all that it’s a pretty plain pattern you can do an insane amount of things with it from making a plain pair out of a solid color wool to a wildly stripey pair our of your leftover odds and ends to (my favorite) embroidering a pattern into the backs of the hands. Living up here in the north east, I know they’re always appreciated when shoveling. 😉

  22. I admit it, I’ve done the dreaded TP Roll Cover as a last minute gift. I backed it up with a box of candy. She loved it, and the candy.

  23. My favorite last minute gifts are hats or chunky cowl. I am trying to make a few to keep on hand. Thanks for the contest!

  24. I love knitting books. I love knitting gifts. My last minute gifts are cotton dishcloth and tribble set for kitchen or bathroom. I just add a nice bar of handmade soap. Present is ready.

  25. I’ve knit headbands and i-cord bracelets as last-minute gifts for my nieces — very quick and well-received. 🙂

  26. Wow! What a generous give-away! Lately I have been into sock monkeys and I can whip one up in a few days. Honestly, I have never knit a hat, but I have been thinking about it!

  30. I have a Bag of Tricks, where I keep small finished projects tied in a ribbon. I wrap one up, and bring the bag for instant “exchanges”. But if Im in a real bind, I go dishcloth/ kitchen towel set (mason-dixon books 1&2), or slippers (modified from Ysold Teague’s Whimsical Little Knits vol. 1).

  32. I keep a stash of last-minute gifts already made – hats, scarves, face cloths – but my favorite thing to make at the last minute is dishcloths or face cloths.

  33. I just learned to knit and have limited repertoire, so I would have to say scarves- love to wear and give them!

  34. I’ve been eyin that book everytime I’m in the bookstore!!

    I love to do wrist warmers as a last minute knit gift!

  36. My favorite is a scarf knitted with two or three strands of yarn on fat needles. Thanks for the giveaway!

  37. Love the hobby horse. My quickknit gift – neck warmers. Generally only require a ball or two.

  38. I have done more socks for gifts than anything else, but speedwise hat is faster and I have done a fair amount of those as well. But really, a basic pair of socks takes only 3 days of knitting if I still do everything else that life requires. I have done hand warmers too but people I know don’t really wear them for some reason.

  40. For speed I will kick out a coffee cup cozie.. they end up being the right size to wear on your wrist until it gets around your hot cup..

  41. Unoriginal as it is, scarves knit up quickly. My favorite pattern is the My So-Called Scarf since it is nice & warm and the pattern is dead simple. And I’ve always got enough yarn around for a scarf!

  42. My favorite last minute, quick to knit idea is a baby blanket. But they are always bigger than I anticipate and never quick to knit!!!

  43. Last minute – a vest…large, small, with cables, mitred, it doesn’t matter. They are quick, fun and portable so I can take them with me wherever I go!

  44. To be honest – I am a quilter being pulled inexorably by my sister and friend into the world of knitting. I have not knit in years- and so a quick go to gift in my mind would be sewn and not knit – I am hoping with their teaching and books like these that soon will change!!

  45. My favorite quick-to-knit gifts are dishcloths. I just learned to knit in October so I made everyone dishcloths for Christmas. They were so appreciated that my friends are already asking for more! I also made several scarves. I’m eager to learn some additional techniques. Thanks so much for this opportunity!

  48. I’m a new knitter, but hope to be knitting quickly enough to turn out gifts soon. I have some sweet slippers in mind…

Have you read?

Book Review: The Knitting Book

There are two schools of thought when it comes to instructional books about knitting. Either focus in one particular technique or kind of knitting (stranded knitting, say, or brioche) or try to cover a little bit of everything in a reference book that knitters will use throughout their careers. 

The Knitting Book by Frederica Patmore and Dr. Vikki Haffenden aims to be the second kind. The subtitle is: a step-by-step guide to creating imaginative projects for the home and to wear. I’m not sure it does that, exactly, but it does include a quick look at a lot of different techniques and stitch patterns you might use in your projects. 

A “guide to creating imaginative projects” sounds to me like it’s about design, but this book is not. There’s 1/3 of a page about altering patterns that only talks about how to add length to a sleeve and adjust where the increases go.

There’s nothing about measuring your body (the section on choosing a size in a pattern only suggests measuring a garment you already own), general garment construction, ease or stitch pattern multiples. The section on gauge (which is the last third of the page with choosing a garment size and altering patterns, discussed above) just says to knit a swatch, block and measure it to compare to a pattern, with no discussion on how you might use your swatch to design your own project or alter a pattern to meet your gauge. 

If you ignore the subtitle, what you will find is a lot of information about different kinds of knitting and various techniques you might want to try on your projects. There are 20 cast ons and 15 bind off options, for instance, all discussed before you learn how to knit or purl. (Another quibble I have with this book is the order in which things are presented, but that’s relatively minor.)

You’ll find quick hits on increases and decreases, twists and cables, lace, colorwork, textured effects like fisherman’s rib and brioche, loops, mosaic knitting, double knitting, decorative stitches, shadow knitting, bias knitting, mitered squares, entrelac and more. There are tips for selvedge stitches, knitting with beads, adding buttonholes, picking up stitches and more. 

A few patterns at the back give knitters a taste of some of the techniques included, but they’re not rated by skill level and the first one is a bias knit gradient scarf worked in six different colors of mohair, which isn’t a thing I’d wish on any beginner. 

And I guess that’s maybe what my issue with the book is. I don’t know if it’s meant for beginners and it doesn’t seem to, either. I feel like this book would be overwhelming to new knitters and doesn’t really give you a place to start or all the information you might need to do projects well.

The variety of techniques included is fun, and there are also stitch patterns in the back you can use on your own projects, but again it doesn’t really provide any guidance for how to design your own projects so I don’t know how helpful all of that is. 

I want to like books like this because having one reference that helps you with a lot of different things is great, I’m just not sure this is the one. If you can find it at your library or local book store and flip through it before buying, I think that would be a great idea to see if it’s a book that would be helpful for you. 

And if you have this book and love it please let me know! I’m sure it’s good for someone I’m just not sure who. 

About the book: 336 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by DK. Suggested retail price $40.