Panicked Purling, Frantic Finishing & Crazy Cast-ons

The countdown clock to Christmas is ticking louder & louder with every passing hour. If you are like us, you are now carrying your knitting or crocheting with you everywhere you go, forgoing family meals for pizza delivery and making last minute trips to the LYS and crossing your fingers that there is another ball in your dye lot available because you are afraid that you might run out and Aunt Gwen will get a beautiful Aran sweater with 3/4 length sleeves.

Ahhhh yes, the joys of the holiday giving season. We do this to ourselves every year. We make big ambitious lists in September, or even earlier, of all the knitted items we will be wrapping lovingly, with plenty of time to spare, of course. And we do in earnest begin working on the list. But we get distracted by new magazines, new issues of Twist Collective, new yarns coming into our LYS, new patterns on Ravelry and all of our good intentions vanish quicker then the drumsticks on our Thanksgiving turkey.

Fear not, panicked crafters. There are loads of last minute quick gift patterns out there. Here are a few of our favorites:




The Knitted Interlace Scarf creates a mesh for our ribbon yarn Paca Cinta to be woven through. Using only 3 balls of Classic Alpaca and 1 hank of Paca Cinta, the scarf is a quick project that is suitable for an advanced beginner. Bonus! This is also available in a crochet version.

The Snuggle Shortie Vest knits up fast in Snuggle or Snuggle Hand Dyed. The cropped length vest has a cabled rib that graduates higher and higher in the front. The pattern is written for chest sizes 36 to 48. Yarn requirements: 36" 4 - skeins, 39" 5 - skeins , 43"- 5 skeins, 48"- 6 skeins.

Simple stitch patterns make the Glimmer Evening Bag a great beginner project. Create a drawstring top with I-cord and you have a perfect little evening purse adorned with beaded strands. Only 2 skeins of Glimmer are required to complete this cute purse.

The Intertwined Ballerina Top looks challenging but is deceptively simple to create. Using 550 -1100 yards of fingering weight such as Glimmer or Classic Light the easy rhythm of stockinette stitch will have this one flying off the needles in no time.

Using size 5 needles and just one skein of Swizzle, the Ridged Handwarmers and Beanie are the perfect last minute knitted gift. Best of all the pattern is available free!

Now I know what you are thinking, "What if my LYS doesn't have the pattern in stock? There is no way I can order it and have it in time for Christmas!" Well, we have more exciting news to share here at AYC. Coming very soon, our patterns will be available for purchase as downloadable .pdf files! That's right, you will be able to buy our fantastic patterns from the comfort of your home and have them delivered direct to your pc for your personal use. As new patterns are released they will be immediately available and we will begin making the entire catalog available soon, starting with your favorites like the Forest Path Stole, Firefly Shawl and the adorable Rose Cardigan. Check back often for updates of what patterns are available.

Hope you all have a very Happy Hanukkah and a wonderful, warm and most of all productive weekend!