Throughout October and November, patterns and ideas for quick Christmas knitting are flying through the air like owls on Mail Day at Hogwarts. I took advantage of the deluge to play with the leftovers from my Tic Tac Toes Socks. Each of my finished projects has a unique story.

These are Susie’s Reading Mitts knit with Gloss Fingering weight in Kenai. I was knitting on the second mitt while I was with a friend who is just learning to knit. She asked if she could buy them from me as a Christmas gift for her daughter. Right, like I am really going to charge her! Geez!

So, these mitts will be under the Christmas tree for Sonia. Don’t worry, I have enough yarn to make another pair with a shorter cuff for myself.

Another friend is a jewelry artist and is making a pair of earrings for me as a birthday present. Her birthday is in January. I’m going to give her this cowl when I pick up my earrings on Friday. It is the Spring Cowl knit with Imagination in Fairy Princess.

These two stories got me thinking about gifting opportunities throughout the year. As much as I appreciate all of the Christmas knitting suggestions we all share in the fall, it can all be over-stimulating. My Ravelry Queue grows daily!

You know that I just discovered Toodledo and the coordinating Droid app – Got To Do. Love it! I’ve decided to spend a couple of quiet, post-Christmas days filling a folder called “Quick Gifts” with project names and sources from my Ravelry Queue, books and our Independent Designers. I’m talking truly quick projects – the Reading Mitts only took four days and the Spring Cowl only took one day.

I could open up the folder any time I needed a gift, to use up some leftover yarn or need an instant gratification fix. This way I can extend the joy of Christmas and take advantage of the largesse of holiday knitting suggestions throughout the year.