It seems like the holidays come earlier every year -- there are pine wreathes on all of the doors today! And on the way to work today we saw three houses with the full set of inflatables and lights. Mid-November apparently says "Santa!" to some people...

We've had several knitters who have already begun (or even completed!) their gift knitting for the year come through, and many others coming in to buy yarn with which to start their presents (you have plenty of time! what's the big hurry?).

There's also been a good number of people coming in to buy things for their knitters. Y'all are some of our favorite people -- knitters ourselves, we know how great it is to get something knitting-related for [insert winter holiday of choice here]. At the same time, we know it can be difficult to walk into a yarn shop and have no idea what's going on, and that's why I'm gonna give you some ideas.

Let's say you have $20 to spend on your knitter:

click on me!

Try an assortment of funky tools: the stitch markers (fancy! handmade! won't make a gap in your knitting!), a great repair hook (I have four), a pair of scissors in a leather case. Every knitter needs all of these things, even if they already have some. You wouldn't believe how often this stuff goes missing... (did I mention that we have measuring tapes?)

We have two in-house pattern kits that come with the pattern and the yarn; both are designed to match colors and patterns found in old Amish wedding socks of the last 100 years or so. All the needles you'd need are available too -- just ask!

Let's say you have aspiring crafters in your life -- are they little? Do you need potholders? The potholder looms are a great place to start your kids/grandkids/nephews & nieces. The box kit comes with everything you need to make 2 potholders and we have plenty of extra loops. And if you start them making these now, they'll still want to make them in 20 years... trust me.

If you have an aspiring spinner in your life (or if you think it's funny to give your knitter more things to do with their time), you may want to get them a drop spindle and roving. We've got wooden spindles that are a great weight for spinning and a bunch of different colors of roving in 1 and 3 ounce bags. Also good for needle felting, thrummed mittens, and fake beards.

Here's a particular favorite of mine: the kaleidoscope!

What's this doing in a yarn shop, you ask? Well...

Let's say you (or your knitter) have three colors, and you want a fourth.

You might say "You know, the red just isn't working..."

Why don't you take a look through the kaleodoscope? Maybe a bit of red is exactly what your project needs.

And of course we have to mention the YARN JARS.

They come in "big" and "small."

Now let's say you have $30 for your knitter:

Kettle Dyed is will make great socks (one skein makes three socks!), great shawls, great hats, great anything. Sock yarn is super popular right now, so if you want something good for your knitter, it's always a good bet. Plus it's locally hand dyed -- who doesn't love that?

The first photo above is the four colors that arrived today -- Buggy Top, Sage, Grape Jelly, and Flannel Shirt. If none of those are doing it for you (or if your knitter only wears hot pink), don't worry, we've got plenty of cool colors! And if you really can't decide, how about a Rainbow Sampler? Six mini-skeins for the same price as one big skein!

Of course anything yarn-related makes a good gift for the fiber freaks in your life. We can set you up with everything they (or you!) would need to make a hat (about $25 for yarn, needles, and pattern), a pair of socks ($35-40 for the same), a shawl ($18 to $50, depending on what gets your attention), or anything else you could possibly imagine.

Can you imagine it? Made by edirks — Can you imagine it?
Made by edirks