We, as knitting and crochet artists, turn to our needles and hooks before the holidays to create hats, mittens, cowls and scarves for our loved ones. On this football Sunday, here are a few keepers, patterns for Christmas keepsake gifts, which strike at the very heart and soul of the lucky recipient. Created from various yarns, these knitting patterns are also ‘stash-busters.’
Why not a fair isle fish for your favorite fisherman? This is one fish s/he won’t throw back, knitting pattern designed by Julia Marsh of handknittedthings on Etsy. Marsh lives in the Scottish Highlands and her patterns have been featured in various well known UK knitting magazines. There’s also a pattern for a ‘Home Sweet Home Tea Cosy,’ a perfect gift for your favorite tea-lover.
As we all know, there are many stories in our stitches and Lisa McFetridge, of nearby Medfield, Massachusetts, featured once before in this column, designs hat patterns that always tell a story. You will remember her Boston Strong hats and scarves were highlighted in Vogue Knitting this past summer. Well, Lisa’s work includes design motifs for numerous ethnicities and interests, popularly Patriots, Celtics and Bruins hats for Boston’s sports fans, a Mother Goose hat, an Out of Africa hat pattern design. There’s even a hat pattern for Gordon Gecko of Wall Street infamy. You really must take a look at all her projects and hat patterns available on Ravelry.
And last but far from least, an easy and enduring cowl pattern. At Thanksgiving this year, yours truly found her granddaughter wearing cowls knit several years ago for her daughter. Here’s the free easy cowl pattern for almost any gauge yarn or combination of yarns.
Find Sharon Watterson on Twitter as knit_n_scribble and on Facebook at Knit and Crochet Patterns.
