handmade holidays

Hello Friends! 

I have a confession to share with you. Approximately every December 1st, a wonderfully inspired thought floats into my head: 

‘It’s time to start knitting holiday gifts for all of my loved ones’. 

I begin to pore over my favorite patterns, pay a visit to my stash and start to imagine the days ahead calmly clicking my needles through each glorious stitch. It always comes as a bit of surprise when I revisit my stash only to discover nothing in it will do. 

Must. Order. New. Yarn. 

And of course, along with fresh new yarn, I’ll certainly need to…

Buy. New. Needles.

Because in my mind, new needles will help expedite my knitting speed. I’m sure I read about that…somewhere. 

Once patterns are picked and new yarn, needles, and notions are purchased, I do some quick math to tally the amount of time it will take to complete each piece. And then I hear, pffft, the sound of my knitting balloon slowly deflating as I realize I should have started these projects months and months ago. Typically at this point, I have about 15 days remaining until my holiday deadline arrives and it becomes abundantly clear - my project-timeline-denial has struck again. Sigh.

Can anyone else relate? 

From left to right: December 10 - Casting on stitches for the author's infant son, December 25 - The reality of the author’s handmade holiday, incomplete stocking. Sorry, Arlo.

Friends, if you can relate, why then I have good news for you! With help from my wonderful team at Quince, we have created a (downloadable and printable) Handmade Holiday Shopping Guide and Project Planner. 

The project planner will help get you started (hopefully, before December!), and will keep you organized and on track so that your holiday deadlines can be proudly met. The shopping guide is a curated list of some of our favorite Quince patterns to inspire you to create for the wonderfully diverse personalities in your life. Such as patterns to knit…

For the Stargazer: Selene by Sarah Pope

A sweet celebration of the moon and all its phases! This blanket features each phase of the moon represented in a daisy stitch and knit/purl motif. Knit in organic cotton, Willet, I think this blanket would look lovely in our Limited Edition Aalto! 

For the Foodie: Artichoke by Pam Allen

A market bag perfect for holding all of your culinary delights! Artichoke is worked in the round from the center of base out. Knit in organic linen, Sparrow. What will you put in your bag? 

For the Giggler: Seven Layer Cake by Star Athena

If socks were edible, my goodness this pair would be the star dessert! It makes us giggle to even think about eating socks! These scrumptious darlings are knit from the cuff down in fingering-weight Finch. Surprise details on the cuff and ankle are the icing on the cake. Ha, Ha!

So, what do you think? Are you ready to cast-on for an epic handmade holiday? Don’t forget to download our planner and guide! We can’t wait to hear about your progress.

Happy Knitting!