Projects from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts"

[malinka]

fishbulb, or anyone else who's tried it, how did you go with the chevron scarf? i'm knitting it now, and it won't stay remotely flat - the two sides curl in so it ends up looking about half as wide as it should. i've been hoping that if i wash and block it when i'm done it will be ok, but now (that i've nearly finished) i'm getting cold feet...

[ultraviolet]

I absolutely fell in LOVE with the knitted elephant...

He is so adorable! I can't believe I haven't made the elephant yet. 

I kind of like pig-rats too The beauty of stuffed animals is that they can look all wonky and unidentifiable and still be cute. But Blinky - he is definitely all elephant! Great job!

[stringy]

Here's another elephant toy. He doesn't have a name yet. He's going to be a present for my best friend's newborn baby boy. I probably took closer to 10-12 hours to make him, rather than the 6-8 hours recommended by the book, but it was my first time knitting on 2 circulars (fun once you get the hang of it). Also my first provisional cast-on and my first Kitchener stitch grafting too. I didn't use two strands of yarn held together, so you can see the stuffing through the stitches. It doesn't matter too much for this one because he's a light grey colour, but if I was making one again in a dark colour I'd probably use the two strands.

[tejer]

I love this book too. I also made the airy scarf (which you can see on my blog: http://kristijo.blogs.friendster.com/my_knitting_blog/  ) I'm planning on making the boyfriend scarf for my dad and grandpa next.

[luv2stitch]

Here's another elephant toy. He doesn't have a name yet. He's going to be a present for my best friend's newborn baby boy. I probably took closer to 10-12 hours to make him, rather than the 6-8 hours recommended by the book, but it was my first time knitting on 2 circulars

Your elephant is so cute. I'm finding out that the patterns in the book are taking much longer than the chapters suggest, too. Everything turns out really cute though, so I guess the title of the book was just a teaser. Last minute to me means at least one week before the item is needed. Or maybe, I'm just one really slow knitter. (English method)

[stringy]

Yeah, I think the times would be more accurate for more experienced knitters. But now that I know that, I'm going to allow a little more time than they suggest when I choose the next project.

[apixiegrl]

I think the time allowed for the projects must have been done by someone knitting with out using the restroom or eating.... 0.0 ....It took me quite a bit longer to make some of the projects also and i consider myself an average knitter. I knit the continental method.

[bee17779]

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who is taking longer than the estimated time to knit the projects in this book. I thought I was a slow knitter perhaps. Anyway, I just finished the Silk Camisole. I will upload a pic of it once I am done blocking it.

However, if you can't wait, you can view the unblock version at my blog.  http://beeknits.blogspot.com/2005/11/last-minute-knitted-gifts-silk.html

[hercuteness]

i kind of turned this book into my unnofficial holiday gift guide.  pretty much everything i'm making for my family is coming from this book.

so far i've made:  two airy scarves, one large drawstring pouch, two baby drawstring pouches (modified the pattern to serve as tiny gift bags for some knitted brooches), and one set of the men's handwarmers.

still to come: two more airy scarves, two more large drawstring pouches , two more baby pouches, one more set of hand warmers and the purl scarf.

will post pictures when everything is ready.

for the handwarmers i actually ordered two sets of the 8" size 6 circulars. 

yeah. 

they're labeled "MINI" but i call them my baby circulars.  seemed more awkward than DPNS at first, but now i love them!  and they make  QUICK work of both the handwarmers and the little pouches.

 

[fishbulb]

fishbulb, or anyone else who's tried it, how did you go with the chevron scarf? i'm knitting it now, and it won't stay remotely flat - the two sides curl in so it ends up looking about half as wide as it should. i've been hoping that if i wash and block it when i'm done it will be ok, but now (that i've nearly finished) i'm getting cold feet...

Hey there! Sorry, I've been a bit delinquent checking in on the forums. But I did finish the scarf, which you probably have by now, too. But I did block it and it looked pretty good after that. Mine was also folding into thirds along the chevron pattern. And since the person I was making the gift for was me  I have been wearing it and was able to see how it did after wearing it for a while. And mine has started to curl back up where it goes around the neck. I was a little disappointed, but have since gotten over it. When I wear it, it's always going to be squished up anyway. The ends are staying nice and flat, though, so I'm pretty happy with it. I hope yours turned out nicely. I'll try to post a pic one of these days, but I haven't had a lot of time lately to try and figure out that whole can of worms!
Cheers!