This gift guide is from Elyse! She has excellent ideas for the crafty people in your life!
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The holidays are sneaking up fast this year, and that combined with supply chain issues (I could write a dissertation on this) means that people are shopping earlier than ever. I’m here with a gift guide for the crafty people in your life.
Let’s start with gifts that great for crafters when you don’t share that particular hobby and may not know what they need.
I recommend this lamp every single year, but I love it so much it’s worth mentioning.
Verilux sells lamps in both floor and table sizes. This is a must have for me as a reader and crafter because the light is bright and crisp, but also comes in a variety of settings and color-tones.
If you’ve ever wondered if your thread/ yarn/ fabric is navy or black, this is the lamp for you. It shows colors beautifully. It’s also touch activated and my cat, Fisher, likes to rub on my lamp creating a disco effect for me (light on! light off! light on! light off!).
If you’ve ever made a sweater, then you know the struggle of trying it on mid knitting to see how things are working out. Purl Strings Sweater Strings are such a genius concept. These flexible chords slip over the tips of your needles so you can move your stitches around and try your garment on.
I also really love this knitting pattern holder.
It keeps you from having to crane your neck at an odd angle and it has a band for marking where you are in charts.
Speaking of charted patterns, I use washi tape to mark where I am in charts. It comes in so many cute patterns and would make a great stocking stuffer.
If the crafter in your life is a coffee or tea drinker, then I really recommend Pawley Studio’s ceramics.
I have a couple of their mugs and I love them. They are high quality stoneware and they keep drinks really hot (or cold, I actually drink my iced coffee in them as well).
These are some of my favorites:
Lastly, a gift card to a local yarn store is always a great gift. It supports a small business and allows the crafter to pick out what their stash is missing. Knitting fever can help you find a local yarn store in the area your crafter lives in.
Sarah: I have an addition to this one! I treated myself to some very good thread snips for quilting, and woooo, do I love them. I didn’t think I’d be so excited about scissors.
What about you?
What are your favorite gifts to give crafters? Or what do you love to receive?
Thank you for the recommendations! Such great gifts! As a knitter, I would also say that I truly never have enough needles. I always think I have enough (3 or 4 sets SHOULD be good), but I work on so many projects at once, I often find I need more sets. Good stocking stuffers for anyone who might be looking for me… lol
I have a feeling that @Queen Victoria’s comment may be directed toward someone she knows who reads Smart Bitches every day and just might be in a gift-giver role. Lol
Pawley Studios will also make mugs and yarn bowls with custom sayings, but it takes a while so they wouldn’t be ready for this year’s winter holidays. But worth the wait!
I’m constantly asking for organizational tools, like this Thread Organizer
(https://www.etsy.com/listing/948688950/cat-thread-organizer-built-in-needle?click_key=f65430552858b89aca07f751fced91e75d3fc659%3A948688950&click_sum=11e3c195&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=thread+organizer&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&bes=1)
I’m probably going to buy it for myself if it isn’t under the tree…
Yes! Good light sources are always helpful! I have a foldable OttLight that is color-neutral and VERY helpful when choosing floss for designs. For stitchers, a lap-sized light box is also helpful for stitching on black or dark fabrics.
That knitting pattern holder would also be great for filet crochet, and you could attach a post-it note with a square cut out to orient you on a cross stitch grid as well!
Stitch markers are another great stocking stuffer. I have been using paper clips on my latest WIP and they are NOT working, so I plan to make some after the holidays if they don’t get gifted to me. Also needle minders and needle cases; Snarky Crafter on Etsy makes some great ones!
I’m a big fan of the Stella lamps — family-run company and they came within inches of losing it all to the wildfires. I love my Stella lamp and they run specials a lot.
Modern Daily Knitting has some great gifty items, including really cute sheep and llama tree ornaments, too.
I can recommend a neck light for knitting in bad light or in the car or wherever. (That way, it’s not necessary for me to hog a particular chair when visiting relatives with low lights in the living room.)(Not that that’s happened in a couple of years…)
Is it too late for me to request a yarn scale from sib and sibIL? A pocket one with a lid that’s 0.1g accurate and can weigh up to 50g? (I guess technically it’s a spice—or drug—scale… but knitters know a yarn scale when they see one.)