It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....?

I don't know. 

I genuinely don't know. I'm writing about Christmas in July in the middle of a heatwave. I'm hoping thinking about cold weather and snow and lovely festive things is going to cool you down a bit. Plus, this week the most popular patterns in the shop have either been the Christmas pattern books or ones bought to make presents from, which is... wild, but we don't blame you. 

If you're planning to make your gifts for your loved ones, now is definitely the time to start. Last time I tried to do a fully crochet Christmas... Yeah, it didn't go well. I mean, everyone loved their presents but I started in October, gave myself RSI, and had to stop crocheting for a couple of months because I tried to rush through fourteen presents in less than two months. Genius Casper, right? So, if you give yourself ample time to create, not only do you have wiggle room if something goes wrong but you have time to take breaks and relax! 

However, if you're like me and you've sworn never to have a fully handmade Christmas ever again, this is a great time to make some little decorations as a handmade touch without breaking the bank or your hands.

Last year I crocheted snowflakes, but there are so many bauble-esque patterns out there for both knitting and crochet. Eleanor's just suggested that kids could help out if they're not knitters or crocheters by making some cute pom pom decorations for the tree - have you seen our pom pom makers? They're so simple and intuitive to use! 

You could even make mini wreaths or boughs of holly (fa la la la la, la la la la). This is a great thing to do instead of sending Christmas cards, and will last a lot longer, too! If you use up your scraps, there's room for more yarny presents to be received... If you can't use your scraps, though, and just need a little bit, check out the Dolly Mix DK or the Sirdar Happy Cotton DK, as they're just little balls that won't take up room in your stash box.

I've made a collection here for Christmas patterns and some great yarn to use for Christmas projects like the Tinsel Chunky, the Glitz DK, the Shine DK and the Pricewise DK. But, of course we don't just stock things for projects, we stock things for makers, and we've got some really cute gifts that will be perfect for the makers in your life.

We have some lush wooden bag handles which would be a unique present for a bag lover, but if you're a maker too, you could use them to make a gorgeous project bag for another loved one in your life! We can barely keep the stock of Emma Ball products on our shelves when Christmas comes around. With the new mugs and knitting needle wraps (for both circulars and straights!) in stock we're expecting the same. Also, I'm always going to love showing off the project bags and DPN holders we are lucky enough to have in stock, all handmade by Gill Page of Bertie and Poppet. If you're not sure on what your loved one will appreciate, though, we always have gift cards that take the stress of choosing off your shoulders!

Christmas can be more stress than fun sometimes, but there is always a way around that. Let yourself relax as you make your presents, don't leave it until the last minute, pick out some gorgeous little bits and bobs for yarn lovers in your life, and DON'T LEAVE IT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE! I know it's pretty early and we are all melting, but that doesn't mean we can't be organised, right?

Ho ho ho, have a good one!

-Casper xx