Knit Christmas presents

Basically, anything you can knit that's a rectangle is going to be fun, easy, and hassle-free. This is perfect TV knitting. Pick up a wonderful yarn (if you don't know how much, just get two balls and knit until it seems like a handy size), a pair of needles, and go to town.

Remember that scarves should be nice and soft--no scratchy stuff. This is a great place to use really delicious yarn, although you can make a fabulous project using simple (and cheap!) Patons Worsted Wool. (There's a link to buy Patons Worsted a little ways down this page.)

The photo above comes from knitty.com, who published this terrific and easy scarf pattern this month. (It's got fingerless mittens knit right in!) Even if you're an absolute beginner, you'll be able to make this in just a few hours.

Get the "Entwined" easy knitting pattern

Do you have the jitters over all the recent toy recalls and scares? Parenthood is stressful enough without worrying about lead paints, magnets that can be swallowed, and other scary stuff.

I ran across a list of books and easy knitting patterns recently. These are great ideas for stress-free toys for your kids-simple toys you can make yourself.

Susan B. Anderson (author of Itty Bitty Hats and Itty Bitty Nursery has a fabulous blog at susanbanderson.com, and there's a free pattern to knit a flower pacifier clip. (The cute picture of the lamb is linked from her blog.) Not a super-easy pattern, but not too hard either.

Anna Hrachovec has a delightful site called Mochimochiland with all kinds of weird and interesting knitted toys. She's got a blog and a whole bunch of great patterns. You can find a free pattern for this mysterious little ghosty creature at knitty.com. The pattern also includes a little knit hollow tree for your "woodins" to live in.)

You can also find free knitting patterns for toys at Interweave Press—knittingdaily.com/freepatterns.toys.

I am absolutely a yarn snob. I buy yarn like some people buy wine, art, or truffles. So I was pretty surprised to realize that the great fingerless mitten combo "Entwined" (in the picture) from Knitty was knit with a yarn I could find at Joann.com.

I bought a skein to check it out for myself, and this is actually a very high-quality, pure wool yarn for an incredo-cheap price of $4.00. It's soft and bouncy, not scratchy or cheap-feeling in any way. Patons Merino is a terrific yarn for comfort dolls, any kind of knitted toy, simple scarves (not as quick as the novelty yarn, but a lot cheaper), and all kinds of other uses. It comes in a lot of good colors, both plain and stripy. (The scarf/mitten was knit in the "Wedgwood" color.)

Great yarn for cheap, who knew?

Patons Classic Merino Wool Yarn - 100% Wool

Hats keep our heads warm and make us more adorable! And there are lots of easy hat patterns out there. Once you've knit up your 10 presents faster than you ever thought you could, you can knit up 5 or 6 hats to go with them, for the extra-special folks on your list.

(Photo linked from knitty.com again. I just really love knitty.com!)

Here are a couple more Squidoo knitting lenses for you. I'll keep adding!

Knit a comfort doll for a child in Africa
This doll is so easy to knit that even a beginner can knit one in a few hours. The dolls are used as packing materials for medical supplies, and cherished tenderly by children affected by AIDS (either patients themselves or AIDS orphans). I'm knitting some of these up as "donation presents" (kind of like the Heifer Project) for my bleeding-heart friends and family. Click here for a second lens with the pattern (there's a crochet pattern too) and instructions on where to send the dolls when you're done.

Easy knitting patterns for stylish hipsters and snarky babes
This is another knitting lens I did on Squidoo--tons of fun. Ever wanted to knit a Mohawk? Click through, my friend.