The busy holiday season is upon us, and those of you celebrating Christmas only have 12 more days to finish your gift knitting! Are you freaking out as much as I am? If you are like me, you told yourself this would be the year of no gift knitting, and now in the eleventh hour, you are kind of wishing you had time to knit a few gifts, anyway.

Well, don’t be entirely like me and decide now is the time for a laceweight stole measuring 8 feet long. I’ve been favoriting some great projects that should be easily knittable in the time we have left – in fact some should be so quick you even have time to order yarn AND knit them!

My old standby is Hannah, and I’m not counting it as one of my five, because I am pretty sure I talk about this hat somewhere online every single December. As a habitual ponytail wearer (seriously, even when I think my hair is down, it turns out I’ve gone and pulled it up), I love these hats, and they are seriously fast. Sit down on a Friday night with Netflix, and one skein of Groovy and three hours later, you’re hunting for buttons and your gift is nearly done. I keep a stock of basic 1″ wooden buttons to sew onto these!

Okay, now we’re getting advanced. These patterns can all be knit (probably) in less than a week. If you haven’t even realized it’s December yet, you’ll want to stay-tuned for next week’s posts and just continue ignoring the inevitable for now. Ovate is a good project for those of you who’ve planned a bit ahead – this cozy shawl takes two skeins of Malabrigo Rasta and should knit up quite quickly while impressing the pants off the recipient!

Podcaster is a really special-looking cowl that can be knit up in everything from a sportweight yarn like Malabrigo Arroyo to an aran weight yarn like Tanis Green Label, depending on what you have on hand and how much time you have! Nothing’s better for gift knitting than a pattern that can adjust to you, right? This one will probably look best in a more tonal colorway, and I think the pattern is lovely for showing off a special skein or two of kettle-dyed yarn.

I know, I know. I said no fingering weight stoles. But this is just a scarf! It only takes a one skein! And did I mention how there are still a whole **twelve days** to knit it? Foreign Correspondent’s Scarf is pure elegance, just the thing for a skein of Mini Maiden or a couple of skeins of Finito. Imagine the luxury! Imagine how spoiled your recipient will feel! We so have time for this one, right?

For your cool customers – Turnstile. Pick your yarn, pick your gauge, pick two colors and go. The sample is knit up in sportweight yarn, so this is another good choice for Malabrigo Arroyo or one of my personal favorite, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport. It’s knit in one piece, in the round, in stockinette stitch. If we’re talking bang for your buck, it doesn’t get much better. Downside: I’m pretty sure when I’m done, I’m going to need one for myself.

These Winterfest mitts are just too ridiculously cute for their own good. Knit in Malabrigo Silky Merino, they’ll work up fast and adorable, and I’m guessing you could get at least two pairs, if not three, out of your single skeins of each color. And I love the wee thumb gussets!

Starmaking – A Tutorial is your bonus pattern this week. Sweet crocheted stars, perfect for ornaments, gift tags, or a little knitted something tucked into a gift bag. This time of year, ain’t nobody in my house got time for that, but maybe you do, and if so, these really are adorable. Maybe one day, I will master the art of having all of my ducks in a row during the holiday season and then someone will find a few of these in their (handknit) stocking.