As I write this, it’s just over two weeks to Christmas, which is a tad on the alarming side. Especially as I haven’t actually started doing any Christmas gift shopping yet.

So if you’re in the same boat – or, more to the point, you think your loved ones may be in the same boat when it comes to your gift – then you might just want to check out my top 5 gifts for knitters.

Or, y’know, strategically send the link to some people. Because trust me, I’m going. to be sending this link. to my husband.

A yarn club or subscription

Of course there are yarn subscriptions. Of COURSE there are. You can get subscriptions for absolutely everything these days, after all. I should know. I’ve got everything on subscription, from shampoo to dish washing sponges.

But the most joyful subscriptions I’ve had in the past few years have definitely been yarn related.

For 2022, my great joy was Truly Hooked’s sweater club. You pick your base, you pick your style of yarn, and you pick how much you want. You then pay each month, and at the end, a lovely sweater quantity of yarn turns up on your doorstep like the greatest present ever. (And if you have no idea what to go for, you can just tick “surprise me”. Always a good option)

But you don’t have to go the sweater quantity route. You can go the mini skein route with Vicki Brown designs or pick from a whole host of subscriptions with Indie Yarn Club.

A knitting magazine subscription

Yes, it’s another subscription. But if you’re going to have a load of yarn, you’re going to need something to make with it, aren’t you?

There are loads of knitting magazines out there, with something for just about every type of knitter:

• If you’re buying for a slightly more traditional knitter, Knit Now might be the way to go.
• An eco-conscious knitter might well be a fan of the delightful Making Stories magazine.
• And if you’re buying for me (or just about any other millennial), then a subscription to Pom Pom magazine is never going to go amiss.

A gift voucher for their local yarn store

Sure, some people think that gift vouchers are the gift given by those who lack imagination. But not me. I thing gift vouchers are the gift given by those wise enough to know that there is nothing I would adore more than an excuse – nay, a command – to go get myself some lovely yarn at a lovely yarn store.

If you don’t have a local yarn store, then there are definitely ones that offer online gift voucher options. Tangled Yarn – who have a great selection of beautiful yarns – do an email gift voucher, which you can grab at the very last minute.

A spot on a knitting workshop

Come on, I wasn’t going to let this whole blog go by without a chance to plug something I do, was I?

But seriously, a ticket to a knitting workshop is a great gift for a knitter. They’re a chance to learn new skills, and meet new people, and just sit and drink tea and talk about yarn and knitting and have a generally lovely time.

If you want to go this route, then your local yarn store is your best bet for finding out what’s going on – and whether you can buy a general gift certificate, or if you need to book an actual spot on a specific workshop.

And if you’ve no idea what level of knitter they are, or what they might like to learn, then you can always book a one-to-one knitting skills session with me on Zoom.

There. I’m done plugging myself now. I promise.

A back, neck, and shoulder massage

Sure, knitting is excellent for mental health, and stress levels, and all that sort of stuff.

But I tell you what – it can be murder on the shoulders.

All those hours of hunching over a project and making the same repetitive movements can really do a number on your upper body. I have a proud track record of horrifying pretty much every masseuse that I’ve visited in the last few years with just how tight and knotted my shoulders are, and I have always appreciated their work so, so very much.

So while it might not seem directly knitting related, trust me when I tell you that no knitter is going to complain about getting their shoulder knots sorted.

Just don’t be surprised when they ruin their shoulders all over again within about a week.