Notes on gifting (for the holidays and beyond!)
The holidays will be upon us in no time, but like good little worker bees we have all started our gift projects with LOADS of time to spare. Right? (Right?)

Most of you have multiple ideas or projects already in the hopper. Now, as always, we want to make sure that the busy pace of the season doesn't get in the way of sharing knowledge and questions that benefit each other, not just one or two people.

We've already had several posts saying "Tell me what gift to make for my wicked stepmother/boss's dog/bazaar table." The mods agree that this is not productive. YOU know the person you're gifting; the 5,000 other members of knitting do not. We also don't know your allergies, budget, time limitations, how fast you knit or what skills you have or lack, etc. If these things are relevant and would limit responses to your question, then you need to supply these facts if you want helpful responses. Also, if you've looked at and rejected some resources already, saying so would be helpful; explaining why you've done so would be even better.

Given that, we'll be keeping a close eye on the community for vague, nonspecific posts -- through the holiday season and beyond. You will be asked to either be more specific or remove your post if it's inappropriate. As always, Google search, LJ-seek and the memories section on the profile page are your friends. Reiterating from a previous mod post:

Not good: Tell me what to make for my mom.
Also not good: I have half a skein of Flopsy Bunny's Snuggle-riffic Acrylic Silk Substitute Yarn. What do I make with it?
Also also not good: THERE'S A PARTY TOMORROW AND I DON'T HAVE A GIFT/OUTFIT KNIT YET!!! HELLLLLLLLLP!!!!!!

Better: [The poster has Googled first and searched the Memories section or done an LJ-seek for some general ideas she thinks might work.] My grandma loves to wear pretty wraps, so I'd like to make her a longer stole to keep her warm. She is allergic to wool and most of the wraps she has are rectangular, so she probably prefers those to triangular patterns. I'm also rather new to lace knitting and cables, but I like a challenge. Could anyone suggest a simple pattern that would work well with a non-wool yarn? Thank you!

In general, we strongly urge you to plan, plan, plan.
--BE SPECIFIC. Narrow down what you want as much as possible and ask questions from there.
--BE REALISTIC. Even the most experienced knitters don't have unlimited time, money or skill. Pay attention to what you DO have; aim to do simple things beautifully and spruce them up if you have extra time.
--REALIZE THAT NOT EVERYONE NEEDS TO RECEIVE A KNITTED GIFT. If you don't know someone well enough to know what sort of knitted gift they'd like to receive, you may want to reconsider knitting for them. It's not just that the members of knitting don't know any better than you do; some people are bothered by receiving overly personal gifts, and handmade objects may fall in that category. In addition, other people may not express enthusiasm proportionate to how much work and time you put into the project.

Only knit gifts for those you know will love them and respect them. Everyone will be happier that way. (Trust us.)

Wishing you a productive and rewarding season of knitting!