I worked at Purl the other day and the store was full of holiday cheer. Christmas carols were playing on the speakers as people came in from the cold holding armloads of shopping bags filled with wrapped packages and toys. Many people were picking up extra skeins of yarn to finish up hand knitted gifts, a hat for their father or a sweater for their little girl. I couldn't help but admire these people for their forethought and organization; not even mid December and they were already finishing their holiday projects! There was, however, a larger contingent of yarn buyers who I identified with a little more: the last-minute knitters who were buying bulky yarn!

Luckily for all of us procrastinators, with all the beautiful bulky yarns that are now available, the options for last-minute knitting have never been so great. The yarns pictured above are (clockwise from top left) Magnum Regal Red, Spud and Chloe Outer in Soapstone, Ozark Opulent II in Fury, and Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky in Blossom (You will need approximately 150 yards of bulky yarn to complete this project).

Last year Whitney tackled the age old question of how to make something really special in a really short amount of time using bulky yarn by designing the Eleventh Hour Scarf. This year I decided to try it myself by using three skeins of Ozark's exciting Opulent yarn in a bright "fury" chartreuse green!

Knitting this scarf was so fun and so quick. The yarn has a lot going on. It changes colors and has beautiful little curls of bright yellow-green mohair. It's really exciting to see how it changes as you're knitting along and it's also exciting to see how fast it knits up! You could literally knit this in a couple hours on Christmas eve and end up with a thoughtful, beautiful gift for Christmas morning! If you'd like to make one of your own, using any bulky weight yarn you want please visit Whitney's Eleventh Hour Scarf Project Journal.

To help all my fellow procrastinators, below is info on Holiday Shipping from purlsoho.com:

When placing orders online please keep in mind that your order will be shipped from our warehouse in California, not from our New York locations.

To receive orders by December 24th, please use the following guidelines:

• We recommend second day air (expedited) the 14th through the 18th of December.

• For orders placed on Friday the 18th, Monday the 21st or Tuesday the 22nd please select next day air (express).

Our warehouse will be closed on the 24th and 25th of December. Any questions about shipments will be answered as soon as possible upon our return! If you have any questions, please email us at this link, or call us at 800-597-PURL.

For more information about our shipping rates click here.

Here are our Holiday hours:

• Purl and Purl Patchwork will be closed on December 24th, 25th, and 26th so that our employees can spend the holiday with their families.

• The stores will close at 3pm on December 31st, be closed on Jan 1st, and re-open with normal hours on January 2nd.

And for some extra last minute inspiration, here are some other projects that can be whipped up in a jiffy:

For Knitters:

• Summer Kerchief
• Double Knit Belt
• Pine Tree Sachets
• Finger Puppets
• Hand Warmers
• Soft Cotton Dishtowels

For Sewers:

• Dog Leash
• Little Boy's Tie
• Lunch Bag
• Oilcloth Grocery Tote
• Star Ornaments
• Swaddling Blankets

Happy Holidays!-- Molly