Quick knitting projects for beginners

Hey I just recently started knitting and I really only have the knit and purl stitch down. My budget for presents this christmas is pretty much zero and I was wondering if there's any knitters out there that may have any quick and easy ideas that would make great presents. I'm currently working on a scarf that will be one present and I'm about half way done but scarves seem to take awhile to make especially if I want to make it a nice long size. I've never used a circular needle but I'm planning on buying one tomorrow along with some more yarn.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. I'm tearing my hair out trying to think of gift ideas. I have at least 10 presents I need to come up with, 3 I need to make before my parents go to Iowa for Christmas and the date they're going is unknown right now. I'm planning on making leather keyrings as some of the presents but leather is much more expensive than yarn.

Okay, I think I've figured out a few of my presents.

To my grandparents on my mother's side: A leather gray tabby cat mask. I may also make a variation of the coin purse I'm making other people but longer to fit her crocheting hooks in.

Grandma on my Dad's side: A Felted coin purse

My boyfriend's mom: Fingerless Mittens (first attempt using 4 needles)

Boyfriend's little sister: A coin purse

Boyfriend's Stepdad: A leather keychain/rearveiw mirror charm of a B50 Bomber

My sister: Fingerless Mittens

My Mom: Felted Coin Purse. I may make this one longer so she can fit her credit card holder in it.

My Dad: A leather keychain/car rear mirror chair that looks like a Honda Motorcycle from the 70s.

Matt: A leather xbox 360 controller keychain.

I'm going to try to get a MoonSun Mask designed and made for my Grandma on my dad's side too but I still have to seal the tabby mask twice and paint it so between that and making sure all my knitting projects and the keychains get done, I may not have time to get another mask done.

Any one have any tips on knitting with 4 needles?

My wife used to teach knitting at a JoAnn's Fabric store, and she can help you out if you need it.

By the way, she made a felted coin-purse kind of thing on a knitted strap that goes around the neck that worked great for holding her sunglasses when she wasn't wearing them.

You're doing leatherwork?

For beginner projects I usually recommend to people that they start with dishcloths! You can buy cotton yarn at any craft store very inexpensively, and dishcloths knit up very fast. And they're useful too!

http://www.peaches-creme.com/freeknitbath.htm This website has a lot of patterns, but the ballband dish cloth is my personal fav!

Oh, also, could you be more specific about tips on knitting with four needles? I can definitely help you out if you're having any particular problem with it!

Mrblanche- That would be nice. I've been getting by with watching videos on youtube, lol if there wasn't youtube I think I'd still be having problems doing knit and purl stitches.
This is the coin purse that I'm planning on doing for some of the presents, its a felted one too, http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...d-notion-purse
I hope its a simple as it sounds. It seems like a very straight forward patterns that I can modify and make bigger or longer.

Yeah, primarily masks but I'm going to use the smaller scraps for things like keychains and possibly jewelry. I'm hoping to make a living making leather masks eventually but I'm pretty new at it so right now I'm making them as practice with cheaper quality leather.

evakatharina- Well mainly it just looks like a mess to work with so I guess just tips on how to make sure the stitches stay on the needles and not slide off the ends. I know its probably less complicated then it initially looks. This is what I'm having make with the multiple dpns http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...erless-mitts-2 last night at work I did nothing but watch youtube videos on how to knit with dpns and I think I'll be alright if I do a few practice runs first. It just looks scary lol

I have sent you a PM with a contact for my wife.

By the way, I think homemade Christmas gifts are great. And I figure if you put just 3 hours into a gift, that's the equivalent of spending $60 on something, don't you?

Knitting with DPNs definitely looks much tricker than it is. As long as you pay attention to what you're doing, it's really no harder than anything else. I'm always telling people that knitting is a hobby, not something to be afraid of! If you are worried about the stitches sliding off I would just recommend using needles that aren't super slippery. Basically anything besides metal needles would be fine. I usually use bamboo.

Alternatively, if you try it and really are struggling to juggle all those needles, there's a very easy method called magic loop that just uses one circular needle with a very long cable. That's usually what I use these days.

Best luck with your knitting!

Hey there! Scarves are one of the easiest projects, and they can take a while if you don't work on them a lot. My sister loves making scarves, she just does them in a matter of days. I made fingerless mittens once, and I only used two knitting needles. What kind of pattern are you using? I only had the make a thumb though, are you doing all fingers? A pocket purse is a really quick beginner project. Let me know if you want the pattern. Cell phone socks, purses (purses take a REALLY long time though)...
Good for you on taking up knitting!

EDIT: I just saw your fingerless mittens pattern. That's pretty much exactly how the ones I did look! Except they did a rib stitch at the end instead of garter like mine, but that can be done with 2 needles. I wonder why they want you to use 4 needles? Another edit... So they want you to work in the round I see. I was able to make them, and just sew up the back.

mrblanche- Thanks I got the PM. I kind of think that way about handmade gifts. I know some people think homemade gifts are just an excuse not to spend any money on anyone but all the time and effort that goes into something handmade makes it more valuable than any store bought present in my opinion.

evakatharina- Yeah, I'm sure I'm just scaring myself and I'll be fine but we'll see lol

catbehaviors- Yeah scarves are really easy but they take so long to do. Really my only real sit down and knit time is at work but even then I still have to make sure I'm doing my job lol so scarves take forever! I'm actually making a scarf right now just for some more practice and I have guest that's staying here at the hotel that I work at that wants me to finish it before he leaves Friday. Lol I don't think I'll make it. I found this great website called ravelry.com and they have bunches of really neat patterns. I love that a lot of them are free too.