A Knitted Christmas

We had a very scarf Christmas this year. What else do you expect for a knitter that's been knitting for less than a year?

Here's the round-up:

My parents got a pair of bike helmet ear warmers. They fit Nancy's helmet better than my dad's. It was actually really funny making them guess what these were before I finally told them.

Pattern: Bike Helmet Ear Warmers, Men Knit Fall 2005.

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in color M-05 Onyx. I used about 1 skein for both sets and I still have a little bit left over. I bought the yarn from the yarn barn, my really local yarn store.

Needles: I used US 8 aluminum needles.

Modifications: After knitting the first two pieces and sewing them up, I decided to knit each ear warmer in one piece and then sewing up just one seam. I am happy to report that this worked perfectly! I omitted one stitch that would have been eaten up by the seam that I didn't have to do.

My father-in-law got a scarf that is fitting for a man that will retire in Maine. This was a quick and fun knit! My first scarf knit the long way.

Pattern: Men's Rustic Scarf, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.Yarn.

Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Chunky in colors 553 (pecan), 556 (flaming) and 557 (olive oil). I used less than 1 skein of each color. I bought the yarn from Jimmy Beans.

Needles: I used a US 11 Knit Picks 40" circular needle.

My brother-in-law, Adam, received a Harry Potter scarf for Christmas. We thought this would be a great gift for him since everyone in Japan called would say, "Oh, Harry Potter!" whenever they saw him when we were all there in March. I really liked how it came out, but it took FOREVER to knit.


Pattern: Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban Scarf, Atypically Knit.

Yarn: Plymouth Encore in colors burnt sienna (#0999) and butternut (#1014). I used less than 1 skein of the butternut and 4 skeins of the burnt sienna. I bought the yarn from the yarn barn.

Needles: I used a US 8 Addi Turbo 16" circular needle.

Modifications: I did not knit the full 13 pattern repeats. Instead, I stopped at 10. It was already super long.

My sister-in-law Tracy got a scarf and hat set.

Pattern: My So Called Scarf, from Sheep in the City. The stitch pattern is the Little Herringbone pattern from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker. I made up the hat pattern myself by piecing together several generic hat patterns.

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay in the Wildflower colorway. I used 2 skeins for the scarf and one skein for the hat. I bought the yarn from Jimmy Beans.Needles

Needles: I used US 11 straight aluminum needles.

My First Sweater

This was meant to be Eric's birthday present in October, but I didn't end up finishing it until Christmas. Since I wanted to make sure he actually wore the sweater, I let him pick out the pattern. He specifically chose this one because he liked the colors. I think it is Bill Cosby-esque -- hence the appeal.

Pattern: Guy's Raglan sweater, Knitscene Fall/Winter 2005.

Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa - 127 Print in color 18. I used about 11.5 skeins. I bought the yarn from Webs.

Needles: To get gauge I had to go down to a size 6 needle. I used Knit Picks options circulars for the body of the sweater and Inox Express circulars for the sleeves.

Finished dimensions: I knit the 43" chest size and it came out just right.

Modifications: I did a 1 by 1 ribbing for the cuffs and bottom of the sweater instead of the oblique ribbed pattern that was called for. Eric didn't like the look of the rolled stockinette. I did convince him to keep it for the neckline though and I'm glad we did. That the part that everyone complements.

All in all, not bad for a first sweater project if I do say so myself. I selected this pattern from the ones Eric chose because it looked so easy. Knit for the top down, all in one piece -- no sewing at all! I really enjoyed knitting this sweater and look forward to doing more top-down patterns in the future.

Here's a close up of the neckline: