quickie projects

Time off over the holidays is funny. While it is technically time away from the office, it's not always down time, at least not at the beginning. The week BEFORE Christmas, I spent getting everything ready FOR Christmas, then for a couple of days AFTER Christmas, I spent doing nothing and enjoying it. On Boxing Day, my son and I never even got out of out jammies. Husband did the Boxing Day sales, so he had to be presentable. That's okay, I got a new flat screen TV for the bedroom, the kid got a new portable DVD player, and husband got a new vehicle. (The DVD player was to replace the onboard one we lost when we got rid of the Pathfinder. This portable one is the way to go.)

But after a day or so, I got my mojo back and cranked out a few things. First on the list was a new neckwarmer or "neckie" for the boy. Scarves are a pain for kids, and he loves the ease of just pulling these over his head. Coming into Christmas, he lost both of the neckies that were currently in rotation, so these needed replacement. He chose the acid green Cascade 220 (his ski jacket has some green in it), and then while I was in the mood, I made the black one for back up, and to try a different look.

The green starts with a 3x3 rib for a couple of inches, then I reduced to a 2x2 rib, all using a 4.5mm needle. TO finish the top, I knit a few rows of 2x2 using a 6.0mm needle. This flares it out a bit at the top, making it more comfortable under the chin. I started with the larger rib to have it fit across the chest a bit, for when the zipper doesn't get zipped all the way up.

After he wore the green one a few times (which he loves, by the way), I realized that the 3x3 rib wasn't really necessary, and kind of got in the way a bit. So I just used the 6.0mm needle at the beginning for a few rows, went down to a 4.0mm needle (I wanted it a touch tighter than the 4.5mm) and finished with the 6.0mm again. I like it, he likes it (but seems to prefer the green one right now), so all in all, a good couple of days knitting. I have more of the green and black, and will probably make a few extra of these to have around - they get lost rather easily, and you can't exactly put a tag in them.

And the husband was eyeing them with that "Can I get one of those as well?" look in his eyes, so I think this will be a good stash buster project. Totally mindless knitting.

In case anyone wants to know - I cast on 100 stitches for the 2x2 rib, 150 for the 3x3. This makes for a loose fitting neckie for a 10 year old, but the child hates anything tight around the neck. I would say you could go down a few stitches if you wanted it snugger, or certainly reduce the needle size.