Neck Cozies

After mastering the art of potholder making (ahem), I wanted to make neck cozies for the kids - wool neck warmers that would replace scarves. It would give me a chance to learn knitting in the round and should be fairly simple, I thought.

I found a few patterns online (they're also called cowls), but they still seemed too complicated for a beginner. So, I sat down with my mom, a wonderfully talented knitter, and ran some ideas past her. She suggested I just create my own ribbed pattern of knits and purls. Switching to purl or knit every two or three stitches was tricky for me and I definitely couldn't knit with the kids around, but it made a pretty and stretchy cowl.

I finished Natalie's quickly and finally started Gavin's early this fall. Sadly, I was nearly finished when I finally figured out why his seemed so frustrating on my needles. I had a half-twist in the cowl! I frogged the entire project, making a huge mess of twisted yarn on the family room floor. Bless my sweet husband, who untwisted the whole mess for me when I was ready to throw it out and buy another ball.

I started again, this time making sure my project was twist-free.

This winter the kids will be toasty when sledding hills, skating or making snowmen. Enjoy!