Edited to Add: I have an Ebay listing for more fantastic yarn from my stash!! It's going fast.
Hi, Knitters,
The winner of the Mary Jane Mucklestone Muckle Toque pattern and 150 Scandinavian Motifs book is.....
jillpickle (rav id)!
Congratulations to jillpickle! Thank you to everyone for entering. What a great response for Mary Jane's book and pattern. I'll have another giveaway very soon.
The winner of successful knitting for a 20 year-old son is..... me! I'm just kidding about the winning but I really do feel like a winner of some sort. Knitting for men is tricky at times, at least for me. Not the hats so much but sweaters are difficult to gauge as far as size goes. I'm way out of my league.
First, here is the information about the sweater:
Pattern: Chesterfield by Julie Hoover
Yarn: Donegal Tweed by Tahki
I had a sweater's amount for me of the gray tweed and a skein of the natural. I just added on and ordered a few extra skeins in gray and one more of the natural tweed so I was sure to have enough.
As I worked I was so concerned that the sweater was too big. I had taken my son's measurements and I had a sweater that he likes to compare for size as I knit but I still had concerns. When I held up the sweater while it was on the needles and then off, it seemed enormous.
I tried to remain confident until he tried it on but doubts were definitely creeping in. It was so much knitting and I was not looking forward to ripping it out to fix the size but I would have if needed.
In the end, no worry was needed because it fits exactly as planned and better yet he just loves it! Isn't it great? The sweater is designed to have a very relaxed 4-5 inches of positive ease and that is exactly how it fits him. I think the sleeves are a little long but he likes them that way and won't let me shorten them. I guess when you are walking around on campus in the winter in Minnesota you can use extra length on your sleeves. I get that.
He has been wearing the sweater non-stop since Christmas which makes me feel so good. It has been bitter cold outside and this has been the perfect gift for the cold winter season.
He wanted to hold a piece of bread in the photo. He even took a bite out of it for the photo. I don't know.... he is funny and always entertaining to say the least.
Right before Christmas I decided to whip him up this new hat as well. He loves the new hat just as much as the new sweater and the hat has rarely left his head since Christmas. This is good because someone around here really needs a shave and a haircut two bits (sorry, couldn't resist). Don't even ask about the mustache....
What are you going to do but laugh. This one likes to experiment with hair. You just never know what's going to walk through that door. It's pretty funny actually and I really don't mind. I'm always just happy to have him home whatever the state of his hair.
Hat information:
Windschief by Stephen West I knit it longer by an inch or two than the pattern recommends before the decreases. There is no way it would have been long enough otherwise. For men's hats I always go to at least 7-inches from the cast on edge before starting to decrease for the crown. That's my rule of thumb.
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns Worsted I can't remember the color name and can't find the tag. This is wonderful yarn! I can't recommend it highly enough.
Cozy guy! Goofball, too.
What fun to succeed at this man-size knit! I don't know if you remember but a few years ago I started knitting another sweater for this son, he's been asking for awhile. It was too small. I discovered the size problem after finishing the back and part of the front. I was pretty discouraged and didn't try again until this fall.
The second time's a charm. Hooray for winning!
I hope you are staying warm. The high here on Monday is supposed to be 14 degrees below zero and that's the temperature without windchill. It will feel even colder. Yeah. That's even hard for me to take and I love winter. It will pass. Oh, and I just got an email that the schools are closed on Monday due to extreme cold weather and possibly on Tuesday as well.
Another win is extended vacation for my girls! We still have vacation stuff left to do so we'll take an extra day or two. We won!
Take care of yourselves out there and let's knit the cold away together.
best, susie
29 comments:
What a great looking sweater! It looks very cozy and I think the relaxed fit looks wonderfully cozy too. I'm bummed I didn't win, but I'll just have to buy the pattern for myself! ;)
Darn! I didn't win. Oh, well, I know what to ask for my birthday this month. :) I loved your blog post today. -Tanknit
The sweater and the hat are beautiful! Isn't it great when the recipient REALLY likes the gift! Enjoy your days with your family. Happy New Year!
Handsome guy! So glad he appreciates your hand knits.
We're hunkering down already, even though the nasty cold snap hasn't hit yet. I'm hoping I don't go too stir-crazy with my kids with school closed!
Have a great weekend :)
Awesome set for this handsome son.
Awesome gansey and cool beanie for your handsome son.
Great photos all around! I can tell the fit of the pullover is just perfect, and your model looks thoroughly comfy and happy. Thanks for another terrific blog post and happy new year!
Your son reminds me of mine, he also experiments with hair and is now sporting a beard! LOL
This is exactly the kind of sweater he likes, not too colourful, not too busy, cosy and understated. It's perfect!
Thank you for showing me what I'm going to knit him for next Christmas!
BTW, I hope you've given Him instructions on HOW to "WASH" IT so IT doesn't shrink!? ;-D
Anyways, IT looks FAB on Him!
-14F.. ha! It's actually *warmed* up to *that* here in Ottawa at the moment. At 8am this morning, it was -23F with the windchill at -39F! But, at least it was SUNNY out. That always makes a "mental" difference when dealing with the FRIGID!
Stay WARM!
You hit the jackpot! I hope you do the happy dance for a while after finishing two knits that made your son proud. Thanks for sharing your parenting insight as well as your knitting. It's nice to know that such an experienced knitter as yourself gets nervous about finishes for other people too.
Stay warm. We are headed for zero temps on Monday and I'm guessing our schools will close too. I just wish I knew now. I like to mentally prepare for snow days. :)
The sweater is awesome. And so is your son!
Teresa in Virginia.
Congratulations on all your wins! That sweater looks perfect on your gorgeous boy/man. And the hat is perfect (already tagged that pattern to make for my brother).I am totally impressed. I quit sweaters when they turned ....two? Our win here was that my little guy's preschool let him come back EARLY! We had an ice storm here in Toronto, -30 temperatures, and the kids are madly stir-crazy. He desperately needed to get back on schedule and I'll thank his teather a thousand times for taking them all back on Thursday. Enjoy your extra two days with your girls. Thanks for another great post!
Wait, what? This can't be the same little boy that was a toddler when I started following you, Susan! Cherish every second.
My dad always says the first 50 years of your life goes by rather slowly, but the next 50 just fly! He's right, darn it. I'm in the next 50 at 54 and am watching my daughter become a young woman. Take it all in.
Best and Happy New Year,
Sheila
http://sheilazachariae.blogspot.com/2014/01/top-yarny-goodness-for-2013.html
The sweater is perfect!! Well done Mama! I'm still giggling about the piece of bread hahah
You are a winner! Looks great! So inspiring!
Your son is just the cutest thing EVER! He should be a model. the sweater you knitted for him is gorgeous, and the pictures are fantastic. Happy New Year to you and your entire wonderful family!
Hugs, Kimmy
Your son is so cute-looks like you but in a manly way, of course! :) Thanks again for the giveaway. Now you and Mary Jane have me hooked; I already ordered new yarn for the hat and am headed out in the million below Minnesota cold to buy the book. Have a lovely weekend and no-school Monday with the kids.
LOVE your son's sweater and hat!! His style matches that of my son-in-law.
I was so hoping I'd win the hat/book give-away that I just purchased both of them so I can introduce colorwork to my knitting life. Bring it on!!!
Yes, stay warm everyone!!
threadsgal Rav ID
Congratulations to Jillpickle! What a great giveaway! I've already ordered both the book and the pattern - like I said in my comment, I never win, but still enjoy participating!
Your son just makes me crack up! Sons are so different from daughters, I think. I just have one daughter, but I do have a marvelous son-in-law who so much reminds me of your son. You never know what's going to walk through that door! And my grandson is, at 3, already getting that way! LOL
Stay warm. I live in the sunny southeast, where we are freezing right now….but not like you!
xxoo
Congrats on that incredible sweater, and such a knitworthy son (whole family, really.) I second what Suzanne said about the confidence you give me in my knitting adventures by sharing your own knitting anxiety.
I thought of you and that you would like having the kids at home when I heard the schools would be closed up there. :-)
I love that sweater and it looks great on him. I'm glad the sizing worked out. :-)
Thank you for talking about the IBK Ravelry group so much. I finally joined and am looking forward to participating in the IBK Team for the Ravellenics, as well as just getting to know everyone.
Amazing job Susan! You son looks so much like you from the side profile. That is a lot of knitting compared to a pair of socks or hat. Congrats!! You can tell he adores his mom to wear it this much:)
Amazing job Susan! You son looks so much like you from the side profile. That is a lot of knitting compared to a pair of socks or hat. Congrats!! You can tell he adores his mom to wear it this much:)
Adorable (mustache and all) in that sweater. yay for you! Knitting for grownup boys is treacherous, isn't it?
The sweater is gorgeous! It looks so squishy and comfy. I think the last two pictures of him are the best ones. :)
For some reason, I just enjoyed this post a lot. Maybe because my son is 20 too, and posing with the bread with a bite out of it, is just like something my sweet daughter would do. Love the blog!
Love the sweater and hat! It's wonderful that he's wearing it so much, can't ask for a better compliment than that. And it's only hair, it comes and it goes, you just shake your head and hug them. Have 2 sons of my own and know what it's like.
Right away I knew that hat would be perfect for my son! Thank you for the hint about adding inches before the decrease. I mailed a hat off to my son for his birthday and he was thrilled. The hat fit perfectly.
Jeanne ravidKnitscapes
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