Cuddly Warm for Christmas!

Recently, I knit myself a cowl. I'd never made one before, and honestly I'd always thought they looked kinda funny. Models do that to things I suppose. But my dear friend found a really pretty one that looked really easy, so I decided to give it a go. I fell in love with it. It took me an evening of on-again-off-again-knitting.

Were I to make this again (and I just might!) I would use a non-textured yarn so it shows off the leaf-edging better. I used Lion Brand Homespun and it was really really warm and happy. And I love how it turned out. Since these pictures were taken it has been gifted to my (crazy-skinny) friend Meg who is ALWAYS cold. She put it on and was warmed immediately (just like me) and loved it. I was happy. But because I did (semi-unexpectedly, but not unhappily) give this one away, I looked around for another one to make myself and found a nice cabled one that I have on the needles. I've never done cables before but I haven't had any problems so far.

In the spirit of warm and happy (and because we've had ice and snow here in my hometown) I decided to do a pattern search of warm and happy things like cowls and hats!

Cowls:

Leaving on the Edge-This is the cowl pictured above! You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page. The pattern is second-to-last.

Quick Cabled Cowl-You need a free Ravlery.com account to view this one. This is the one I currently have on my needles. A big cable runs along it and it's fastened with two big buttons!

Simple Loom Cowl-You need a Ravlery account for this one too. Done on a loom, this cowl is very basic and simple.

Slouchy Cowl Collar-A big slouchy cowl that hangs down slightly. I don't know if it's as warm as the closer-fitting ones, but it looks nice. Anyone have big cowl experience?

Doncha Wanna Hug Me? Cowl-This is a big cowl that stays more or less above the shoulders. It looks nice and warm!

Simon Cowl-Besides the humor, this cowl is great because it's simple with a couple of challenging techniques. Great for knitters ready to branch out and try something new, but since it's all in garter stitch, it's not daunting.

Halfway Wrong Way Cowl-A simple cowl in super bulky yarn with buttons to hold it closed, but no buttonhole creating required!

Parliament Hill Cowl-For this cowl you cast on the length (part that fits around your neck) and knit until it's the right length (how high up on your neck it goes), so it's a pretty quick knit. And it looks really happy.

There's a lot more cowls out there and many of them are great, so if you've got one you love, let me know and I'll add it!

Hats:

Of course this is a HUGE category, so I'm not going to list too many, just ones that I think are awesome!

Jayne Cobb Hat-Of course the most cunning and incredible hat ever has to be added first! This is one cunning hat!

Hat With Heart Earflaps-I thought this was precious! Its on lion-brand's website, so I'm not sure if you'll need a subscription to their site or not. If you find that you do, please let me know!

Holiday Hat-You need a Ravelry account for this one. A nice hat with lots of Christmas-y/Winter-y images knit into it.

Tea Cozy Hat-This is needs a Rav account too. A warm hat with an opening for your ponytail! Uses a drawstring to open or close the hat more to accommodate your hairstyle for the day.

Entrelac Hat-In the round entrelac....Sounds scary to me but the hat looks awesome!

Earflap Hat-With sizes for child, adult, and large adult, this hat is really versatile!

Penguin Pal Hat-Child-sized penguin hat! It's so adorable!

Penguin Hat for Adults-I was so excited to find this! I collect penguins! You need a Rav account for this one.

Pi Hat-For the math geek in your life!

Sweet Heart Hat-You need a Rav account. Stranded colorwork hearts along the brim make this an adorable little Valentine hat!

Stay warm and have a wonderful Christmas!