The weather here in Southern California is totally schizophrenic. Last week when I was driving to work, it was 36 degrees. We don't turn on the heater at home because of bloody noses and stuffiness, but it was about 55 every morning when we woke up, which is just too chilly! Rebecca asked me to make her a cowl, so I started after Christmas.
I finished it up yesterday morning, and the temperature was 80. Seriously. Today it's supposed to be 81. Absolutely insane. Rebecca chose the color and the yarn, and I modified the pattern from this one on Ravelry. My details are here.
It's really hard to take a picture of black knitting, but the texture is nice, and Rebecca likes it. The length is just perfect to double it up once for warmth.
So then, of course since it was 80ish, I finally started my other project, making handwarmers for me and my co-workers. I work in a book warehouse, and when I get there at 8 in the morning it is usually about 38 or 39 degrees. Regardless of the weather outside during the day, it rarely reaches even 50 by the time I leave in the afternoon. So I took the girls' toddler socks, the ones that lost their matches and that I knew I'd been saving for a reason, and turned them into handwarmers. I cut off the foot, turned the cuff inside out, sewed up the cut end, flipped them back right side out, filled them with feed corn I bought from a store I'd been driving past for years and years, and stitched the other end closed. 45 seconds in the microwave, and the little 3.5" square things actually retain heat for about half an hour.
I made little flannel covers for a few of them out of scraps leftover from making baby quilts so they can be taken off and washed, and the girls love them. I think we can put them in the freezer and use them as ice packs, too, which might be more appropriate for the next few days? But I'm going to make lots more for my coworkers, because we'll definitely need them to keep our fingers moving for at least another month or two. I'm trying to experiment with different ways to make them stay toasty for longer than just 30 minutes, like maybe packing more corn in muslin (less stretchy) bags? A little bit more work, but if it helps to retain the heat longer, it would be worth it.
Or maybe I'll just set them outside in the sun. Ha!
Hey! I'm trying to knit a cowl too but I keep frogging it. For this pattern, if you just use one color, can you just double check for me--does that mean you K 3 rows, P 2 rows and repeat?
Posted by: Carol | Monday, January 21, 2013 at 08:18 PM
Cute cowl! And what a great idea for orphaned socks. Your coworkers must love them!
Posted by: Beth | Saturday, February 09, 2013 at 07:26 PM