I have been slow about blogging over the holiday, not because I was so crazy busy knitting last minute gifts, baking, cooking, or traveling to family homes in a whirlwind, but just because it’s good to unplug sometimes. Matt, Zooey, and I had a quiet Christmas at home since we were all feeling a little under the weather and the actual weather included a bunch of predicted snow. We stayed cozy and cooked and spent time together.

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I managed to do a little secret Christmas knitting for Matt. The pattern is Howlcat by Alexandra Tinsley.

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It can be worn as either a double-layered hat or a cowl. I thought it would be a nice hat for super cold days and a cowl for winter wind on bike rides. I used Sublime Organic Merino Wook DK in color 190, and Rowan Felted Tweed DK in Watery (number 152). Both of these yarns are “DK” but there is a huge difference between them. The Sublime is lofty and feels so much more like a worsted. The Felted Tweed seems like fingering to me, but it does bloom a bit. I had to go down two needle sizes with the Sublime and three needles sizes on the Felted Tweed part to get the right gauge.

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It seems appropriate to have a cat in one of these photos.

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I hope everyone is having a great New Year! Ours is mostly quiet so far. I’m relishing the last two weeks before I return to work three days a week. As much as I feel ready to have normal, not-completely-baby days, I will miss her like crazy on those days. After about three hours right now I get tetchy and ready to see her. We’ll see how it goes.

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