All around Vancouver there is excitement in the air (and a little annoyance at the traffic) surrounding the olympics. I love the idea that nations will be coming together to compete in the world of sport and I am happy that Vancouver will be showcased to the world. I love this city. Of course, one of the first things I considered was what knitwear I would be sporting around town during this busy and exciting time.
All of the posters and flags around town have the pretty blues and greens that are the colours of the games. I knit up this fair isle headband with the games in mind. It has the blues and greens, snowflakes, maple leaves, and some pretty swirls (no connection, I just like them). It’s a small project so it knit’s up quick, you can be wearing one to the opening ceremonies! To knit up this little number you will need:
1 ball (less than 100 yards) of washable wool in DK weight (I used Debbie Bliss Rialto DK)
1 Gourmet Sock 2010 Mini Ball (sock yarn is held doubled)
1 Canadian 2010 Headband pattern
3.25mm 16″ circular needles
The pattern and yarn will be available in a kit and should arrive in North Vancouver this week.
We also recently received some of Sweetgeorgia’s new colourway for the games and I just had to knit some up. A good friend of mine just had a beautiful baby boy and I decided I would knit up the 5 Hour Baby Boy Sweater. This sweater is knit from the top down which I really like.
There are some great advantages to knitting a sweater from the top down: you can try them on as you go (or try them on someone else as the case may be) so you can make sure everything is fitting the way you want it. You can also maximize your yarn usage by knitting the sleeves shortly after they have been separated out (this will make total sense once you have tried a top down sweater I promise). This means that once you have finished the sleeves you can just keep going on the body until it measures the length you want or until you run out of yarn. The only disadvantage to top down I can see is that they can sometimes lack structure. No seams to keep everything in.
For the 5 Hour Baby Boy Sweater I knew I would be cutting it close for yarn with just one skein so I made sure to knit the sleeves ASAP. Instead of knitting the sleeves flat and sewing them up, I decided to knit them in the round. I only needed one skein of the Sweetgeorgia worsted weight for this sweater (although I really used every last drop)! To knit one of your own you will need:
1 skein Sweetgeorgia Superwash Worsted (200 yards)
6mm needles, straight or circular (double points too if you are knitting the sleeves in the round)
5 Hour Baby Boy Sweater Pattern
This pattern turned out quite charming in the olympic colourway but of course you could knit it up in any of the worsted weight, I might knit up a few more!
