Apparently 2014 was the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese Zodiac. I was really hoping it was the Year of the Cow because I was going to be all clever and declare it the Year of the Cowl instead. Booyah.

Alas, my cleverness will go to waste until 2021 when the Ox year comes around again.

Sadly, that might be all the wit I’ve got to offer today because, like all knitters, I waited until the very last second to finish off a couple of gifts and so I didn’t get enough sleep last night. That and we discovered that our basement ceiling was mysteriously dripping water at 2:00am. Luckily the zen-like quality of stockinette stitch kept me from freaking out – unlike my husband who’s hobby involves searching the floor for impossibly small model airplane bits that have been knocked off the desk by a cat who’s indifferent to his craft. My poor husband was probably stressed out already, even before he noticed that our washing machine was being subjected to Chinese Water Torture.

Regardless of the late night, I was still able to wake up this morning in plenty of time to bind off one project and weave in the loose ends from two more projects. I suppose I should thank my three year old for the wake up call. Or at the very least forgive her.

The first Christmas gift that I started knitting this year was the Honey Cowl. I’ve never been a huge fan of cowls – that is, until I knitted my beloved pink cowl and found that I simply cannot live without something warm and fuzzy covering my neck at all times. And with that in mind, I declared this to be the Year of the Cowl any old year and cast on a second one right away.

The second honey cowl was originally intended for my mother. I decided to use a beautiful blue Merino/Silk/Cashmere blend that I won at the Woodstock Fleece Festival back in October. The yarn is Hat Box by Mrs. Crosby in French Chambray, and I think that the only place that carries it in Canada is at the Needle Emporium.

Because my mother doesn’t like things snug around her neck, I chose to make this cowl long and slender. Elegant, even. I think that was the wrong choice.

When I was about half way finished, I realized that the cowl sort of flops over itself so you can’t see the lovely stitching. Even though the pattern claims that the stitch is “lovely viewed on both sides”, I don’t think the back is nearly as nice as the front.

On the other hand, the cowl looks beautiful when looped around twice, but I knew my mom wouldn’t wear it that way so I bought her a solar-powered computer keyboard instead. Hopefully the low-level radiation that it emits will be as warm and comforting as a hand knit gift.

So what to do with the cowl? I didn’t want to keep it for myself given that Christmas was coming and I needed lovely gifts. I wondered if I should give it for my sister-in-law instead. I wasn’t sure if she’d like the blue though. Hmmmmmmm……

I decided to make a second one and give her whichever one suited her more. By the time I made it to the store for another skein of yarn, I was running short on time. I decided to buy something beautiful and bulky that would knit up quick and easy. Hand Paint Chunky by Misti Alpaca caught my eye and I happily headed home to cast on my third cowl of the season.

This yarn is unbelievably soft and the colours are gorgeous. I want to say it’s the Treasure colourway, but I’m not 100% sure. It does shed a bit while knitting though, so I recommend against knitting it while wearing black pants or holding a little baby (although baby sneezes are adorable).

For this cowl, I used the Chunky Mochi Lace Cowl pattern. It’s a simple lace pattern that would knit up quickly if you aren’t distracted by three children all vying for your love and affection. Seriously kids, mommy is knitting. It’s like kids haven’t even heard of Christmas gift deadlines!?

I wasn’t certain about the length at first, so when I blocked it, I stretched the cowl out a bit so that it could be looped once or twice.

Hmmmm… would my sister-in-law like this one or was it too colourful? I had no idea which one to give her. I sought advice from the Facebook hive mind but before I could get a consensus, my in-laws showed up at my door and suddenly getting dressed was far more important than choosing which cowl to gift wrap.

Then when it came time for gifts, I showed my sister-in-law both cowls and asked her to pick the one she liked more. She took home the confetti-coloured one which means that I got to KEEP the blue cowl.

Did I mention that it’s made from a merino/silk/cashmere blend? That I didn’t even have to pay for??

I think I win Christmas this year.

The final gift that I finished this week (*cough* this morning *cough*) is the pair of Hans Solo mittens that I’ve been working on for my brother-in-law. I’m not a Star Wars fan but I’ve been told these are awesome. Thankfully, my brother-in-law agrees.

These mittens were so much fun to knit. I love doing colourwork and I’m already searching ravelry for my next project. Maybe a penguin vest? Or maybe something for me – I haven’t decided yet.

Though I suppose I should finish knitting the Christmas gift that I started for my husband and never finished. Meh. It’ll be a fine Valentine’s Day gift – and that’s still 47 days away.

Posted as part of Ginny’s Yarn Along.