Christmas Gift!

Christmas is coming and I saw this great scarf pattern (in addition to some other scarf patterns ;P) that I wanted to give a go at.  But, life took over and I only managed to make one (1) special gift for a special someone. :)

For my special someone:  Your pattern comes from Berroco Knits and is called the Navarra.  I used my super awesome Chiagoo Twist (Metal) US 8 needles and nine (9) skeins of Patons Diana yarn in pink to make your ~6 feet (or 186 cm) long scarf.  I used a cable cast-on and Jenny's Surprisingly Stretching Bing-Off to start and end your scarf:

I hope you find that it brightens up your wardrobe this winter as well as keep you warm! :)

Here's some ways you can wear your scarf:

I really wanted to make a few more things (including a few more scarves) but ... the year got away from me! :'(  Hopefully, next year I can get to the other gifts I wanted to give a go at. ;)

Since this blog is about Christmas, in the Christmas spirit, if anyone's interested in those water bottle sleeves I made (see pictures of it from my previous posts way back in February and April), here's the pattern.  I call it Ariana's Bottle Holder (in homage to my friend Ariana who help me make this) and the pattern below is for my very first bottle holder (with the Kleen Kanteen in it) as shown in post: Catching Up.

1. Make a swatch for gauge.  I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn, color Light Grey (ID# E300_341) = 7.5cm @ 5 cm => 7.5/5 = 1.5cm
2. Measure around the largest/widest section of the bottle.  The initial bottle I used was a 12 oz. Kleen Kanteen = 23cm
3. Multiply gauge by the number of cm around the bottle.  For me it was: 1.5 * 23 = 34.5 stitches
4. Cast on (using your favorite cast on method) 34 or 36 stitches around on 4 needles (you need to have an even number of stitches)
5. Knit & purl for about 1” (2.5 cm) or length of the bottle neck (or as long as you desire)
6. Continue to knit (and/or purl depending on what kind of design you want for the main body) until its as deep as the bottle is high
7. K2 together around
8. K1 round straight
9. K1 round straight
10. K2 together around
11. K2 together around
12. Continue until there are 6 stitches or less
13. Take off needles and draw the tail through the last stitches and pull tight
14.  If you would like to make a strap for the bottle holder, pick up 4 – 6 stitches near the top of the bottle holder (by the bottle neck area); you can pick up stitches anywhere in that area or between the transition of the bottle neck and bottle area.
15. Knit (and/or purl (again - depending on what design you want for your strap) as many rows as you want until the desired length of your strap is reached.
16. If you want a button on the other side, knit until you are 1” from where you would like your buttonhole to be.
17. Measure your button and knit the next few stitches until you are ready to start the hole; then bind off the length of your buttonhole then knit the remaining stitches.
18. On the next row, knit the same number of stitches you ended with; then cast on the same number of stitches you bound off; then knit the same number of stitches you started with in #17.  For example:  your strap is 8 stitches wide
19. R1: Knit the first 2 stitches then bind off 4 stitches then knit the last 2 stitches
20. R2: knit the first 2 stitches (same as the last 2 stitches in R1), cast on 4 stitches (same as the bound off stitches in R1), then knit the last 2 stitches (same as the first 2 stitches in R1)
21. Knit the next row the same number of stitches as the row prior to the buttonhole.
22. Continue to knit as many rows you want until you feel the strap is long enough.  Then bind off.  Sew in the end – you may want to make it long enough to reinforce the buttonhole.
23. You’re DONE!!! Enjoy your new bottle holder!!