Here is John's sweater—the so-called Weekend Turtleneck. (Really, it easily be done in a weekend by someone with no arthritis and nothing else to do. I just wasn't either.) I began it in November and then put it away during the holidays; when I came back to it just after Christmas, I discovered that I had inexplicably made it several inches too wide, so I frogged it back to the ribbing and began again. Much better . . . I used Wool of the Andes Bulky in Redwood Forest, which was not the yarn called for by the designer (Drew Emborsky; this came from his latest book, Crochet Designs for Guys). I bought three extra skeins, and used two of them, so I still have enough left for a hat or something. I never could get gauge, so I simply gave up and went by the measurements in the pattern's schematic and that worked very nicely. (Details about yarn and pattern are here, on my Ravelry page.) It's a nice pattern; I enjoyed making it, though I did make one rather obvious change: since John wanted to wear it over a shirt, we decided not to make the turtleneck.
I may make another one, if I can find the proper yarn. John wants one in camouflage, for wandering in the woods, and I have been unsuccessful in finding a bulky yarn with a pattern we like. I made him a camouflage toboggan in Red Heart yarn and he liked the way it came out, but it's only a worsted weight, and acrylic to boot. Any suggestions, leave me a comment. (And it needs to be something relatively affordable, too, given the state of the communal purse these days . . . )
I'm confused. You knit John a toboggan?
Posted by: Jo-Anne | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 10:32 AM
I see by the cover, that John is a brother Marine.
Or I suppose he could have just snagged the cover from somewhere. :)
Good job on the sweater. I can barely knit a square.
Posted by: Meadowlark | Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 11:04 AM
John looks very dapper in his new sweater! Tell him I said it's OKAY to smile for his adoring audience! He tickles me 'cause he always looks sooooo serious! The sweater is AWESOME! It makes me feel AUTUMNY - as tho' a million beautiful leaves just drifted down & arranged themselves into a sweater shape!
Posted by: Kai | Wednesday, 28 January 2009 at 10:36 AM
Beautiful sweater. That John is a lucky man.
Posted by: Susan Ramey Cleveland | Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 06:42 PM