Top to Bottom warmth

As promised here are pics of my latest knits, they are very warm and very fast to make. I did each one in a day BUT they were hospital days so the rib and a couple of pattern repeats were knitted during the day.
Aran weight yarn and size 4mm 16"circular, I cast on 96 stitches and knitted 2 x 2 rib for as long as I could be bothered. Then in pattern I knitted to 7 1/2 " and did the decreases. I changed to a longer circular  here and used magic loop, you could quite easily use dpns for this.

Round 1, k2 p2 tog. 72 sts
Round 2, k2 p1.        
Round 3, k2 tog p1,  48 sts
Round 4, k1 p1,
Round 5, k2 tog,        24 sts
Round 6, k
Round 7, k2 tog,        12 sts
Round 8, k
Round 9, k2 tog          6 sts
Thread yarn through the stitches and pull tight. I pull it through to the inside and work a cross stitch over the gather and then darn in the end, darn in the cast on tail and bingo, you have a beanie. 

This one is in waffle stitch pattern, 2 rounds knit then 2 rounds rib.

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To change it up a bit for this one I did 2 round in knit then one round in k2 p2 rib, then 2 rounds knit and one round in p2 k2 rib and repeated to 7 1/2" total length. For a man I knit to 9-9 1/2" and add 4 or 8 stitches to the cast on number.

Much as I like the simple slippers ( I am about to try the Kimono slipper pattern as well) sometimes I want more of a sock style.

These are in Aran weight and I followed the basic pattern from Winwick Mum. I know that this is written for 8ply but it works for me probably because my feet are size 9 and I have chunky ankles. I am almost certain that she has released a pattern for Aran weight, you can check that out on her blog.

I just knit a few rows of rib and a few in ss, probably 3" worth in total. I knit a 22 row heel flap as it fits my heel perfectly.

If my feet are warm I am a happy bunny, when I am dog walking at this time of the year I need a steady supply of hats. They get very damp and I just hang them for a day to dry, some days I go through 3 or 4.

Now I have walked both the dogs and had a few chats along the way. I have a cuppa to drink and then I am going to do a bit of quilting, I would like to get 2 of the plates done today.

I was up early this morning so the chores are done. Dinner tonight is undecided, it depends on how I feel after a quilting session or 2 and what's in the fridge.

                      TTFN                                              Pam