Christmas knitathon continues - Growing leaves cowl; braided headband

My Christmas knitting progress has been slow, with family and friends visiting and an insane business trip during which I got maybe a total 12 hours sleep in 3 days (don't ask, I survived just about despite my old, I swear it was easier to go without sleep when I was a student). However, I have managed to knit two more gifts, hoorah! (Although, another four to go, and at this rate I predict another frantic December knitathon).


The first is the Growing leaves cowl, which I made for my 'mother-in-law'. I have never knitted anything for her before, and I am not entirely sure she even likes cowls, but I decided that it might be nice to make something for her, given how generous she was with my gift last year (the DK alpaca yarn and Domiknitrix pattern book), and my total failure to finish the jumper knitted with said gift (hence having no evidence that I enjoyed the gift).

I had the pattern saved in my Ravelry library (although I have no recollection of ever seeing it before), and I thought it looked pretty and cozy for when it gets even colder. It has everything I could ever ask for from a pattern: knit in the round, lace that is simple enough to remember but enough to make the knit more interesting than boring stockinette, and bulky yarn for a speedy knit. Also, no mods necessary, although I did make a teeny mistake towards the end, with the last leaf, but I don't think its noticeable.

For the time being, I have decided not to block it, as I think  it actually looks better with the '3D' leaves than it might look if the lace were flattened. The lack of blocking also means that it is cosier, perfect for those cold winter mornings.

Detailed view of the lace

Another bad selfie with minimal lighting

At least with a cowl I can hide!

The second gift is the Braided headband, which is supposed to be a rip-off of an Anthropologie headband (and incidentally I think the headband that the friend for whom I made the Vanessa headband wore all of last winter, maybe I need to re-think which one I give to each friend). I actually found a few patterns that aimed to emulate the Anthropologie headband, but this seemed to be the most straight-forward, as it is basically just a very wide cable knit over 16 stitches.

Once again, bulky yarn and fairly small project made for a speedy knit, and a very happy knitter (despite the need to do a bit of sewing; this is knitted flat rather than in the round). The only mod was to knit using 8mm needles rather than 9mm ones, which I don't have (and I keep forgetting to buy). I also did not block this one to avoid flattening out the cable and destroying the braided effect.

Here it is worn

And close-up

Both were knitted with James C. Brett chunky with merino (bought at the Knit and Stitch show), and one skein (100g) was enough with a tiny bit of leftovers (yay for no wastage!). Although for the cowl I think it would be worth using a more luxurious yarn.

Ravelry links: Leafy; Braided