2014’s “upgraded” version here!

I can’t exactly explain how all these owls appeared … well, maybe I can:

Like so many of us, I fell in love with NoKnitSherlock’s adorable owl ornaments. I added them to my favorites, and thought about them a lot during December, but I had a lot of holiday projects, and just didn’t get around to them. On Christmas Eve, when the holiday projects were finally off the needles (barely!) and wrapped, I needed something cute and fun. So I knit my first owl -- the one with the red body and green buttons. After Christmas, I thought I’d do another one, just to keep me busy while I decided on my next big project.

And here we are … I decided these will be gifts for next Christmas, which will be awesome. (Though I feel certain that owls will be totally passé by then. Oh well.) I usually make an ornament for friends and family, but I have never been able to find a knitted ornament that I enjoyed knitting over and over. But I am totally in love with this one (obviously)! I can knit one (minus the embellishments) in under an hour, and it’s so much fun to use bits and pieces from my stash. Now I’m experimenting with fair isle on some of them. (More pics of those soon.) I’m just going to keep going until I get bored. :)

A few pattern notes:

• As you can probably tell if you look closely, I’ve experimented with a few different methods, so each one is a little different. I tried the felt eyes on the first one, but then I settled on the wooden buttons. But I’m almost out of them, so I need to order more or try something else.

• I was using kitchener stitch, as per the pattern, but after doing four or five that way, I decided to try three-needle bindoff, and you know what? I like it better. I think it makes the corner stick up more, for some reason.

• I added little tufts (is that what you call them?) at the ears -- just liked the look.

• I haven’t tried Susan’s method for picking up stitches for a collar yet -- I just like the little scarves. I’ve tried several variations on the scarf, including a 6-stitch i-cord (which I kind of liked), but I think my favorite is this (this makes a scarf that is about a foot long, which was perfect for my owls):

Cast on 60 stitches
Knit four rows garter stitch, slipping first stitch knitwise
On Row 5, slip first stitch, knit 9 stitches, YO, k2tog, finish knitting row
Knit three rows garter stitch, slipping first stitch knitwise
Bind off.
Slip end of scarf through YO hole. Stitch to owl.

• Confession: I glued the buttons on. :)

• Another confession: I was too lazy to knit the wings. But I did embroider feet (talons?).

• Final confession: Even though I am a color addict (obviously), my favorite owls are the ones with the tweedy bottom and brown top (both Fisherman’s Wool). They look like real owls … who are wearing scarves.

Thanks to Jenna for the pattern and Susan for the ornament inspiration!