CiR: WWII Era Men's Knit Cap and Matching Scarf

Dear Readers, having born with me through part of my winter craft-a-thon, it's time I let you in on some of the other projects I enjoyed. To be frank, I'm still working on some of these. Knitting takes time, people! I decided that I wanted to make matching scarf/hat sets for my family, and am impressed that I finished as many as I did. Now I have a few of these ready to mail back, but not before I get a good blog post out of them, darnit! I did a few google searches for guy-appropriate patterns, when I found one that seemed perfect, especially for my nephew. It's a WWII Era pattern distributed by a yarn company in a pamphlet of knit hats to be made and sent to soldiers. The pattern was simple enough that I was sure the men in my family would not object, but nice enough that they wouldn't look sad next to the fancy ladies' sets.
Here's the link to the pattern!
I used the beanie pattern on the top, which I found to be simple and easy to follow if you're used to working with double pointed needles. The only complaint I have is that the pattern does not provide a gauge swatch. I made an entire hat on size 4 needles, as recomended, and came out with something fit for a retro-inspired toddler. That said, I switched to size 8 needles, still using regular acrylic, I Love This Yarn brand yarn, and the hats came out perfectly man-sized and comfy. It took less than one skein, but I would recommend buying two so you can make a matching scarf! The I Love This Yarn brand is great for guy-knits because it's super soft without being visually and texturally overwhelming.
To make a scarf that will go with these hats, I figured I would use ribbing as a tie-in, but also to make them thicker and warmer. This pattern is super simple, and great for a generic "guy scarf"- not too stylized, but without the shabby or rustic look that some simple knits can end up with.

Matching Guy Scarf:
I Love This Yarn acrylic yarn on size 8 needles
Cast On 32 stitches

K2, P2 across each row.
Continue until you have 60 inches or so. You might have the recipient try it on so you can make sure it's long enough to not look silly, especially if it's for a taller guy.
Cast off.

Wasn't that simple? :)

Cinnamon Apple Crepes

I've had a dreadfully unorganized couple of weeks, friends, so I apologize for my long absence. Happily, this time involved the boy and I finding a new kitty to come live with us, so it hasn't' all been stressful! Anyway, to ease myself back into things, here's a recipe I made almost a year ago. I actually learned to make crepes before I ever made my own pancakes, so this is one of the very first recipe I was comfortable enough with to start changing. Hope anyone who tries it enjoys it!

Cinnamon Apple Crepes:

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinamon

1 pinch of nutmeg

2 cups milk

3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1/4 cup apple butter

some extra butter for the frying pan

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add all other ingredients (excluding butter for frying pan) and mix with hand mixer until smooth.

Heat about 1/2 tablespoon of butter in your frying pan on medium.

Pour about 1/2 cup of batter per crepe into pan. Immediately lift pan and tilt all around so crepe is nice and thin.

Flip when edges start to golden.

When both sides are golden, remove from pan and set aside.
Add more apple butter, smear with nutella, cover with strawberries and whipped cream, or whatever your favorite crepe filling is. Roll them up and om nom nom!