The grand total (out of 3 Caron Chunky Cakes) is 2 hats, 2 pairs of mittens and 2 scarves. That feels like a ridiculous amount to have knit in just over a week, but I have a lot of time on my hands and these are fairly simple items made with really big yarn. I have never actually knit with such big yarn or with such big needles before. In knitting lingo, I used super bulky (size 6) yarn and 8 mm needles and got 10-11 stitches to 4 inches. Compared to knitting socks with 2 mm needles and 8-9 stitches to the inch, this was quite a switch.
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This was a good way to create a lot of useful objects so fast, but after doing it I'm not sure I'd want such thick items myself. The mittens in particular feel a bit clumsy. Maybe on the windy deck of a ship on a cold ocean the warmth will be worth it.
Caron Chunky Cakes are multi-colored and I like the combination of colors in this one (and in others I saw in the store) but I wish they changed colors more frequently. It's OK for the scarfs and is probably very pretty for blankets, but a hat didn't take enough yarn to have all five colors on it, and the mittens look kind of silly and don't match. Still, they will be warm and cozy and I hope the recipients enjoy them.
I intend to make Seafarer knitting an annual thing, but I think if I use super bulky yarn again I will look elsewhere (probably by mail) and buy several colors separately so I can choose how to stripe them. Or just make solid color stuff.
I hope these items make a few seafarers' lives a little easier. I'm almost totally shut in at the moment and it's good to know that I can make some things that will help people far away from people. It reminds me that I'm still part of the big world.
(If any knitters want details, I will be posting this stuff on Ravelry soon. My Ravelry id is marglamb.)
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