Manly Man Knits

Most men I've known in my life are fairly ambivalent about knits...particularly the handknit variety. Like if you make them a hat, that's pretty cool. If you don't, that's fine too. Beyond that, most knitwear for men can really walk the line of being weird/inappropriate/oddly feminine/itchy/hot/ugly. So sometimes it's best to avoid knitting for the men we love. Which is usually fine by the knitter's standards (more time to knit cool stuff for ME!). This is clearly a mutually beneficial arrangement.

But not so with Robb! Since the very beginning, this man has loved my knitting. He begs me to knit him things. I swear to you that he counts the projects I'm making and references how long it's been since I made something for him. ("But your last four projects have been for you...when do I get a sweater??") He is a very odd, very sweet duck. Due to his love of knits, it was no problem at all to get him to put on every knitted thing I've ever made for him at the same time so that I could take a photo and write about it.

The skinny brown scarf is pure cashmere.This is what got him hooked on the knits (he has excellent taste.) Next came the Blue Sky Alpacas chunky scarf, which is probably the most impractical thing I've ever knit for a man. Something like seven skeins later, we realized that it's so chunky he can't even ride a bike while wearing it (it limits his mobility) and it sheds all over his black pea coat like a mo-fo.

The hat came next--from Veronik Avery's Knitting Classic Style--and it is my pride and joy. I don't think I've ever made something for someone that is a better fit for their style and their head. We've nearly lost it several times, including in a wayward shopping cart at Home Depot, but two years later it's still with us, going strong.

The argyle socks (on his hands) are also from Knitting Classic Style. These are gorgeous specimens, though they may be as impractical as the Blue Sky Alpacas scarf...it's best to handwash the socks so as not to ruin the duplicate-stitch argyle, but who in the world is ever going to handwash socks? Not Robb. And not me. They are "special occasion" socks.
So what's next? Well, last week was Robb's birthday. And we went shopping at Purl Soho. Finally, at last (now that we're married), Robb gets his sweater. He wants a cardigan with raglan sleeves and a zipper, and (gulp) I'll need to make the sweater up from scratch. Terrifying! Fun! Will I keep you updated on this adventure? You betcha.