Summer us upon us and for my family that usually means that we get to go on a mini road trip somewhere not too far away. This summer the plan is to go to St. John’s, which is 1.5 hours on a ferry followed by 10 hours of driving (Michaels here I come hehe). My husband and I take turns driving, but for the most part I take a lessor role, mostly providing an opportunity for him to relax and rest a little. When he takes a break, he likes to try to catch a little nap. To do this, he takes off his glasses, pulls his ball cap down over his eyes, rests his chin on his chest and tries to rest. This has never looked comfortable to me.
This year, with my husband’s naps and our trip in mind, I thought I might come up with something to help him out and so I started out to create a hooded travel pillow. My first attempt works for him, but as with anything, there stood room for improvement. His will keep the light from his eyes (I even thought to include a drawstring to pull the front together should it be a particularly bright day) and provide comfort for his neck and head, but I felt that another yarn might be better suited to this project, and therefore some stitches, stitch counts, and shaping would have to be re-done.
When deciding on the improvements, my girls came to mind. This past winter my daughters asked me to make them some pillows, one asked me for a panda pillow, and the other wanted a unicorn one. After some (never mind how much) trial and error and testing, I finally came up with a yarn and stitch combination that came out the way I wanted, and they have so much fun with their travel pillows (even though we haven’t even travelled anywhere yet). Making them smile over something that I create for them just makes me so darn happy.
The pattern for the unicorn hooded travel pillow can be found on Ravelry here, and the cuddly panda hooded travel pillow pattern can be found here. Or if you prefer, you can find them in my etsy shop here, or on craftsy. On Etsy there is a separate listing with both patterns for a discounted price, and on Ravelry if you add both patterns to your cart a discount will be automatically applied.
As with all my patterns, I’d love to see your creations, so please either tag me on Instagram (@comfy.cozy.warm) or post pics to my facebook page (www.facebook.com/ComfyCozyWarm).
Happy making!
Comfy/Cozy/Warm 