FO - Une Cabled Legwarmers

For a while now, I've been trying to bring legwarmers back.



These make me so glad I did.



Pattern: Une Cabled Legwarmers, free pattern from Berroco (here on Ravelry)
Size: one size
Yarn: Knit Picks Sierra (now Cadena) super-bulky, Natural color, 70% Peruvian Highland Wool / 30% Superfine Alpaca; I used 3 100-gram skeins and part of a 4th, totaling approximately 350 yards
Needles: size 10 (6.0 mm) and size 8 (5.0 mm) straights
Modifications: Changed pattern so it didn't have the attached clogs, started by casting on 52 stitches and working 7 rounds of 1x1 ribbing at ankle

Started: January 5, 2009
Finished: January 14, 2009



I started knitting in part because I wanted so badly to make myself a pair of legwarmers. They are such a perfect item for frigid cold weather like we've been experiencing lately, and they make it that I can actually stay warmer wearing skirts and dress shoes than if I wore pants.



This pattern is fast, fun, and intuitive. You knit them flat on straights, which I think makes it go a little faster, and it avoided issues with ladders like I usually get when working at a large gauge in the round.



One seam up the back et voilà, legwarmers!



I was nervous about the cables, but they were much easier than I anticipated. I love the plaited look of them, and they were actually really fun to do.



In this yarn, they are so squishy and sculptural, and they make an elegant, but strong statement.

I feel as though I should write a love letter to this yarn. I bought it several years ago to make a capelet that looked disastrous on me. When I found this pattern, I was thrilled, as it was a much more suitable use of such warm, snuggly, thick, and crazy soft yarn.



This is actually a slightly heavier yarn than the pattern called for, but it was a nominal difference which makes them roomy enough on my ankles to pull down over my shoes, but still fitted enough to stay up at my calves and knees. The top ribbing is just long enough to pull over my knees on really cold days, but perfect if I fold them over as shown.

These are so cozy that I don't just wear them when I want to be stylishly warm out in public. In fact most often, I wear them around the house with slippers.



My legs have never been happier.

2008 Knits in Review

I didn't mean to come off so negative in my last post. Once I finally found a few minutes to make these mosaics, I realized I've actually been quite involved in knitting this year.

I think most of my knitting attention went to socks, and I finished nine pairs, all for myself.



1. Komet Socks, 2. Shock the Monkey Socks, 3. Bella Catena Italiana, 4. Eleanor Socks, 5. Spring Twists, 6. Kaaffe Fassett Socks, 7. Seduction Socks, 8. Toe-Up Eye of Partridge Heel Socks, 9. Hedera Socks

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

With the exception of the Hedera socks, all were knit toe-up and with a short-row heel. I think I've found a formula that really works for me. Sock Knitters Anonymous definitely played a huge part in my sock obsession (or is it the other way around?), though I may ease up on my participation a touch to focus on other projects.

In non-sock knitting, I did a bit more than I realized.



1. Flower Basket Shawl, 2. Green Jellyfish Shrug, 3. Cropped Raglan Sweater for Elise, 4. Molly Ringwald, 5. Bella Paquita, 6. Tempting, 7. Butterfly Hat, 8. Sun Ray Shawl, 9. Naturally-Dyed Yarns

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

(I haven't even posted about that green shrug, yikes.)

Still, it felt like I was knitting so much more. I may have gotten carried away with the mosaic maker, but I compiled one final collection: Knits That Might Have Been. All the things I started and didn't finish, the projects to which I devoted several days and then frogged, things I got 80% through and then put aside... there's a lot of these.



1. Odessa Hat (IP), 2. Billy's Birthday Hat (IP), 3. Cobblestone Pullover for Dad (IP), 4. Dad's Slip-Stitch Socks (IP), 5. Calorimetry (IP), 6. Springtide Socks (IP), 7. Scrolls Socks (IP), 8. Lace Ribbon Scarf (IP), 9. One-Tone Shrug (IP), 10. Spiral Boot Socks (IP), 11. Holly Jacket (IP), 12. A Knitted Gnome (IP), 13. Kolenya Mitts (IP), 14. Lelah Top (IP), 15. Esther Socks (F), 16. July Mystery Socks (F), 17. Aleita Shell (F), 18. Brigit Socks (F), 19. Pretty Petals Socks (F), 20. Entrelac Socks (F), 21. Pomatomus Socks (F)

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

(IP) = in progress still
(F) = frogged

And if I'm being honest, there are even more that I haven't photographed, including 3 or 4 unfinished Christmas gifts.

I expect that many of the projects from this third mosaic will comprise the early FOs of 2009. Otherwise they will join the ever-increasing pile of languishing knits from 2007 and 2006 (have I really been knitting that long already?).

This leads me to my goal for 2009: The Year of Finishing Things I Start.

What this means and how I plan to accomplish it will be fleshed out soon, including a parade of WIPs and discussion of what makes me abandon a project.

I look forward to a more productive and relaxing year of knitting in 2009. This time without the sarcasm, Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Oh dear, I have been so remiss. I really didn't mean to disappear over the holidays, but things got insane in my personal and academic life, and something had to give. Sadly, it was knitting.

I didn't finish any of the handmade gifts I was working on this Christmas. I didn't even start most of them. Since they were mostly for my immediate family, who saw firsthand the stress I was under, there was no issue giving them cards with an image of the pattern and yarn I was planning for them, to be given at some point before next Christmas.

I didn't finish most of what I planned for this year. Looking at my knitting resolutions, it's tempting to be discouraged.

I didn't knit a pair of socks every month, I didn't dye my own yarn again, I didn't learn the techniques I planned (though I made some progress with the Christmas gifts I did start), and I let scores of WIPs languish. I didn't post the mini-pattern I meant to, I didn't write posts on mordanting and dyeing (those will come soon, though, since I have to write about them for lab reports due next week), and I didn't even mention the rank horror that was indigo dyeing.

The only area where I succeeded this year was not buying any more yarn (except for gifts), and here I slipped up a touch too. I didn't even have time to round up all the things I knit in 2008 and make one of those sexy mosaics I keep seeing on all my favorite blogs.

I've decided, though, to be okay with that. Knitting isn't a chore - it's something I do to relax and unwind. To the extent that I enjoy learning new things, using nice materials, and creating beautiful objects, knitting is a very satisfying diversion. I will work harder to keep this in mind in 2009.

As such, I do have goals for 2009. I have plans, ideas, visions, and dreams. To begin, I will catch up with 2008 knits, and we'll go from there.

I hope you all had safe and happy holidays, and I look forward to getting back in touch soon!