pepperknit

The Top Five for 2005
1. New technique: Magic Join: The felted join that makes my days bright. And Magic Loop: the knitting-in-the-round technique that makes hats a breeze.

2. Favorite FO: Legwarmers: an impulsive knit that changed my life. And Pam: a semi-reluctant knit (it wasn’t a pattern I was in love with, but it looked fine) that I’ve incorporated into my wardrobe fully. Note that I still haven’t put on the buttons!

3. Favorite KAL: Well, I kind of have to say Cover Your Ankles, right? It’s the one I started! I also enjoyed the Union Square Market KAL, even though I still haven’t finished that sweater. I will, I swear.

4. Favorite LYS: I’m so excited to share this with everyone—on Saturday I went to Loop, at 19th and South, for the first time. It was heaven. Everything I would do if I were opening my own yarn shop. Clean, crisp, modern, chic, but comfy all at the same time. Super-friendly owner, delicious yarns, and a huge variety of product. I wish it were closer to where I live! I will definitely go out of my way to go there, however. It’s worth it.

5. Favorite tool: I suppose 40-inch circulars, for magic looping. But I also finally got one of those needle size doo-dads, so that I don’t have to peer at the cord of circulars to figure out the size anymore.

Six Goals for 2006
1. Knit for all the many babies that are being born to friends. So far, I have 3 things to knit before July.

2. Finish the Union Square Market Pullover.

3. Clean up and organize the stash.

4. Try some lace, for real. Maybe with that Wool in the Woods I got at Stitches.

5. Maybe actually finish a pair of socks? (I’ve so far done about 3 socks, none matching. I bore easily.)

6. I think this will be my only “real” (i.e., non-knitting) resolution for the year: Dress up more. I have loads of nice clothing, but always opt for jeans and simple shirts. Let’s start being more grown-up and professional.

I’m truly addicted to legwarmers these days. I brought them to Maryland with me this past weekend even though the weather made them unnecessary. I showed them to everyone I could, I recommended them for a friend who lives in Chicago—I may have even promised to make several pairs for people.

Instead, I made myself another pair!

These are babies, because I didn’t want to do any increasing or decreasing (I’m not quite sure how that would look in brioche stitch). Using the same size 3 needles and a new shade of Manos, I worked 32 stitches for something like 40 rows.

The yarn is my mom’s, and I have more. She made herself a cardigan and had leftovers. They caught my eye in her stash, and I asked if she had any project set for the yarn. She happily gave it to me, and later found another whole skein in a separate stash! This shortstack pair took just one skein, so I can get another pair out of it. I’m wearing them now—it’s a bit chillier back in Philly.

Sounds like quite a few of you are seriously tempted to make yourself a pair of legwarmers. I enthusiastically endorse this position! Let’s do it!

In the interest of seeing everyone’s legwarmers as they’re completed, I figured I’d start a knitalong. In the same spirit as the Cover Your Head knitalong (and with practically the same title, ahem), I’ve created a legwarmer along! If you think you’ll be knitting a pair, now or in the future, I hope you’ll join in and share ideas.

Leave a comment here or on the knitalong, or even email me with your desire to be invited to participate. Bear with me as I’ve never done this before so have no clear idea how to do it yet. (I may be emailing some of YOU for help!)

I finished the legwarmers last night. And I’ve been wearing them all day—even out to the 10:00 showing of a movie (Syriana) last night. My legs were comfy and warm, and no one was the wiser. So though I said I was probably never going to wear these other than to yoga, I discovered that they fit just fine under my boot cut jeans, and I can see myself wearing them all the time. Walking around with them on, I wonder how I ever survived without them. My boyfriend, who actually didn’t laugh or point, but merely said, “Those are kind of ridiculous,” (which I totally agree with) asked if I’ve ever really felt my ankles were cold. The answer to that is YES, making legwarmers the Best. Thing. Ever. I highly recommend.

For these:

• 2 skeins of Manos del Uruguay. They were a gift years ago from a friend.
• US size 3 needles.
• Knit one of them flat, the other in the round using Magic Loop. (Considering redoing the first in the round.)
• Brioche stitch, as taken from Barbara Walker’s Treasury of Knitting Patterns (volume 1).
• 40 stitches around, 75 rows long.
• Bound off using size 9 needle to keep the edge from being too tight.
• Got to use the felted join again a few times, to cut out particularly thin spots and reattach the yarn. Always a joy.

I’m already mentally preparing for another pair. These are great for wearing around, but might be a bit too bulky for yoga.

I really love it. Comfycozy is a word.

The color is actually pretty accurate in the photo. More, of course, when both are finished.

I tried mistake-stitch rib (before you suggested it!) and even k1p1 again, but ultimately I decided that brioche was where it was at—thick, plush, dense—and in order to get it tighter, I’d just have to go to smaller needles.

I dropped down to size 3s. In Manos! And it’s created the perfect density. In fact, I bound one of them off just about an hour ago, before leaving for work. I didn’t knit it in the round, because I wasn’t exactly sure that brioche would work in the round. Once I got through some more inches, I knew how I could make it work, but by then I was on a roll and decided that a quick seam down the side wouldn’t be so bad. Plus knitting flat meant I didn’t have to think at all (it’s the same exact row every time; in the round I’d have had to switch each row)—and I hit a particularly pleasant groove with the yo, sl1 combination.

Laura, why did you say that you couldn’t “do it”? If you think brioche would be too hard, just try it! It’s really easy. On an even number of stitchs, the prep row is to yo, sl1, k1. Then all other rows are to yo, sl1, k2tog (knitting together the slipped stitch and the yo). To bind off, I did p1, k2tog across, because otherwise it ended up too tight if I bound off using the slipped stitches without working them. I’m sure this is making sense only to those who’ve worked with brioche before, but in case you try it, that’s the solution I decided on.

Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions! I tried brioche stitch after you suggested it, Laura. I’d tried brioche before, but never stuck with it long enough to see it work—it always seemed so counterintuitive. (Okay, I guess that really means I’d never actually tried brioche before.) So I worked up about two inches in brioche with the Manos, and it was lovely, especially once I saw how the heck the stitch pattern works, but it was too loose. I want it to hug to my leg more.

I could fall back on good ol’ k1,p1. But that’s so boring! And yet, a more interesting ribbing will be too time-consuming or tricky, and I really want these to be instant. I’ll continue to play around tonight. Unlike the weekend, I don’t have to take work home! I can sit and knit! Yay!

PS to Rachel: I believe that when I put the legwarmers on, my boyfriend will tease me endlessly, but when I mentioned my plan to make a pair, he hardly blinked. So either he’s got some latent Flashdance fantasies I don’t know about, or he recognizes their truly useful function.

PPS to Lolly: I don’t think I will be able to pull of legwarmers in any context other than heading to and from yoga. If I feel semi-certain that my boyfriend will tease me, I know with 100% certainty that my coworkers will never let me live them down.

PPPS to everyone: I sealed off two more windows yesterday, and that makes all but two windows in the house sealed (we left one because it’s a really good window and doesn’t let in air, and the other because it’s in the kitchen and we felt that access to air was a good thing, plus it’s not too drafty). The difference is remarkable. In fact, I’m remarking on it right now. Last night we watched a movie and weren’t huddled under a pile of blankets! A friend once complained that she hates the way the plastic sheeting looks, but I have to say I love it: One glance at that taut reflection, and I’m reminded of the joys I got when I used the hair dryer to set it that way. But I digress.

It snowed last night! Just a dusting, which is mostly gone, but there was bona fide snow on the ground when I woke up, and it was a slippery, treacherous walk to yoga.

We’ve—let’s be honest here, I’ve—spent the weekend putting up plastic sheeting over most of our windows. It’s a delightful little project, I think. I walk up to a window, and I put my hands near the seams. I can feel a breeze (you know, these old Philly apartments have settled and so no window frame is really square). I stick up some tape, rub it down with my brayer (yay for having such an extensive art supply collection), stick the plastic on, and then the best moment of all: aiming the hair dryer at it and watching it become taut and smooth. It’s so satisfying and also makes me feel inordinately virtuous. Think of all the money we’ll save this winter! Think how much warmer we’ll be!

But the truth is, it’s still really cold on the first floor (the second floor is nice and snug). I’m ready to encase the front door (our apartment has street access; perhaps, for those who’ve never seen it, I should call it a condo) in dairy-case plastic or something. I’m at a loss. Our front door is actually one level below the main floor (you enter and immediately go upstairs), and there’s no logical way to block off the stairs. Cold air just pours in from down there.

Anyway, all this to say that yesterday, the boy and I both semi-jokingly wore our winter hats indoors. And I started knitting myself a pair of legwarmers.

I’ve not worn legwarmers since I was, what, 6 years old? Back when they were really popular? But lately I’ve seen people at yoga wearing them, and I get all sorts of jealous. I’m not sure exactly what I want out of the legwarmers, though, and it’s led to a whole lot of starts and stops.

I started them with some cashmerino, but that was taking forever, and I wanted more instant gratification. Bingo! We’ll use the two skeins of Manos! Perfect! But sizing is a mystery (how snug do I want them?) and I can’t ever settle on a stitch pattern that I want, so I’ve taken those out a few times, too.

Eventually, I’ll have a finished pair. I swear!