Making Progress

Well, the black hat for my husband is complete .....

That Chocolate's Gone Straight to Your Ribs

...he was happy when he came home yesterday and was able to try on a second "Chocolate's Gone Straight to Your Ribs" hat. I love the name of this pattern and it's so easy to knit! This one is without the rolled up cuff. He will wear it with his casual dress jacket, so I thought cuff-less was a bit more dressy.

Second, project half done would be the leg-warmer project! Now, you would think that leg warmers would be just a simple tube, knit in the round until you're satisfied with the length. Well, I am here to tell you that is not the case when you are knitting them for someone who lives over 4,000 miles away and they can't try them on for size!

There are over 1400 leg-warmer patterns on Ravelry.  Oh, you read me right; fourteen hundred! First, I asked my buddy, Nancy, over at Cats 'N Knit, for the pattern she used for her Noro Leg Warmers, which I fully intended to use since I actually saw her wearing them, and I liked them. However, when I cast on using the directions she gave me, I could not get my foot/ankle through the opening. Usually I am a loose knitter, so perhaps it was the yarn and needles size difference. Anyway, I decided I would do a quick Ravelry search and see what I would come up with, and out of the 1,400 patterns offered there I decided I would try a pair designed by Brenda Patermoster.  "Why her pattern?" you ask! Well, because I got tired of looking.

Oh the saga goes on...

Brenda's leg-warmers had little descriptors with it, but hey they are leg-warmers, right!?  Well, Brenda's leg-warmers must go completely up the thigh, because she had me increasing to a width that was unimaginable for any human calf and the length seemed for that of a giant's leg.  When finally I came to that realization I did some "frogging" and decreased the number of stitches for  top opening and cast off when I thought I was at an appropriate length for my daughter's long shapely leg.

I shall model it for you here......

Without slouching, the leg-warmer comes over my knee. That might be okay since my daughter is about five inches taller than me.

Notice I am wearing the leg-warmer over my jeans! My daughter's legs are also thinner than mine!!! So, here's the plan: I am going to mail her ONE leg-warmer, which she says she will wear over her jeans sometimes and over her tights other times. If she is happy with the fit I will make the second leg-warmer. If she is not happy with the fit, I will ask that she return the leg-warmer to me, so I can reuse the yarn and I will start all over.

You're probably saying, " Rose, really, by the time she gets the pair it will be spring!" Well, as I said she is over 4,000 miles away, but I didn't tell you, away is Alaska. They have more cold weather year round than not, so I am pretty safe in getting them done and sent to her whenever. Although, this winter it has been colder here than there, and we've had more snow here than she has had there. Go figure!

While I'm waiting for the leg-warmer decision, I will continue on the Baby Leaf blanket, which is about three-fourths of the way done. Hopefully, it will be completed by the time I get the 'Knit or not to Knit" call from my daughter.