FO Friday: Les Cables Des Faux

These took a me a while, but I'm glad I finished them:

Les Cables Des Faux is a free pattern from Needle Addict. As the title implies, it's a faux-cable pattern. Very easy and well written pattern. I did make some adjustments: I wanted my tighter and less slouchy that the originals, so I subtracted one pattern repeat and cut a couple inches off the length. I love the way they came out.

Confession: These are filled with mistakes -- missed yarn-overs. I decided that the mistakes wouldn't be noticeable and didn't frog. I think I made the right decision. When I wore them to work the other day, I asked my knitting pals to find the mistakes; they couldn't. However, if these had been intended to be a gift, I would have frogged and re-knit.

The yarn is Plymouth Galway in a heathery gray. I love it when an affordable yarn makes a great project. If I make these again, I'd use the same yarn.

The sad part: It was cold and snowy enough here on Wednesday to wear them!

Check out the other FOs with Tami Amis.

WIP Wednesday: Low Mojo

I started this on December 19, when the bulk of a long and very cold winter was ahead of me:

This is actually the second in a pair of leg warmers. I raced through the first one. Les Cables de Faux is an easy pattern and I knew I'd have lots of opportunities to wear leg warmers. Leg warmers, like scarves, can feel endless, though. Once I started the second one, my mojo evaporated and the whole project sat around for for a couple months. Maybe I would have been more motivated had I known exactly how long and cold this winter was going to be.

I came across it when I was whipping through my pre-wedding cleaning. At that point, I had only done the cuff and a few rows of the pattern. I would like to be able to have this one wrapped up -- I don't see myself wanting to knit legwarmers in July -- but I'm really struggling to stay focused on it!

Are there any projects you've really had to push yourself to finish?

Don't forget to see more WIPs at Tami Amis' blog.

WIP Wednesday

During last week's cold snap, I discovered that leg warmers are even warmer than pants. The one set I have is a purple-ish pink, so it doesn't match all of my clothes. I decided that I needed a set in a more neutral color. Thus I launched into this:

 

It's the first of the Les Cables de Faux leg warmers. It's a free pattern, very easy, great TV knitting. 

I picked out the yarn by wandering through my LYS. This gray heather colorway called out my name. It's Galway Worsted in gray heather. It's fairly scratchy, but I'll be wearing it over tights, so I don't think that will be a problem. There was a similar color in Cascade 220. The Galway won out because a) it was $1 cheaper per skein; and b) it did not need to be swifted before knitting.

I have a great swift (this LYS doesn't offer swifting), but swifting does take time and effort. We are starting a couple new programs at my school, and I am working killer hours. So at this point, not swifting is a huge advantage.

However, I will find a few moments to check out the other WIPs on Tami Amis' WIP Wednesday post!