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Felted Ankle Sleeves!

legwarmers by LynnHMy friends, I’ve never been hip, cool, or edgy. On the other hand, I think I’m interesting, and I’m usually just as happy this way. Even when I was younger, I think I aspired to be sophisticated more than I aspired to be cool (not that I ever accomplished that goal)… but I digress.

These days, I dress the way I like to dress. More color, happier Lynn! More wool, even happier yet! I go for warm over fashionable, though I guess having your own look is its own kind of “stylish.” I am glad to have passed the 40-yr-old mark, where I somehow gave up worrying about what other people think, at least about how I dress.

One blogger, I think it is Subway Knitter (?), sometimes mentions that her fashion sense typically limits her to one handknit item at a time. I think she probably is stylish, young, and no doubt cool. And a good writer, and a great knitter, and I love her blog.

But me? I have been photographed wearing 6 items I’ve knit, all at the same time, and I hate to tell you that this is not an unusual number for me.

As my friend Susan E. would say (about herself, although I’d say she’s wrong), “Dork, dork, dork.” But it’s me. And I get SO cold, and I’m a bit phobic about being cold, so I knit things that keep me warm against that possibility. Which means that sometimes I wear a half dozen items I’ve handknit myself. But it also means that I don’t get as cold as I once did, before I started knitting all these things!

legwarmersNow, you know I’m a dancer. I’ve always loved legwarmers. Maybe it’s a dancer thing… maybe it’s a cold thing… maybe it’s some personal sense of style. I loved legwarmers *before* Flashdance in the 80s. I loved them during that fad (was delighted I could buy them in colors other than ballet pink and black at that time). And I kept wearing them when everyone stopped. When I started knitting again this time, I started knitting myself wool legwarmers almost right away (I’ve only seen one pair of wool legwarmers for sale in a store, they are usually acrylic or cotton).

So today I go to visit Spun Magazine online. Trust me, they are cool. And they have a free pattern for something called Felted Ankle Sleeves. Tubes for keeping lower legs warm. And the first sentence includes the words “a fashionistas delight.” (sic)

Imagine that. Fashionista? I’m not even sure exactly what that word means, but I’m pretty sure it is signifantly far away from dorky.

legwarmersThe ankle sleeves don’t look much like my legwarmers, and they are worn under jeans rather than over skintight leggings… but hey, they are tubes for leg warmth. Theirs don’t scrunch and bag at the ankles as mine do. Theirs are more dense than mine, because they are felted… but personally I like more wool. I sometimes end up pulling up mine as far as I can, to cover my knees for warmth. I LOVE my wool! I love my legwarmers.

I may be dorky at times, but practical is practical. Even the cool and hip people are bound to get cold sometimes, right? This pattern may be proof.

Leg tubes may go out of style again. But I’ll be able to knit my own this time around, I’m not giving them up. I’m loyal if nothing else.

Well, I don’t wish to be cool very often. But it’s great to see a little echo of my style sense in some cool places… every once in a while. I’m sure you understand.

First Photo: Legwarmers made on my knitting machine, finished Wednesday night. Knit from Maggie’s Ireland yarn, given to me by Rae for my birthday. These are the warmest legwarmers I’ve ever owned! And also the most magenta. With periwinkle and hot green specks. Perfect.

Later addition: Two other pairs of legwarmers I’ve knit myself. My own made-up-on-the-needles design using New Zeeland Charisma yarn, and a variation on Sally Melville’s Maximum Legwarmers (ribs rather than rolled edges) from Knit Stitch book. If you wish to see the Felted Ankle Sleeves, the pictures are at Spun Magazine.

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