...it was going so well...

As soon as I saw this pattern I knew I desperately needed legwarmers. (And cowboy boots, please.) The lace pattern is pretty and easily memorized, although this project was really all about product rather than process. I modified the pattern slightly, since I wanted them to be the knee-high, rather than over the knee, so I knit 9 pattern repeats and 1/5" of ribbing at each end, even though the pattern wanted them to be about 4" longer. I also eliminated the increases, as the lace pattern seemed stretchy enough. It is important that I point out how much less knitting I did so that you understand how frustrated I was when I realized I was definitely going to run out of yarn after only 8 pattern repeats on the second legwarmer!! Argh! Come ON! And then the yarn circus began. I had to rip out the top of the second legwarmer, take it down to 8 pattern repeats, then divide up the yarn I had left over both legwarmers...oh! but you have to double the yarn just on the ribbed cuffs, so I had long pieces of yarn stretched through my house, then doubled back, which make the cat go berserk, which made me yell. So I reknit the cuffs on both legwarmers, decreasing 10 stitches on the first round, and making them a bit shorter than the pattern called for.

Moral of the Story #1: if you are going to knit these legwarmers, get TWO (2) skeins of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox!!! The one skein that the pattern calls for does not even come close, especially if you want to wear them over the knee, like the pattern photo. I don't know what they were thinking.

Moral #2: Check the pattern notes from other Ravelers BEFORE you start a project. I looked at other knitters' projects AFTER I was already frustrated and ripping and reknitting, and it turned out I was not alone; most people were frustrated by the yarn shortage in this pattern.

So they're blocking, and they look pretty, and I think they'll be just fine for the way I want to wear them, but we'll see.