Quick Knits for Cold Ankles

Well, due to a small misunderstanding with the save button versus the publish button, the last post was delayed coming out. Such errors will be avoided in the future. Thank you for your patience.

In my last post I promised, though vaguely, to discuss a recent project. I had cast on then finished this project without even getting anything updated online.
Which gives a clue to the alternate post title, "Projects that do as they are told."

My roommate is a tall and skinny guy. It is only with conscious effort that he is able to reach and maintain a healthy weight. If he slips, he will drop 20 pounds the way some people drop rumors.
If I am not careful, I will end up with 5 of those pounds becoming attached to me. So I tend to provide reminders and encouragement for him, mostly to prevent picking up lost weight.

Since I first picked up needles and made him a scarf, he has been asking for something for his ankles.

Tall, skinny people tend to have skinny, bony ankles. Which means he has no padding to protect and maintain warmth for the blood vessels that travel past the ankles.

The funny thing is, people lose heat through the bottom of their feet. Consider the soles of your feet as thermostats. If you doubt this, next time you are feeling like the room is too hot, take off both socks and shoes and you will find a near instant change.
So, if he wears socks to bed (and the apartment is warmer than England), he gets too overheated and can't sleep.

This request was years ago.

The other weekend, as the temperatures started dropping outside, I finally started making progress on this request.
Not much mind you, but some.


The fit was a bit off, and he wants a strap to go across the bottom of the foot to help hold them in place, but I made some beta ankle warmers.



It was a fairly simple 2x2 ribbing, with increases and decreases to provide a bit of space around the ankle. They were knit flat on too large needles and seamed up the sides to complete. There was not quite enough yarn left to do a simple garter stitch strapping at the bottom, but that will probably be in the next incarnation. For an 'off the top of my head' project, cast on with no real plans and no real measurements to work with, I think they turned out pretty well.

They were certainly fast to knit, despite the four year delay.

Perhaps since they were knit using alpaca, he is happy to wear them while he waits for new ones.