Slippers 2.0

My son-in-law has loved his slippers for 8 years, and they have been repaired more and more frequently...  Time for a new pair of "Felted Clogs".

Well worn slippers

A Christmas gift from 2010...well worn by my son-in-law, so well that I REALLY should get crackin' for new ones.  After tiring of hearing his "loose-sole" shuffle day after day, I washed and resewed the soles.  Now he can sneak up on everyone!  

The originals HERE.

And blog post explanation--gosh! They look....NEW!

My feet are cold...

Isn't that what happens?  Your feet are chilled one evening, and you find yourself pouring over slipper patterns...

Or somehow, you are looking at methods to bind off and you see a slipper pattern that...darn, my feet are cold, I need that NOW!

Don't be alarmed.  A rat didn't creep into my photo just as I clicked... 

It's a doggie foot.  Yes, the dreaded yarn eating dog...  She's a good dog, but, she's pushing me.  Yesterday, I left the room for an instant-- I tell you, AN INSTANT-- and when I came back there was a sock with a severed toe.  (Someday I'll rework that toe, and it will show up in a blog post of its own.)

I digress...

I had the yarn, and I whipped up this "Kwiki Slipper", twice. The first time, the heel was so low, it was impossible to believe it would stay on my foot.  I used, Puno yarn from Rauma, which is bulky and soft, yet by the time you stretch it onto (my) foot, it doesn't seem thick enough to be a slipper.  It's lovely with other socks. Slipper number two:  Maybe tomorrow.

Kwiki Slippers

by Kris Basta - Kriskrafter, LLC

from Kriskrafter on Craftsy

Puno

by Rauma  Bulky / 12 ply

68% Alpaca, 22% Nylon, 10% Merino

120 yards / 50 grams

Finishing and Starting

Halie's Slippers:   HEART this pattern

Felted Slippers  by Midnattsol from Midnattsol's Blog

Starting a bear:

Robert by Sandra Polley from The Knitted Teddy Bear

Pretty adorable already!

Slippers!

AGAIN, slippers.  Like other knitters who get requests and sort of end up in a rut, slippers seem to be the popular item around here.  One lucky friend has a family of a dozen or so who all got slippers for Christmas.  She's ready to go to the funny farm... Another Canadian from the northern climes has been on a hat binge. (Each one is a masterpiece!) Everyone wants to be HER friend!
I started knitting slippers in mid-November, and noticed hat my slippers were worn out.  How difficult is it to knit selfishly for oneself? Well, after 3 pairs, I started on these.  All mine!

The pattern:  Felted Slippers by Midnattsol from Midnattsol's Blog, women's (medium) size. Used US#10 needles, 19 stitches wide blocks.  Pre-felting size: 13 inches long; Aprés Felting: 9 inches.

The Yarn:  Classic Wool Merino and Classic Wool by Patons Worsted / 10 ply 100% Wool, Merino 223 yards.  The Classic Wool (red) felted more than the Merino (blue) not really distinguishable in size, but the Merino has a softer, more flexible texture.

Even without the finishing soles in place, I'm enjoying them. Truth be told, I can find only one of the soles...Bring on the cold!


PS.  I cheated... I tucked in the pointy toes with a few stitches before felting.

To Do Tuesday

What's on the needles?
Lives on the sofa in the living room and waits for TV time:

Lovely 10% possum fur

 Lives in a little bag that I carry out of the house for down time away from home:

Moebius Cowl

Slippers for me, and a right boring project.  Lives at my desk to knit while listening to NPR or "Days...":

MY slippers

The recently FO Baby Bonnet.  I plan to make one "preemie size" cap for the local hospital every month.

Trying new things:

This is felting by hand.  I poured boiling water over these strips, twirled them around, and found they felted best by rolling them vigorously in my hands.  They are pulls for slippers.

Projects finished!

Given as gifts, now exposed in full:

Fingerless mitts are so simple and for those who don't knit, they are sooo cool!

And we have snow here in New Mexico!

Fingerless Mitts pattern by Ann Budd, published in Weekend Knitting;  Yarn:  Encore Colorspun Worsted by Plymouth Yarn Worsted / 10 ply, 75% Acrylic, 25% Wool

And the finale of the slippers.  (Can I gear up for one more pair for me?)

Felted Slippers by Midnattsol from Midnattsol's Blog;  Yarn: Classic Wool Merino by Patons Worsted / 10 ply, 100% Wool, Merino  (Discontinued: Replaced by Patons Classic Wool. Some colors still in stock in some stores are made partly from Merino fleece and do display the “MERINO” designation. No new yarn is being made with the Merino designation however.)

Toasty!!
Happy New Year, everyone!

Tradition!

Tis the time of year to reminisce about the year gone by and the traditions we have kept in the past few days.
The short story:
As a church musician, my celebrations are intertwined with everyone else's desires for a meaningful Christmas Eve.  Every year is different.

The long story:
My daughter remembers each Christmas celebration because they are unique!  We've celebrated with real trees, artificial trees (large and small), poinsettias, and hand crafted replicas.  The most memorable was a craft paper tree (green,"lifted" from the supply room at school) taped to the wall.  Ornaments cut and pasted on it, and made very "life-like" with markers (HO HO HO).
We've celebrated on Christmas Eve (late) and Christmas Day (late, usually), and at everyone else's house, and in a hotel.  We've had guests from 2,000 miles away and from 6,000 miles away. We've had just the two of us (like this year). We tried Skyping but not with success.
This year I chose to vacation up to the end of October, and paid dearly for it during November and December.  When I walked in the door at 9:45 PM on December 24th the sweetest gift was my husband decking the table with Cornish Hen (full meal) and flowers.  He also placed and lit 7 luminarias (paper bags) in the driveway.  He's SUCH a keeper!!  Today (3+ days later) I'm starting to feel human again.  Planning for the future and all that!!

Ahhh.  Back to knitting...

Counting up!

More slippers in the making.  Who thought up this pattern?  I sew one little seam, and then I spend 10 minutes examining what I did wrong, cuz... It can't be right!  Then I check, re-check and decide it's OK.