Project Talk: Toasty Toes

Over the summer, husband and I replaced the carpet in our living/dining room area with wood laminate flooring. It really changed the whole look of the room (for the better). But about a week ago, I discovered an unforeseen consequence of removing carpet. 

Finished product!

Cold floors. Fall weather has arrived in Wisconsin, bringing chilly temperatures. Couple that with my determination not to turn on the heat in this house until November 1 (though the last two days, my resolve has been wavering a bit), and you have a need for slippers. 


Last fall, I bought a pair of suede soles for slippers, purchased a pattern, and then failed to ever get around to making the slippers. However, last Wednesday morning, I came down to make coffee, and the need for slippers became apparent. I combated my cold feet the way that is obvious only to knitters, I cast on for the slippers.


Thankfully, it didn't take too terribly long to get the slippers off of the needles. There are meant to be felted so in this first picture, they are very big and floppy. 

Big and floppy, not unlike clown shoes!

The slippers are knit out of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cherry Blossom, with two strand held together. The cuffs are made from two different scrap wools that I had lying around the house (one leftover from the Carry All Tote and the other from Husband's Hunting Socks), a strand of each held together. 


The pattern itself is Felted Clogs from Fibertrends. It is a basic pattern with lots of options for customization and for different sizes, making it well worth the $8.00 price tag (which barely counts in this case since I bought the pattern last winter).

No more clown shoes!

After felting in hot water and agitation, I shaped the slippers on my feet and then stuffed them with plastic bags to hold the shape while they dried. 


Now, here's something you might not know, felted slippers take forever to dry. I felted them Sunday afternoon, and on Tuesday night they were finally dry enough for the next step, attaching the soles.


I sewed on the soles with the project yarn, but it wasn't as easy as I first anticipated. It involved a lot of stretching and squishing to make the sole and slipper the same size. I still think they might be cuter without the soles.

However, function sometimes does actually trump cuteness, even in my world, and the soles are needed to both extend wear of the slippers and to keep me from slipping and injuring myself (felted slippers are slippery otherwise).

After getting the sole on the first one, things went a little more smoothly with the second one. In addition to the suede sole, which has padding the slippers have a double sole of garter stitch. This makes for a super squishy, comfortable base. The material felted into a nice, thick fabric, which also is proving to be toasty warm. This morning, my feet stayed nice and warm while making coffee and letting the dog out. 

Project Talk: Seriously, WTF?

I consider myself an experience knitter. After all, I've been doing this awhile. However, believe me, I still make mistakes. Mostly the normal, run of the mill knitting errors, not reading the pattern properly, dropping a stitch, purling when I should be knitting, the normal stuff. But, every once in awhile, I make the sort of mistake that makes me sit back and say, "WTF?"

I did one of those today.

I was on hold on a phone call, so like any good knitter, I put the phone on speaker, set it aside and picked up some knitting. First, I grabbed my slippers, which have taken priority over everything else since chilly October weather has now arrived in Wisconsin. After a couple stitches, I figured that this pattern involved counting and short rows. Not the best for knitting I may need to put down at any moment (or be working on into the latter half of this century, given how being on hold usually goes).

Instead, I grab my mythos cardigan, where I currently knitting a long block of stockinette stitch. So I happily knit away until it was time for me to finish my phone call and set it down midrow.

Underwear or Uterus? You decide.

Later, I decided it would be best to finish the row, so I picked it back up and knitted to the end of the row. I held up the sweater to look at the progress, and ponder why I had so much faith that something that resembles either a giant pair of gray underpants or a really big knitted uterus would eventually turn out to be something pretty.

And that's when I saw it. In the middle of the last row I knit, there were two pieces of yarn dangling from two stitches right next to each other. It looked kind of like I had joined another piece of yarn at that point, but I hadn't.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what I might have done. I traced both pieces of yarn to see where they ended up.  One went back to the ball of yarn and the other connected to the end of the working yarn at the end of the row.

Close up of the mistake.

There was only one possible explanation. For some reason, somehow when I picked up the knitting to continue the row, I left a length of yarn dangling. I have no idea how or why I would have done it. The important part was that I had found the root of the problem, I was able to fix it.

The solution was to tink back to the mistake and reknit the remainder of the row properly. It is all fixed now, but I'm still left wondering how on earth I actually managed to do it. After all these years, knitting can still be a mystery.

Project Talk: Improving a Little White Hat

First of all:

My Bridges of Roses socks are actually completed, washed, blocked, and photographed! Now, they are all set to be presented to my mother-in-law for her birthday. Yes, her birthday was way back in August, but the socks are finally done! I've discovered that embroidery is not my strong suite. The roses still came out better than I expected and I actually like the lace cuff (I didn't think I would).

Now, onto the feature presentation:

My sister requested a ghost hat for my niece's Halloween costume, and I have it finished with a lot of time to spare (but, let's keep in mind that I do have to get the hat mailed to Seattle). I started out with my go-to hat pattern, Kim's Hats from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I went with the garter brim version, sized for toddlers. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft, which I had lying around. It's an acrylic, which I don't use very often. However, it's a Halloween hat, not a family heirloom, so I figured it was a good
opportunity to use up some scrap yarn.






Now, a little white hat is cute. But this needed something more. The first thing I added was ear flaps. Instructions to add ear flaps were with the pattern, it was pretty simple. Just pick up some stitches and add a little more garter stitch.

I also added some applied I-cord using black yarn.  Applied I-cord is a pretty simple way to add a little pop to edges. I used black Simply Soft to add the I-cord around the bottom of the hat and made the I-cord ties. This alone made a pretty cute hat, but I needed a pretty cute ghost hat. There was still work to do.

To change the cute little hat into a cute little ghost hat, I needed to add a face. Originally, I was going to duplicate stitch the eyes and mouth over top of the white stitches, but that created a wonkey looking ghost. Instead I broke out a trusty Sharpie and some stencils, traced the shapes onto the hat, and stitched right over the shapes. Finally, I decided a little black pom pom would finish off the hat quite nicely.

All in all, I think the hat turned out pretty cute for a two day project.  Now, I just need to remember to get it in the mail.

I Just Needed My Size 9 Needles

This afternoon, I was going to start a ghost hat for my niece's Halloween costume. I went upstairs and found my all time favorite hat pattern, Kim's Hat's from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (amazon link). This is a versatile pattern that has instructions for sizes from babies to adults. It is my go-to pattern for hats.

So, I read the pattern and it calls for size 9 needles. Not a problem, I have interchangeable needles, so I just need to dig out my size 9 tips. I store my tips and spare cables, and other knitting supplies in the ottoman in the living room, which I open up only to discover I could lose a cat or a small child in the mess that is inside. And I simply cannot leave it like that.

The simple hat has just added a more complicated facet. I don't have a before picture, and I apologize for that. It was an impressive mess.

Can you even picture this all stuffed in the ottoman?

First thing first, I took everything out of the ottoman. And there was a lot of stuff. Bags of yarn, knitting patterns, knitting books, magazines, various tools, fabric scraps, plastic bags, partially completed projects, and all kinds of other things.

Then the organization started. The first step was easy enough, I took all the yarn upstairs into what can only be called the "Yarn Room" (at some point I'm going to have to organize in there, but not today). Then the magazines and books went upstairs to the bookshelf.

This step was quickly followed by my assigning each of my works in progress (WIP) into its own project bag. Most of the WIPs fit nicely into my small project bags, a couple purchased through Ravelry, a couple from Interweave Knits, and a couple came with other purchases. I needed a bigger bag for a couple of the projects, my scrap sock yarn blanket and my Tree of Life afghan. The scrap sock blanket fit nicely into a bag that came with a set of sheets and the Tree of Life went into a red cloth bag I had lying around. I decided to keep the Scrap Yarn Blanket in the knitting basket by my couch and the Tree of Life blanket would go back into the Ottoman (I need to sit down and figure out where I left off, and the whole project requires concentration, its not something I can just pick up and knit a couple of rows).

Next, I tackled the tangled mess of needles and cables. For sock knitting, I have fixed circulars in the main sizes for socks (US 0, 1, 2, and 3, in case you were wondering) in a variety of materials and from a variety of brands (it has been a long search to find my favorites, but that's another post entirely). For each size, I used a Waste Not Sack, designed to replace plastic baggies, and then used my trusty label maker to label the outside of each bag.

I'm not going to lie, I love my label maker!

Each of the four cloth bags then went into a larger bag. I used one that came with a Clinque bonus, I have so many of those Clinque bags, I could never put them all to use. Then I added my storage case of needle tips into the bag along with the package of spare cables (these were already pretty well organized, but were just floating around in the abyss that was the ottoman). I had discovered three needle sizers while cleaning out the mess, so added one of those to the bag (I only find the stupid things when I don't need them).
The result? All my needles in one place! Which should make it much easier to find the size that I'm looking for (including the elusive size 9's).

Namaste Buddy Case

Next, I tackled the problem of all my knitting tools. In addition to needles, I've acquired a lot of other tools in my knitting career. Some of these, scissors, stitch markers, tape measure, darning needles, etc, are used for almost every project. Others, cable needles, stitch holders, pom pom makers, crochet hooks, are only used for some projects. Also, I had some spares, including extra tape measures, scissors, darning needles to replace the ones I will (inevitably) lose. I decided to store some of the essentials that are used in every project into my Namaste Buddy Case. The Buddy Case has the added advantage of being magnetized, which helps to keep track of some of the smaller items. The other tools, along with the spares, went into my Knit Happy Fold 'n Go Notions Box. Both of these containers now sit on top of the knitting basket next to my spot on the couch, so I can easily grab the tool I need.

Mission Accomplished!

Finally, it was time to put stuff back into the storage ottoman. There was a lot less to put back in! The storage ottoman now contains my needle bag, my yarn swift, my ball winder, yarn scale (to determine how much yarn was used/is leftover) a couple balls of leftover yarn (the stuff I use as big stitch holders and for provisional cast ons), and added my craft box and bead container to the ottoman. There is still room in there, so I probably will eventually put all of my craft supplies in there (in an organized fashion, of course).



Ah, the satisfied feeling of actually accomplishing something!

Maybe This Time It'll Stick

I'll admit it, I'm not an organized person.

Now, as many people I know, including but not limited to my husband, my college roommate, my parents, and my in-laws, are all laughing hysterically and nominating me for the "Understatement of the Year Award," let me continue.

I'm not an organized person, but on occasion I put effort into becoming one. In my head is a picture of myself idealized. That person that looks perfect every day, has an immaculately clean house, plans healthy tasty dinners every night, goes to the gym at least three times a week, and on and on and on.

But the real me has a messy house, is sitting on her couch in jeans and a Doctor Who t-shirt, is not wearing make-up, and is unsure whether or not she brushed her hair today. She's the same person that fed her husband Hamburger Helper for dinner last night, and will be feeding him fast food tonight. She also watches way too much TV, starts things that she never finishes, and has the sense of humor of the average fourteen year old boy.

I'm not entirely certain that the real me would even like the idealized me. But that doesn't stop me from from trying.

Recently, I decided to start using coupons. Not in the Extreme Couponing sense, (I work in a grocery store, extreme couponers seem to be a giant pain to me) but in the saving-a-couple-of-bucks-a-week-might-add-up sense. With the best of intentions, I flipped through the Sunday paper and clipped the coupons, filed them in a little box.

And promptly forgot about them.

Not to be put off, I decided to keep a coupon database to help me keep track of the coupons. I marvelled at my own brilliance. No more digging through the box thinking, "I could have sworn I had a coupon for sugar in here." So I diligently entered in the coupons, categorizing each one, checking expiration dates, amounts, and the fine print.

And promptly forgot about them.

Today, I went to enter more coupons into the data base, (about three week's worth--don't judge) and discovered that almost every coupon entered in there had expired. Sigh.

But, I'm going to try again. My babystep organization goal is to plan out menus, make lists, and grocery shop only once per week (even though this seems pointless now that I'm back at the grocery store and will be there several times a week). Hopefully, when I go to make my list, I will think to pull up the database and look for the coupons I actually will use.

Eventually, somethings gotta stick, right?

Project Talk: I Love Deadlines

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
                                                                                                                    (Douglas Adams)

First and foremost, anyone who is unfamiliar with the genius of British writer Douglas Adams, go and pick up a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and read it.

Do it now. I'll wait.

Dear Old Dad

Recently, very recently, I have again found myself without a job*. I spent a lot of time preparing to be a teacher, securing a teaching job, and three weeks into said teaching job, it wasn't working out. I'm not going into details about it, what is done is done. Needless to say this has been an emotional time for me. Now I'm not sure where I want to go, what I want to do, or anything else. I'll be back at the grocery store trying to get my head properly aligned with the rest of my body for the time being.

Probably one of the hardest things about the whole thing was telling my parents. They've put a lot of faith and support in me, and I can't help but feel that they must be terribly disappointed in me. Bless their hearts, they didn't show it. And of course, have offered nothing but more support but it was hard to do.

Truthfully, my dad's reaction got me thinking. He didn't get emotional, didn't really ask questions. I think his reply was something along the lines of, "Well that's too bad, would you like a beer?" And we drank a beer and talked about football. That's my dad for you, he doesn't let things get him worked up, at least on the outside.

Perhaps this is more of the approach I should take on. In many ways, I try not to show emotion. I'm not good at it, so I tend to avoid emotional situations, and make inappropriate comments at inappropriate times. However, I do tend to dwell on things, which probably isn't the best way of dealing.

In reality, it can't be healthy to sit on the couch, watching Sportscenter (a new favorite of mine, I've discovered the joys of not just professional sports, but professional sports coverage, which bodes well for my general productivity), and wonder what went wrong. That's not going to change things, and it's not going to help shape the future. I have to get off the couch, turn off the TV and do something. Then again, I'm getting paid to do nothing this week, maybe next week is the week to start.

In no way, is this to say that I didn't appreciate my mother's reaction and support. She's the type of woman who will sit and cry with you, bring you lunch (and a chocolate coconut muffin), make all your favorite foods and take you to see the latest Brad Pitt movie. All of which was needed at that time. In reality I needed both her sympathy and my father's bluntness.

At any rate, it is what it is, it sucks, and it's done. Time to have a beer, take a shower, and ask myself what's next?

Thanks, dad.

*In all honesty, I'm not really without a job. I'm using paid time off for this week, and my first shift at the grocery store is bright and early Sunday morning.