And yet another...this one with a past

When you grow up in a craft family, there are
always stories surrounding crafts from the past. In my family, one of these such crafts would be my Memere's Pee-Shoes. I don't really know how to spell the name, so this is how they were pronounced.

It seemed like every time we visited my Grandparents and Great-Grandparents, we came home with piles of slippers (Pee-shoes), made by my Great-Grandmother. As kids, you never appreciate the thought and time that goes into making such things. Instead, we used to giggle at the funky color combinations that Memere would use...she may not have used the term "Stash-Busting", but surely, that's what she was doing. The photo above shows two pairs of Memere's Pee-shoes. I found them when I was cleaning out some of my things several years ago, and now I wouldn't part with them! I wear them often, and have even brought them with me on holiday to Florida, and to family functions. They are the best!!!

I had studied my slippers night after night, trying to decipher the simple construction, so I could make a pair of my own. No luck. I can follow a pattern, but designer I am not. So, imagine my surprise when I was bumming around on Ravelry and I found the pattern!! A woman found the pattern in an old pattern book from the 1940's. She also had these made for her as a child and decided to share the pattern. I am so happy that she did!!!

I printed the pattern out about a week ago and have been staring at it on the end table since. I was almost afraid to attempt it. Was it hard? No. Did I have yarn to make it? Yes. I don't know what it was...fear of messing up...fear that they wouldn't look the same? I don't know...I just had some kind of phobia about making these slippers!! Argh!!!

Then yesterday, the weirdest thing happened. I bit the bullet and decided to give it a go. Mid-way through slipper #1, I got up from my chair and went to get the mail. When I came back, one of my needles was missing. In a house with a two-year old and a cat who loves to drag my projects around the house, this shouldn't have surprised me. The only problem was that both usual suspects were sitting in the exact same spots as they were when I went outside! Where did my needle go?

Craig came home shortly after the disappearance and he and I tore apart the living room. We both took the chair apart that I had been sitting in and no luck. I was getting really discouraged and told him that apparently it was a sign that I shouldn't be messing with history. These slippers were meant to be a part of my childhood and that was that.

I decided to give the chair one more once-over. I stuck my hand deep into the lining...where I know I had already looked, and I pulled out not only my needle, but a piece of newspaper. You see, the chair I had been sitting in had once belonged to my in-laws. They had it at their house in Florida and decided that they didn't want it anymore. While it was there, Craig's Grandmother (who passed away several years ago) often sat in the chair while watching TV...or the pool boy (that's another story for another post!).

When we unfolded the paper, we saw that it was a crossword puzzle...done by Grammie, Craig's Grandmother. I honestly have no idea how it was still there!!! This chair had been to Maine and then to two houses here in Calgary...lots of moving around, yet no one ever found it!!

After Craig and I both got teary eyed for a moment, we laughed and I came to the conclusion that Grammie Sullivan was trying to tell me something. She was also a crafter, and made many items for the family. Hannah now wears the sweaters that she made for Craig as a child!!

So, long story short, I got back to knitting my Pee-shoes. I finished one last night, and I hope to finish the other today. I made them in a child's size since I wasn't sure if I had enough yarn to do an adult pair. I plan on donating them to the shelter...so some other child can get a kick out of the funky color combination on these super-warm slippers!!

I'll give more detailed info in another post when I finish the pair...but in the meantime, here is the link to the Ravelry pattern. (Aunt Maggie's Slippers)
Not a member of Ravelry?? You should be!!! If it weren't for that site, I wouldn't have found this link to my past...as well as most of the patterns I've made and talked about here on my blog!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!!! And hopefully I'll be posting soon with a finished pair of Pee-shoes!!!

Cheers!
Sharon