Brakes? Slow Down? Talk to me again after Christmas!!!

As the title of this post suggests, my needles are still on fire!!  I am typically a knitter who works on one project at a time, but lately I have found myself bouncing from project to project.  Thankfully none of them are super time consuming, so I am still getting things done.

First up, a pair of slippers I made for the Alberta Children's Hospital.  During a recent visit to the hospital, Hannah noticed that a little boy was walking around in a hospital gown and a pair of slippers, similar to those I make.  That visit led me to contacting the hospital to see if they accepted donated items.  Yup...they sure do!  So, in between my other projects, I hope to whip up some pairs to donate.  These are a modified version of Aunt Maggie's Slippers.  I skipped out on some of the length so these would be more suitable for a child.  I think they are super cute and I can't wait to make more.  The yarn I used was some leftover Bernat Chunky from my Homeward Bound sweater. 

My next finished item is a hat.  I actually finished it about an hour ago.  The Diva and I went on a walk the other day and we stopped at the local Dollar Store.  She spotted some purple yarn and asked for a hat.  At a buck a ball, who was I to say no?  So, here is what I came up with...

As you can see from the photo, I started my decreases too early.  So, this one goes into the donate pile.  No biggie, I was going to make some hats to donate this winter anyways. 

I cast on 60 stitches on size 10 circulars...knit a bunch of rows and then started my decreases with knit 8, k2tog and worked my way down from there.   The 60 stitches is perfect for her, I will just start the decreases after the hat is the height of her head, know what I mean?? 

I had bought 4 balls of this yarn, and I only used one full ball and a tiny bit from the second (no yardage is given, so I'm not sure how much that equals), so I have plenty to make another hat.  I must say, for Dollar Store yarn, I am quite pleased with the quality and knitability of the yarn.  I may even pick up some more for my charity item stash!!!

And now for an item in the works.  Recently I was browsing through Ravelry with the Diva and we noticed some projects that incorporated Glow in the Dark Yarn.  The Diva had her eye on a treat bag that used Bernat's yarn, but of course I then found out that this yarn had been discontinued.  Argh!  Thankfully I was able to locate some on the Mary Maxim site, and voila...here is the start to The Diva's Loot Bag!! 

Since this photo was taken, I have finished the colorwork and have an inch or so left to do of the black before I bind off.  One big lesson I learned is that the glowing yarn has NO stretch to it!  Being my first large project with colorwork, I did everything too tight, and the lack of stretch made it even worse.  Oh well...live and learn.  I'm going to wet it down and try to stretch it a bit, then I'll make up the difference when I seam it. 

I am using Mary Maxim's Titan yarn for the black, and I am afraid I might run out of it.  To try to make it last the whole project, I am going to add some glowing stripes to the backside of the bag.  I might have to get creative on the straps, depending on what I have left.  Thankfully the Diva isn't very big, so I don't need super long straps!!  I'll be sure to post photos of this once it is done.

I have also been busy seaming blankets for the WCOBBS.  I have done two so far, and I am working on more.  Once I get some of my personal projects out of the way, I'll knit up some more squares for that project.

Oh, and I also finished a project that I started a million years ago.  It is a blanket, and I'm going to wait to show a finished photo until my friend Jenn gets it in the mail.  I decided that it would be perfect for her baby girl that is due next month, and that gave me motivation to finish it.  So, stay tuned for photos. 

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the first days of Fall.  The Diva and I harvested sunflower seeds yesterday and we're going to roast them this afternoon.  I'll show photos soon.

Cheers and Happy Crafting!
Sharon

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