FO: French Press Slippers

Pattern: French Press Slippers by Melynda Bernardi

Yarn: 2 balls of Paton's Classic Wool in the color teal--double or triple stranded

Needles: US 15

Started: Jan 24, 2019  Completed: Jan 25, 2019

The easy portion is knitting the parts. (The hard part is the felting.) I timed knitting the "top" of the slipper, and each one took me roughly 25 minutes. The bottom is more like 30ish minutes. It seems like this whole thing should take an hour of knitting from looking at the photo.

To a first time felter, it might look as though you totally messed up with your gauge, since it's almost twice the length of the final product. They look like slippers for clown feet, and the stitches are messy looking on size 15 needles because the stitches need to be loose enough to felt properly. 

I placed the slippers in the front-loading washing machine with some towels, and it did felt the slippers some, but I found that I still had to do the majority of the felting by hand. (And it's hard on my hands.) I had to open the window in 0 degree F because it is a workout. Felting by hand takes about an hour of dedication to get it "just right." I always end with something really cool, but always say to myself, "no more felting for a long while."

The first version I knit was my MIL's French Press Slippers from December 2016, so it's been long overdue that I knit myself a pair. 

I love the idea of writing a message in puffy paint on the bottom of the slipper (instead of just doing no-slip squiggles) if you are gifting these slippers to someone. The other slipper actually said "do not machine wash" on the bottom.

 Teal is one of my favorite colors aside from sea-green, aqua and lavender.

In hind-sight, I would knit 2 extra sts for the "top" of the slipper pieces. For both set of slippers, it felted so much and sits much too low when you wear it. The heel has always been tricky too. I still have to figure out how to get it not to pucker out. One slipper heel ends up fitting better than the other heel, and I can't figure out how to sew the heel to better stay on the heel.

Upcoming post: "Hermione's Everyday Socks" using Noro yarn

Turning. (with a knitting finale.)

I'm a pretty stagnant person, when it comes to likes and dislikes. I'll admit that. What's hard to admit is when you finally realize that something is different. Maybe even suspect. Ok, having a strong craving for meatloaf is one thing, everyone has one of those commercial white-castle urges once in a while, but felting?

.....OK, hand's up. You caught me. I hated felting.
(wait a second, did I just spot a past tense use of the word "hate?")

Don't get me wrong, the workmanship on certain items that are felted are wonderful, the colorways used are gorgeous, their stitching-impeccable. But the texture and the look of felted wool made my skin crawl. Wait, "made?" But now, I can't hide it anymore. It's almost like something's in the air,... and I'm not just talking about the wonderful drop in the temperature. I started growing an interest in the concept. Granted, we all know how that turned out. But this feeling I've had lately is different now... potent, even. Ideas have been storming around in my head during lectures. It has left my head buzzing, while I should be sleeping. What is this?
I've been day-dreaming of what I want my future house to looks like, the coziness of the couches, wood floors, soft sage colors, mosaic coffee table-top ideas, and even felted placeholders. comfy felted clogs. Clutches. Felted coasters. Stop me.

Joe and I went for a walk the other day. I think I love Maples the best in the Fall...the leaves are just so juicy!
Oh, wait a second, while we are on the subject of "botany," how did I do on the test?? Um, horrible, as expected! But since I did the second best (second-least-worst, really) in the class, I pulled of a B! Oh yeah! Thank the Lord for curves!

We also took the week off and lodged at this cozy cabin.
I knit during the day, and cuddled up by the fire with Joe at nightfall.
....I wish.

It's practically the "ancient ruins" of our campus. I once knew a guy that tried to make this "storage" cabin into a small student-runned coffee house. It's a shame noone listened to him.
However, it does make a great place to knit by.

Random note: I just finished Mary Kruger's second installment in her "knitting mystery" series, Knit Fast, Die Young. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. The setting was a little too stale, and only changed half-way through the book, and I knew who "dun-it" from the beginning. Either I'm getting a knack for being a detective, or it was a little too obvious. Unfortunately, I believe the latter is the correct one.

Oh, can I vent for a second?
How did I get stuck with the earliest day to present my research to my Seniors seminar?
I've got less than one month to research and create a ten minute (verbal & visual) presentation on my thesis (we also have to write a 12-ish page research paper), and the pile is still growing.
Some one please pinch me. Is this real?

Crap.
Bang head here.

...And I guess,the moment you have been waiting for...
Here's a quick snap of the beginning workings of my "Infinity Cardigan."

I'm in love with the cables. I love the symmetry of the snake cables around the edges, the tweediness, the color, and the i-cord on the edge, for the zipper. I picture myself wearing this around Halloween & Thanksgiving. Do you notice the sideways "8" look going on in the cables? Just checking.



Spending some quality time with the DF.


Happy Friday.

Felting Gone Wrong...

...my experimentation with felting. Note to self: let the washing machine take care of it. Let's just say that i was getting more aggitated more than it! I created the cabled heart motif to spice it up a bit. The "clutch" is way too big still, so i'll put it in the wash, and dry it in the dryer this time. Then, it should be considerably smaller. I hope.