Hubby's Christmas slippers

Yet another pair!

This is another pair with the modified pattern of the Two Needle Slipper to knit top-down. I also made modification to compensate for Hubby’s busted up feet. Around heel, left 16 1/2” right 15”; ankle, L & R 12”; ball of foot, L & R 11 1/2”; length, L& R 11”

I also discovered using short rows to get rid of the “baggy” heel. And, the best part? They fit! I may go back and re-do Sister Suzy's to 'tighten up' the heel.

Here's what I did.

Cast on 60 using twisted German cast-on using size 8 needles.
Transfer stitches to size 6 needles.
Mark center front and beginning of round.
Knit 3” of cuff using 3 x 2 ribbing.
Row 1 Knit until 2 stitches before center front; place marker; purl 4 stitches move center front marker to end of purl 4; knit to end of round.
Row 2 Knit to within 3 stitches of marker; make 1 knitting in front and back of stitch; knit 2 move marker; purl 4; move marker; knit 1; make 1 knitting in front and back; knit to end of round.(62 stitches)
row 3 Knit to marker; move marker; purl 4; move marker; knit to end of round.
row 4 repeat row 2 (64 stitches)
row 5 repeat row 3
row 6 and 7 repeat row 2 (66, 68 stitches)
row 8 repeat row 3
row 9 and 10 repeat row 2 (70, 72 stitches)
row 11 repeat row 3
row 12 and 13 repeat row 2 (74, 76 stitches)
row 14 repeat row 3
row 15 and 16 repeat row 2 (78, 80 stitches)
row 17 repeat row 3
row 18 and 19 repeat row 2 (82, 84 stitches)
row 20 repeat row 3
row 21 and 22 repeat row 2 (86, 88 stitches)

row 23 knit 8 stitches place marker 5 times, the 5th marker should be about 2 stitches before the marker for the purl 4; knit the 2 stitches; move marker; purl 4; move marker; knit 2; place marker then knit 8 placing markers 4 more times. At last marker start short rows working evenly from marker to marker on each side keeping the increase pattern of 2:1 going. Finish knitting row 23 after the 5th set of short rows, removing the 5 extra markers on that side. Should have 100 stitches on needles.

EDIT: 12/29/2010 Short row increases are too much. Hubby's slippers relaxed and are too long. I'll have to knit him another pair and get back with you!

Row 24 knit removing all extra marker and replacing center front marker in the middle of the purl stitches.

SOLE
Rows 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45 Purl
Rows 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 Knit
Rows 40, 42, 44 Knit 1, ssk, knit to within 3 of marker, ssk, knit 1, move marker, knit 1, knit 2 together, knit to within 3 of end of round marker, knit 2 together, knit 1

Close sole by using Kitchener stitch. Weave in ends. Rinse and repeat for other slipper.

Have a good day!

Judy

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone, may your life be filled with peace in the coming year!

I was reading Cathy's blog, Keeping It Real at 66 Degrees North Latitude, she has posted a brilliant video. It brought tears to my eyes, it was so wonderful! Thanks Cathy!

Judy

the last of the girls slippers

Yeah! The last pair of planned slippers finished and before Christmas!



I moved the short rows to the bottom of the stockinette. I think it looks better. In the last row of of the stockinette I added short rows 20 stitches long on each side of center. Then in the first row of the garter stitch I added a short row of 10 stitches each side of center.

Hubby wants a pair and at one slipper per day he get a pair for Christmas! Cool!

Have a great day!

Judy

more on christmas

These are 4 of the 6 gift bags I made for Sister Suzy's gifts she wanted to give. As I was contemplating on how to wrap the gifts I had a stroke of brilliance and decided to make draw-string bags to put everything in. (I didn't have enough gift bags in my stash.) Sister Suzy was in love with the idea when I demonstrated how it all went together. I apologize for some fuzzy photos I think I was to close.



I fiddled around with size based on the size of afghan. I added 4 inches to the width and 3 inches to the length after making a prototype that I thought was too tight. This will make 2 bags.



What you need: 3/4 yard of material in whatever holiday material you bought on clearance several years ago after the holidays. Thread in a complementary color. (See Mom, I don't use white for everything! LOL) Rotary cutter, mat, ruler, scissors, pins, small safety pin, iron and board, sewing machine and button-hole presser foot. I think that's it!

Square up your fabric. Cut a piece 2 1/4 inches off the folded side which should give you a piece 4 1/2 inches by 27 inches. Cut this piece into three strips of 1 1/2 inches.



Turn your 1 1/2 strips 90 degrees of each other, off-set a little bit and pin



Sew and trim seam allowances to 1/4 inch. Press open.



Fold the strip and 2 large pieces in half and iron.



To make the draw-string fold the edges to the middle.



Fold in two and sew shut.



I don't normally pin making draw-strings, but I needed my hands free to use the camera.



Cut the draw-string in two.



Unfold a large piece measure 1 1/4 inches from selvage edge at the fold. Make a button-hole about 1/2 inch long using whatever method your sewing machine calls for. Cut the button-hole open.



Fold the selvage edge in 1 inch and pin. The button-hole should be centered between the selvage edge and the fold line. Sew it down. To pin or not to pin, I probably do more pinning than most people because my machine feeds the two pieces of fabric at different rates. I pin and stretch the fabric while sewing.



Using the small safety pin, hook one end of the draw-string and feed it through the button-hole. Even up the ends of the draw-string and tie a knot. Finished! Rinse and repeat for other piece of fabric.



Voila! Two draw-string gift bags!



So this is what we ended up with, except the DVD with Sister Suzy introducing some favorite Christmas clips and a greeting. The DVDs were being burned while I was taking photos. And best of all, Sister Suzy is very pleased with the results of our effort of making Christmas gifts that were within what we had to spend.

Have a good day!

Judy

christmas knitting

Five pair done and one more to go. Sister Suzy wanted something to give to her friends for Christmas. She told me about a conversation she had with one of her friends. They were standing in the cold talking after school. She mentioned to her friend she need a Snuggie to stay warm with. We looked for some, the cost was too much and the some of the reviews were not favorable.


So I suggested making slippers and maybe buying some fleece and making afghans.



The pair with a white body is because I go bored looking at the same thing. I wanted to change it up a little. I also added some short rows to the fronts because they pull down a little in the front. Adding the short rows in two places worked out well and I learned something new.



I added several variation of ribbing to the cuffs; 2x2, 3x1, and 3x2. I think the 3x2 and 2x2 ribbing worked the best



This pair was done with two inches of garter stitch at the top. The pattern is written with one inch of garter for the cuff.

The pattern is called the Two Needle Slippers and can be found at The Irish Ewe or Ravelry. I have heavily modified the pattern to a top-down slipper:

Cast on 40 (for a size 5 or a tight 7) using the twisted German cast-on and size 8 needles. Switch needles to size 6. Join, do not twist, using double needles, circulars, or magic loop. Mark beginning and middle.

Gauge: 4 stitches to the inch and 23 rows equal 3 and 1/2 inches. I cast on 44 for a size 7 increasing to 76 stitches. The same cast on (44) for size 9 increasing to 78 stitches.

Cuff
Knit a two inch band using whatever you like for a cuff.

Body of Slipper
row 1: no increases; knit to within 1 stitch of center purl 2 stitches knit to end of round. (At this point, I add a second marker before and aft of the purl stitches so I don't mess up the center line.)
row 2: knit until 2 stitches before marker, make 1( I use knitting in the front and back of the same stitch because I don't get a hole.) knit 2, slide marker, purl 2, slide marker, knit 1, make 1, knit to end of round. (42 stitches)
NOTE: Knitting 2 stitches before the marker and 1 after the marker gives me a column of 2 knit stitches on each side of the purl column. Your mileage may vary!
row 3: repeat row 1
row 4: repeat row2 (44 stitches)
row 5: repeat row 1
row 6: repeat row 2 (46 stitches)
row 7: repeat row 1
row 8, 9, 10: repeat row 2 (48, 50, 52 stitches)
row 11: repeat row 1 (This is where I added a short row using 10 stitches either side of center.)
row 12, 13, 14: repeat row 2 (54, 56, 58 stitches)
row 15: repeat row 1
row 16, 17, 18: repeat row 2 (60, 62, 64 stitches)
row 19: repeat row 1 (This is where I added another short row using 10 stitches either side of center.)
Row 20, 21, 22: repeat row 2 (66, 68, 70 stitches)
Row 23: repeat row 1

Sole

The pattern calls for garter stitch for the sole. To make garter stitch in the round you knit one row and purl the next. (I also go back to just marking center front.) So:

Knit rows 24, 26, 28, 30
Purl rows 25, 27, 29, 31
Row 32: knit 1, SSK, knit to within 3 of center front, SSK, knit 1, slip marker, knit 1, knit 2 together, knit to within 3 of end of round, knit 2 together, knit 1 (66 stitches)
row 33: purl
row 34: repeat row 32 (62 stitches)
row 35: purl
row 36: repeat row 32 (58 stitches)
row 37: purl

Close using the Kitchener stitch or whatever method you prefer.

The pattern doesn't call out the decreases in the sole. I have added them because we don't like the pointy toes and heels (elf look) of the original pattern. The best direction (videos) for the Kitchener stitch and short row I have found were on Knittinghelp.com.

Have a good day!

Judy

I'm still alive

I'm still alive! Confession! I suffer for the chronic mullygrubs (dysthymia) . The other day it finally dawned on me as I was wallowing around in the pit of despair, again. I came up for air and started to call the doctor for an appointment for meds. Then, I started grousing about the side-effects and why I had quit taking all the different pills before. So I decided to do some research out on the web looking for holistic alternatives for the pills. I had forgot about St. John's Wort and I found some acupressure points. I am feeling better and can begin to see over the edge of the abyss again.

I found some interesting facts while wondering out on the web. Two to three time more women than men suffer from Dysthymia. (Let's see. Yup, I'm female!) If you have chronic health problems (asthma and diabetes) you are prone to it. In the case of diabetes when you are depressed you don't metabolize carbs as well. (That's a nice vicious cycle!) If you are asthmatic taking Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors like Prozac; it causes too much serotonin in the body which triggers asthma attacks. (Wonderful! No wonder I felt like crap!) A family history of mental health problems. (If they weren't locked up, they were killing themselves!) Addictions (Yup! Drunker than old Hooter Brown!) And a few more I can't remember right now.

So I am on a knitting marathon and when I get all the slippers knitted for gifts for Sister Suzy's friends I will post pictures and my changes to the pattern. (It just wouldn't be me, if I didn't change the pattern to suit me. LOL)

Have a good Day!

Judy