Footississimo - Very Very Thick House Slippers

Okay, say you find the thickest yarn you've ever seen in your life.  For example - Red Heart Boutique Doodle.



Now, take it home, and try to knit or crochet with it, using the absolute biggest needles and hooks you can find.  It's a LOT of work to make stitches out of this yarn - but it is possible, if you are patient.  The yarn is actually made for non-needle crafters, who can just knot or braid the yarn by hand to make scarves.

I decided to give this yarn a try this week, buying 3 skeins at AC Moore (on clearance 50% off).  The yarn is very soft, and surprisingly lightweight.  After experimenting with a size S crochet hook (Lion Speed Hook), then with size 35 knitting needles, I decided I preferred the look of the knitted fabric.  The crochet fabric was just too thick.

So, after playing with the yarn for a while, I held it in my hands, and imagined what I could make with it.  Too bulky for a hat, and I didn't want to make a scarf.  I considered making a baby blanket with it, but didn't think I had enough yarn for that.  There are only 12 yards in each skein.

After some consideration, I realized it reminded me of house slippers!  I figured that I could make a thick, fluffy slipper pretty quick with this yarn.  So, I went to work.  After just 30 minutes, my first slipper was finished!

I then wrote out the pattern, and made the second slipper.  Just as quick as the first.  

These slippers are SO comfy, and toasty warm! They are very thick, so I named them "Footississimo".  My geeky musician way of calling them Very Very Big Feet!  :)


Quick and simple - YES, but don't get me wrong.....the yarn is NOT easy to work with.  It's a real workout, pushing the huge size 35 needle into each stitch, then wrapping the yarn (WHAP!) around for each stitch.  When pulling the yarn through the hole, you have to really work to make it happen.  So, I guess you could call it a "knitting workout".

I also used my size S crochet hook, to make an edging around the opening for the foot.  When I finished the slipper, I wove in the loose ends with my fingers.  There was no WAY I would find a yarn needle big enough to sew in the ends. Ha!

Here's the pattern:

FOOTISSISSIMO
Very Very Thick House Slippers

Size - Women's Shoe Size 8 or 9
(knit more or less rows before Row 7, to make it longer or shorter)

Materials
2 skeins Red Heart Boutique Doodle
Size 35 knitting needles
Size S crochet hook

Directions (Make 2)
Using knitting needles, cast on 7 stitches.  Be sure you pull each stitch snug against the knitting needle (not too tight, though!).  Leave at least an 8 inch tail of yarn, because you will use that end for seaming up the back of the slipper.

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: Slip first stitch knit-wise, knit next stitch, then pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch (SKPSSO), Knit the next 3 stitches, Slip the next 2 stitches knit-wise, then stick the left needle through both stitches left to right, and knit the two stitches together through the back loop (SSK).
Row 8: Purl
Row 9: Knit
Row 10: Purl
Row 11: Knit 1 stitch, SKPSSO, Knit 2 stitches
Row 12: Purl
Leaving a long end (about 2 feet), cut the yarn, and run it through the 4 stitches on the needle.

Now, your knitting should look like this:



Seaming
Before seaming, decide which side you want on the outside of the slipper.  (Stockinette or Reverse Stockinette).  I made mine with the stockinette side showing.  To make the slipper, just fold the knitted piece lengthwise, and seam down the back of the heel, using your fingers to pull the yarn through openings on both sides - doing a whipstitch seam on the outside of the project.  Next, seam up the top of the foot, starting at the toe, leaving an opening big enough for your foot to slip in.

Crochet the Cuff
Next, tie the rest of your yarn onto the end that was left after seaming the top of the slipper.  Then, use your crochet hook to do a single crochet border around the opening for the foot.  This will make the slipper fit comfortably around your ankle, and keep your foot nice and warm. 

Finishing
Weave in any loose ends, using your fingers to pull the yarn through openings in the project.

Wasn't that easy?

Now, put on your slippers, and have fun sliding across the floors in your house! :)

Living the French Scarf Fantasy

I am so in love with the French Scarf knitting pattern. 
So far, I have knit 3 of them, and I have plans (and yarn) to make many more.

It only takes about a week to knit one, and the finished product is GORGEOUS!


That scarf was made for display at Yarnhouse in the NoDa district of Charlotte, NC.  I used Louisa Harding "La Salute", and Universal Yarn "Curly Mohair" to make that one.  When I finished, it was SO HARD to let it go.  I immediately made plans to make one for myself.

If you follow my blog, you've seen the other two I've made, but I'll show them here again for newcomers.



That one was knit with ONline Linie "43 Punta", Plassard "Flore", and an unnamed Ormo yarn.  Orange is one of my favorite colors, and I really love wearing this beautiful scarf.  I get so many compliments!



My third French Scarf was knit with Lion Brand "Moonlight Mohair" and Moda Dea "Dream".  I gave that one to my sister, when I visited her in California.  I have enough yarn left to make another for myself. ;)

It's been about 6 months since I made that last one, and now my fingers are itching to create another one.  I think that half the fun of the project is selecting yarns to make it!  Since I have such a HUGE stash of yarn in my craft room, I have LOTS of options for my next French Scarf.  In fact, I have so many options, that I'm not sure which one to choose.

I need to use light, frothy yarns for the scarf, so it doesn't get weighted down.  One should be a standard fluffy mohair type, and the other can be a fluffier curly mohair type.

When I first started planning my project, I sat in my craft room rocking chair, and perused my stash photos on Ravelry with my little Samsung Galaxy Tab.  (It sure is easier than looking through all my bins of yarn!)  I am SO GLAD that I have posted every single skein of yarn I have.  It just makes project planning so easy. :)

After awhile, I was getting confused, trying to remember all the yarn options I had.  So, I hefted my weight out of that rocking chair, put down my Tab, and went to my main computer in the living room.  The big screen on that computer, in addition to the old fashioned keyboard, just makes it easier to browse.  Plus, I can open several windows at once with my PC.

With a cup of hot tea at my right hand, and a small plate of cookies at my left, I got to work.  I opened up my Paint program, and then pulled up my Ravelry account.  I started out by sorting my stash by fiber, but then realized that I couldn't really see all my fluffy yarn options this way.  So, I just sorted it alphabetically, and scrolled down a screen at a time.  Whenever I saw a yarn that would work well for a French Scarf, I clicked my "prt scr" (print screen) button - then went to my Paint program to paste the image there.  In Paint, I would select the photos of the yarns I liked, and moved each image to the top of the screen.  Eventually, I had a very large document, with LOTS of yarn photos.

Next, I divided that Paint document up into several documents, sorted by color.  Then, I uploaded those photos to my Flickr account.  That way, I would have my documents online, so I could view them with my Tab anywhere I went. :)

So, after all those hours of work, here are my yarn choices for a French Scarf:

White Options


Black


Brown


Red and Orange


Yellow and Beige


Green and Grey


Teal


Blue


Purple and Pink


Like I said, LOTS of choices.

I wonder if I will ever actually start another French Scarf?  HA!!
I just have too many options to choose from.

Which combinations do YOU think would work well for a French Scarf?

Blanket for Domestic Violence Center

In the midst of my craft room remodel, I got a request from the Union County Treehouse Children's Advocacy Center.   They need blankets and toys for the children and teen exam room.

When a child or teen in Union County, NC experiences abuse, they go to the Treehouse Center for support, counseling, and legal advice.  As part of the process, they receive a medical exam.  Unfortunately, some of the children have never even been to the doctor before, so that makes the experience more unsettling than normal.

So, they are given a handmade blanket and toy to keep.  They can hold onto the blanket during the exam, which helps alleviate some of their anxiety.  Here is a photo of how their supply looked when I gave them some handknit blankets and toys in the past:



Right now, the center is low on blankets and toys, so they asked if I could help get some for them.  I want those shelves filled up again, like they were before!

This week, I cast on a blanket, using Lion Boucle yarn.  I have a HUGE bag of that yarn - most of it was given to me for my charity knitting.  So, now is the perfect time to put it to use.  These blankets should go FAST!

I'm using size 13 needles, and cast on about 70 stitches.  Just knitting every row.  I think the children will appreciate the bright, happy colors.

If you would like to help make blankets for the center, just let me know.  I'm willing to accept squares, and seam them together to make blankets.  I can also accept yarn donations for the blankets.

Craft Room Remodel #2

Things never seem to go as planned, do they?

I ended up catching a cold, and was stuck in bed for the last few days.  All that bedrest was needed anyway, because I had worked so hard getting everything out of the craft room, and installing new flooring.

So, after my cold finally went away, I got back to work.   This morning, I sawed and sanded all the toe molding I'll need for the room.  It will make the flooring look even better.



If anyone had been here to see me, they would have gotten a good laugh.  My craft room is at one end of the house, and my driveway is at the other end.  I had placed a table outside on the driveway, for me to do all the sawing and sanding of the toe molding.   All of my stuff is in the rest of the house - including a huge stack of boxes in the hallway, leaving just a tiny walking area.



So, I was constantly walking sideways through that tiny bit of hallway, carrying a long stick of toe molding over my head the entire way.  I think this morning counts as an EXCELLENT workout session, don't you?

The good news is that all my sawing and sanding is DONE.  Tomorrow, I plan on drilling pilot holes for the nails, then sanding the sharp edges on the pilot holes, then painting everything white.  After it dries, I'll be doing the crazy walk down the hallway again, with the toe molding carried over my head.  (It kinda makes me look like I'm ready to throw a javelin. Ha!)

Hopefully, I'll be hammering in my toe molding tomorrow night.  Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Remodeling My Craft Room

Finally, I am re-doing my craft room!  I've been needing to do it for quite some time. 

First things first:  Get everything out of the room.
  This took a LONG time.  About a week. 

  Some of the stuff went to the living room.



All that stuff was not craft related anyway, so it's gonna stay OUT of the craft room from now on.  (Well....except for the sewing machine.)

More of the stuff went to the hallway.  Now there is a tiny pathway there, where I have to sneak through sideways.  And the rest of the stuff went to the big bedroom across the hall from the craft room.

Now, I can REALLY see how much craft stuff I've accumulated!  Yikes!

After several days of moving stuff out, I still had a pile of yarn bags in there:



And on the other side of the room, I had bookcases, filled with craft magazines and books:



I let myself take a break occasionally, as I was emptying the room.  I would work for about an hour, then take a nap, or have a snack, or play a computer game.

After I finished taking those photos, I took a little break, then went back in there to get all the yarn bags off the floor.  I decided that I needed to replace the flooring, because it's just in such bad shape.



I installed those tiles over 4 years ago, and they were the thin, cheap version at Lowe's. 

After some consideration, I chose some new tiles at Home Depot.  They are thicker, and look much nicer than the ones I installed last time.

But before I could install the tiles, I needed to repair the holes and tears in my existing floor.  So, I went to Ollie's discount store, and bought some cheap tiles to use for the repairs.  I used a hair dryer and my hands, to pull up the bad tiles, and replaced them with mismatched tiles.  No need to worry about how it looked, because I would soon be covering the whole floor with new tiles.

It only took about an hour to replace all those bad tiles.  Sure looks funny with those mismatched tiles, doesn't it?  And now, I had a smooth floor, to use as a base for my NEW tiles!



Today, I finally installed the new tiles over half the floor in the craft room.  I love how it looks!



Tonight, while everyone else in the world is celebrating Halloween, I'll be installing the rest of the tiles.  Then, tomorrow, I'll be sawing, sanding, and painting toe molding to go around the edges of the floor.  Hopefully, I'll be setting up my new craft room in just a few days!

Mill End Bags at AC Moore

As usual, I've been adding yarn to my craft room.  I just can't pass up a good deal on yarn.....especially since I knit so much.  AND, I have so many knitting and crochet friends that will help me use the yarn for charity. :)

Recently, I've fallen in love with the mill end bags at AC Moore.  I have gotten some INCREDIBLE deals on yarn that way.  Sometimes, I'm not exactly sure which yarn it is, or even the brand name.  But it's still good quality yarn.  Occasionally, I will come across a few bad spots, but that's to be expected with mill ends.  Most of it is in great shape, though. 

The great thing about mill-end bags is that they contain SIXTEEN OUNCES OF YARN! 
That's a full POUND of glorious yarn to work with - AWESOME!

So, now that you know about my mill-end yarn obsession, it's time for me to share some photos of the mill end bags I've bought so far.  I never pay full price for mill ends.  I always use a 40% or 50% off coupon.....which makes my deal even better!  AC Moore usually has great coupons on their website, and I think they accept competitor coupons as well.  You'll have to check with your local store to confirm that, though.

To get your AC Moore coupons, go to this website, and enter your zip code (or city and state):
http://www.acmoore.com/e-acm.StoreLocator.aspx

Here are the mill end bags I've gotten at AC Moore, for less than $4 a bag!

Magenta Nylon, which I believe is Patons Allure



A variegated acrylic yarn, that looks and feels like Bernat Mosaic, but it's in a colorway I've never seen before



Some very nice ruffle yarn - I mean, it's WEDDING QUALITY. Very good yarn. I truly believe that it's Trendsetter Cha Cha, but I could be wrong.



Some colorful mohair yarn. I KNOW that it's mohair, because when I opened the bag, it smelled like fresh, clean goat! Ha!



Another bag of acrylic yarn that feels like Bernat Mosaic - but no variegation. Very odd color, too. But, it would work well as a shawl, I bet.



I have NO IDEA what this yarn is, but it's a lovely DK cotton blend, in a nice dark blue color.




This is another pretty DK blend. This time, I'm sure it has acrylic...but not sure what else is in there. I really like the tweed look of this yarn. I wish I could find another bag of it, but that's the breaks!




I really love this gorgeous purple boucle. Should make a very nice hat, scarf, and mitten set. Yum!



This past week, I found this very pretty baby pompadour yarn. At first, I thought it was Lion Baby Soft, but it's thinner than that yarn. Maybe it's Bernat Baby Sparkle? Whatever it is, it will work perfect for knitting a christening gown, or making baby burial outfits.



Check out this nice cotton! I'm positive that it's Bernat Cottontots. Looks very similar to Ecru, but it's a teeny shade darker. Will work great for washcloths. :)



Last but not least is this fun poodle-y pom pom yarn! This is just one skein I got out of the bag, so you can see how it looks. I have 4 skeins of it now!



Lots of fun yarn, isn't it? So, if you haven't looked at mill-end bags before, give it a try. They usually have lots of dishcloth cotton and crochet cotton, plus some standard worsted weight acrylic.

Knitting, Crochet, Fall Magazines, Friends

You know, if it wasn't for yarn, I don't know what I would do with my time.  I am just addicted to it!  Yarn for knitting, yarn for crochet, yarn for crewel embroidery, yarn for needlepoint.  In my little world, it's just all about YARN!! 

(Well, except for music - I do enjoy teaching piano lessons to my students, and playing organ and piano at church every Sunday.)

Recently, I went to Barnes and Noble to look at the Fall 2011 knitting magazines, to look for plus size patterns for my Plus Size Knitting Blog.  Look at all the issues I found!



It took over 4 hours to look through them all.  You can see the results of my labor on that blog.
Plus Size Knitting

As for YARN, I have made some very lucky purchases lately.  On eBay, I won an auction for a box full of vintage nylon sock yarn.  Just $4 (plus $4 shipping) for all of it!  To make things even better, when I received the package, the yarn was in a vintage Bear Brand yarn box!!!  LOVE IT!




A few days later, I was looking at Hobby Lobby's clearance shelf, and found some good acrylic yarn for my charity knitting.  Just over a dollar a skein for all of these.





Those will all make a nice addition to my huge yarn stash.  If I don't use them all, I'm sure I will find a knitting or crochet friend who will be happy to use them. :)

A few weeks ago, a member of my church asked me to do her a favor.  She said that she had an afghan that her grandmother crocheted for her - and it had been damaged when someone was cutting something with scissors, but didn't realize the afghan was caught in the scissors at the time.  I told her that I would try to fix it for her, and she could give me some yarn in exchange for my work.

Last Sunday, she brought the afghan to church, along with a few skeins of yarn for me.  I took it all home, put the yarn on my stash mountain, then pulled out the afghan to have a look at the damage.



Yikes!  That damage is PRETTY BAD!! :(

I don't know if I'll be able to fix this or not.  I still consider myself a beginning crocheter, so this is a very big project for me.

One option would be to just sew across the damaged areas with strong thread, to keep it from unravelling, then doing some handwork with yarn across the cut, to try to make it look better.  The problem with that is I don't have any yarn that EXACTLY matches the afghan.

Step One:  Look for Matching Yarn
I looked in my huge stash, and found precisely ONE skein of yarn that was close.


Not exactly the same, but not AWFUL.

Next, I went to Hobby Lobby, to see if they had anything that would match better. 
Nope.....not a thing.

I still need to go to AC Moore and Michaels, but I don't have high hopes.  I think I will have to live with my Bernat Super Value in Oatmeal.

My other choice would be to unravel the afghan to the section where it is damaged, and re-crochet the blanket from that point.  It would certainly look better than sewing by hand....and I wouldn't need to look for matching yarn either.  But, that would take a LONG TIME, and I don't know what the pattern is for the existing stitches.

Any experienced crocheters out there who can offer some advice on the pattern?