Slippaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrs. Matey.

‘Tis a sentiment universally expressed in my last blog post’s comments that you guys were kind of worried about me. Okay, maybe not universally, but I did hear it a lot. So I want to say two things to that: Awww, thanks! and Gosh, sorry! I really didn’t mean to make anyone worry. I am fine. Granted, life was giving me the old one-two for a bit there, but I think I’ve slapped it back into submission. Life is now my bitch. Well, sort of. The point is that everything’s okey-dokey. I hope it stays that way.

Buuuuut, I know it probably won’t. Quoi, you ask? Well, I’m in grad school, right? And I’m getting a PhD, right? Right. And the time has come, the adviser said, to talk of many things. Of papers and theses and finishing, and whether my ass has wings. I’m looking down the barrel of my as-of-yet unwritten thesis right now. And I’m smelling gunpowder. It’s about to go off.

So yeah, I don’t have much time for knitting OR blogging these days, cuz I’m rite buzy. Plus I’m also doing a lot of freelancing. (Have another book review in Science coming up here.) Oh and, you know, looking for a job. I’ll be around a bit, but not too much. Sad? Sad.

Okay, enough of that crap. Let’s talk more Christmas knits! Er, I mean, rammin’ speed with ye Christmas knits, ya horn swogglin’ scurvy cur!

Aye. That be more like it.

Slippaaaaaaarrrrrs (rav it!)
Pattern: Ye Oldde Felted Moccasins by that buxom wench Bev Galeskas, from Felted Knits
Yaaaaaaarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino
Needle: US 11
Started: Dec 3
Finished: Dec 20
For: that scurvy scallywag me blub
Mods: I Davy Jonesed em up, like

Yeah so, these were a bit of a pain in the arse to knit. The directions were clear, but it wasn’t clear what the hell you were doing until you did it. Ya know? For example: mine are actually inside out. Heh. Whups!

So they’re supposed to have this little ridgy thing around the toe to make them look like real moccasins, see? And the directions say, and I quote, “Vamp has no RS or WS.” Okay, so mine does, but I thought I was taking that into account. But apparently, I’m an idiot. I guess. Because you attach the vamp, which is the top part where my Jolly Roger is, to the rest of the slipper by knitting it together on a circular needle. And so I did, with it facing the wrong way, because of this next little bit:

“Note: you will be working with the inside of the slipper facing.”

To me, that means that the inside of the slipper is facing out, and is hence working inside out. Does it mean that to you? I’m not being totally stupid here, am I? Because you then knit a little ridge after you attach the vamp, which is the ridgy thing around the toe. And I do remember thinking, “why the hell is this knit on the inside? Hm, maybe when you felt it, it all goes right.” Because that sure wasn’t how the picture looked. Anyway, I bravely knit on. Here’s what they looked like when I finished:

And then of course I felted them, and they looked like this:

Yeah, that’s not right.

You know what though? I thought they looked okay anyway. So they got wrapped and presented to the blub.

(Notice my use of yarn for ribbon? Yeah, I am all green and shit.)

He hearts them. And he says they fit better the way they are than turned inside out. (Which would be the right way. Confusing? Yes.) I don’t know if he actually thinks that or is just being sweet and nice. But anyway, yay win!

I ripped the all-weather soles off his old pair of slippers to put on these, because we both wear our slippies outside sometimes. To get the mail and bring in wood and chase cats and crap like that.

I haven’t attached them yet, because a) I haven’t gotten around to it; b) he’s been wearing them and likes them just fine; and c) I’m considering just painting them with that rug-stop stuff like knottygnome did with her very nice slippies. Plus I’m kind of daunted by all that hand-sewing. Urgh.

Oh! I used the pirate chart from hello yarn‘s We Call Them Pirates hat for ye vamp top. I don’t remember why I decided to make Nels pirate slippers. But I did, so um. There you are.

Sorry. I mean, there you aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Matey.