Monday, November 15, 2010

I'M KNITTING AS FAST AS I CAN.......

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Ok, the above Kachina socks are destined to be those kind of slipper socks that have a leather bottom. They are going to be a Christmas present for Blaine's Brother-In-Law. There's only one problem.....

It's the middle of November and I'm knitting on only one project (and it's not even finished) out of all the things I want to knit for Christmas presents.

Here's the list of my difficulties:

1. The first project isn't finished. And what's worse, the slipper leather soles I ordered for them are not here yet....

2. After this project I have to knit a pair of the same as above, leather soled Kachina socks, for Sasquatch.

Okay, he's not Sasquatch. He's my sister's new husband---and please don't tell her I called her man Sasquatch. But hey, if you read the link, the other popular name for Sasquatch IS Bigfoot. And I definitely think that taking on the knitting of size 15 socks is a challenge. Especially since he's not here to try them on every so often. I'm trying the current ones (for his BIL's size 10 1/2) on Blaine but he only has size 9 feet. What the hell am I going to do for the size 15? I may be reduced to searching the neighborhood.

(Can you see me at someone's door, holding up a Kachina sock, saying plaintively "Uh....does anybody in your household have size 15 feet---and would they mind trying this on?")

3. After I finish the above two pairs of slipper socks with leather soles, I want to try that felted clog pattern everybody loves. They would be for my sister. She wears "slide-in" bedroom slippers so I thought I'd try these felted clogs and see if she likes them. But I have no idea how to felt so it could potentially be a knitting disaster second only to the "Ugly Bugly" Socks Incident ---but let's not go there. So I'm going to try felting for the first time---with Christmas breathing down on my neck.

4. And after all that above, I was going to knit YET ANOTHER pair of the leather soled Kachina socks for my sister's daughter, my niece.

5. I hate knitting the same thing twice....much less four times!!

I guess all I really have to say about my dilemma is this:

WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

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12 comments:

Donna said...

You can do it!!!! You've gone this far ...what's another pair of socks (ok, so a size 15 is like TWO pairs of socks)but I know you can do it. If you can "do the Mall" making these are a piece of cake.
Felted Clogs? Yes..absolutely ...make them! I've made a couple pairs & they are a huge hit with slipper wearers. My younger sis wore holes through hers, that's how much she loved them. Felting is easy (if you have a top loader) - if you have a front loader it's trickier but can still be done.

Bo... said...

Thank you, Donna! I'm going to just close my eyes and jump in! I would love to make these clogs! I'll let you know my progress!

Charlotte said...

Somewhere on the Internet is a page which lists in inches various shoe sizes. It's too bad I don't remember where it is but if you ask on the KnitList I think someone will know. That way you'll know how long to knit the socks.

Bo... said...

Thank you, Charlotte! I will try just that!

Anonymous said...

I've made a few of those clogs too, (of course none for myself... stupid knitter curse) and they've been loved by all the recipients. For the women, I've also needle felted them after they were felted. I love needle felting, you can do ANYTHING with it and it looks great! When my sister mentions her clogs, she always gets the phrase "best slippers ever!!" in. :)

Lora

Bo... said...

Thank you, Lora! I saw somebody demonstrating needle felting on a knitting TV show. I might take your advice and do it on the clogs--and learn felting AND needle felting!!!

Anonymous said...

I felt in my front loader all the time. I put the piece to be felted in a zippered pillow cover, throw it in the washer with a men's large denim jacket and run it through a hot cycle. Check, run it through again if need be. Sometimes I run it through a hot pre-wash, but it is going to be sopping wet when you check it and drip on the floor. Never had a problem except when I felt high end yarn like Cascade 220, it still shows stitch definition no matter what I do...now Patons on the other hand felts beautifully but the colors are a little more limited.

Bo... said...

Thank you, Anonymous. I was wondering about Cascade 220.

Cindy/KS said...

Maybe your sister could trace around his feet for you & send you the tracings with some measurements.

Anonymous said...

By all means give the needle felting a try Bo. One important word of advice though...

Make sure you're using a nice thick piece of foam (I bought a big square pillow from the craft department at Walmart) I Cut chunk of it off for each project. It should be about 3 inches thick or you'll be stabbing your poor fingers with those vicious needles!

Lora

Bo... said...

Cindy/KS: I asked her to do that but she emailed me back that his foot is 1/4 an inch longer than a piece of 8 X 11 paper! That girl is so frustrating!

Bo... said...

Thank you, Lora---I will do just that!