Felting Success!

I made a second attempt at the felted mocs this weekend. This time I made them in the child size rather than the toddler. When I finished knitting them they looked HUGE...I was quite worried they couldn't felt up small enough. But I threw them in the washer anyway and when they came out I compared them to one of DS's shoes...they were about the same size as a pair of swim shoes DS had already grown out of! I was sweating bullets, waiting for them to dry, and this morning I had him half dressed when I realized they should be ready to try on (hence he's half dressed in the pics)! They fit great, a little loose, so room to grow! I am very happy with the pattern and can't wait to knit up more of these!

Felting Attempt #1

I will add pics tomorrow after they dry...but I think this one is a pseudo-failure. They DID felt, just a little too much. But I don't consider it a complete failure, because they are still cute and they are still usable, just not by my toddler. Of course, all his shoes are in his room where he is currently sleeping, and as tempted as I am to sneak in and grab a shoe to compare to these mocs, I'd probably wake him up and I'm thinking it just might not be worth it when I can wait until tomorrow morning.

Anyway, I ran them through 2 washer cycles. After the first cycle, they just hadn't felted enough for me - still a lot of stitch definition. So I threw them in again, and when they came out there was no question they had felted, lol. So the question is, next time do I make them in a bigger size and felt 2 cycles, or make the same size and only felt 1 cycle, then maybe finish by hand? Argh, it's easier when it just works the first time.

Here are the prefelted slippers:

Here they are postfelted

I LOVE them, they are maybe 2 sizes too small. But they will be perfect for another toddler. So I guess I'm on to my next pair, trying again to fit my son!

Say Cheese!

For the first time, I told Toby to smile for the camera, and he gave me a big smile!!! Now granted, 9 times out of 10 he turns away and cries, but this one time he gave me a gorgeous smile! Just had to share.

Project #632: Felting

I have made one attempt at felting thus far. It went ok, no big problem. I have a fantastic pattern that I am looking to make several of, and it involves felting. I went to my local yarn store this morning to ask their recc's for felting, and in the course of conversation, they learned I have a front loader washing machine. Oh, the look of horror! According to them, it is extremely hard ot felt in a FL because everything felts fast and you can't check on it. But according to everything I've read online, it usually takes 2-3 washer cycles, so you can check inbetween. What to do? Apparently my lys is in the process of setting up a portable washing machine so customers can come in and felt items in there, so I definitely have that option, but I'd rather do it here myself, kwim? I'm working on a trial pair of mocs now for my DS and I'm planning to felt them here so I guess we'll see what happens...but I will admit, I'm a little nervous.

At least I found out that they'll be happy to let me use their yarn baller to wind up my 950 yards of sock yarn that has been staring at me in it's unwound state. I just cannot bring myself to hand ball that much yarn.

Teensy Tiny Longies

Ok, perhaps my count was a bit off ;) These were supposed to be a size small, but they are far smaller. So now I'm thinking they will make cute pants for a coming home outfit...if they even fit then. But they sure are cute and tiny! I tried to ruffle the bottom using a knitting technique rather than crochet but frankly, the result isn't nearly as nice as crochet so from now on I will stick to the hook for ruffles. I knitted these with short rows and attempted a crotch gusset that I thought worked really well. I used PureWool and they are so incredibly soft.

My new knitting book came in the mail yesterday - woohoo! I bought it for one pattern in particular - the Little Turtle Knits Family Mocs pattern. The book - 100 Knitting Projects - has some other great ideas as well, but I am drooling over the mocs. I started a pair for my DS last night but had to rip them out after I figured out I was knitting the wrong size. Oops. By then it was after 11, so I just went to bed...I will try to start again tonight.

And here's an actions shot of my DS in his new longies. He loves them :) Actually, it's the camera he's having issues with lately. Lovely, just what every mother wants...a child who hates the camera.

Harvest Spice

They're done! These are Large longies for my son to wear this winter. These were also my first attempt at short rows, and they worked great. The back has about an inch extra space to accomodate the tush. I really love the way the yarn self striped, and although the legs don't match color-wise, I like that they are different. Perfection isn't always as interesting, kwim?

I have a lot of this yarn at hand, so next up is a pair of newborn longies to match :) Poor kids, having to match already (can you hear the eyeroll eminating from my husband? He's really not liking the idea).

This wool is a tad scratchier than most I use for baby clothes, but I'm hoping that lanolizing it for use as a diaper cover will soften it up some. Even so, it's not nearly as scratchy as some, and I'm fairly sensitive to wool so if it doesn't irritate me, I don't think it will bother my kiddos. It's Nashua Wooly Stripes (see link below) in Fiesta.

BTW, this is a new pattern for me. I used the Aubrey Doodlepants pattern, and I really enjoyed trying the longies from the top down (usually I do the legs first, then join them and knit to the top). Top down gives some different options as far as the cuff edging on the legs. And while I generally prefer the look of an elastic waistband, I have learned that rib is far stretchier and will accomodate more waist sizes, so until I find a suitable hybrid, I am sticking to rib.

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone. The weather is beautiful here...we went to the zoo today and I knitting the whole hour drive up there - divine!

One September Day

Wow, it's hard to believe it's September already. The leaves started changing color here halfway through August from the lack of rain, so it really is looking like fall. And today's high was only 87, so it even feels cooler! It was a beautiful day to get out and enjoy nature, so we headed off for the zoo. We have memberships there, but haven't been able to use them all summer since it's been so hot. We did get smart this time and packed enough snacks to hold us all off through lunch so we didn't have to buy the overpriced lunch there!

Toby is finally at an age where he really appreciated all the animals. He didn't ride in his stroller the first half of the zoo, he was more than happy to walk (not a normal occurance!). Of course, he was worn out pretty quick, and by then was cranky enough he didn't want to ride either. But what is a trip to the zoo without a little crankiness from the toddler?

Here he is watching the turtles...he loved them!

Here he is on the stump chair - we take a picture of him on it every time we go!

I think his favorite exhibit was the playground though (of course!). He had a blast on that! (This was shortly before the meltdown).

It was a lovely day to be out and I was so happy we were able to enjoy the weather. This evening we decided to grill out hot dogs (Mmmmmm!) and we even got a little rain. I haven't been out to see how much yet, but I would guess not over a tenth...still it felt great to play outside in the rain for a bit (we knew if we pulled out the grill it might bring on some rain!)