FELTED BOOTIES

The slipper booties are finished and they're warm and toasty. I gave them one hot wash but I think they could do with more felting.  There's still quite a bit of fluffiness and I would like them to be a little denser. The next item on my Winter list is a gnomey hat,  I'm still working out yarn combinations (from stash) to make the correct gauge.  I wonder how many sets of needles you need to have in your knitting kit so when you want to start a new project you don't need to go and buy more. The pattern has a gauge of 13 stitches  = 10cm  I'm knitting 16 stitches so it's either new needles or thicker yarn.  I thought one strand of Lopi plus two of mohair should  be about right and be super warm and soft.  I'm not sure if a black gnome hat would look like a gnome or a witch? red would be nice and is a traditional colour but it has to be from my ever growing stash.  So more digging around in plastic boxes and trying to remember what I actually have squirreled away.
Pattern link   Felted Slipper

KNITTED SLIPPER BOOTS

The weather has been cold and wet, time to start wearing my ugg like boots (Skecher's). It seems I still have trouble with the top of my foot aching whenever I wear a firm shoe. I've tried to knit slipper boots before but the result was not very successful. They were to big and the wool did not felt well, I did several test squares and they felted fine so it must be something  about  the whole kitted object versus a flat test square. I even tried boiling them for an hour or so but that just made the house smell like wet sheep. After a pattern search  I found the perfect pair. The photo shows the boot before the added top band.

Felted Slipper Boots by Biscotte

I've used two strands of Lopi so they are extra thick and firm, I've also closed the front slit, picked up stitches, joined and knitted around the top to make them longer. All I have left to do is the top on number two, Furgus loves to help by killing the wool balls and any hand he can reach. On Sunday I cooked a very simple and totally satisfying dinner, sausages with potatoes and last of the summer vegetables from my garden. The cold weather has almost completely stopped the zucchinis and I only managed to freeze a small bag of peas, the rest were enjoyed raw.  Flatmate brought home a CPR practice kit with a very creepy plastic man, I wonder who designs these sort of things. To top off another week of live micecapades Furgus gave me an extra special gift one young live rat. The one thing I have a phobia about, stand on the table screeching kind of phobia. You know when Furgus has something alive by his meow so I went into the kitchen ready to deal with a mouse instead there was a panicked rat. I jumped onto the kitchen table while Furgus played with it, I was screeching and pointing , the rat was screeching and that made me screech even more finely he took it outside. Three hours later I found the rat in the kitchen again this time almost dead but not quite so the poor thing had three hours of Furgus torture. I wrapped it in a tea towel and it had pleading grateful eyes all I could do was ask flatmate to deal with it when he got home from work.

 

ZIGS AND ZAGS

On Thursday we went on  a drive to Mount Field and on the way flatmate was pointing out landmarks it's sort of a game, animals are included we have to see at least one native animal a trip, anyway he called Mount Direction and I thought what a good name for my mittens. I think crazy zigzag for the top, something like a mix of zigzags from the photo above and stripes on the palm and a gusset thumb with stripes. On the walk to the waterfall we spotted a pottaroo  but all I managed to photograph were little glowing eyes and native fish. The little mouse is one of the many Furgus has been playing with inside, it's a native mouse and they make a whistling sound to communicate. They don't seem to eat meat and they're not garbage mice so saving one or two doesn't seem so bad.