Rosy Pink Slippers

I'm LOVING these rosy pink slippers I just finished knitting! They are warm & toasty and well...

PINK!

~ Plus~ you know I HAD TO make them BLOSSOM with a crocheted rose.

I knit them up using three strands of Cascade 220 wool held together. Then chose the lightest pink to make the sweet little roses. They are fast and fun to make and cozy and pretty to wear!

I feel like Cinderella must have felt wearing her glass slippers to the ball. Except: my feet are much warmer, I can stay up past midnight wearing them while sitting and knitting in my comfy over~stuffed, rose covered chair (with matching tufted ottoman!) and at the end of the night my feet won't hurt like crazy as surely a pair of glass slippers must be excrutiating to endure!

Of course, much of the knitting was accomplished with Jose, my precious 3 pound chihuahua & constant companion, on my lap. He's never been crazy about the tickling experience of yarn running over him, however is now willing to endure ANYTHING to be picked up and safely away from little Miss Phoebe! (who only wants to PLAY... and BITE).

Also, check out another new favorite find:

The yarn is encased in three seperate "Yarn Cake Holders" and look closely at the two crocheted roses sitting by them. One is a solid pink and the other is a variegated pink. They're tape measures. Don't you just LOVE them?! I certainly do!:) They were made by Susan who can be found at: http://www.knitsnthings.etsy.com/

The Yarn Cake Holders (great for keeping yarn tangle free, especially when working with more than one strand) sell for $2.50 each and the tape measures are $7.50 a piece. She does different animals upon request and darlilng cake tape measures. (I just love the creativity of other women). When I discovered her shop and contacted her to ask if she could make mine up in pink roses, she e-mailed me back immediately and said "SURE". She's GREAT to work with. Browse through her crocheted pretties & knitting patterns for sale and enjoy! Tell her Danette sent you.

~ Just A Note~

For anyone who might be interested in making these rosy slippers here's where you can find the free patterns:

www.geocities.com/blossomknitwear/threestrandslippers.html

www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-rosettes.html

For the slippers I used size 11 dpn's as called for, but when you get to the point where you connect to work in the round and knit 12 more rounds, I knit 15 more rounds {could just be my gauge ~ I'm loose when I knit/crochet}. This pattern is so easily adjusted to whatever size you need. The pair pictured here fits my size 6 1/2 feet and also both of my daughter's size 8 feet. Wouldn't they be a fun Valentine's Day present to give?! Hmm... maybe I'll even whip some up in a couple of color choices for my Etsy shop. We'll see.

For the crocheted rosettes I used just one strand of yarn and made mine in the size medium {ch 35}.

Happy creating!

Cozy Crocheting

After I finished the teal colored tranquility shawl a few days ago, I decided I really must have one of these warm cozy wraps for myself. So I went to my yarn stash and pulled out the 3 hanks of Lorna's Laces hand~dyed yarn I've been saving for just the right project. It's a beautiful superwash wool of Shepherd Bulky in the color Baltic Sea. Each skein has 140 yards and I used nearly every bit. As many of you know, crocheting uses up more yarn than knitting does.


Although I seldom ever make anything for myself, and I do have two custom orders due by February 1st, I just couldn't resist the tempting thought of snuggling into one of these while crocheting, knitting or reading a good book (a steaming cup of tea within reach at all times). I'm an extra cold person who lives in a house that was built in 1926 which still has the original windows and not enough insulation. Plus all the floors are the original oak (no carpeting anywhere). I love, love, love my old house but it is drafty and cold this time of year. In the summer it's all breezy and shady, but right now I need as many warm, snuggly things to wear as possible! I'm actually sitting here cocooned in it right now ~ and LOVING every warm minute of it!:)

Naturally, while I was working on it, every time I had to put it down Scout made it her number one priority to guard my goods. Her favorite occupation is "wool~gathering"! Even Phoebe enjoyed curling up by an unwound hank for a little nap.

Also, just a quick note to tell you about my new favorite find: "Get a Grip" ~ fiber friendly handbalm. I found it at http://www.knit.etsy.com/

It's a lanolin based balm that's offered in several different fragrances. I chose "romance" and is it ever divine! Those of you who work constantly with fibers are probably having much the same dry hand trouble as me, especially if you live in a cold weather climate like I do. I can't say enough good about this lovely product. It comes in a cute little tin that tells you on the back to "Rub a small amount into hands until slightly tacky. Knit/Crochet like crazy. Repeat". Don't you just love that?!

Hope you're all keeping warm and cozy wherever you are today. And doing the same as me~

knitting and crocheting like crazy!

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Proverbs 31:13

The Warmth of Kindness

The last few days, since my post about New Year's resolutions, I've had kindness on my mind. Several years ago I went through about a two week period when everywhere I looked the word "kindness" was hitting me in the face. Every time I opened my Bible, a book, a magazine or any form of written word it jumped out as if in bold type. At that time I was still working full time at a bank and at the end of a particularly long hectic day, while driving home, I noticed the license plate of the car in front of me. You guessed it ~ it read "Kindness". Just that one word. And do you know, I saw that car everywhere I went for the next week or so! Now one has to finally say, "O.K. I get it. I'm supposed to sit up and take notice here."

During that time, my job entailed training new bank tellers. I began to make that the first order of business to teach each one of them. The importance of good old fashioned kindness. I told them to smile, be as pleasant as they could be and take an extra minute to chat with the customer. Most transactions at a bank don't take too terribly long and sadly enough it very well could be the only kind moment some people encounter on a particular day. It takes such a brief bit of our time and energy to be kind to the people around us. One never knows, maybe he or she just lost a loved one, got an upsetting diagnosis from the doctor, or is just plain lonely.

In any job the details can be taught and learned and performed mechanically day in and day out. But shouldn't there be so much more to us than that? I was thinking today of how those of us who work with yarn are constantly creating things to keep a body warm. I hope that in the meantime we are also cultivating the art of kindness, because nothing else warms the soul, spirit and heart of our fellow man quite like it.

That being said, I did crochet this shawl today, which will hopefully wrap its wearer in warmth!

"A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles."

Washington Irving

"To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life." Samuel Johnson

" I expect to pass through this life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again." William Penn

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8