For Mom and Dad

I made slippers for Dad, so I had to make some for Mom too!

Dad has already informed me that he will not wear any "wool booties". I hope that these slippers are "manly" enough for him to sit around the house in as he recuperates. And yes - Dad does have very little feet.

Mom's slippers look so much bigger than dad's because they are super thick and warm. I used Sonny's X-tra Thick Textured Slipper pattern. I loved this pattern! The front-post stitches were really fun! As much as I had a hard time making dad's slippers, I had fun making moms!

I hope that they're fit her. Her feet are about the same size as mine, so I think they'll be just fine.

A labor of Love

My dad is going to need some major surgery soon, so I thought it would be nice to make him some slippers. I used this Moccasin Pattern. It's a great design, and the pattern is well written, but for some reason I had the hardest time getting these done.

I hate to admit it, but I like instant gratification and if at first I don't succeed, I often move onto something else. This project was hard! I frogged and started over several times. I made 4 single slippers in order to figure out the right size. I have several half pairs of slippers lying around and have no desire to make the matching slipper!

I don't know why these were so hard for me. The pattern is clearly written. I guess I was just off my game. They were made with Bernat Worsted yarn. Black for the soles and a brown/green mix for the tops.Working with the dark yarn was difficult - the good news is that I ordered myself two lighted hooks (I laughed at these months ago when they were in the local stores - now that they're not locally available and I have to pay shipping charges, I just have to have them!).

So.... I hope they'll fit my dad. They look small to me, but my dad has tiny feet. I'm going to use black puff paint on the soles to make them non-slide. I hope dad will be able to use them in the hospital and when he's back home recovering.

for the kittens

A few posts ago I mentioned that I wanted to make some kitty lay and play blankets for the local shelter. A road trip this past weekend gave me the chance to make two. I took some liberties with my original pattern and played around with various textures.









The orange one was kind of fun. It has very subtle stripe pattern that I created by alternating a few rows of single layer stitching with a few rows of double layer stitches. For the double layer, I worked a row in the round for double thickness. It was fun, and is very soft and cushy.

The tweed blanket has a nice texture made by alternating double crochet with FPDC. That too was fast and fun to make. Both have a spiral cat toy built in.

4 Generations of slippers

My great-niece Olivia turned 2 this past week!

We're going to her birthday party tomorrow afternoon, and I'm sure it will be great fun.

Recently her mommy saw some of the slippers that I've made lately, and asked if I would make her a pair. She also asked if I could make a pair for Livie. Well, Livie would require a different pattern, so I used this adorable pattern to make a toddler sized ballet slipper with a strap, and modified the pattern to make a pair for my niece.

It wouldn't be right to go without making a pair for my niece's mom who also celebrated a birthday last week!

Finally, I made a pair for my niece's grandma.

I used fabric puff paint on the bottom of Livie and her Great-Grandma's slippers. I'm told that the puff paint is an easy way to make the bottoms non-slip. I hope it works!


Four generations of slippers - I hope they all fit!

Sad local news

This morning as I was driving to work, I saw an odd looking cloud that immediately put me on edge. It became clear rather quickly that I was looking at smoke. It wasn't until I turned a curve in the road that I saw the huge plumes of smoke and realized that there was a major fire in town. The smoke was coming from the downtown area, and I knew that something very bad was happening.

It wasn't until I got to work that I found out that Delilah's Pet Shop was on fire. Delilah's was a local pet store that had been in Bloomington for 20 years. Unlike some of the large puppy factories, Delilah's was a locally owned store with strong roots in the community.

The fire fighters were heroic and were able to save 12 of the puppies and kittens. The building was gutted and nothing is left of the business.

Over 20 animals - pets of the owners, animals for sale and boarded animals - died in the fire. Three cats are still missing. Some good people lost their livelihood. It's a blessing that no humans were injured and that so many animals could be saved, but the loss is huge for the owners and for the community.

The 12 animals that were rescued were very lucky to have made it out with no injuries. They will soon be put up for adoption.

I can't bring back the shop, and the animals that survived will soon have new homes, but this tragedy makes me want to do something for animals in pet shops, hospitals and shelters that might be traumatized. I'm going to make some of my Kitty Lay and Play mats to donate to local shelters. This is a fast and simple pattern, and an easy way for anyone to donate to local shelters.

My heart goes out to those pets who were lost or traumatized in this fire, and for the shop owners.