Have Time for a Quickie?

Bug could not be more pleased with her new pied-sous. She loves them so much.

I took the basic moccasin pattern from the Vogue On The Go Baby Knits 2 (I think). They're pictured on the cover. But they only go up to a 1 year size. So I just looked at how they made theirs, made a small pair for practice, and figured it out from there.

I traced her foot so that I'd have a template for the sole. I knit the sole in garter stitch holding two strands of worsted together. I just increased when the foot got wider and decreased when it narrowed. Then I held two strands of pink together and picked up stitches around the edge of the sole. Knit a few rows, work some short rows at the heel to make it higher than the instep, then bind the lot off. Then the top part is just a few stitches picked up at the toe, increased and knit flat, then stitched into place.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

And yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from a lady from church. She apparently was the recipient of a pair of the Red Hat Lady socks I made for another church-lady friend last year. Remember that? I spent the better part of the year making 15 pair of red and purple slippers? Well, this lady got a pair of them, and called because her 13 year old grandson has claimed them for his own. She's not upset about losing her wool socks to her grandson, but she is disturbed that he loves them so much that he wears them all the time. So she commissioned three pair of slipper socks for him to have. I guess so he can rotate them from time to time.

I've decided I don't really like knitting socks all that much. And I can't find my pattern, so I'm just working from memory here.

But the spinning is coming along smashingly! Yesterday morning it started kind of rough. I wound up with a big piece of barf before getting the hang of it, but I got the hang pretty quickly this time. And I wound almost a whole bobbinful before I called it quits. And I felt like I could have kept going.

But the funny part is later that afternoon, I slid over to it and joined some yarn on to finish up the bobbin! I got it really quickly that time and my singles are getting more even.

But wait! There's more! Larry took the girls grocery shopping still later in the afternoon and I got the wheel out one more time. And I WENT TO TOWN, BABY! I spun a full bobbin and it's the best yet! Today, it seems less like a chore and more like something I'm looking forward to doing.

My knee still hurts though, for awhile after I get done spinning. I have to get up and walk it off when I finish. But I will say that my knee hurts when I drive for a long time too, so it could have something to do with the motion and less about my position. I'll keep trying different things and see what works.

So that's all for today, I guess. I've got a lot to do today. Bug's birthday is tomorrow and we're having a grand extravaganza of a party. Did I mention the magician that's coming? Nuff said. I've got potato salad and coleslaw to make. I've got to drop Larry off at work today for his company picnic. (Mandatory, but he gets paid for it.) I should probably pick her up a couple of gifts. Because a party just isn't enough.

And I have to practice my spinning and make some socks.