knitting neels

I just realised that I have once again forgotten to take photos of my knitting. I have a blue shawl that is nearly finished and is quite possibly my most gigantic one yet. It is colossal. I cannot wait to cast it off… mostly because I want the needles to get stuck into a Bedford sweater (can’t find a link to the actual pattern page but that’s what it looks like).

In the meantime, I have some slippers to show you.

It’s the Samantha slipper pattern from I Think Sew. It’s a downloadable PDF. What I really like about the pattern is that each pattern piece for each size is on its own page, so I only had to print out two pages. The instructions were extremely clear so overall, this was a simple and reasonably quick sew – about two hours.

I used some leftover cord from my Proper Attire Skirt and some leftover material from my sewing machine cover. I sewed a US size 5 which is about a UK 3.5-4.

They are super comfortable and even though they’re not the warmest, they are ideal as house shoes, guest slippers, a thoughtful present or as travel slippers that can be rolled up and tucked away in your handbag.

I was thinking of giving these to my organ teacher since she has the same shoe size as me (I borrowed her organ shoes once). All in all, this is a great pattern and I’m sure I’ll be making it again.

I put my polka dot blouse on hold momentarily because I thought I needed to get more buttons. But while I was tidying up, I came upon another packet of the same buttons in another size. It turns out that they’ll be fine for the cuffs, so I’m hoping to make a start on those buttonholes later.

Work has been extremely slow lately but I have put myself in for a number of projects (orchestral piano with wind band for an opera, a flute duo concert, rehearsal pianist with the same opera company as last summer) so I have a feeling that it won’t last. When I get down about not working so much, Alb always reminds me to enjoy my free time while I can…

I started a very simple t-shirt, the Scout Woven Tee. Also a downloadable PDF, it was quite the instant-gratification pattern. I got the material at Pippa Blue while I was in Galway at Christmas and I’m sorry to say that I got the last of it. I will talk more about the pattern when I finish it off but for now, I’ll leave you with a close up of the print. I think you’ll understand why I was drawn to it.