Craig's Slippers

On this snow day, I sat down to knit my husband a pair of slippers he requested a long time ago. We looked through the Ravelry database and couldn't find anything with the boxy shape that he liked. I had already bought some Lion Brand Thick and Quick in Charcoal, so I sat down to shape him a slipper that would fit and be warm for the rest of this Maine winter. Bonus with the yarn, it's machine washable, so when it gets caked with animal hair (of which we have 2), it can get thrown in the wash and come out looking like new!

Craig's Slippers

Materials:
1 skein of Lion Brand Thick and Quick
Size 10.5 circular needles
stich marker
tapestry needle

CO 11 sts.
Rows 1-25: Knit in garter stitch
26: SSK, K to the last 2 sts, K2tog
27 - 32: Knit all
33: K6, turn, sl 1, k3, turn, sl 1, Knit to the end.
34 - 78: K all
79: SSK, K to last 2 sts, k2tog
80 - 84: K all
85: K3, SSK, K2
86 - 92: K all
BO

From Short Row along sole, pick up 30 to BO row, pick up 6 sts along back of heel and then 30 sts along other side of sole. This could be done in two parts and sewn up the back…
1 - 6: K all
7: BO 13 sts, K 40 sts, BO 13 sts

Pick up 10 sts from the top of the toe bed on your left-hand needle and join yarn leaving a long tail. PM (50 sts)
1: P 29, SSP, P2tog, P19 (48 sts)
2: K 28, SSK, K2tog, K18 (46 sts)
3: P 27, SSP, P2tog, P17 (44 sts)
BO

Finishing: Using the tails, sew up sides of toe bed and sew in all ends. Trim and enjoy!

If you have smaller or larger feet, add or remove rows between 34 and 78. My husband has size 10 feet (mens). That equates to about 10" of foot.

Flight of the Conchords

I am going to see Flight of the Conchords tonight and I am super pumped. Craig saw them in PA a little while ago and said that lots of people went up and gave them presents. One person gave them their tour shirt signed by the audience members! This gave me an idea....I wanted to make something that was original and that they might put in their TV show.

After some thinking, I realized that something small and knit would be perfect. I had just finished a mobile with birds for my future cousin. While I was knitting them, my friends were obsessed with the birds alone. So, I decided to make them their own birds. But not just any birds, birds made to look like them.

This was harder than it sounds. First, I had to decide what to have them look like. What clothing should they be wearing? I decided upon their most well known picture, the one with the big heads. Jermaine would be wearing his blue jean suit, and Bret his red plaid shirt and jeans. I couldn't forget their hair, Bret's beard, and Jermaine's glasses.

After figuring out how to to knit two blocks of color on my own, and sewing in their hair, etc. They are finished. Here are some pictures from this morning's photo shoot.

Now, if only I could figure out how to knit small guitars for the birds to hold....

Homemade for the Holidays

Like the past 12 years of my life, I am working with my mom to make our Christmas presents for the family. We decided that it would be nice to etch some different kinds of glasses with different designs for the family. I have officially finished the ones for my family, and am now working on the ones for Craig's family and our SLC friends. So far, they have come out quite nicely. I even made an Instructable for it today and it has already been featured and gotten quite a few hits and comments.

Coffee mugs for my uncle:

Wine glasses for the grandparents as well as some friends (these are for the friends):

Beer glasses for my aunt and uncle:

Beer glasses for Craig's dad, Craig's brother, and my brothers:

I was going to make some glasses for my parents, too, but I had a change of thought. I realized that my parents wouldn't really care about the glasses, and have enough glasses of their own. Then, I found the best knitting pattern ever. My parents love sushi, and I thought that they would get a kick out of this.

This picture shows: the cucumber roll, clam, octopus and tuna sushi pieces. There is also the decorative grass, wasabi and pickled ginger. Since then, I have finished every other piece of sushi except for the rice on the eel and shrimp pieces. I have them on the coffee table and everyone who sees them thinks they are the funniest thing ever. I agree. I think I might knit an I-cord in white and put a chopstick in it to make knitted chopsticks to go with them, but I'm not sure.