Christmas Knitting

I didn't do very much holiday knitting this year, and with good reason. Having a 1-year-old around the house means that my hands are busy most of the time. But I wanted to do a little something for some very dear friends with whom we celebrate every Christmas (except for last year, when we had a very good reason for missing the holiday). They are three sisters who lived across the street from me for the first seven years of my life. The middle sister has been my best friend since we were born; she was in my wedding and I was in her wedding last fall, when I was about eight months pregnant. The youngest sister went to college with my brother, and the oldest babysat him. Needless to say, these are some very knit-worthy friends.

Knowing that my knitting time was limited and that these are some very stylish girls, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try out a pattern that had been on my radar for a while.

Pattern: French Press Felted Slippers [Ravelry link] by Melynda Bernardi
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino (black and red) and Cascade 220 (green), roughly a skein and a half of each
Needles: US 15 (10.0 mm) circs
Mods: none

This was the first time I've ever felted something that had to fit, and it was a bit of a pain, mostly because I had to go over to my parents' house to do it (they have a top-loader; I have a front-loader). It took the better part of an hour to get the slippers felted to my satisfaction. The Patons slippers felted a lot faster and a lot better than the 220 slippers, which was no surprise given the characteristics of the yarn. The green slippers could've probably felted a little more (there's still some stitch definition visible), but they were the right size and I didn't want to risk them winding up too small. I plan on giving the recipients some instructions on how to felt them a little more and get the slippers to mold to their feet if desired, so I don't think it will be a problem in the long run.

These slippers are definitely a fast knit, especially once you've knit a pair or two. I'd estimate that it probably took no more than four hours to knit all the components and sew up a pair, which is really quite reasonable when you need a quick gift. Now that I'm officially on vacation, I'm going to make a point of airing out my stash to find some yarn to make myself a pair.

There's one more small Christmas knit to show you, but I'm hoping to get a shot of it in situ, so you'll have to wait for that.

To all of you who celebrate, I wish you a very merry Christmas! To everyone else, have a great weekend!