Amy March's Slippers - Day One

Good afternoon everyone! Today is the first day of the Amy March Slippers Knitalong, with your kind and attentive hosts, Bethro and Challoner. I know some people jumped the gun and did their slippers early - and test knitting is always constructive, so good for you.

As for me, things have been busy around here the last 24 hours, so I don't know how quickly I'll get these done, but I have begun precisely on schedule.

I had to buy some chunky weight yarn for these slippers, as it's a weight I don't normally keep in the stash. I was in MichaeI's last week and got these.

The Shetland Chunky is the colour I prefer, but I thought the weight wouldn't be quite right...since I wanted to make more than one pair anyway, I picked up the Wool-Ease. It's got a lower wool content than I normally like but it takes all kinds to make up a stash...or something.

Anyway, I cast on today with my beloved magic loop method, using Meg Swansen's Turkish cast on. I think. I'm never sure what the difference is between the Turkish and the figure 8 cast on.

And here I am modelling the first twelve rounds against the backdrop of my Messy Tuesday post. This is what happens when a puppy prances into the house and you immediately discover the fifteen or twenty things you thought were up high enough but weren't. (And when you have tea twice and forget to put both pots away, and pin out your Cap Shawl and forget to put the pins away, and....and....and....)

More tomorrow.

Plenty of Pretty Things

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all."
-Amy March, Little Women

I've been thinking to myself, "What this blog needs is a knitalong."

The Amy March Slippers Knitalong

With your glamorous and intelligent hosts, Bethro and Challoner (erm, that's my alter ego).

Coming soon to Ravelry, My Own Two Cents, and Half Soled Boots. The designer is Stephanie Dosen of tinyowlknits, and she has waved her wand of blessing over this whole enterprise.

Here's what we're going for:



This will be a fast knit, darlings - so all you people who have been longing to try knitting, or knitting socks, or knitting in the round, or a figure-eight cast on, or fiddling with ribbons, Fear Not! For Behold, I bring you a two-evening project.







You'll need some bulky weight yarn with appropriate double-pointed needles (designer says 6mm) and some ribbons. Stephanie has written up the pattern for us, and after a quick test knit by your quirky and magnanimous hosts, we will be starting the knitalong.

Watch this space, or this space, or this space, for more news.

Edit: The Ravelry group is up - you can find it here.

Note: If you are not yet a member of Ravelry I politely, but inexorably, urge you to consider it. It's likely that much of the discussion will centre around the yet-to-be-created Rav group, and you wouldn't want to miss out on any of that. If you have even a slight, desultory interest in hook and needle, you will be very happy you joined.