Norwegian Purl Technique

I found this via the Knitty blog. I've seen people do this before but have never figured out how it was done before. I tried it out last night. Not too hard, but will take some practice before it becomes automatic. This is going to make ribs and seed stitches a lot faster.

Saartje Style for the Grown Ups

I finally finished working out the pattern for the adult-sized slippers. Here's the pattern pdf. They are a little more clog-like and less roundy than the smaller size, but still pretty cute.



You can definitely fudge the sizes larger or smaller by changing needle size or yarn weight. I did a try with bulkier yarn following the pattern exactly and got about a size 39 (US 8). They're very quick to knit. Don't be afraid to mess around with the gauge for sizes.

Queue them up on Ravelry.

Saartje-Inspired Big-Kid Slippers

I have been knitting booties by designer Saartje de Bruijn for a few people I know who are expecting babies. I think these are the cutest booties I've ever seen. Vigo loved these little booties so much he would come up to them and give them a kiss. He really wanted a pair of his own. I first tried just knitting the booties with fat Aran-weight yarn and fat US9 needles, but the shape was just not right. Too floppy, too big, ill-proportioned.

I tossed that first experiment into the washer on hot and they came out very cute as a toddler-size felted slipper.

For the next experiment I tried some short rows in the toe, and the slippers came out just perfect for Vigo's little feet. I've written up the pattern, which you can get here: Saartje-Inspired Big-Kid Slippers pattern as a pdf

Here are pictures of the Big-Kid Slippers and the other booties I've been knitting.

On Needles

* Old Shale Baby Blanket: Ravelry Project Link, Free Pattern

* German Stockings: Ravelry Project Link, Pattern Link

* Cabled Fingerless Gloves: Own design, somewhat stalled

* Rag Scarf Number Two: Still getting the fiber combination right

* Raglan Cardigan for Vigo: Totally stalled