Wear Report - Valentine's Edition

For the last four years, I have knitted something for Mr S for Valentines Day. The first thing I ever made him were Fibertrends Felted Clogs, and after four years of daily wear, it was time for a replacement.

Let's give some serious credit to that double-thick felted sole; these slippers have held up amazingly well, given their level of hard use. Mr S wore them every day, often up and down our very steep driveway to get the newspaper or to put out the trash. But for the last 6 months or so, the soles of the clogs began to sprout holes, and I began finding little strands of red yarn all over the house as they began to shed their frayed edges.



I made the first pair of clogs in Lambs Pride Worsted. They obviously held up so well, it made sense to use that felting workhorse again. My husband has very big feet (insert snicker here), so I made the largest size, but it took many, many cycles in the washer for these to felt to the proper size. It wasn't much of a surprise when he opened them up even though I made sure I didn't knit them when he was around; he'd been expecting a new pair, but he was, predictably, happy and grateful for the new pair.



Pattern: FiberTrends Felted Clogs
Yarn and Needles: Lambs Pride Worsted, 4 skeins, chocolate souffle, US13
Ravelry Details here

We've all heard the old adage that marriage is hard work, to stay connected as life gets complicated, to keep the spark as life gets predictable and boring. We've been together over a dozen years, and we're in the stage of our life where Friday nights no longer mean wine tastings or art openings. It means ice cream socials at the elementary school or sharing yet another pizza on paper plates. Our first Valentines Day was celebrated with a romantic weekend away at a B & B; now we celebrate with a giant chocolate chip cookie from Acme after dinner and a gift of handknits. I mean, replacement felted slippers don't exactly say "Come on over, sexy lover." They're practical, warm, and sort of boring.

But Mr S and I had an especially happy Valentine's Day, after having endured a potentially scary health issue for me. I am one of the lucky women whose questionable mammogram ultimately showed no signs of malignancy, but it has been a worried few weeks for the two of us. We maintained perspective, and were very optimistic, but it was impossible for me not to see his concern when he looked at me. I teased him that he loved me extra, and that he'd better still love me extra when I was just his Making-Spaghetti-For-Dinner-Again-Wife, not his Oh-My-God-What-If-She-Has-Cancer-Wife.

We've emerged from the last month with an immense feeling of relief and gratitude, as well as a new empathy for people who have to walk the difficult path that we were so fortunate to avoid. We appreciate in a whole new way our boring, happy life, and we still love each other extra.

Teacher Appreciation

Last Thursday was Teacher Appreciation Day at N's school. I love our special day honoring our faculty. Each child brings a flower for the teacher which is then placed in a vase for a special arrangement for the day. The parents bring food for a special luncheon for the teachers and this year, one parent even serenaded the faculty with a song. It is very simple and sweet and N just loves picking the flowers from the garden for her dear Miss Lisa.

In Waldorf Education, the first grade teacher follows with the student until grade eight. A deep, important, trusting relationship is forged between the student and the teacher that, I believe, allows the student the stability to take the risks needed for true learning.

N is finishing up her first grade year and we are so thrilled that Miss Lisa will be her guide, mentor, and teacher for the next seven years. She is compassionate and kind. Structured and firm yet light-hearted and playful. She challenges the children while providing for them comfort and security. I am so grateful to have such a balanced, gifted teacher in my daughter's life.

I wanted to give N's teacher a flower that would last for more than a few days. So I picked up the Felted Iris kit that was sitting in the back of the stash.


Pattern and Yarn: Iris, Iris Germanica Pickupsticksicus, Felted by Pick Up Sticks
Needles: US 10s dpn
Notes: This is quite easy knitting. The only tricky part for me was that the yarn was not strong enough to retain the gathering during felting and I had to do some emergency sewing during the felting process. You have to shape (by sewing with the yarn) before the felting and after (using a wire for structure). It had more steps than I initially realized, but was fun! I bought the kit at Ben Franklin.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments about the Spartan! I'm sorry that I have been way too busy to respond, I appreciated all the kind words (and the BackBou loved the compliments too!).