Interpret the "F-f-f-f-" as you wish. After all, this is a family blog. But it's bloody cold outside. 9 degrees. Finally. Yep, we knew the Winter Solstice would bring some dipping temps. Ahem... not to be disappointed???
Long story short, I was thinking of Gran, the other day. She'd laugh knowing my feet were cold, since I'm pretty much the Queen Of Bare Feet. Thing is, we're conserving oil and these f-f-f-whatever Eden Pure heaters just don't cut it in single digits. The tile is cold. The slate is cold. Even for me. Somewhere in the CMI archives, I'm sure there was mention of Gran's chastising me, as a kid:
"Honey, if you don't put something on your feet, you'll have arthritis when you're my age."
There's food for thought in that remark, since I'm now about the age at which she began the mantra. Her Mom is gone. She is gone. My Mom is gone. And where is the little girl in the pictures? Oh, c'est moi. I digress...
Gran was a young dressmaker in young New York City, back in her day... wedding gowns. She easily segued to sewing awesome party dresses for me. It upsets me that I've not one tangible sample of her exquisite work, accomplished at the professional, factory-style Singer. Even when relaxing, her hands would always be busy knitting or crocheting. Hmmm, so it's genetic. To substantiate her point about my cold feet, she'd make little booty-style slippers with pompoms, for me. Endless pairs. I'd wear through the bottoms; she'd repair once or twice; then it was on to another pair. She never bothered sewing soles onto them, as they took so little time to replace. Yarn was cheap, plentiful and rather dull, by comparison to today's varieties.
In a recent lightbulb moment, I determined the need for a pair of Gran's slippers. At first, I winged it from memory. That didn't work. So, I Googled Grandma's Knitted Pom-Pom Slippers. Try it, if you're interested, to see all kinds of directions and images. I was off and knitting, but with big, fluffy designer yarn, leftover from one blanket or another. They are sort of Gran's slippers...and the bonus? There is now a product, Super Grip by Performix, to spray on the bottoms to render them non-slippery, as well as protect from wear. You've got it... Googled.Knitting a pair of these is analogous to making a loaf of bread, in that both projects afford almost-instant gratification.
Gran's impressed and lovin' my first project of 2013. I feel her presence... always.
♥
