The Red-Orange-Pink-Peach-Magenta Shoes May 11, 2006

Ever since I was a child I’ve gone through these little periods I like to call “obsessions”. I become intensely interested in a topic, research it thoroughly for several weeks or months, and then suddenly lose interest. Notable obsessions of the past include the moon race, the Titantic, Ireland, and musical theatre. You’d think that I would grow out of this tendancy, but no… I spent much of January watching Fred Astaire movies and reading books about his life. And then there was that whole Welsh thing during the Knitting Olympics…

Anyway, my April obsession was ballet, specifically Mikhail Baryshnikov (rrrow!). It’s hard to watch every Baryshnikov DVD Netflix owns without wanting to get up and dance. The problem? No dancing shoes! Enter…

Pattern: My own, inspired by Pocketbook Slippers
Yarn: Bernat Softee Chunky in colorway Carnival, 1 skein
Needles: Susan Bates Silverado 32″ circular, size 10
Began/Completed: April 2006
Methods Learned: single crochet bind off, alternate loop bind off

The closest thing the knitting world has to the look of ballet shoes is the Mary Jane slipper. However, the one thing that all online MJ patterns have in common is seams at both the toe and the heel, and I wanted to use this lovely varigated yarn. Color jogs at the toe would be very ugly. So I had a think and figured out how to move the major seams to the heel and bottom of the foot – much more attractive and, if you do it right, less seaming to be done.

I’ve never been interested in Mary Janes before – it must have something to do with all those LJ Knitting posters who called them “warm” (with the ankle and top of the foot uncovered – you must be joking!) – but I was eventually charmed by these slippers. They’re not what I’d call warm, but they’re nice for walking around the house in summer. It must be noted, however, that they don’t actually make good dancing shoes. They almost fell off after the above pose, but they’re fine as long as I don’t flex my foot too much.

This project gave me a chance to finally use one of my oldest pairs of circular needles: Susan Bates Silverado. Wow! For supposedly cheapie needles they are really very nice! Stitches glide easily over the point, and the cord is very flexible. We’re not talking Addi Country, but still a pleasure to work with. The cord is kinda short at 32″ (I believe they also come in 36″), but they have Magic Loop potential. I will have to pick up more the next time I visit Michaels!