I have been slowly working out a new design. It's both for a Christmas gift and a new pattern, but my sister Abby promises she'll act surprised when I give them to her, so I can share them here. As I mentioned in a previous post, they are the first thing I've designed that are wear-able and that are not felted. They are surprisingly quick to knit (says the woman who has only completed one so far) and the beading is a fun new addition to the knit fabric. Here's a quick snapshot--

Ta da! Moccasins! When I was about 7, there was a shop my family visited that carried  Minnetonka moccasins. I coveted a tiny white pair that had a thunderbird made of beads on the toe. They were so soft, with lovely fringe. I guess I haven't worked that out of my system or something, because I have been really driven to come up with this pattern. 

I am especially pleased with the design as they are just about seamless. I knit them in two pieces, then turned the lining inside out and did a 3 needle bind off around the heel so that both the lining and the outer part would have the right side showing. I added the fringe and beads around the heel, but I couldn't figure out how to do the decorative beadwork on the toe. Perfectly, last night at my Stitch and Bitch, my friend Kelley (who is a gifted potter) brought beading supplies. She is usually whipping out some cool knitting project, I didn't even know she could also do beadwork! She generously shared her knowledge and some beading supplies with me, and I have started working out one of the designs I sketched. She works on cardstock covered with interfacing, but I am thinking about working on felt instead.

I am so looking forward to seeing how these turn out. I am a bit nervous about scaling the pattern so it can fit everyone, including kids an babies, but I have good motivation, I think it would be adorable to make a pair for each of my boys and Laura's boys for Christmas. 

I promise this blog won't turn into a home renovation showcase but I am doing a lot of work at our new house- we are re-finishing the floors and our careful, (slow!) prep work is paying off, I hope! Here's a photo of the still-wet first coat in the living room-

I will be so glad to be snuggled in to our new place, serenely knitting up moccasins for everyone on the couch!