I swear it's Magic!

The clogs are done and drying. Woohoo!

Here's a shot pre-felting:
These are bigger than ginormous - just crazy big. I began having doubts at this point... Notice how big they are compared to my hand.
I ran them through two cycles of hot/cold, holding my breath the whole time they were swishing.
Hey! They look like clogs!! And here's my hand again for comparison purposes...

Success! They're just the right size. Phew...
I am so lucky...

Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs (designed by Bev Galeskas)
Yarn: Brown Sheep Shepherd's Shades (131 yards per 100gr skein) - less than one skein Red Plum, a little over one skein Steel (but I knitted a gauge swatch out of the Steel and felted it, so not sure how much yardage that consumed)
Needles: size 13 circs (I had to go out and buy them special for the project - I own a bajillion small needles, but not many large ones)
Mods: I knitted these single strand, not doubled like the pattern called for. The gauge swatch I tried with the doubled yarn didn't felt down small enough. Shepherd's Shades felts gloriously and I decided it was worth the risk. (They were bound to fit someone...) I lucked out!

The pattern was easy to knit, though I did have to pay attention. (The first try had to be ripped out because I inadvertently skipped some rows. After that, I used a sticky note to keep track of what row I was on. )

I now want a pair of these for myself! Good thing I bought 4 skeins of the Shepherd's Shades...

And then there were three

Three fingers down, one to go. (Not counting the thumb, of course. Thumbs are a whole different category.) Annemor 10 marches on. The colors are definitely growing on me.And, just because I didn't have enough things cast on:
Yep. Finally started these clogs. I bought the pattern last winter, but hadn't gotten around to trying it out. I've made a lot of felted slippers (I'm wearing a pair, now) and really enjoy knitting big floppy whatsits and then washing them to the brink of destruction. (Isn't there something delightfully perverse in shrinking handknits on purpose...)
These are going to be a gift, but the recipient will be chosen after they're done - I've found this to be the safest course with felted objects. You know, you take it out of the washer and think "Okay, now who do I know that this will fit?" So much better than planning it for Aunt Betsy and finding it would only fit little baby cousin Sophie...
I've used the Shepherd's Shades before - it's a really great yarn for felting. But using it in this pattern is going to be a complete experiment. The pattern calls for using the yarn double, but when I felted a swatch with the SS doubled, it was way too big. So I'm trying it single, knitting the large woman's size, and hoping it will fit someone on my list when I'm done. Keep your fingers crossed for me - it might be a bumpy trip...
And as I knit this pattern, my admiration for Bev Galeskas is enormous. I've done a lot of designing myself, and I know how tedious it can be - knit knit knit, oops, that didn't work, unravel unravel unravel, knit knit knit, CRAP!! unravel unravel unravel... Which is crazy-making, but at least you can use the yarn over. When designing for felting, however - you don't know what you've got until after you felt it! That yarn is gone, baby. Holy frustration, Batman!
I had to go to the LYS for size 13 needles for the clogs. I may have accidently bought a couple of skeins of yarn while I was there.


For Christmas presents, of course. Because I definitely don't have enough things cast on, yet. Look at all the empty needles just lying there doing nothing!