Renewed Traditions- Arthurs

This holiday season we are continuing on with our puzzling like we did last year. (If you are looking for something very christmassy I highly recommend any of Jane Wooster Scott's snowy folk art scenes.)

However, I have found that I'm more caught up in a world of hdc's, yo's and sc's this year.

When I was a young teen, mum and I visited my Nan (grandmother) in England.  One day, mums feet were cold so she borrowed a pair of Nan's hand knitted slippers and while wearing them literally slipped down the stairs, laughing all the way.  The running joke became , if you wear Nan's slippers you take on the arthritis in her legs and start walking like her as well. (you had to be there, it was really funny.)

Nan's knitted slippers were dubbed "Arthurs" (short for arthritis) and she was so proud of this that she knitted everyone a pair of their own each year from then on.

(Here's the last pair she made me.)

When my dear Nan passed away in 2004 she took with her this cherished family tradition.
Last year, I wanted to surprise my mum by making a pair for Christmas so I got knitting needles and yarn. I failed miserably and only managed to share with her my wish to make them for her.

Fast forward to this Thanksgiving when she visited and brought with her a pattern for crocheted slippers that looked very similar to the knitted ones Nan used to make. EUREKA! Crochet, I can do. After some trial and error, adaptations and playing around, I have a pattern for Arthurs!
Here is Emily in the prototype.

(The rest won't have pom poms even though I think they are adorable so I may change my mind. Emily and mum made the pompom ties to tighten the slipper since they were an adult size)

So here I am,feverishly making Arthurs every evening for my immediate family and I think my Nan would be pleased. I know I am.

Here's to renewed traditions.

Comments

[Courtney]

that is so lovely, makes me tear up thinking about how sweet that is.

[Liz]

Love it!! Vive la traditions! One of our "must do" things each Christmas is digging out the "pastina ball" from my mom's decorations. It is the last surviving ornament made out of gold-tone spray-painted pasta from my childhood. Every year we have to laugh at it! A few years ago, my own kids duplicated the pasta ornaments (elbow macaroni trees and such)...so now there are more floating around!

[Beth]

Love the "arthurs", what a nice tradition.