Christmas Yarn Part II

Dear Blog, 

Santa was good to us this year, check it out! First, not photoed, was a gift card, promptly used to purchase a set of lace blocking wires. I've been desperately wanting some for (what seems like ) years now, and now I will have them. Bwahahaha! This combined with the knitting book I got, Finishing School, means I'll be able to conquer next-years uber lace and sweater knitting goals!

I've wanted this book for awhile, it's got all sorts of neat tips on how to add those professional last touches on projects, and it has the habit of ending up on the recommended reading lists of all my favorite bloggers. A must for any knitter's library!

Today I went over to the Post Office to pick up a present from my Sister. She's been dropping hints for awhile now so I was super excited (and a little scared) when I opened it. It's a hand painted braid of BFL for spinning, and it has all of my favorite colors in it!!
I've spun BFL before and it's true that not all BFL is the same. This stuff is considerably softer!  I'm really excited to start spinning this.

 The artists who does these braids also included a red hot-flavored lolly pop which I'm a little scared to try. Anyway, I was petting the fibre and smelling it (it's been heavily perfumed) and just generally drooling all over it when I noticed this tiny piece of paper.

I unfolded it and :

I must admit I squeaked a little. Loud enough to make Aaron come running to see if I was ok. Of course I'm ok, but I'm still wheeling from shock. It's a three month fibre club! I really don't know what to say. Of course I've tried calling (no answer), and I've texted. But how does one convey really and truly how they feel when confronted with so much fibery goodness?  

I'm still holding my breath, just in case it's just some kind of cruel joke or ill-fated mistake. But I think not.

Good thing I snagged the drop-spindle from storage the day I left Maryland ;)

Thanks Bri, you win again, what an awesome sister! 

Christmas Yarn Part I

Dear blog,

One of the most exciting times of the year, Christmas, is upon us. Or, I should say, was. I'm feeling pretty good about the fibrey part of this year's Holiday celebrations. Starting with a short little field trip to Fibre Space.
 My BFF and knitting co-conspirator Jeanne, planned for and financed the whole trip, and we ended up making a day of it. Commuting by Metro and walking five blocks in (sort of ) snowy weather definitely got us into the Christmas/yarn shopping mood. But first we ate at my favorite burger joint : Five Guys.  You can sit inside and stare at the yarn store as you eat, as I did.






Inside, Fibre Space is pretty awesome. There are two couches for sitting/purse storage. Yarns are organized by weight, the shelves are labeled with estimated cost per X yardage (to help those who want an idea how much a sweater in said yarn would cost them. ) And there were some pretty awesome locally produced and American grown yarns as well, something I always love seeing in a good Yarn Store.




They also have a freaking amazing logo and set of T-shirt and Bag designs. I think our favorite is the yarn planet + Rocket design. But I also love the Space Chick one. Couldn't resist nabbing it.



Not pictured, they also had a pretty sweet selection of fibre for hand spinning, as well as some hand-crafted drop spindles. Yummy! I resisted though, and satisfied myself with a Shawl's worth of Shelter.



Jeanne scored something Chunky in a delicious green color, also for a shawl, but in my excitement I forgot to note the brand name. Needless to say it was soft and squishy :)

Five Horned Sheep

Hello blog,

A few days ago I was curled up in bed reading a few pages from the Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. (I only read a few pages at a time as a way to relax before going to sleep.)
And I got to the section about the Manx Loaghtan breed. This breed caught my eye immediately because they commonly have four horns.





Now, I don't like to think of myself as an 'ignorant city girl' I have seen loads of sheep in person, and as a knitter preparing to get into spinning and fiber prep, I've read a fair bit about sheep. I know that sheep can have horns (though I've never personally met any of that type) But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine their horns could look like these!





According to just about any source you read about the Manx breed, they can have anywhere from 0 horns, to 6 horns! On reading that I spent several hours trying to find a picture of a sheep with six horns, but the closest I got was this five-horned one.

 

Bottom line is, the Manx breed just made it to my must-spin-fiber bucket list ^_^


WIP Progress:

- Working 1st rep of chart A for Nereid glove
- FO Glow hat
- FO Monster hat

Queuing :

- Zombie Vixen mitts
- Turn a square hat (2x)

WIP Wonderland

Dear blog,

I continued to chug along on all of my WIP projects this past week. The completion rate has slowed slightly due to the sudden transcription workload I've had lately. I am sorry to confess that I still have not mastered the art of typing and knitting simultaneously. However progress is still being made. I finished the base hat for Monster last week and made a pit stop at Hobby Lobby on Saturday for supplies.

Only one earflap and some glue keeps this hat from being an FO.







WIP Progress:

- The Frosted Glow hat is growing steadily. About two inches into the stockinette portion
- BO first Nereid glove, CO for second.

Queuing up :

Zombie Vixen Mitts
Turn a square hat.

Frosted FO

Dear Blog,


I started knitting Frosted on Sunday. And let me just say this first: I've only knit one, but it's my new favorite hat pattern and I've already got it memorized.

Went to the Big Yarn store on Saturday and got some last minute acrylics. My favorite being Red Heart's Shimmer. Worsted acrylic with shiny tinsel mixed in. It's surprisingly soft and held up well to frogging.

Had to frog the headband part because I was tragically misreading the instructions for the spiral rib.  I was reading the part that said:

K2TG But do not drop stitches from left needle knit first stitch again 2X

So I was knitting the first stitch a total of three times, creating an increase, when instead your supposed to knit it just the once, and then do the whole thing again starting with the K2TG. DOH.

Tuesday I knit the 5 inches of stockinette and today I did the decreases and bound off!





Yay, this is a spur of the moment totally un-planned x-mas knitting thing. ^^;;

I also finished a second pair of the good time mitts for my boyfriend, so now we both have gloves we can get away with wearing in uniform.

WIP progress :
- Getting ready to start the thumb gusset for Nereid
- Casting on a new hat
- Swatched the Tanis blue fingering for the zombie vixen mitts

Hibernating :

Endpaper mitts due to sudden x-mas knitting

The beaded lace cowl, because lets face it, I should probably frog it and join without twisting.

Anything But Swift

Dear Blog, 

Disclaimer: Let it be known that under normal circumstances the ball winder and swift combination is a very simple, fast, and rather fun way to wind yarn. I have on numerous occasions operated this set up successfully. Some of the pictures shown in this post may cause distress to knitters. View with caution.

On black friday, I may have had a slight black out, after which I regained consciousness with a credit card in my hand an an inexplicable invoice in my inbox. I'd feel a little guilty this close to the holiday season, but its not my fault. A good friend, (you know who you are), told me about the sale at eatsleepknit, and I got 25% off my order. Also, I only ordered yarn that 1.) I'd been planning to buy any way or 2) is for knitting for other people. I might blog about the total haul later, but of importance today are the two skeins of Shibui Sock. They are intended to be socks for my boyfriend, so there is no guilt in this yarn purchase. He has alternately been asking for either socks or a sweater for awhile and he's already been told he won't be getting a sweater. (yet.) He has also passed another crucial landmark. I prefer to only oblige hand-knit request if the person has

1.) given a fair attempt at knitting

2.) does some other kind of craft.

3.) has witnessed me knitting for a considerable amount of time and is thus able to appreciate the effort involved. 

This helps me stay friends with co-workers who often thoughtlessly ask for knitted items without really being aware of the level of commitment they are requesting. (Try knitting something for someone who has completely forgotten ever asking for the item by the time its done. So fun. ) 

All this to say that I pulled out my ball winder and swift, intending to quickly wind up some yarn before bed. And this is what happened.

,

There isn't a whole lot of space in my tiny barracks room for the swift, and I was also having unusual trouble getting the yarn to wind off smoothly. One jerk too many too hard, and the whole thing came crashing to the floor.

The little peg that goes through the center of the swift snapped in half and is now unusable.

I don't think the yarn was tangled in the actual fall, but in my delirium I picked it up and, trying not to weep, horribly mangled it. It took the better part of four hours to wind into a ball.

I eventually had to put it down and go to bed. But I was so upset that I couldn't sleep well. I knew I couldn't go to work until it was fixed. I wound the ball into a very loose messy looking yarn-cake. (doesn't work right without the swift. But I was determined to try.)  Then Aaron held the swift steady so that I could wind the second ball. It was still a little stubborn and I'm wondering if maybe I'm unwinding the skeins and putting them on wrong? 

Just to be on the safe side I also wound the skein of Tanis Blue Lable Fingering, and it worked fine. (mostly.) So it's still inconclusive as to if it was me or the yarn at fault. At that point I was using a pencil to replace the peg, and the wobbling meant the swift kept traveling across the desk.

Anyway. I've licked my wounds and am recovering from the trauma. Very little knitting got done today.

I might need more DPNs

Dear Blog,

I am excited about the amount of knitting I've been able to do lately.  This past week-end I finished the gusset on my Vampire Boyfriend Sock (2nd sock) so I feel confident that the project will be finished pretty soon.  But it is not the only thing I am working on. Far from it.

From right to left:
Nereid on size 0's, dream in color smooshy, colorway: Rasberry Blaze. Endpaper Mitts on size 2 needles knit with Brooklyntweed Loft colors Hayloft and Plume, and the Vampire Boyfriend sock on size 1 needles in knit picks essential kettle dyed. Colorway: Spruce.

As if that wasn't enough, I'm also halfway done with a second pair of the good time mitts. (which mysteriously are turning out smaller than the first ones? )


AND I already have plans to cast on two simple hats later this week.

The Hideously Ugly Sweater--Vest Incident

Dear Blog,

Sometimes, when I tell people that I knit, I get this strange reaction. They wrinkle up their nose and think for a minute and then they make one of two observations.

1. Knitting is itchy


Or


2. They received a hand-knit item once and it was an ugly color/striped monster.


This makes me kind of sad because for me knitting has always been first and foremost an art, and art is supposed to be pleasant and pretty. I've never really understood how those hand-knit sweater disasters happen, and can only assume that the knitter responsible was either eccentric or color blind.


The itchy part is slightly more reasonable. Knitting has widely been considered a frugal, cheaper method of getting stuff and it's one of the tragedies of the craft that comfort is generally the first thing to be sacrificed.


 All this is to say that I have recently found myself in the novel position of having created an ugly sweater of my own. I'm not saying that I take back my previous judgment of other ugly-sweater knitters. But I do feel like I can sympathize with them a little.


I recently cracked open a box of my stashed yarn and discovered I had several skeins of chunky acrylic. I'm on a tight budget right now and haven't been buying any new yarn so it was really important to me to try to find some pattern to knit with it. The obvious first choice was a hat, which I tried. But something about it just looked really ugly (something about the epic level of shininess that is the main attribute of this yarn. )

I've had this sweater vest in my queue for a bit and have really wanted to knit it. It's just hard to tell if something like that will fit well or to know ahead of time which places in the pattern to modify. So I knit it.
 I didn't have enough yarn to knit it in one color. So it's striped. The design and construction of the vest makes the stripes a bit unfortunate. The colors also clash deliciously. See for yourself.


Pattern: Shawl Collar Vest

Needles:
 I forget. US 11 or 13? 

Yarn: Loops & Threads Cozy Wool (3) balls purple and (.5) ball orange.


Overlooking the obvious, its a very nice vest and I would really like to knit it again in a solid color wool. I'd probably make some modifications. Only knit 8 inches or so before picking up the stitches and in short just making things a tiny bit shorter. (maybe knitting at a tighter gauge.)
In the meantime, while I'll probably refrain from wearing it in public, I'm enjoying my hideous vest.



Cheers.

Because I Can

Dear Blog,

I was knitting on my Vampire Boyfriend socks at work yesterday, getting perilously close to the beginning of the heel flap, and I must have zoned out because I somehow managed to cross my cable the wrong way.





First off, how the hell did I do that? The center cable is always a C4B. Always. It's never anything else. And the pattern is pretty easy to read and not at all confusing so why for the love of wool would I suddenly start knitting a different cable?  Anyway. The point is I noticed the mistake 3 or 4 rows after the fact and I thought myself. "Huh. I could fix that." But continued to knit. Even though the thought that this cable thingy was a mistake that I could easily fix without that much effort kept creeping into my mind, I ignored it. Because, hey, it's just one lousy cable right? Who'd notice?  That's why hand knits are so lovable anyway. All those mistakes.

Maybe. Maybe if I were a new knitter and I seriously thought I would have to tink back those 4 rows, fix the mistake, and then knit those four rows all over again. Maybe then that kind of laziness would be acceptable. But not for me. I knew I was just being unreasonably sloth-like, so eventually I dropped those four offending stitches. Pulled out the bad cable.




And used the little ladder-loops to put the cable back where it belongs.  It only took a few short minutes and not a lot of fuss, it looks the way it's supposed to and no-one will ever know that it was once crossed the wrong way.

 

I did it because I can. And it's really that simple.

FO : Good Time Mitts

Hey blog!

There has been lots of knitting going on, both casting on new projects and finishing them.  I knit these mittens in two days. Impressed? You should be. Two days during work. I'm pretty happy/smug about that. I'm sure the knitting karma will catch up with me soon though.

In the Meantime :

Pattern : Good Time Mitts

Needles: US4

Yarn : Patons Classic wool

The black yarn isn't the best for photographing, huh?
I've got some neater things to show you soonish, but until then, chew on this.  My stash has totally been there to support me these past few months. Haven't bought any new yarn since before August!

FO: NRS Sweater

Today's FO is the NRS - No Remorse Sweater.  It started out life hoping to be the Sideways Redux, but I realized that pattern was hopelessly too complicated for me and switched at the last minute. This pattern was pretty easy (Except for the whole button thing. More on that later ) and I would love to knit it again. Knit this with knit picks wool of the andes, which in hindsight is not really soft enough for a close-to-the-skien sweater. (Though fine for hats and the like.)



Yarn : Knit picks wool of the andes (about ) 4 balls
Needles : US5
Pattern : Safire
Cast on : Jan 2012
Cast Off : Nov 2012





Other than the slight itchyness, my only real complaint is that I managed to knit the top two button holes on one side of the sweater and the bottom two on the other side. No idea how that happened but it's making for some seriously awkward fastening. I may or may not ever put in the effort to figuring out a fix for this, since its really too itchy to wear anyway. The positive side of all this is that I can knit sweaters that fit me perfectly and that are good enough quality that I would wear them in public, so my sweater phobia is mostly gone now




obligatory boob shot?


Cheers
THEO

FO : Selfish Set

Dear blog,

Today I'd like to show you a FO that I started way back in April. The Selfish scarf.



Pattern : One row handspun scarf
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca (Brown), Manos Del Uruguay Maxima (purplish)
Start : April 2012
End : October 2012

This scarf started as I was feeling a little sorry for myself, I was still transitioning from big-store acrylic yarns, to nicer, fancier, stuff. To justify spending the money I mostly only knit things for other people with the nice yarn, so I bought these two skeins as "me skeins" so I could get some yummy hand-knits too. Although I did knit a whole lot of other stuff this year, the main reason it took so long for me to finish this project was because I was savoring it. The Manos has got to be my favorite yarn to just knit for the pure tactile pleasure of knitting, and I wanted to hold on to that feeling for as long as possible.  I had a significant amount left over, so I made some matching mittens to go with it.




Pattern : Urban Necessity Mitts
Needles : US4
Yarn : Same as above.


Even though the Berroco is super soft, and more than soft enough for around-the neck wear in the scarf, it turns out that it gives me an unpleasant ticklish feeling on my wrist when worn as mittens. (even though its technically just as soft as the Manos, the Manos is completely smooth and cushy, while the Berroco has that wirery hairy texture to it that makes it slightly itchy if you're sensitive to that kind of thing.)
It's a bit of disappointment. I'm going to try first washing them, and then just wearing them all day in an attempt to get used to the feeling. After that, I *might* have enough Manos left to squeeze out a second pair.
A note on the pattern, yes, I was cheap and didn't knit the fingers or the mitten cap. So why even bother using that pattern instead of any number of other fingerless mitt patterns?  Because I've knit it several times before and it was still in my queue when I was ready to cast on!

I'll probably be knitting loads of mittens this winter, so if you have a favorite pattern leave it in the comments :)

Until Next,
Cheers!

Books

Dear Blog,

A few days ago I received two knitting books in the mail. Neither of these books, I think, were meant to be read from cover to cover, neither of them contain patterns. Both of them are solid, large, hardcover, resource books. The Principles of Knitting, which I've merely flipped through so far, is basically an encyclopedia of knitting techniques. My favorite bit to tell people is that it's got more than 7 different ways to cast on and bind off. (I started counting but got bored. It's loads though. ) I like it because this way if there's something I've forgotten how to do, not only can I look it up - even when the internet is being flakey - but more likely than not I'll get more than one answer, and an explanation as to why one would be better than the other in certain circumstances.

The other book is the fleece and fiber source book. This one I am reading from cover to cover.  I'm still really looking forward to buying a spinning wheel and starting to learn how to spin, so fiber and sheep and everything wooly is just on my mind. I want to know what breeds to buy, what types of fiber preparation is best, and which wool to spin what way and to knit what items. The idea that some breeds of sheep produce wool more suitable for one kind of end product, and other breeds produce significantly different wool... Well I find it fascinating. And not only is the book well written, it was designed for those of us who like to see and touch things. Every page is laid out like a little scrap book with pictures of the sheep, the raw fiber, and spun and knitted samples. I'm sure if they could figure out a way to let us feel each sample they would do it. And I'm not going to lie. I'm really really enjoying looking at the pictures.

Optimism

Dear Blog,


Today I want to write about my finished Dragon Dance socks. I finished them on the 2nd, but I could have finished them way sooner if it weren't for my eternal optimism.

It all started after I passed the gusset decreases in the 2nd sock. Trying it on I noticed with minor annoyance that it was tighter than the first one. "Stupid guage" I muttered to myself. "Why Can I never knit both socks consistently? " But I didn't really think much of it. I've resigned myself to the fact that my gauge varies pretty wildly and theres nothing I can do about it. I kept knitting the foot and comparing the sock to the first one, noticing with growing alarm the unavoidable difference in size. The 2nd sock was considerably smaller/narrower than the first. I fretted and fussed, but kept knitting, always thinking that it would work out. I got as far as the last toe decrease, realizing that my big toe was still sticking out even though I did them the same way as for the first sock. By this point any sane rationally thinking person would have had to give up and realize defeat. But oh no, I pulled some lame ass added toe rows and kitchener stitched the ugly thing together. Wasn't until I tried the "Finished" sock on that I was forced to admit that the whole thing was squeezing my foot like a hungry boa-constrictor.  So I ripped everything out back to the gusset decreases. (turns out I decreased too many rows and had 10 less stitches on the needles than I should have. )  I re-knit the whole foot which actually only took around 2 days, and now the pair is finished and done. It feels so much better to just fix mistakes rather than trying to kid yourself into thinking that you can live with them.


On another note, today is the one year anniversary of my Vampire Boyfriend Sock project, so appropriately I am finally casting on the 2nd-sock for that pattern. Let's see how long it takes me to finish this sock of cabled goodness :)

Until Next
Cheers

SEP WIP

Hi Blog,

September is slowly fading away, and I've been knitting pretty consistently. Got two active WIPS right now. First up is the jeweled cowl.

Not a lot to say about it. It's insanely easy, the hardest part is putting on the 14 beads every other row, and thats more fiddly than challenging. I did kinda twist it while joining in the round, so it's a bit of a mobius strip, but oh well. I think it'll still be lovely when its finished.

I even knit a few rows on it while out drinking over my vacation. Just to say that I did it. Beaded lace in a bar? Why not!

Second up is the Dragon Dance Socks. These are knitting up in record time. The first sock was finished in mere days, and I'm already working the heelflap of sock #2



I expect these will be cast off in no time.
Cheers

THEO

Dragon Dance Saga

Hello blog,

I have something extra yummy to show you today, curtsey of my very good friend Jeanne. She went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival earlier this year and picked me up a skien of yarn. Not any skien of yarn mind you, Socks That Rock Medium-weight.

This yarn is Soft, Luscious, Plump, Juicy... In short it's gorgeous. The skien is in one of my favorite colors - bronze-orange. And the color-way is named 'Dragon Dance.'
Really I don't know a stronger word for 'perfect'.

Obviously I couldn't resist swatching it up. I've got a few projects going already, but since my main project right now is beaded lace, I figured a simple sock pattern would be OK. Some of you might be asking me why I would start another sock when I have yet to finish the Vampire Boyfriend Socks that I cast on in October last year. Those people obviously have never touched STR.

I picked a simple ribbed sock pattern. Mostly because I wanted something simple to keep in my purse, and because I didn't want a complex pattern muddying up the lovely color way, but also because one of my favorite bloggers, Glenna, just finished a pair recently from her own sock recipe.  I'm taking my socks everywhere, including but not limited to yesterday's five mile hike through Patapsco State Park.

You can't see it in this photo, but I'm actually standing on top of a small waterfall.

Until Next
Cheers

FO : Good Day Sunshine

Dear blog,

I am pleased to be able to tell you that my Lavender shawl is now officially done.  I cast off on September 4th, and after a few days of waiting it is now patiently blocking on my sister's table.  I'm glad to be done with it. Don't get me wrong, the pattern wasn't that hard (though not my favorite), and it wouldn't have taken me so long to knit if I weren't so perpetually busy all the time.  I'm also not sure how I feel about the yarn choice. Alpaca with a twist... Not as soft as it could have been, and a little stiff. plus the slight yarn halo which I can never decide how I feel about. It was a huge 800 yard skien so I still have way more than enough to make something else with it. I doubt I even used half of the yarn.

Anyway, I've already started my next lace project (more on that later), and am looking at casting on a new pair of socks today. So stayed tuned.

Until Next

Cheers

Boutique

Dear blog,

Today I visited a very trendy and new knitting boutique in my hometown, Maryland.

They lady there was very nice and friendly, and the yarn was very tempting. I only meant to pick up some DPNs, but I also ended up getting a small little yarn treat.

Once again, I've just graduated so hopefully there will be more time for knitting again soonish. I'm 6 rows from the end of my Lavender shawl, so stay tuned for that future FO.

Until next
Cheers

Side Note

Nearly four years ago, I was still a relatively new knitter. I'd been knitting for just over a year, and I had moved out of my parents house and gone off to college. By all accounts, college was pretty cool, but the thing I miss most about it, is the LYS that was an easy 2 mile walk from where I lived. I was introduced to spinning in that LYS. Spinning on a drop spindle. And while I fell in love instantly I knew that the drop spindle was not for me. I knew that I was destined for other, larger, spinning tools. I simply didn't have the time or the money for such a large indulgence.  Since then I've graduated, joined the Navy, and gone to school all over again. I promised myself as a graduation present from A-school, I would finally buy that wheel.

Now, don't get too excited. I haven't actually graduated yet. But my graduation is a mere 3 months away, so I've already started to plan. Reading books, watching videos, joining Ravelry groups. And I discovered something. In these last four years, my tastes have changed.

I always thought that when I did eventually buy a wheel, it would be the Ashford Traveler.

Aesthetics are deeply important to me, and I find the castle-style wheels to be the most attractive. Ashford is a deeply respected name, and of course, it falls into the nice $500 price range.

But in my recent research, I have found that while a majority of knitters learned on, or owned a traveler at one point, they all eventually upgraded to other wheels. I'm not currently looking to own multiple wheels, I just want one. So I started looking into the slightly more expensive wheels.

One big priority I have now is that my wheel needs to be portable, and so out of all of the wheels out there, the very very new schacht sidekick is starting to call out to me

The downside is that it's new, so there aren't a lot of people who have one yet, or people who have serious complaints about it. But it seems to have everything I want. Stability, quality, and portability.  The only real complaints I've heard about it come from knitters who own 5 or 6 different wheels, and these knitters tend to be very nit-picky about very small things. As a complete beginner, I know that I'll probably imprint on whichever wheel I learn on and love it completely. This wheel is nice because if I ever want to upgrade, the Schacht Matchless is completely compatible with it, so I wouldn't have to buy all knew bobbins and stuff.  Sure, the Sidekick is more expensive, but I've been knitting for a long time now and I'm confident that I'll be spinning even longer. They say that the Schacht wheels are like the sports cars of the spinning world. 

I think I can live with that.

Oh Baby how I knit for you

Hey blog, 

I took a little break from my other numerous projects this week to do some baby knitting.

The hat pattern is here and the bootie pattern is here

Pst. Is it just me, or does the hat seem small to you?

I must admit this was my first time knitting baby booties, and I was a little intimidated!

You knit them flat, and anything knit flat and seemed up afterward makes me a little nervous. I'm never quite sure I believe that it'll all work out in the end, you know? 

Anyway, I started by knitting 5" of garter

Then you pick up 30 stitches along one of the long edges, knit a few rows, and start knitting the 10 sitches in the center 

There's some finicky stuff here that I'm repressing, but trust me, if you just take it a step at a time it'll work out like magic.

 

Once you've done the little instep, you fold it all up and graft it together (that becomes the sole of the foot. ). After that you fold down the flap and seem up the back.
It's actually kinda clever and fun once you get over weaving in all those lose ends.

So cute!