Slippers - Fixed

 I bought my first pair of these slippers years ago.  While we were in the flat I think.  From Next - I liked them, light weight, flexible but good for keeping my feet warm.

After a while I noticed that I’d worn a hole through on both slippers under my big toe.  I had a look on the Next website and they still sold them so I got a new pair.

However, I didn’t throw out the old ones.  Except for that small hole there was nothing wrong with them.  I think I imagined swapping between the new pair and old pair to make them last longer.  But that didn’t happen.  The old pair got put at the back of a cupboard and the new pair got worn a lot.

This summer I finally admitted that they probably needed replacing again.  But Next aren’t selling them anymore!!  No!

What to do?  The slippers themselves are fine, it’s just the sole that’s seen better days.  Not being one to just throw stuff away when it’s not totally broken I had a look online and came across Joe’s Toes.  

These guys are all about the slipper; they have kits so you could make your own from scratch, or they had a nice selection of soles for fixing old slippers, and much more.

Choosing new soles was a hard choice if I’m honest.  Felt might be a bit thicker but hard wearing, rubber would mean I wouldn’t need to worry about dog drips or a quick dash into the garden, but in the end the suede soles did it for me.

Following their size guide I ordered a size smaller than I thought I would need and waited for them to arrive.

I was very happy when they came.  The suede was soft and flexible, not too thick, but thick enough.  And they came ready perforated, making them even easier to use.

 

I washed the oldest pair of slippers and patched the small holes with cardboard, then sewed the soles on.  Absolutely perfect.  The right size, they looked great and felt great when I started wearing them again.

The second pair of slippers needed more work.  First I washed them, which showed up just how worn they were.  I used interfacing on the soles to give me something to work with and sewed up the worst of the edges, then added the new soles.  What a difference!

 

Two pairs of brand new slippers with just a little effort.  Nothing thrown away and I’m happy cos I didn’t like the look of any of the slippers on the websites I’d looked at.  I look forward to seeing how long these soles last, especially if I stick to the original plan of alternating between them. 

And once they do wear out, I think it will be really easy to cut off the odd soles and add new ones, as long as I don't leave it too late!

Wedding Plates

 

Have I mentioned that my little sister got married this autumn?

It look place on the Greek island of Santorini and was a beautiful event.

 

I wanted to gift her something beautiful and meaningful to celebrate her big day, but at the same time this is a lady who had pretty much everything she could wish for and a very particular style.

 

 

Inspired by the fact I was doing pottery classes at the time, I decided to make her a/some plates as these could actually be useful but also a nice reminder of that special day.

 

I did some research into what I could do and the island itself and after a lot of thinking decided on an island theme.

 

I spent one class making four different plates, with the idea that at least one should come out well.  Once the plates were dry, but before they were fired for the first time I wrote the date and destination on the bottom.

 

 

Once fired I waxed the bottom of each plate so it wouldn’t stick to the shelf in the kiln once glazed then dipped them.

 

Several were dipped to represent the beach and sea, while the last was dipped to represent one of the famous white buildings against the blue sky.

 

 The blue wasn’t as strong as I hoped and having been there now, the blue really doesn’t do the real thing justice.  But I think it still gives a good representation of the island.

 

 

I was really pleased with how they all came out.  But two were my favourites and these were the ones I finally gave to my sister a couple of weeks after the big event once we were back in the UK.  There was no way I was taking them in my suitcase!!

 

She seemed pleased, but the real test is if I spot them out when I visit next, maybe holding a cake or some sandwiches...