Second Shoe Syndrome, or, Ballet Slippers on Steroids
I'm hoping to avoid Second Shoe Syndrome. I'm not sure there is such a thing, but if there's a "How to Avoid Second Sock Sydrome" article on eHow.com, then there must be a thing called Second Shoe Syndrome. OK, I just Googled "Second Shoe Syndrome" and Yarn Harlot comes up second. But I'm not talking about knit shoes here, I'm talking about the hard stuff, leather.
![shoe02](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3427/3196666137_f0bd04a392.jpg)
I've crawled out of my January craft doldrums to try out cobbling again. I recently saw Earth and Living's Viking Shoe Tutorial and have been obsessing over it, waiting to find enough time to work on it. So yesterday I dug into my disastrous, post-holiday craft stash and pulled the thickest leather I could find. Luckily I have friends like Sara, who thought I might make something out of the big chunks of leather she had in her stash. Sara said, "I bought it for a wedding, but never did anything with it." I'd like to see what kind of wedding needs lengths of 2.5 mm black leather! The leather is definitely hardcore. I think the color makes my shoe look a bit Thunderdome-ish — different than the hobbit-y, Ren-Faire viking look I was going for — but, good none the less. And who knows how it will look paired with other handmade goodness — say, for example, a red hooded cape or something?
![shoe03](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/3196666345_c12778da0f_m.jpg)
![shoe05](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3081/3197511660_048c67ec63_m.jpg)
The tutorial was to my liking, lots of pictures and general instructions with a healthy dose of interpretation. I'm not sure why I didn't make some sort of muslin first — well, yes I do — I don't like to make muslins. I should have made some sort of mock up, though, because my shoe turned out a little bit wrong. The way I layed out the flaps that go over the top of the foot put them a little too far back and conflicted with my ankle — my mistake, not the tutorial's. I've modified the lace up and it works as is, but for my second shoe I will make the mods to match Earth and Living's design.
Now about those felted liners that she wears with her shoes — love them! My knitting buddy, Blender, turned me onto this tutorial, which led me to this tutorial and a whole world of wet-felted vessel making. Good grief, there's so much good stuff to make out there. I absolutely need those felt slipper liners, even if it's been bikini weather around here this week. I'd much rather wear a felted slipper than a bikini any day.
I think one way to avoid Second Shoe Syndrome will be to not allow myself to make the felted liners before the second shoe. Now, will I be able to keep my promise to myself? I hope so.
Here are some pics of my Viking shoe in progress.
P.S. Note the linkage below to older Green Kitchen posts. I got the idea from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs. I know blogs are a little difficult to navigate through old content and I thought this would help people to see some my favorite older posts. Can you believe it's been three years already? I hope you enjoy the archives.
--------------
One year ago: Big Bad Wolves (Red Riding Hood painted wooden buttons)
Two years ago: Rainbow's End, New Beginnings (Mason Dixon Knitting's rainbow log cabin baby blanket)
Three years ago: Crochet Flower Scarf (made from Needlebook's tutorial)
![shoe02](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3427/3196666137_f0bd04a392.jpg)
I've crawled out of my January craft doldrums to try out cobbling again. I recently saw Earth and Living's Viking Shoe Tutorial and have been obsessing over it, waiting to find enough time to work on it. So yesterday I dug into my disastrous, post-holiday craft stash and pulled the thickest leather I could find. Luckily I have friends like Sara, who thought I might make something out of the big chunks of leather she had in her stash. Sara said, "I bought it for a wedding, but never did anything with it." I'd like to see what kind of wedding needs lengths of 2.5 mm black leather! The leather is definitely hardcore. I think the color makes my shoe look a bit Thunderdome-ish — different than the hobbit-y, Ren-Faire viking look I was going for — but, good none the less. And who knows how it will look paired with other handmade goodness — say, for example, a red hooded cape or something?
![shoe03](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/3196666345_c12778da0f_m.jpg)
![shoe05](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3081/3197511660_048c67ec63_m.jpg)
The tutorial was to my liking, lots of pictures and general instructions with a healthy dose of interpretation. I'm not sure why I didn't make some sort of muslin first — well, yes I do — I don't like to make muslins. I should have made some sort of mock up, though, because my shoe turned out a little bit wrong. The way I layed out the flaps that go over the top of the foot put them a little too far back and conflicted with my ankle — my mistake, not the tutorial's. I've modified the lace up and it works as is, but for my second shoe I will make the mods to match Earth and Living's design.
Now about those felted liners that she wears with her shoes — love them! My knitting buddy, Blender, turned me onto this tutorial, which led me to this tutorial and a whole world of wet-felted vessel making. Good grief, there's so much good stuff to make out there. I absolutely need those felt slipper liners, even if it's been bikini weather around here this week. I'd much rather wear a felted slipper than a bikini any day.
I think one way to avoid Second Shoe Syndrome will be to not allow myself to make the felted liners before the second shoe. Now, will I be able to keep my promise to myself? I hope so.
Here are some pics of my Viking shoe in progress.
P.S. Note the linkage below to older Green Kitchen posts. I got the idea from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs. I know blogs are a little difficult to navigate through old content and I thought this would help people to see some my favorite older posts. Can you believe it's been three years already? I hope you enjoy the archives.
--------------
One year ago: Big Bad Wolves (Red Riding Hood painted wooden buttons)
Two years ago: Rainbow's End, New Beginnings (Mason Dixon Knitting's rainbow log cabin baby blanket)
Three years ago: Crochet Flower Scarf (made from Needlebook's tutorial)