Show and Tell: what it takes to make homemade

When someone unfamiliar with knitting sees what I do, they often ask, "How long does it take to make that?"  And while I often have an idea of how long it takes, the truth is, I usually just don't know.  It is a rare and glorious occasion that I get to sit down, pick-up some needles and a skein of yarn, and knit a project from start to finish in one sitting.  More often, I am picking-up and putting down a project 50+ times per project, squeezing it in between completing the other tasks I have on my radar at any given moment.

That said, I think it is a good thing to know what kind of time investment you put into your work, and so I decided to embark upon a little experiment.  I would knit a pair of slippers, documenting the process with time stamped photos. Here, I present the answer to "How long does it take to make that?":

I start with two balls of wool, some coordinating trim, and a pair of needles.  Of course I had to shop for these, but we won't count that time here.

Half an hour in, still working on slipper number one.

One slipper knit, first cup of tea mostly gone.

Both slippers knit and sewn, ready for felting.  For reference, I have put them here with a pair of my women's size 8 shoes and Jim's men's size 15 shoes (I know!).  They will shrink from Jim's size to my size after two felting cycles.

After one felting cycle, they are smaller, but not quite there.

Back in the washer for another hour of felting...

...and this is what you get: a lovely pair of plain slippers.

Sometimes I know exactly what I want to do with the trim.  Sometimes I have to play around for a while to figure out what looks best.  I spent just over an hour jabbing myself with pins trying to get this ribbon to look the way I wanted it to.  That is about average.

A finished pair of slippers after about 45 minutes of sewing.  We'll round it down to a 6 1/2 hour process from start to finish.

That is a lot of time to spend on a pair of slippers that I could just as easily drive to Target and buy for $15 (although I have never seen slippers like these for sale anywhere outside Etsy, and they are the most GLORIOUS slippers in the world).  But I have said it before and I will say it forever: something made by two hands; something made with the careful attention to details that a machine just can't give; something with little imperfections that let you know it wasn't "mass produced," is destined to be treasured rather than simply appreciated.  That's the kind of thing I want to spend my time on.