Footwear Upgrades

Quilting has been on hold as I work on some other projects.

I have a pair of rag wool socks I wear around the house.  I love them, but they're finally starting to fall apart, even after adding leather to the bottoms.

I found a beautiful a pair of hand knit ankle socks on Etsy.  Not wanting to wear out the toes and heels of these, I spent some time adding leather bottoms.  They're really comfy - I hope to have them for a long time.

The socks weren't my only shabby footwear.  My upgraded neoprene half-soles are getting old.  The insides are starting to shred.  Even the extra leather on the bottom is wearing thin.  Who knew three years of contra dancing could take such a toll?  They're not quite dead yet, so I can't cannibalize them for parts as I have in the past.  However, it's time to deck out a new pair as backup, in case stitching all goes at once on my main pair.

My aunt gave me some lovely black leather scraps, so I spent some time making my own leather-and-elastic straps.  (This is yet another aunt.  Can I just say I love having so many aunts that like to share?)

Adding leather to the bottoms of the new half-soles is a little tricky.  They're brand new and haven't been stretched out yet, so how much to add and where to put it is problematic.  My old pair had been worn for a while before I resoled the bottoms.  Rob has had some ideas how to get around it.  I'm hoping to come up with a solution before a big dance this weekend.  Fingers crossed!