Arkansas slippers and some knitting surgery

I am making some French Press Slippers! When I went to visit Arkansas to see if it would be a good place to live (apparently I thought it would, and we decided to move there in a couple months), I went to a yarn store and found this yarn on sale and decided that these slippers would be a good pattern to use it on. Thus, they are my Arkansas slippers.

Here is them, pre-felting (with a helpful cat for size comparison).


Here they are after two go-rounds in the front load washing machine. UGH! They look awful! That lump on the back! I should have figured out how to sew them in order to not make that lump, and they were huge. I pouted all night, then decided to take drastic measures.


Chop chop chop! I went with the scissors. This step was terrifying. I cut the whole lump off. Slipper lumpectomy.


Then I sewed them up the back! I even got a bit cocky with my scissors and trimmed any weird lumpy parts around the edges, too. (The one on the left is still in pre-op, the right one is all stitched up.)


I decided to hand-felt them the rest of the way to seal up the new heel seam and try to shrink them a bit and get rid of the dreadful lumpiness. Then I went to search for some buttons. They're not done yet since they are still drying and I haven't sewed on the straps. I can't decide which way I like the button: with the little leaves or plain. What do you think?