I had not thought of hot water on poison ivy...I had been using cold water to dull the itch for a few minutes. But as it's now to the point where if I give into the temptation to scratch, my arms burn for like 10 minutes afterwards, I don't think I'll be trying the hot water cure.

I started on the crocheted slippers last night. Partly because I wanted a new project, partly because it's been chilly enough here that slippers have become a good idea (and the carpet beetles munched up my Fuzzy Feet and I'm not sure I have the heart to try to repair them, and because my frou-frou slippers with the marabou on them are not warm), but also because I had been knitting on the alpaca hoodie, but some of the loose guard hairs would slip down my sleeve and bother the ivy rash.

Some thoughts on the Paton's Rumor yarn:

It's nicer than most mostly-synthetics; it doesn't have the same "hard" feeling to it. But then, I also feel like that about the Wool-Ease family, so maybe I'm not as sensitive to it as some people. (I know some people - and I don't know if they're being fully honest or if they're playing Princess and the Pea - but they claim that the feel of wool-ease sets their teeth on edge.)

Not sure if I'd want a whole sweater of it; it is a chunky-weight yarn and lately I've decided that finer-gauge sweaters are better for me - less of a Michelin man look.

It is a very splitty yarn, even to crochet with. If you're annoyed by splitty yarns, this isn't a good one for you. I do like how the colors are working up - it's kind of like stained glass.

I'm hoping that because it's mostly acrylic, it will hold up well. I mainly wear slippers to keep my feet warm while sitting at home at night, so hopefully any slipperiness to the yarn won't be too much of a risk on the floors (I never got into the "paint puffy paint on the soles!" thing that some people do with slippers.)

I also forget that crocheting is comparatively fast - I'm almost done with the crocheting on the first slipper.