Last night she did just that and now my son thinks he’s the coolest thing since ice cream!

I finished my first baby hat yesterday and can’t wait to make many many more.

My current monster is taking it’s time coming off my needles this time. I guess I just kept working on my hat instead. Oh well. He’s coming slowly but surely.

Yesterday morning a little monster thief decided that the two monsters in my house might just have to be his.

Speaking of monsters (I’m sure this will come as a surprise to no one) I’ve cast on for another monster. This one is Argus the Attic Monster. More pics to come when he’s finished.

He’s finished! I initially thought the yarn was absolutely hideous, but it actually knit up kind of cute for a monster. The pattern was very, very simple and I have come to love magic loop. I’m going to cast on for my 3rd monster tommorrow.

My little helper, LuLu helped me to “tie up” my loose ends with Baldwin tonight.

Yarn: Rowan Alpaca Cotton
Needles: US 7 – 4.5 mm
Designer: Julie Weisenberger
Pattern: Katarina

I started this blanket for myself after I had learned the basic granny square. The first few were very difficult for me until I got the hang of the pattern. It uses SC, DC, HDC, cluster Stitches, and weird spacing but I think it looks like a sun and love it. I wanted a patchwork blanket (or three) because it would be easy to carry around.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft
Hook: 5.5 mm (I)
Designer: Margret Willson
Pattern: Sunscape Throw

I wanted this blanket for Jack. It’s really sweet and simple. It’s a free pattern from Spud & Chloe and I get to use my Harmony Straights for it.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Wool
Needles: US 8 – 5.0 mm
Designer: Susan B. Anderson
Pattern: Dream Catcher Baby Blanket

A basic granny square blanket was a great way to learn more crochet. I had this yarn in my stash and decided the colors would be really cute for my nephew, Connor. I think it may be his Christmas gift.

Yarn: Baby Bee Sweet Delight Baby
Hook: 4.0 mm (G)
Designer: Myself
Pattern: None

Another monster. No surprise there I’m sure. My sister-in-law has already named him “Chuck the Vomit Monster” because the yarn is disgustingly colored. I didn’t think it would be so bad in the skein but it’s definitely knitting up kind of gross LOL. The magic loop is coming along quite well and I have to say, that Alicia was right. It rocks!

Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn! Ombre c. perpetual sunshine
Needles: US 4 – 3.5 mm
Designer: Rebecca Danger
Pattern: Baldwin the Bathroom Monster

OMG! I have completely fallen in love with Rebecca Danger’s “The Big Book of Knitted Monsters”. I want to knit every single monster in it as well as a few that she has on her Etsy page that are not (yet, hopefully) published. I do have to say that her pattern was a little challenging. I am not the greatest at magic loop and was, therefore, thrown for a loop (pun, of course, intended). But, I kept at it and now have this adorable creature to show for it! Even with the challenges, I still had him knit in 3 days of sporadic knitting. (It has taken me a few days to attach body parts though) I know these pics aren’t the best quality, (Camera phone) but I will post some that are better when I can. I just finished him about 15 minutes ago and just couldn’t wait to show him off

Error? I hate to say there’s an error because I am by no means a knitting genius like most designers, but on the ARMS, I had to change the pattern in order to make it work out. So I’m posting the correction more as a Note-To-Self than a fact for others.

R37: K6, K1f&b, knit to end. (16 sts)
R38: Knit all sts.
R39: K7, K1f&b, knit to end. (18 sts)
…..
R49: (K2tog, K5) twice. (12 sts)

Yarn: Caron simply Soft Brites
Needles: US 4 – 3.5 mm

Designer: Rebecca Danger http://www.etsy.com/people/dangercrafts
Pattern: Harold the Houseplant Monster

Okay, I had to look, but now I know. It was with an unfinished pair of Mona. I actually had to bribe myself to finish them. Ridiculous I know, but the pattern was the perfect balance of too challenging to coast and too simple to be interesting. Also the color was…uninspiring. I finally did finish them, and then handed them off to Susan to dye. She did them in an overdye of copper, and they are so much prettier now. Here’s the before and after; project details are in the previous post.

Sexy, huh? The sad part is that these were pretty much the death of my involvement in the Knit. Sock. Love. KAL. Oh well. After I finished them, I knit my reward project which are a pair of Caprica Anklets.  The socks are named after the colorway, which are from the 2011 line of Knit Picks Felici. The pattern is ostensibly Pom Pom Peds by Purl Soho, but I really just used it as a jumping off point. I changed the cast on, ribbing, and heel, and I couldn’t even tell you what the pattern called for on the toe. I love these things, so much in fact, that I knit another pair the same month in a skein of Afternoon (the black contrast color is Stroll), and I’m eyeing a skein of Tiki for the same. It’s finally a way to experience all the joy of Felici at half the cost.

After I finished the Caprica socks, only one thing could possible happen….more knitting for Rose. I truly can’t say no when it comes to her, and she needed a new design knit. This time it was a shawl inspired by Kate Middleton’s grocery shopping attire. She sent me some lovely (and color similar) madtosh pashmina in boxwood to knit her version, which she cleverly decided to call CopyKat. There are better (read: modeled) pictures on her blog. This one used 720 yards and took me eight days to knit.

Then Rose did something shocking. She gave me a vacation. Then I did some shocking things, like cleaning my house and finishing books that weren’t being read to me. I so truly appreciate that audio books allow me to “read” and knit, but it is vastly more satisfying to read a book myself. I spent 5 days working on one of the Afternoon socks. Awesome vacation. After that I started in on Rebecca Danger‘s Greta the Cat for Sofia. Ever since she realized that Knit Picks had rainbow yarn (their Chroma line, Lollipop in Worsted used here), she’s been begging for a rainbow cat. She loves him, and has named him Mr. Cat.

I spent the last part of May making Ida’s Kitchen by Kirsten Kapur, three times. That wasn’t, mind you, the original plan. I was just going to knit one, but then I had plenty of yarn left over when I finished the first, so I knit a second, and then I still has more, so I need a child-sized version. All three hats were knit in Knit Picks Stroll Sport although the colors were switched around to suit the available yarn. I actually only had 3.5 skeins, having split the yarn with another knitter, so my best guess is that one could get five adult hats out of 7 skeins if one were forced to buy that much to have the full variety of colors. The first photograph is the hat knitted to match the colors in the original sample.

That carries us into June, and actually there aren’t any FOs in June, because I’ve spent the last week and a half updating the etsy shop. There are plenty of new monsters and animals from Danger Crafts, and few more device cases. I have about four more things I plan to add, two of which are already half knit, and then I plan to do a couple of pieces for the Texas State Fair. One of them is somewhat intricate, so that may fill out the rest of the month.  We’ll see. Oh, and I have a pattern idea hatching. It’s only a concept right now, but maybe something will come of it.

In the shop:

The last weekend and week have found me doing my regular work, plus camping on the Sunshine Coast, frantically crocheting (my proud new skill!) for a special project, and finishing Isaac’s belated birthday monster. I think it’s cute but Isaac wasn’t so sure, giving Monsieur Monster a cold evaluating look before running and hiding. I’m told that, as 2-year-olds do, he has developed strong toy opinions: if it doesn’t have wheels it’s a non-starter.

I should note that, although I am fonder of my monster creation than dear nephew, this project HURT to make. It’s knit on 3.75mm needles, instead of the recommended 5mm needles, to keep the fabric tight for stuffing. I developed a strange pain in my right elbow – is it possible I gave myself tennis elbow from knitting too tightly? Back to yoga, I guess. Maybe I should develop a yoga class for knitters!

Pattern: Penelope the Empathetic Monster by Rebecca Danger (ravelry link here)
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton (100% cotton) in Seafoam and Dandelion

So, number one!

This is Penelope The Empathetic Monster. I love her! This was the pattern that made me fall head over heels with Rebecca’s monsters.

Secondly,

Cecil The Computer Monster! A rather marvellous monster

Rebecca Danger’s patterns can be purchased on Etsy and she has published an entire book of monster patterns:

♥

I started the month by doing a little etsy update. I knit Rebecca Danger‘s new monkey pattern, Jerry the Musical Monkey, which was fun.

I also knit a Penelope, more monster chunks, and some chirps, and I added a few more device sleeves.

After all that was completed, I knit the toe on the second Wanderer sock. Yes, that’s really all I had leftover from March, but I got all manner of distracted by irresistible monkey knitting. These are Cookie A‘s Thelonious, which was one of the March/April K.S.L. KAL selections. They were knit in The Plucky Knitter MCN Fingering in Wanderer, which was a birthday present from my friend Karen.  

I then settled into a nice, big sample shawl for Rose, Forgotten Garden in Biscotte & Cie La Douce in Cherry Baby. My version was the large size, coming in at about 550 yards. I think the shawl is complex and beautiful, and I’m very pleased with it. It took me a solid week of knitting, after which I did another small shop update.

I think I mentioned the auction for Japan last month? I also donated knitting services for a pair of socks, so I next knit a pair of Tyro by Huan-Hua Chye  in Wool Candy Macaron MCN in Cordial, which was fun. I did convert them to top-down and I used an eye of partridge heel.

I decided that at this point in the month I wasn’t likely to finish the April/May K.S.L. KAL socks, so I CO the cuff for Cookie A‘s Mona so that they would count for May. My socks are knit in JulieSpins MN400 Merino/Nylon in Bold Wood Darker. I have to admit that this picture is prettier than the actual sock, so I’ll also share an in-progress photo from May as well. I’m planning on having Susan over-dye them.

I then started a BIG project, which was an actual adult sweater (incredibly rare for me) for Rose. She wanted to rotate some of her stash, but can only do very limited knitting at the moment, so I, perhaps foolhardily, volunteered to try even though I’m not really a garment knitter. After a little discussion, we settled on Goodale by Cecily Glowik MacDonald  in Sundara Sport Merino in Arabian Nights. It’s finished as of this blog posting, so even though it’s really a May FO, I’ll post all the pictures now. I did a couple of adaptations; Rose wanted a longer body and 3/4 sleeves, so she gave me the measurements, and I did the math to make those changes. Hopefully it all went well. It’s on its way to her now. The second picture is of the top post-finishing; Rose is sewing on the buttons, so that’s the button loop held on with a needle.

April really was a delightful and interesting knitting month, and I’m looking forward to seeing what May brings (is it flowers?).

I looked around at TONS of stuffed animal patterns and finally decided that Daphne and Delilah by Rebecca Danger was really the cutest and best pattern for my goddaughter.  I figured that a mommy and baby monster that could interact with one another was a good idea for a little girl.  Add in some bright, fun colors and a very cuddly body and you have the perfect gift!

Anyway, I got a text from said goddaughter’s mommy last night saying it arrived in the mail.  She opened the package, explained to her that it was a monster, and my goddaughter immediately made it growl at her daddy.  Yay!  So cute!

Goddaughter went to sleep last night clutching the cuddly monsters and growling.  Thanks, Rebecca, for one of the best patterns I’ve ever knit (I HIGHLY recommend buying several of her patterns.  I’m sure I’ll be posting more of her creatures in the coming months!) as well as one of the most adorable payoffs.  I’m hoping my goddaughter will love these little monsters for many years and not forget her Aunty who loves her!

Marsupial Monsters. Grrrrr

sa Gibler but I’m not sure if it’s right for the mobile.  Either way, I MUST make it so it’s getting added to the queue.

They’re hiding under the bed. And in the closet. And anywhere else youve stashed them | They’re friendly little monsters, and theyre ready to come out and play | Popular designer Rebecca Danger presents 20 patterns for the most adorable monsters ever to climb off a pair of knitting needles | All are shown in two colourways, and most are done in two yarn weights, to help you pick the perfect yarn to suit your monsters personality | Available from Amazon.co.uk

I also knit the iPad Sleeve for the giveaway in Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Red Mahogany per Susan’s request. It took me a little longer to get to her than I would have liked, but I’m happy to have been able to do it for her.

The reason for the delay on her sleeve was that my father-in-law passed away on the 19th after being admitted to the hospital via the ER on the 14th. In this time of loss, it is truly a wonderful thing to see how many genuine and generous people I have in my life. There were casseroles and meals, people to watch my daughter while I sat with my husband at the hospital, and some truly special people who did nothing more than listen. While I will try to spread around my love and appreciation to everyone that was so supportive, I’d like to particularly thank Abbie right here, who in addition to putting up with and feeding my wild toddler, has gone out of her way to support me personally (notice all the times I thank her for her photography?), and how do knitter’s thank people? With knitting of course, so I made her a pair of SpillyJane‘s new mittens, Camilla. I actually selected the yarn for her pair based on how much she raved about the socks that came from the same skein, which is Dyed in the Wool Handmade Seasocks in Siren. The contrast color is Knit Picks Stroll in Cocoa.

So what’s been missing here? Socks. Oh, sweet socks, victims of my lack of time. I love the Cookie A Knit. Sock. Love. KAL, but I failed in February. Fortunately, it’s a two month KAL, so I can redeem myself by completing them in March. The Feb selections were In and Out and Marlinda.

I finished one In and Out sock in See Jayne Knit Superwash Wool-Nylon Sock Yarn in Crushed Blackberries.

And I knit part of a leg for my Marilinda in SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Riptide. The yarn, by the way, is fantastic. It’s the nicest merino/nylon blend I’ve ever worked with.

Whew…I think that covers it.  I did a bit more knitting for the shop, but I think there were only two things that were notable. I knit a brown and pink baby blanket…

And another chunk. Okay, so you would think that chunks at this point aren’t that impressive, but I have a special place in my heart this one. Introducing Miserable Mavis, the emo chunk.

Here’s to a hopefully productive March.

After that, I worked on the Case of the Mondays pattern, knitting it twice while I tinkered with the pattern. I also knit a couple of items for my friend Syl as part of a swap. I have to admit that I think the swap was unfair because I got to knit her a Feather Duster by Susan Lawrence in utterly delicious madtosh pashmina in Molly Ringwald. It was dreamy, and I called it Pretty in Pink.

Also, per her request, I threw in a Bonus Baby Hat.

Oh, and while I’m thinking about knitting for other people, I can now share the shawl that was still under wraps in January.  I knit a sample for roseiarose for her Be Mine Collection, which is focused on pretty simplicity. I have to admit that this was a very relaxing knit. Violets are Blue was knit in Schaefer Yarn Company Anne in Bluebells.

Rose likes to keep me busy, and by that I mean ears deep in knitting (and don’t think for a second I don’t love it!), so I also did a sample knit for her in February. This time on her pattern, Falling Water Slouchy Hat. My version was knit in Squoosh Ultra Worsted in Hazy Violets. The photos were provided by Abbie.

She was also kind enough to patronize my shop, so I was delighted to make a Kindle sleeve for her in tosh merino and to make her a Daphne and Delilah out of MCN. It was my first time using yarn from Hermosa Fiber Company, so that was a real delight as well.

While I was thinking that this had been a light month, it occurs to me now that I’m wrong, so very wrong, so I will need to wrap this up in a couple of days in a second post. Whoops.

There are lots of great knitted toy patterns on Ravelry but I fell in love with patterns from two designers: Rebecca Danger and Ysolda Teague.

Rebecca Danger’s monsters are fantastic – they are so simple to make and you can choose any type of yarn to knit them with.  I love the stripey green wool (Lorna’s Laces Green Line DK) that I used to knit Gilbert aka Iris the Gourmet Monster.

Ysolda Teague’s toys have more shaping and so look more complicated to knit than they actually are.  I love Elijah and after knitting one for a friend earlier this year my husband insisted that I knit another one for us to keep.  Elijah has become part of the family!

What are your favourite knitted toy patterns?  I definitely plan to make more!

Happy 4th!

She’s a pretty easy-going girl, though she’s a little embarrassed about the horrible job I did sewing her up!

She doesn’t show it though, she’s too sweet for that.

2. Arriving home to find my new littlegoatknits moo cards had arrived! (The lower right one is the back.)

3. Finishing a set of monsters for baby Kai

4. Saturday morning, waking up to sun and good coffee. (No photo, but I’m so happy to see blue sky!)

5. Working on a mini bunny out of my leftover Fiberphile Copper Rose (I am so loving this yarn right now. I’ve been wearing my Yvaine constantly!)

Hanging with some buds

Checking out the stairs

Getting to know the goats and books

Posing (the little one kept getting distracted)

These guys will be going to live with Jeaneva’s little boy Eric. I think I need to name them before they go… any ideas?

Their names are Pinky and Pearl (Thanks Ophelia for the naming help!)

I love them

And they love each other

The patterns were lovely. So clear and tons of photos. One thing I find really interesting is that the author allows people to sell what they’ve created from her patterns as long as credit is given. That totally interests me, though I think in the end they’d probably be pretty cost prohibitive considering the amount of time they take to make up.

I foresee more monsters in my future!

To totality

To exploring the world

To making new friends

The end.

And here’s the cute little monster helping out in the kitchen.  Using the new Veg-o-matic.

“I’m sorry, but did I just read, Veg-o-matic?”  Yes you did.  It arrived the other day in fine shape.  Here’s the glamour shot of it.

Now I’ll have to make another pie so that I can use it.

So now that I finished my quick little project, I started another, hopefully quick project.  So far it’s going really fast.

It’s a scarf, small shawl type thing.  Saroyan is the name of the pattern and I’m using Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool.  And I have to say, I wasn’t really expecting much out of this yarn other than it being relatively cheap compared to others.  But it’s actually quite great.  I’ll definitely be using it again.

Here’s what I’ve got done so far after a couple of hours.

The “bumps” on the sides are leaves.  Once it’s done, there will be 25 leaves.  So far, I’ve got 7, which are the increases.  Now I’ve got 11 more leaves in  the straight row section, then another 7 more leaves for the decrease section and I’m done.  We’ll see how much I can get done tonight.  Because tomorrow starts the Percy KAL (that’s knit-a-long).  Even if I don’t finish Saroyan, tonight, I’ll have something that doesn’t take a ton of focus to work on.

One of my closest friends from college, Jessica “Mim” George–who blogs delicious treats (she’s a cupcake baker extraorindaire, ok?!) over at Go Team Sweet! and did a post about her cupcaking and a post about her hula hooping fascination for Kraftworkin’ a year or so ago–has recently moved back stateside after living in New Zeland for some odd years.

And since she decided, upon returning, to so graciously make a trip back to the city of our colleging days–and where I still reside–I had to come up with some kitschy love to gift her on arrival. Jessica is nothing shy of kistch herself; she likes anything non-human/non-animal which boasts eyes, and once worked in a vinyl toy shop. Clearly, she’s easy to please.

Not only did I make her a KK Bubble Boss, a recycled tshirt scarf,  a piggy i-Pod case, knitted hearts with eyes, a change purse, a raincloud, and a host of other treats like badges, I also deliciously knitted up her one of my favorite patterns of late, the “Daphne and Delilah” by the beyond brilliant knitting designer Rebecca Danger of Danger Craft. You can check out Rebecca’s delicious blog here, or even buy up some of her patterns at Etsy.

Since making these yummy monsters, I have since purchased 5 more delightful Danger Craft patterns–and she gives you great deals on bundle packages!

Jessica, of course, squeeled over the monster I gave her (yellow, at left), and I’ve since begun knitting up more kitschy love for a package to send in the future.

Of course, as always, you can see more snaps at my Flickr set.

File Under: Jessica and I definitely did the monster mash. Here’s hoping she moves to Boston again for good!