Elephants on parade

It finally hit me today: it's almost Christmas! When did that happen? Oh, right.  When I wasn't paying attention. And suddenly I realized that all these crafts I'd been meaning to finish and meaning to start had to get done NOW. 

Hence the reason I haven't been outside today. 

Here's one of the crafts that I finished. An elephant monkey. Pretty much, I did the same thing as I did for the sock monkey, but instead of using the heel piece to make the tale, I used it to make a trunk. 

I will be the first to admit that the trunk park could use some work. (The elephant looks a little more like Gonzo than I would have liked...) But I love the ears. Hopefully my niece will like him too. Only a few days to find out.

Hope everyone has the happiest of Christmases!

dum-ditty

The last few times my niece M has visited, at some point in time some portion of the family has ended up being in a marching band. We grab whatever we have on hand to make pretend trumpets, cymbals and, of course, drums.

So when I saw this tutorial for a pretend toy drum, I knew I had to make it. 

It couldn't have been easier. I even added an old lanyard so that M can string it around her neck. Thus, making the marching part easier! This is now wrapped and under the tree. I'm looking forward to more parades in the near future! 

Monkeying around

This past Friday, I realized a hard truth. It's seriously, seriously, seriously almost Christmas. Like, the merry holiday is right around the corner and I have not don't my Christmas shopping yet. I've also not finished my Christmas crafts!! Yikes. 

Before the weekend, I didn't have many plans on what to make for my nephew baby G. A hat? Maybe a sweater, if I had the time. But then, I saw the absolutely cutest monkey that my friend Adrian made, and I thought: I can make that! 

Okay, so what I actually thought was something more along the lines of: Well, I can try to make a sock monkey, but I don't think it will ever come out quite as cute as Adrian's. (He's pretty darn crafty.)

Well, look at how mine turned out!

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of him! And, truth be told, he wasn't that hard to make! 

Following these amazing step-by-step instruction, it only took me about 3 hours start to finish (while watching the Arsenal [English Premier] game). Not too shabby for an old pair of socks that were going to get thrown away anyways!

I didn't have a erasable fabric pen, so I used a sharpie. What does it matter? It's on the inside and going to get cut out anyways.

When my monkey was done he looked a little... well... boring to me, so I decided to knit him up a hat and scarf from scraps. I wouldn't want him to get cold. Winter is coming, after all.

The scarf is a simple seed stitch. CO 5. Each row: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1. Knit that pattern until the scarf is as long as you want it.

The hat is a tiny Turn A Square.
CO 48 stitches.
Row 1-4: k2, p2
Row 5-6: k
Row 7: ssk, k8, k2tog
Row 8,10,12,14: k
Row 9: ssk, k6, k2tog
Row 11: ssk, k4, k2tog
Row 13: ssk, k2, k2tog
Row 15: ssk, k2tog.
Done!

Now he just needs to be wrapped up and put under the tree for baby G. Although, I have to admit that I like him so much, I almost want to make one for my niece M, too.

Graham

It's December! I'm sooooo excited about that. Although the month hasn't had quite the auspicious start that I would have liked (I burned my first tray of Christmas cookies. Peanut Butter!), I'm very ready for the holiday season.

Wait... Did I just say that? I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet. (Unless you count the $3 thing I got my mother... which I don't.)

This hat - a gift for a friend - didn't quite turn out as I'd hoped. I should have done a longer ribbed edge. I should have read the instructions more closely to realize that the right side, was the inside. I kbs on the ribbing, but it doesn't matter b/c it's on the inside of the hat. Oh well.

But, for a project I could finish in weekend, it's okay by me.

bike helmet earmuffs

Not that long back, a friend of mine came over for dinner. She rode a bike. It was cold out. No. It wasn't just cold, it was COLD. And not only did she ride a bike, she rode it, but wasn't wearing a hat under her helmet. 

Well, that just won't do. Cold ears are the worst! 

It didn't take long for Ravelry to help me find just the thing for her. Bike helmet earmuffs! That way if she doesn't want to wear a hat under her helmet, she doesn't have to! But at least hopefully, her ears can stay warm.

Okay. You know me. I didn't totally follow the instructions knit for knit and purl for purl, but I did base them off of this pattern. I added a button to be attached above the clasp so that the earmuffs won't fall down while biking. That would totally defeat the purpose.

And hopefully she likes them! ... even if the colo(u)rs totally don't match. Well, that's what happens when you use scraps leftover from other projects. (You'll see those projects soon.)

Tail bone

Top 5 things that rock about baby sweaters?

5 - So many great free patterns to choose from. 

4. Getting to knit in colo(u)rs I would never use otherwise.
3. Babies are small, and the sweaters knit up so quickly.

2. Babies look cute in practically anything - even when your sweater isn't perfect.
1. The awesomeness of giving someone a gift to celebrate a little person. By far the best.

Headlights

Oh dear. He looks a little like a dear caught in the headlights, doesn't he? Or maybe he's thinking: "Mom. Why did you put me in this pale yellow sweater?! I'm a BOY."

Well, sorry Jacob darling... But when I made this sweater I didn't know you were going to be male! But here is your baby sweater anyways. But now that my nephew is a little over 2 months old (and big for his age) he fits into it quite well.

This is the sweater pattern I used.
... Honestly, I'd never use this pattern again. Too much sewing. And I didn't like the sleeves or the collar in general. And, seriously, when it's not on a baby as cute as him, the sweater looks pretty horrid. Luckily for me, Jacob can pull it off.

And Jacob? I promise the next sweater will be more manly. (maybe.)