Elvis is back!

It took long enough but I finally finished the Elvis monkey! Isn't he adorable? It took a lot of tweaking to figure out how to get the flared pants and sleeves just right as well as the collar and hair but I'm pleased as freaking punch with the end result.

Since the toy wasn't intended for a child I went a little bead crazy and sparkled up his bell bottoms and belt. I also used this awesome metallic embroidery thread on his arms. I changed the ears up from the ones I normally do and I'm so digging the new ears. They're just so dorky cute. It's killing me. The pompadour took some trial and error. A few years back I made a tiny Snooki doll and her poof was my inspiration for the pompadour and I think it worked out well. 

When I initially decided to make an Elvis monkey back in June I had thought it would be something I'd whip up quick and maybe even sell but since it took me a whopping six months to  finish him he didn't make it to the etsy site and I ended up using him as a Christmas present to make up for how woefully behind I was on the Christmas crafting. I took a few notes and a lot of pictures so I hope that I can replicate the guy. I also hope that I can do it in less than six months. Maybe if I can fuss out a proper pattern I'll post it up on here. I hope you like him. I think he's pretty damn sweet.

Monkeys for a Good Cause!

I'm shocked that I was able to whip out a pirate monkey and a superhero monkey in just about a week! A co-worker let me know last week that she was pulling together an auction and dinner to raise money for her father's medical bills. She mentioned that she and her husband were planning to walk around the local shops and see if they could get some donations to auction off. 

I volunteered my limited crafting skills since I knew I couldn't afford to donate money and I went with my tried and true monkeys. They're a guaranteed crowd pleaser and I figured that they would appeal to people looking for cute Christmas gifts. This was the first time that I used the safety eyes that I got at Mary Jo's.  I've always used buttons before since they were the only thing I could find in New York. I was a little thrown with having to put the eyes on before I sewed the head to the body since the safety eyes have backing pieces that go on the inside. I'm so used to those details being the very last bit which allowed me to fuss and fidget with them more.

Sorry for the terrible camera phone photos but I snapped them quickly before running into work. 

Coming Soon: the Elvis monkey that I've been working on for about six months. I'm only a leg and a pompadour away from finishing him up.

Unfinished Objects

Well, now that I've introduced myself I figure I should pull out some of the stuff that I've been working on.  I've been caught up these past few months with a new home, a new job and all in a new state so my works in progress have been stuck in progress longer than I'm proud of.  I love making toys so first up is my little Elvis monkey.  I've really enjoyed adapting this monkey pattern from Ana Paola Rimoli's Seriously Cute Crochet into a Pirate and a Superhero and now Elvis.  I'm not sure why these things all seem cuter as monkeys but they totally do.

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My second unfinished object is this cute pair of socks.  It's only my third pair ever and my first that's not just a plain vanilla sock.  The pattern is Kai Mei from Cookie A's fantastic Sock Innovation.  I've only got the toe left on the first sock but I know that there's a mythical second sock hump that's hard to get past.  Hopefully, I'll finish these soon since it's getting chilly and a nice pair of socks would be useful right about now.

Lastly, I've got some fabric that I just purchased from Mary Jo's in Charlotte.  Coming from Brooklyn where space is a premium and the craft/fabric shops are the size of a studio apartment this place was insane.  It's the size of a warehouse with just fabric.  There was an overwhelming amount of options especially for someone like me with no clue what to look for.  I will say though that they had the best selection of toy eyes I've ever seen.  I think I bought one of everything in every color and size.  I've been reading Casey's Elegant Musings and she started a sew along recently for a circle skirt.  It seems like a good, simple project to cut my teeth on so the red fabric is intended for that.  I would like for the paisley fabric to become an A-line skirt.  I love the soft creams and oranges in it and it was the first fabric to catch my eye in Mary Jo's.  The orange fabric is a wool blend and I have no idea what to do with it.  I was thinking it might work for another skirt but I really don't know.   I bought two yards and it's about 60" wide so any ideas?