Pink Elephants on Parade

I'm trying to finish up my crazy belated Christmas list so that I might have a chance to sit down and decide on what I'm making for Christmas 2012 now in order to avoid being so late on everything again. This adorable little elephant is from a pattern by Susan B. Anderson. I made it for my niece using Knit Picks Comfy Sport yarn in Peony. The yarn is crazy soft. Although I've been a big user of Lion Brand over the years because it's so affordable and comes in a million colors I have found that it's not the softest yarn for toys. I looked around ravelry for advice and settled on Knit Picks. The balls are tiny, only 50g, and the color choice is limited but  they do live up to that comfy name.

It knit up pretty fast. I think it took me maybe three evenings, working a little at a time in front of the TV after work to finish it all up. I think I'm so used to crocheting toys that I found knitting one to be a little  fussy and the finished toy looks a little rougher around the edges than I would have wanted but I think it's still pretty cute. I especially like how the little eyelashes came out. It girls it up.  I normally use plastic eyes so embroidering eyes is pretty new to me. I found this neat little tutorial online that helped me out a lot. The internet is awesome.

I started on the Hobbes for Chris today so I'm hoping to sneak that in while he's working on other stuff and get it finished this weekend. That would leave me with just my Christmas gift for you, Maddy! Hopefully, I can knock that out next week and it won't end up becoming your present for next Christmas. Finger's crossed! Now I just need to sit down and plan out what I want to make for Birthdays and Christmas this year so that's all mapped out. Then we can work out a game plan for the Ludlam Bazaar and etsy. 2012 is going to be a great year!

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.