This is exactly how B wanted the eyes on his sock monster. Almost. I talked him down from twenty eyes to these seven. Then we sat down and played around with how to arrange them and he chose to put them like this all in a circle.

So this is a seven-eyed "Jordan" from Stupid Sock Creatures. B is keeping the name from the book and calling him Jordan. Poor Jordan can't really stand on his own, but he sure can see! My favorite part of him is his ears - they're so funny!

I did a much better job on Jordan after having learned all the construction basics on the first sock monster I made for S. (By the way, S's monster was "Wronky" in the book, but he's decided to call him Gordi.) Once you've made one of these, you can really make any of them. The instructions in the book are so good and so clear and the creatures come out looking so great! The boys couldn't be more thrilled about them. S keeps Gordi with him all the time. Yesterday after school they were hanging out reading the Lego catalog and watching "Dirty Jobs" together.

And now, finally, after a nine month wait (they were supposed to be Christmas gifts, remember?!), I can introduce the sock brothers, Jordan and Gordi. Aren't they a riot?!

PS - Jordan has a little corrective surgery scheduled for later today. After one day (and a half hour of sewing on buttons), B says he thinks Jordan would look better without all those eyes. Uh, yeah. Of course.

As another sock monster slinks his way out of the primordial slime of the sock drawer and begins to evolve, let's work on putting those socks to another good use: saving sockapalooza sock pals who haven't received socks yet!

I sent an email last week to everyone who hasn't updated the database to let me know that they were done knitting socks and had sent them out to their pal. Thanks to everyone who responded! I'm making my way through all your emails now. A lot of you have been in contact with your pal and are still working hard, so we haven't needed many sock saviors so far. But I still haven't heard from the majority of the 180 folks who were listed as unfinished. Anyone I don't hear from by the end of the week will be considered to have dropped out and their pal will be put on the list to get a sock savior.

So sock saviors standing by, I'll start adding folks to the "needs socks" list this weekend. Please go to the database then to see if there's anyone in need who you can help. If you're one of those folks who hasn't yet received socks and hasn't heard anything from your pal, there should be a sock savior on the job by next week. You're welcome to send me an email next week to check.

A big thank you to all the sock saviors already hard at work and thank you in advance to all those waiting to help out other sockers. Let's rid sockapalooza of any sock monsters and make it a big success!

No. They just stick their tongue out at you! Yes, S's stupid sock creature is all done and has turned out looking like a silly sort of menacing rabbit.

Once again, I am amazed at the difference a little stuffing and face detailing makes on a toy like this. Do you remember how he looked before?! After our discussion last time, I did also made some adjustments to the ears and arms so they were a little less phallic looking. I think he's come out pretty PG overall. S thinks he's hilarious and does a funny laugh every time we look at him.

Here the still unnamed creature does a little turn for us.

Side view - that tongue is like a birthday horn! "THBPBPTHPT!" And the argyle back looks smart while possibly scaring off predators.

This was super fun to make - tedious at times with all the details and sewing on of tiny pieces - but I'm really looking forward to making the second one for B. It's given me a lot more confidence in my sewing too. Doing something where a little unevenness and imperfection is a plus rather than a minus really takes the pressure off. And still I find myself checking out the main seams between ear and body, for example, and thinking 'dang, that looks pretty good!' Sock monster, however, does not seem impressed.

Don't worry that only wee one is benefiting from my recent sewing activities. Now that the machine is out again and I've remembered how to use it, I thought it was only right that I dig out those Stupid Sock Creatures I promised to make for the boys last Christmas. I'd already cut out all the pieces but I had to reread all the sewing instructions before I could get going.

Once I started sewing though, it was really quick and simple. Perfect for a novice seamstress like myself! The only hairy part was when I was attaching the little arms. No hand-sewing for me, Mr. Sock Creature man. I did it all on the machine and the tiny circumference of the armholes was a tad difficult. Still, I had S's sock monster all sewn together in about an hour.

Now to stuff him and give him a face. This is the coolest part! S wants three eyes, buck teeth and a sticky-outy tongue. And then there's the neat trick of making the lips out of the heel of the sock. I'm totally having fun with this!

(Hey, has anyone made Jordan or one of the creatures from the book with round ears? B's Jordan monster is up next and I don't understand the instructions for the ear. Help!)

Congratulations (and some yarn, of course) going out to the following...

WWLAHKG holiday knit-along knit giftie winners:

Amber (4 of 4) - winner of Hipknits silk
Jennifer (10 of 10) - winner of Knitpicks pumpkin wool
Jolene (3 of 3) - winner of Knitpicks Essential sock yarn
Carrie (8 of 8) - winner of Regia sock yarn

"Make Room for Baby" grab bag winners:

Lisa - winner of Classic Elite Gatsby
Carole (email at cs.com) - winner of Phildar Lambswool
Sarah - winner of Classic Elite Bazic
Janelle - winner of Spotlight Cotton
Davy (email at gmail.com) - winner of Fixation sock yarn
Lorraine - winner of Filatura 501
Amy (email at hotmail.com) - winner of Online 157 Tessa
Tammy - winner of Rowan handknit dk
Allie - winner of Lana Grossa Cat
Sally (email at comcast.net) - winner of Knit 1 Crochet 2 Fleece
Oiyi - winner of Sirdar Denim
Wanda - winner of Lurex Shimmer

Send me your addresses by email! (Psst, my email address is in the sidebar.) Grab bag winners, you can send me two dollars to help with shipping at my PayPal account (same as my email).

And speaking of winners, the boys' nosewarmers are a huge hit! Every day that it's below freezing (like today) the boys insist on wearing them on our walk to school.

The crossing guards and the teachers at school all love them. Everyone smiles when they see the boys coming with their "nosehats" on!

I'm back! A few lingering little blog problems (comments, oh comments, where did you go? and did you take the archives with you?), but my host is still recovering from a weekend hacking incident, so let's give him a break. And let's talk final holiday knitting!

I may not have finished all my holiday knitting (one baby sweater still overdue and two sock creatures still left to be sewn), but lots of the knitters over at WWLAHKG did! Go check out all those stars. And gifts!

So that means it's time for me to give away some knitgifties, which the holiday all-stars can use for some January selfish knitting or earmark for gifts for next year. And they are:

two gorgeous hanks of Hipknits hand-dyed silk in gray

two balls of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Pumpkin
(this would make a great hat or mittens!)

two balls of Knitpicks Essential sock yarn in navy
(looooove this sock yarn - soft, washable, beautiful colors)

one big ball of Regia Africa sock yarn from Germany!

I'll be pulling names later today from among the holiday knitters who earned their star, so update me right away if you finished all your holiday knitting. And then tune in next time for the winners!

Note: No need to post your comment multiple times. Comments are coming into the system (you can see the comment count increase if you refresh this main page), just some program glitch is causing only the first comment of the day to show up. My master webmaster is working on it!

I had a blast searching etsy this year for fun, funky Christmas gifts. Like ebay though, it can be overwhelming to search for stuff, so I wanted to tell you about some of the awesome sellers I found and the things I really loved.

First, monster shirts for the boys. These were the only clothes the boys didn't unwrap and then immediately toss aside on Christmas morning. (Actual quote: "Wow, I wonder what's in this one. I hope it isn't more clothes!") In fact, they asked to wear the monster shirts that day and the next. They're from NissaLissa. She sews these super cute monster faces on tees and onesies and did a custom order for me for the boys (note the favorite colors on the ears!). And I simply couldn't resist this little pink monster onesie for wee one to match.

And then I went amigurumi shopping for my friends. I found so much fun stuff, like the Ogilvies at Chez Michelle and the coolest amigurumi and softie seller ever jellibat. I was also very tempted by sock monkey items like this sock monkey dress, pretty girly things like this precious little smock dress, funny baby clothes like the cute creatures from Lemon Cadet and the most beautiful applique ever at Ponies & Sugar Cookies.

Etsy, good.

I spent the night before Christmas Eve braiding ties (wow, that took a long time!) so Santa could put the nosewarmers under the tree for Christmas morning.

click here for the video! (Windows Media file should work on Internet Explorer
or try this link for Real Media version or this link for Quick Time version)

And I even got a little something knitty for Christmas! Hubby (with the help of knitbuddy, Dani) got me the Itty-Bitty Hats book (something I've picked up and considered buying for myself a dozen times) along with yarn to make the little striped cherry-o hat. So I did.

I started it while playing board games with the boys (which I can do virtually hands free, 'cause when we're playing Mousetrap the boys always want to do all the building, plus they like to move the all pieces themselves, and S built a lego die roller with his Christmas legos that spits the die out of it's mouth to roll it!). And then I relaxed in the evening (with a very excited wee one in my belly) by finishing off hat and cherries.

Hope your holiday was merry!

Two knitty nosewarmers for the boys. Did I mention that they added these to their wishlists? Well, they've certainly mentioned it to me - every cold early morning walk to school since November! S said that he needed a little hat for his nose and I said I just may know of a way to make such a thing. Famous last words, eh?

I used all the leftover yarn from their kool-aid dyed caps for these - so they'll match their winter wear perfectly - and knit them in about an hour last night at 9:30. It would have gone faster, but I was half-asleep already after a loooong day (work, work, work, and then two holiday playdates for the boys). And I fiddled with the pattern a bit. My gauge was larger than the original (I used worsted-weight wool instead of stretchy cotton sock yarn), and the increasing section of the short rows looked a little too gap-py without double wraps. So I went back and double wrapped them like in traditional sock heel short rows.

Now they just need a little blocking and some ties. I can't wait to see them on the boys. That red one is going to look like a clown nose, for sure! Who knows if they'll find them too silly to wear or not, but I'll get at least one picture. I promise!

Actually, no. And why should it be, it only went through the wash four times. Okay, I couldn't wash it in super hot water because I was doing real laundry with it and I couldn't stay by the machine to keep it from going through the rinse, so it's not like we had optimal felting conditions. After five washes, though, it finally went from this...

...to this:

And the boys made some paper flowers to fill up the bowl for my great aunt.

How very merry.

My favorite Christmas album playing on the ipod.

Presents wrapped and ready to ship to the in-laws abroad.

The fire hydrants have their snow flags.

The boys made candy houses after school.

And I can cross one more present off my knit gift list!

I went for a good manly length of 40 inches on the man's cashmere scarf, just enough to cross over your neck and tuck under the lapels of a manly jacket. It only took me two and a half balls of the Cashmerino Aran and four days to knit this one. (Gotta credit an unexpectedly warm day and long playground session yesterday for the early finish.) It has to be sent too, so it's good that it went quickly. A perfect Last Minute Knitted Gift, I'd say!

Ooh, this is a very manly scarf. It's all nice and texture-y, but not pretty or pattern-y. It reminds me of a nice houndstooth or check. Very male. And the beige cashmerino, what man wouldn't wear that?

The Last Minute Knitted Gifts pattern calls for a chunkier cashmere, so I've adjusted for my smaller gauge, casting on 35 sts and working in pattern as directed. Since I've subbed yarns and gauge, I'm not sure how many balls of the cashmerino I'll need. This first ball got me to 15", so I'm hoping that three will be enough (the pattern measurements say the scarf should be 50" long). If I'm lucky, I'll only have two more late nights of knitting (and we're talking, I'm so tired from working all day and really should be sleeping, what with the pregnancy and school tomorrow, but I've got to knit these few little Christmas gifts... nights) to go.

Once I had those silly socks in my hot little hands, I couldn't wait to get started on the boys' stupid sock creatures. This book is so funny - it doesn't just say to cut, but instead instructs you to hack and slash with swashbuckling strokes.

beginning...

check out my middle there!

Look at how silly they're going to be!

(don't forget, buck teeth and sticky-outy tonges are still to come)

And it's about time I finished up that bowl so I can felt it, don't you think?

...and end.

Off to sew and felt!

NYC was great! I got all my Christmas shopping done (and boy are my arms tired!). And I even squeezed in a few minutes of shopping for myself at Purl.

There's some Mission Falls cotton for one of those LMKG children's cotton hats (I never actually made one of them with cotton!) and some pretty pink yarn I've never heard of before (Pear Tree Merino) for another sweet baby hat for wee one (check out the super cute Tante Sophie patterns! I got the last one shown on that page. How can you resist that baby face?). I even picked up a few fat quarters of fun, girly fabric from the the new Purl Patchwork store.

That place was so nice, I momentarily started dreaming of taking up quilting (but of course, I don't have the room or the patience for quilting so that will remain a dream).

I visited my mom while I was in the city and look, she wore her native sweater!

We had yummy comfort food at Sparky's.

I like my new camera phone - can you tell?

And then she let me raid her sock drawer for socks for the stupid sock creatures.

A red argyle sock creature for S and blue/yellow argyle creature for B - they couldn't be more perfect!

So this is what I'm planning on making the boys for Christmas....

I saw this book at Rhinebeck and bought it for a friend. Then for weeks afterwards, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I kept asking myself if I'd really ever make one of these silly creatures and then I thought it'd be great fun to make some for the boys. I ordered the book, showed it to the boys and they really seemed to think it was a cool idea. (They even keep the book in their room now!)

They each picked out a favorite creature in the book and wrote up a little list of the specific characteristics they want their sock monster to have. You probably can't read it all, so I'll tell you that buck teeth and a sticking out tongue are at the top of the list. And three eyes, they have to have three eyes. Of course B wants a yellow monster and S wants a red one, so I'll be on the lookout on my weekend shopping trip for funky red and yellow socks to transform into their monsters. Look for me in the sock aisles of NYC!

The x's and o's are done at last! Oooh, I love this little sweater. I just want to squish it and cuddle with it. It's so snuggly and cute. It's was really a perfect combination of a great sweater, a great pattern and a really great yarn. Hugs and kisses to everyone involved: Louisa Harding, Miss Bea, Rowan, and all the adorable little babies who inspire us to make these sweaters. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this one (maybe that's why I dragged it out for three months - ha, ha). I gotta give it away, but I think wee one needs one of these for sure!

So not only is that one loooooong overdue baby sweater finished, but it's the first holiday knit gift done. Woo hoo!

One more holiday knit gift to add to the list! How did this happen?

I swore I wouldn't do any holiday knitting this year. My list for the holiday gift knitalong blog consisted of two overdue baby sweaters already on the needles and two craft projects to do for the boys (more on these later!). And then came the felted bowl (still awaiting felting) for my great aunt, who always gets a knitted gift - come on, you remember the hotties! And now, the man's cashmere scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (yes, there are corrections for this pattern). I dug this lovely, but long neglected cashmerino aran out of the stash and I hope I can turn it into a handsome man scarf for a family friend fast.

After this one though, no más!

Now that it's December (the boys actually stopped eating breakfast this morning because they HAD to run through the house and change all the calendars), it's time to get going on the holiday knit gifts. One felted bowl for my great aunt, coming up! A skein of some pretty, pretty Manos, a quick peek into the One Skein book, and in about an hour, I've got an almost finished bowl. As usual with my quickie hat projects, I knitted this in one sitting until I needed dpn's and then stopped knitting rather than get up off the sofa to get the other needles. I was asleep on the sofa about 15 minutes later. Dang pregnancy, totally interfering with my late-night knitting!

I finished the last of the x's and o's on the hugs and kisses baby sweater! I'm happy to have the finish line in sight finally, especially as this is officially the first of my holiday knit gifts and it'll be nice to cross that first one off the list. But I'm kind of missing it already. It's been such a sweet little knitting companion in my extra time at the playground or in the doctor's waiting room. But soon it'll be companion to another little sweetie.

Mmmmmmmwah!