some stupid sewing

 


made for each of the kids with some old socks and from patterns in Stupid Sock Creatures

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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!

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!

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!)

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.

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!

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.

Sock brothers Jordan and Gordi have a baby sister!

Made from a pair of Ozone knee highs that always fell down and bagged at my ankles, Prune is smaller and much sweeter than her big brothers.

Based on "Owlsley" from Stupid Sock Creatures, she's got cute pointy ears, felt eyes (no buttons for the baby!) and a ribbon tag of hair for hanging her on the baby's stroller. The knee high gave me so much fabric to work with, I couldn't resist making her a pretty dress to match her little purple shoe feet. And of course, the contrasting colored heel of the original sock really makes that funny sock creature mouth stand out. S insisted that I make her smiling, so I curved up the edges of the mouth just a bit.

Next to wee one herself, I think she's just about the cutest thing I've ever made!