Sock Monkeying Around

So my latest craft endeavor has been to get some presents whipped up for the up-coming babies that are entering the world here soon.

A friend had a little treasure tucked away in her fabric bins that I ganked from her:



Yup, those are totally what you think they are! Three pairs of original Nelson Rockford red heeled socks... aka sock monkey socks.

Now, I've never attempted to make a sock monkey and I think that if I hadn't run into this specific item, I probably would never have tried. But I had to with these (that or sell them on ebay :lol:)

So after a little more research (the instructions are a bit on the vague side as far as limb placement -- the tail goes above the white butt, not in the middle), I got to sewing and stuffing and stitching and accessorizing and after a late night (love you Michelle!) and a couple more hours tacked on to that I now have three finished sock monkeys ready to go to three soon to be born boys! (accessory patterns are below)



Patterns for Accessories:

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch
dc = double crochet
fphdc = front post half double crochet
bphdc = back post half double crochet

Hat: made with worsted weight scrap yarn and an H hook.

rnd 1: ch3. first two ch count as first dc. 9 dc in the third ch from hook and join to first dc (10 dc total)
rnd 2: ch2. dc in same st. 2dc in each st. join (20 dc total)
rnd 3: ch2. dc in same st. dc in next st. *2dc in next st. dc in next st.* repeat from *to* till end. join (30 dc total)
rnd 4: ch2. dc in every st. join (30 dc total)
rnd 5: ch2. fphdc around next st. *bphdc. fphdc* repeat from *to* to end. join. cut and weave in ends.

note: this also makes for a cute monkey beret if you let the ribbing tuck under instead of pull it around the monkey's head. Also, pom-poms would be a great touch but I decided against it for these because of the fact they are for newborns.

Scarf: made with worsted weight scrap yarn and an H hook.

ch 52. dc in back loop of 3rd ch from hook and each ch after. cut and weave in ends.

note: the green scarf is actually done in hdc because I didn't have enough yarn to make the full dc scarf. Also, a little fringe would be cute here if you like!

Long time no write!

Well hello there blogosphere. Long time no see. Not that you weren't missed though. Big news in our family!



That's right! We're expecting #4. I'm about 28 weeks along now and our littlest man is due March 23rd, 2011. We are finally starting to get really excited now that the Christmas season is over :) He's been the biggest reason why I've been lost in the real world for so long :lol:. Once morning sickness set in it was all over from there. For some odd reason, this pregnancy brought on motion sickness and that was no bueno when it came to working on the 'puter.

There's all sorts of other news going on over here but our little guy deserves his own post :)

Blessings all! You've been missed.

I love indoor pools!

So my oldest went on a field trip today to a zoo/park and daddy chaperoned. To make the day equally as special for the younger two (specifically the boy), I wanted to take them some place out of the ordinary and fun. Unfortunately, weather being as strange as it is, it was a pretty damp and dismal day so things like the local amusement park were out of the question.

This morning my head popped off my pillow with the idea that my YMCA membership gave me the ability to go to any of the Y's in the association. What that meant to me is that we have the ability to go to one of the indoor pools... yeessss!

So we packed up our towels, swimsuits, flip-flops, and wet bags and headed into the rain to go to the pool. It was actually a really great time. We dropped the baby off at child watch for a bit and the boy and I had our own special time in the pool. Then we picked the baby up and took her into the pool. She loved it! The whole time she had a huge smile on her face and she laughed for anyone who would look at her -- all 3 other people at that pool.

All in all we had a very wonderful pool day.

Kids Can Be So Sweet

I was writing up a tutorial for CraftBlog.com and generally trying to tune out everything. After all, the baby was napping and the other two were playing well together so it was time to get some serious writing in. A little bit later I realized that there was the sweetest music coming from the dining room. As I started to tune into it, I realized that my kids were singing Michael W. Smith's Awesome God. As I listened a little longer, I found out that they were playing church. Complete with worship, reading of the Word (my daughter can read the bible now... she's getting so big), kids craft and first and second service activities... they were playing church. It really fills my heart to hear that my kids enjoy their church experience enough to act it out during play time.

and if you're wondering... yes I finished the tutorial :)