Monstuh roundup

This week is a week of Roundups. I have been so useless at posting this year, so I'm doing everything at once, just think of it as spring cleaning, purging all the dregs out of my photo albums before I start the new year with some wizard new ideas.

Here are some monsters I made ages ago, for Sara. I think it was a wedding present, and the couple are called Anita and Peter, if I'm remembering right!

Complicated stripy top/zebra print scarf combo. She is drinking a glass of wine that I clumsily made out of felt.

I think Peter was supposed to look like a vampire monkey, hence the teeth and ears. Check out the beaded bubbles in the pint, I am so inventive!!! Maybe they're droplets of condensation since they're on the outside of the glass.

Lookee here, it's Sarah and Bondy's wedding monsters.

Sarah is an old fine art buddy of mine from back in the Hudd. I was excited to be part of her happy day in a most minor way.

He's got a star tattoo. I am so OBSERVANT!!! :)

Okay this is Kate and Matt, I made them for Ana. I think these might have been a wedding present too.

Apparently they both like to wear onesies, so the monsters are in onesies too. Here I decided to attempt crocheting the pint instead. Why my monsters drink so much, I'll never know. 

Kate is from Florida and a fan of the Gators (American football! exotic). This is what their logo looks like.

This is my effort.

Similar!

Okay NEXT. I didn't do anything for months and have just had a flurry of activity before Christmas. First up this is Ann.

She was cute and fun to make. All sparkly shoes and nice colours. Check out her butterfly jumper.

Next up I made the whole family of Danielle, who runs Rubbish Revamped in Chorlton and makes loads of crafty bits out of recycled materials. This is Danielle and her husband Bruce, a runner and Leeds United fan.

Here is a photo Danielle sent me of her and Bruce with their Monc-sters

Their two sons Sam and Joe both support Man City so I gave them City shirts with their names on the back. Sam loves cooking and Joe is into his Blackberry.

Added a plastic blackberry bead to make the Blackberry more Blackberryish, but wondered afterwards if it might actually be a bunch of grapes? Never mind.

And this is one of their cats. I made two, but didn't take proper photos because I'm an idiot.

This is turning into such a mammoth post, I had no idea I had so many. Anyhoo last ones for now - this is Trudie and her dog Marty. 

These ones were ace fun, I just love doing people with red hair. Do you like my new backdrop, it is an old A-Z of Birmingham.

Phew, well that'll do for now, I'm tired and monstered out. Hope you liked them. I got them all done to deadline! I'm SO PRODUCTIVE etc.

Well goodbye and happy new year again

bye, I love you xxx

sock roundup 2012

Hey guys

Sure soon enough I'll be able to show you all the monsters I've made in the run-up to Christmas, now that it's all over and it won't give the game away. Right now though I thought I'd show you all the socks I've made, because it's exciting and shutup.

First ones were the Longpigs socks, which you will find here. They look crap now that I've got the hang of it, but I still love them.

Second I made #mousebiro ones for Maddern for Christmas. If you follow the work of Salle Pierre Lamy you might know what the mouse biro thing is about, and I will discuss it in more detail later, but here is Maddern on Christmas day opening his pressies with his fancy new socks on.

As you will note, they look a bit insane and it is unlikely that they will ever get worn much. They took me FOUR DAYS to make, dude. but what's more Christmassy than novelty crap and simmering resentment?

MACRO FUNCTION:

a job well done.

Finally I made these socks over Christmas at the Maddern residence, it was pretty much all I did while I was there besides eat things and look at the telly. My mum asked for nice wool socks but she wanted ones that she could wear under normal shoes, not big chunky ones. So I used needles a size down and 4-ply wool, I found some in my stash that has actual wool content (gasp)

I like to call this colour scheme 'Metrolink'

I wouldn't necessarily have used yellow and grey together, but those were the colours I had in the yarn I needed and I think it actually looks nice. Funnily enough, I ran into my bro Gav on the train from Flint who said that the first time he went on a plane, the carrier was Lufthansa and he thought air travel was hugely glamorous. So he associates yellow and grey with luxury, the colours of pure luxury.

So there you go, I do have other socks on the go but they're not finished so I can't tell you. I'm a sock fiend!

Well goodbye, I hope you've all had fulfilling and beauteous Christmasses, and that you have wonderful new years and keep all your outlandish resolutions.

Buh bye xxx

and very important: DO NOT do your homework without wearing headphones

Ey up

Today I have been tidying up some photos, my folders were all cock-eyed before and I couldn't find anything. I have had a little trip down a lot of memory lanes. Memories lane. Anyway, I forgot about these, I made them a while ago for someone at work: Bill and Ted teddies, from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

Obviously as I'm sure you can tell I didn't make the actual teddies, I made the costumes. I was pleased with them, I didn't have much time to do it otherwise I would have made some humongous 90s trainers to hide the fact that the teddies have FACES on the bottom of their feet. 

You can just about see that on this picture, weird.

Anyway let's see some backs. Bill.

quite nice interpretation of a flannel shirt I thought. and Ted ted:

Smiley face that was VERY important. PLEASE let me have got those outfits the right way round, I did check but I keep forgetting, how uncool of me.

Anyway that was a fun project which inspired some monsters that STILL aren't finished. Keep an eye out for some nostalgic 90s stuff which I will be doing soon, I promise. I'll do it later mum! stop going on about it.

see ya xxx

Longpig socks

Hey

So I'm in the midst of Christmas monster making frenzy, which is cool but it means I can't post any photos of anything I make until after Christmas unless it gives the game away somehow. I wanted to show you these though.

I made my first ever pair of socks!

Hand-knitted socks always look so cosy and nice, and I always wanted to learn how to knit them, but double-pointed needles have always foxed me. If I can avoid using them, I would always rather use straight needles and just sew a seam, I don't care if it's not as nice-looking. I WILL learn one day but so far: nope.

So I was excited to find a pattern for socks knitted on straight needles and sewn up at the end. I couldn't figure out how to convert a DPN pattern, because the heels looked confusing (they aren't). I got the pattern from a book called Fab Feet and Cosy Toes by Anna Tillman, available from your nearest discount bookshop. Most of the patterns are stupid, like socks with a little pocket you can put a teddy bear in, but there's only so much mileage you can get out of ordinary socks I suppose. Anyway I thought this pattern with the pigs was cute and it was a pattern I could understand: jackpot!

Can I just say that this is the first ever pattern I've followed to the end without deviating at all, I even used the same colours and everything. I didn't use the right yarn though and they turned out kind of enormous, but they are cosy and nice which is what I wanted.

Here look, the pigs go all around the back of the sock so you get little pigs parading over the bottom of your feet as well:

I'd like to try out this weird pose where my body looks a funny shape, yeah!

That's why I want the socks to be Longpigs. The name of the pattern in the book is something like 'the whole hog', sigh. Here have some nice 90s crap, you're welcome. I used to love the Longpigs.

Anyway well done me, I have warm feet.

Bye! xxx