Sock Monkey Fun~ A Crafters Blog

FW: Todays Sock Monkey brought to you by the color Green

2009-09-04T16:16:00.001-07:00

Feed: Sock Monkey Fun
Posted on: Wednesday, September 02, 2009 9:35 PM
Author: Tamara
Subject: Todays Sock Monkey brought to you by the color Green

I can't seem to pose these little guys any other way. They just look so natural with that smug little expression and their arms crossed.

These sock monkeys really do have an attitude about them.

Maybe I'll come up with another pose someday though.

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Two Classic Sock Monkeys for the Road- To OZ! :)

2009-08-26T23:12:00.001-07:00

These two cuties are headed to the land down under. I love it when good ole' folk art gets exported.
Who says America has no culture! Sorry, I guess I might be a bit touchy about that. I was recently in South America hanging out with a nice German guy who did not hold back his opinions of Americas lack of taste and culture.

Back to Sock Monkeys- I've been asked how I make the slightly folded ears for the classic sock monkey.
I draw the shape. (for classic is about 80% of a full circle)
Sew it. (for pre-sewn sock monkey kits this shape is already sewn in)
Turn it right side out.
Bring the two 'corners' together and make a small sorta cone shape and sew that to the sock monkeys head.
Happy Monkey Making!
~Tamara

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Attitude and Brains! Outdoor Sock Monkey with Glasses

2009-08-24T16:19:00.001-07:00

This little guy is on his way to Africa!

I wish I was headed there with him.

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A Clockwork Orange Inspired Sock Monkey

2009-08-24T16:18:00.003-07:00

I was so pleased to make a new custom

sock monkey that is not one of my standard ones.

I love how this little guy came out.

View article...

D-Monkey of Hak5

2009-08-24T16:18:00.001-07:00

The latest custom sock monkey has found a home on the

set of Hak5. One of our favorite video podcasts.

Here is a shot of him with his Human counterpart.

Photo belongs to Darren Kitchen of Hak5.

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Buncha Monkeys

2009-08-24T16:17:00.001-07:00

Here are the latest!

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Here Comes the Bride! (and the Groom too)

2009-08-24T16:14:00.001-07:00

Back from a six week trip to South America and

already making more sock monkeys.
This cute little couple are headed to a Wedding!

View article...

Another Sock Monkey Couple headed for Wedded Bliss!

2009-08-24T16:13:00.001-07:00

This may become a trend! Sock Monkey Bride and Grooms

headed to weddings for the fun and delight of all.

This couple are in a slightly different color scheme.

The bride is in an ivory gown with gold accents while

the groom is in chocolate brown vest and bow tie.

View article...

Hottie Sock Monkey

2008-04-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was contacted by Sock Guy. The art director had the great idea to have sock monkeys made from some of their sock, for their next catalog. They had me make up a sample sock monkey from the “Hottie” socks.
I think she came out pretty cute. What do you think? :)

Hand Knitted Hat, Scarf Set in Sock Monkey and Human Size

2008-02-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

A first for me! I got an order for a sock monkey and a matching hat and scarf for the human friend.
I had to model it before it went into the box. :) I wish I'd taken a shot of them together not on the me and the monkey.

The Red Sox Monkeys are Ready to Play

2008-02-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

Jack Baurer - Hero of 24

2008-02-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

Ready to stop any sock terrorists in thier tracks!
more cool sock monkeys at sockmonkeyfun.com

Purple Hair Sock Monkey Girl

2007-12-14T22:01:00.001-08:00

Paper Craft Sock Monkeys!

2007-10-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

My brother has recently started designing paper craft stuff. One of his first creations was inspired by sock monkeys. Needless to say, I love them and think they are awesome. :)
Take a look.

He is working on the .pdf files to make the pattern available for download. The basic one will be a freebie.

Ring Bearer Sock Monkey

2007-09-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

I love this idea! I got an order for a sock monkey to help the ring bearer of a wedding. Who wants a lifeless little pillow? ;)

SockMonkey.net

2007-06-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

We are almost done building sockmonkey.net.

We need feedback! If you can, go look and let me know what you think. :)

Thank You.

Benny Hathaway on YouTube!

2007-06-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

Star Wars Personality Test

2007-05-05T08:19:00.001-07:00

My First Quilting Project~ Checker Board

2007-04-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

I was taught how to sew as a girl. My mom has always been a fantastic seamstress and has sewn her whole life. I never really took to sewing as a kid. (me and the machine just didn't get along ;) Now, I make some of my living sewing... that still blows me away... people pay me to sew. All this and I have never made anything quilted. What inspired me to want to learn quilting was the great sock monkey fabrics being made by moda. But, I knew I wanted to learn this craft at least a little before I cut into that $10 a yard fabric.... I saw a kit for a quilted checker board and thought- Hey, I could make that for my board game loving brother!Here is the result. :)

I have a long way to go before I am skilled at this craft, but I had fun and will keep at it!

Don Quixote~ Sock Simian

2007-03-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

It's been two weeks, but he is finally finished. Yay!!!

Three Sock Monkeys- Rainbow Peace Girl ~ Outdoor Boy with Huge Ears ~ Vested Lawyer

2007-02-24T12:28:00.000-08:00

Three new cuties headed out for their new homes.

I love these bright rainbow socks.

Next up, is a basic Outdoor style Sock Monkey with the exception of custom ears.

Last but not least, a cute Lawyer in a Vested Suit.

More Monkeys!

Simple Drop Stitch Scarf~ in a Yummy Yarn

2007-02-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

The only souvenier I brought back from italy was three small balls of beautiful painted merino wool.
This is two of them.

And a close up.

Now what should I do with the last ball of this pretty yarn? :)

"No Evil" Minis and Green Fez Sock Monkey Twins

2007-02-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

Now, I remember why I don't make very many minis :)
They are not any less work... but they sure are small.
I was surprised the little hats and scarves were not difficult at all. I'm glad I didn't go with my first instinct to crochet them. I like them knitted.

More Monkeys

I'm in a Book! ~ Everything's Coming Up Sock Monkeys!

2007-02-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

A great new book just came out and we’re in it! The author was very nice and sent us a signed copy of the new book.

It’s beautiful, it has tons of history and art all about Sock Monkeys. It would be a great addition to the library or coffee table of any Sock Monkey enthusiast.

Look for me on p. 140!

Mr. T and the Lawyer

2007-01-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

A couple new Sock Monkeys left for new homes this week.

First was a Blonde Lawyer Sock Monkey from San Fransisco. He's a little cutie, posing like a model, for the camera.

Then I finished up a custom order for Andrew, who fell in love with the Mr. T sock monkey on Craftster and had to have one of his own.

Finished a 6 pack! ;)

2007-01-10T22:00:00.000-08:00

I just finished a group of Sock Monkeys today! I am so glad to get these guys out the door. :D
They are for the sweetest grandma. She had one set made for each of her three granddaughters.

More Sock Monkeys here!

2006-12-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have been working hard to get caught up on the gift orders since I've been home. I think I said last year, " I should make up monkeys ahead of time so I have some available for adoption at the end of the year."
This time I wrote it down on my new calendar for July-November. Make Monkeys! :) We'll see if it works.
Here are a few of the little guys that made it out in time for gift-giving.

I am working on setting up a little place in the office to be a 'photo studio'. It is a pain to set up my back drops everytime. I really need some better lights too. I have no clue what kind of lights to use...
... must get back to craft table have many more monkeys waiting to be finished :)

Ceru the Traveling Sock Monkey!

2006-12-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a few snaps of my favorite traveling Sock Monkey from our recent trip to Europe. :)

This is Burg Eltz. I was very pretty.
This is the longest fjord in Norway. Fjords are so beautiful!

Going to Europe on Wednesday!

2006-11-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

I am so excited!
First stop Rome, then Florence, Munich, Dusseldorf - this is the reason we are going to visit friends in Dusseldorf who will take us to Holland- then Oslo (yes I know we are crazy to go to Norway in November) this is also to visit friends. :) then back to Germany for a couple of days.

This is one of the friends we are off to see!

Eeeeeee!!!! Can't wait. :D

Kick Your Defiance in Pains Teeth

2006-10-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

I read the title phrase on the shirt of a fellow runner at about mile 12. It made no sense to me at all. I must have passed that runner, cause at mile 24 or so he passed me again... and then... I understood. See, by that time me and pain were well acquainted. And my defiance was waning....
Thank You fellow runner, your shirt helped me kick pain in the teeth! ;-)

Marathons are hard! This one was my hardest so far. That being said, I had a great time. As I have at every race I've ever run. The weather was fantastic for running - no rain - sunny but not super hot. I got a little warm by the end of the race, but really could not have asked for a nicer day.
I have done the Portland Marathon 3 times before. First time I walked, with one of my best friends. (I was not a runner before). I loved walking it, but.... wanted to get done faster and I liked the idea of running. So, next time I ran with a different friend. Both of these friends I was able to train with the whole summer, that makes it so much more enjoyable. The the third time I ran it with my cousin from California, so we were not able to train together at all, that made training hard. I had a great time running that marathon, but was not keen to train again without a partner. So, after that marathon I pretty much stopped exercising for a few years (read- MMORPG). I finally got back into running the beginning of this year, (I found a new running partner read- ipod nano) but I am about 20 pounds heavier than I was at my last marathon 5 years ago... so I was 45 minutes slower and it hurt alot more.

Solution? = Lose 25 pounds! :)
Goal for next year is sub 4 hours. This has always been a goal, really. This is like a sorta holy grail for alot of novice runners.

My brother says he'll run with me next year. Yay! We should be able to do some training together too as we live in the same area.

Thanks to Hubby, Mom & Dad, Frank, Tyler and Lindsey for coming down to watch me finish. A few of those peeps walked the 10k for the day too! :)

Portland Marathon Tomorrow!

2006-09-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

AaaaAAaahhhhh!!! I am a little excited and .... a little ....um.. nervous too.

I didn't train as much as I have in the past, and I am really hoping I don't pay for it. I am not worried about trying to finish super fast, and by that I mean super fast - for me - cause I am never gonna be super fast as a runner. :) Once again I am signed up in a weight class. I don't really know why I do that... I guess it's because deep down I am a little competitive. And last time I got a plaque for second place in my division. My brother says, yeah - if you make the pond small enough...

So, today's task is to make my 4-5 hour play list for my run tomorrow... wow that's a long time. Thankfully I have everything by Crystal Method, so it won't be hard to fill the time.

My goal is to finish in less than 4 hours 30 minutes. I'll post finish time tommorow afternoon. :-D
Ciao!

Sock Monkey Dreams~ Available Now!

2006-09-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

I just ordered a copy of this great book!
I ordered directly from the Authors site Sock Monkey Dreams
But it is available at Amazon also.

If you've ever been curious about the lives of Sock Monkeys, you need this book! :)

the Pom Pom ~ amigurumi style

2006-09-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have finally made one of those little Japanese style dolls that are so popular now.
If you've never heard of Amigurimi, then you are most likely not a crafter. :)
Here is my version of Pom Pom from Homestar runner.

Tampon Pouch

2006-09-09T16:30:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to make something I have needed for years.
I am embarrased when I go to pull my wallet or my phone out of my purse and a tampon comes out with it. *cringe*
Solution?... a tampon pouch! :)
I have seen some really cute fancy ones. I like those, but I opted for totally plain. It's big enough for 3 tampons and a couple of liners.

Fun new toy! Meez Avatars

2006-09-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about most of the video games I have played is making my avatar! :D

Now I can just make the avatars without having to sink tons of time into actually playing a game. hee hee

Here is my first creation.

To make your own Avatar check out Meez!

Tying a Quilt With Grandma

2006-08-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

We had a houseguest this weekend. Grandma Norma came and taught me how to put a quilt on a frame and then how to tie one. This is a very quick and easy way to make a quilt. It takes almost as much time to set up the frame and get the quilt on it, as it does to tie it up. :)

It came out beautiful! Now I just need to sew up the edges. :)

Princess Leia Sock Monkey

2006-07-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

For those that don't frequent Craftster.org they are having a Rockin' Sock Monkey Contest this month.

The contest was to make a sock monkey resembling some one you admire.

Growing up in the late 70’s early 80’s, Princess Leia was my hero.
Whenever I played with my buddies at school or in the yard, I always wanted to be Princess Leia.
She was smart, strong, and courageous and held her own with Luke and Han Solo.
And who wouldn’t want to be the girl who ends up with Han Solo. *swoon*

I have made a few monkeys before but I have never worked harder than I did for this little monkey.

I tried several different options for ‘The Buns’ and finally ended up making my own wig from
Wool -mohair yarn. (I love Lamb’s Pride <3)

For the dress I made my own pattern. It has a single snap in the back and can be removed. And I think it’s even made from that same polyester that became popular just after the original Star Wars.

The eyes were the hardest for me and I think I tried about 8 different options before deciding to go with buttons and embroidery.

For the little blaster, I tried to make a good looking one, but decided I was better off altering a toy.
So, I found a little gun the right size and gave it a custom paint job.

Now, If I could just get my hair to do ‘The Buns’. :D

Sock Monkey and Bunny Pins

2006-06-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

I have a little Sock Monkey keychain on my keys. One day, I put my keys in the front of a blazer pocket and the little Monkey was sticking out. Someone said, "Oh, how cute!"
That got me to thinking.... why don't I make a little pin out of one of these so I could have him on my jacket all the time! :)

Thus Sock Monkey Pins~

And Sock Bunny Pins
This is back side

What do you think? Am I the only one who would wear something like this? :-)

The pictures look a little better here .

Pinwheel Baby Blanket~ Finished!

2006-06-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

I finished the Pinwheel! And not a moment to soon... well about an hour late really. :)

The baby shower started at 2 and I was still knitting at 2:30. Yikes!

I was an hour late to the shower, but the guest of honor had

just arrived, so I was ok. :)

Needless to say I didn't block it. I even forgot to measure it. DOH!

I am sure it was over 40' though. It stretched almost to both edges of my double bed.

Here is the whole thing.

Here is a slightly closer view.

And even closer. This shot is a better representation of the colors too.

I used Cottontots by Bernat in Baby Boy Blue(3 skiens) and Sunshine Yellow(1.2 skiens).

Size 6 double points and circular needles.

Border is seed stitch.

The pattern is free and is here.

There is a great Gallery of other beautiful Pinwheels here.

2006-06-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

Nike + Apple

I really want this new toy!
Enjoy the short tour of Portland. ;)

I Love My Sock Monkey Scarf

2006-05-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am finally done with the "Sock Monkey Scarf"!!!

Yay!!!

Here is the whole thing.

A little closer of the charts.

Up close of the stitches

I love how it feels the yarn is very soft.

I'll post the details and maybe even a pattern with the chart later. :)

Lake Run this Saturday!

2006-05-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

I can't wait for Saturday! I am going to do the Lake Run!!

I have run this one, once before so I know I'm in for some major hills. But it's still fun to get out and run with a buncha other people. :-D

I have just gotten back into marathon training. I am slow, but I love running anyway.

Happy Running!

edit- I had a great time! I ran as hard as I could and was pretty slow, but it was still a fun race.
I remembered that it was hilly, but oh man... it is So hilly! I don't think there is a half-mile of flat on that whole course.

Next race~ The Flat Half Marathon on Sauvie Island. Yay! July 4th

Hair Donation~ Locks of Love gettting a package from me!

2006-05-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to take it all (well, alot of it) off!

I went yesterday to get my hair cut~ really cut.

I found out about Locks of Love from a friend of mine about 3 years ago.
She had grown her hair out and donated it. I thought that was pretty neat. I hadn't thought of

actually doing it myself till very recently.

I had always wanted to have long hair. As a kid my hair would simply not grow.
So, growing up in the early eighties as I did, I had a Dorthy Hamil
style most of my childhood.

About 5 years ago I decided to see how long I could grow my hair.
It has been pretty long ever since.
Now, I was ready cut it off and send it away. (After taking a picture of it) *sheepish grin*

Here is the before shot. (sorry these are not great shots, I took them myself with the timer)

From the Back

And Now..... The after shot! 13 inches + gone!

Wow! I feel so much lighter! :-)

From what I felt on my head, I could have sworn they cut off a 1/2lb. of hair. But once I felt it in

my hand, I thought ...

hmm... probably only about 4 oz. I was wrong.

I weighed it and according to my postal scale it's not even 3 oz! More than 13 inches of hair and it

didn't even weigh 3 oz.

I will send it off today.

I love my new short hair, but I will kinda miss that bit *sniff*

I might grow it out again and donate another time. It's a fun thing to do.

Dining Room Chairs and Table

2006-05-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

This has been one of those ongoing projects~ like for 6 years. ha ha
I have had some ideas lately on more images to add to these chairs. So I thought I should take some images of them how they are now.
Maybe that will inspire me to continue. :-)

The green chair has had the most attention and I don't think I'll add anything more to it.

I like how the legs on the green and yellow chairs turned out. I might do that same idea for all of them...

This is supposed to be the Taj.

The blue chair is my husbands to paint.
This is my favorite panel on any of the chairs. It's the pyramids in Giza. He had to do some field research for the painting.

The table and the chair pads are the same light green color to sorta tie them all together.

The poor red chair has no images at all on it. I am thinking of doing some Sock Monkeys on that one. :-D

My Favorite Slippers

2006-04-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

These are my favorite slippers to make. I've made 4 pairs so far and have requests for about 8 more. Then, maybe, I'll make a pair for myself.

Here are a few of shots of them pre and post felted. Please excuse my foot. (I was using it for scale) ;-)

On this pair I used a contrast color on the band at the bottom. It is barely visible in this shot.

These are a couple of pair I made for a wedding. Her favorite color is green and his is orange. :)

His are actually too big, but he says he doesn't mind.

And finally my kitty cat. She can't stand not investigating anything I put on the floor to take pictures of. So, sometimes I take her picture. :) It's kinda funny. When I am trying to take her picture she never co-operates, but if I am trying to get a picture of something else she's all over it. hee hee.... cats

First project using Two-Handed weave-in Fair Isle

2006-04-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

I absolutely loved the class for this technique. It was so fun just sitting around with other knitters doing what we love to do. And it really is a remarkable way to knit.
I wanted to do a project with the new style soon after learning it so I didn't immediately forget how. I have been working on monkeys so much lately though and didn't have time to make anything very big. So I sorta just free-styled a little monkey sweater.
There are a few parts that are less than perfect, but this little monkey prefers it that way. ;)

Happy Crafting!

http://www.sockmonkeyfun.com/Sock_Monkey_69.html

Class today

2006-03-12T08:21:00.000-08:00

I am going to a two hour class today to learn two-handed fair isle weave-in technique.
I am excited. I have never taken any sort of knitting class. I have sorta taught little classes on the basics of knitting. But besides the very first few days of having a friend in Nepal show me how to knit, I have learned everything on my own.

If I get anything worth taking a picture of I'll post it. :)

Knitting Quiz!

2006-03-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a
piece is the plan, you still love the
process, and can't imagine a day going by
without giving some time to your yarn.
Packing for vacation involves leaving ample
space for the stash and supplies. It can be
hard to tell where the yarn ends and you
begin.http://marniemaclean.com/

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by

Current and Future Projects

2006-02-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

I have two projects on the needles at the moment.

A pair of socks in a beautiful self-striping yarn that I have had going for about 6 months... I am bad about that with socks. I have this tiny little tote bag and socks are always my 'travel' project. So if I am not going anywhere they don't get attention.

The other project is something I have wanted to make for almost 2 years and finally got started about a month ago. It's a scarf made from off-white and brown double strand (to look like the tweed that sock monkey socks are made out of) with a band at either end in solid off-white. And a little bit of red thrown in somewhere for the complete color palate of Sock Monkeys. I attempted this scarf in worsted weight wool the first time, but it was ~way~ too bulky. I decided on sport weight cotton. I am about a third done. I made my own chart for one end and haven't decided what I'll make for the other side. I am happy with how the fabric is coming out. It is heavier than I thought it would be. Cotton always seems heavier than I think it will be. :)

I'd like to make some sort of archive of past finished projects. I don't really know how to go about that though.

For future projects. I would like to make a pinwheel baby blanket for a friend of mine, who is due in 4 months. Also, I'd like to make that beautiful corset top of Annie Modesitt's to wear to my cousin's wedding this summer.

Happy Crafting,
Tamara

Felted Flower Tote Bag~

2006-02-21T17:01:00.000-08:00

I think this project wins the longest I have ever let a project go on for.

This pattern was in the Winter 2002 issue of Knit It! In a section labeled "Weekend Wonders"... knowing how long it took me to finish it, that is almost a joke.

I used the same type of yarn as the pattern called for, (Lamb's Pride) but not all the exact colors (which I regret in the case of the yellow). I found out that if a yarn has been bleached it doesn't felt as well.

The flower is especially neat because it's all one piece and is knit in a spiral, the layers stack on top of each other. I will certainly make the flowers again. Only not out of that yellow color.

The body of the bag is knit in 3 pieces - main piece and two side pieces with garter stitch as an edge along the top and on the whole bottom of the piece.
The main piece has two channels for plastic runners to give the top structure and the bottom has a piece of plastic in it too. The pattern called for quilting template plastic. I didn't have any, so I used plastic rulers that I got for $.25 and stole the bottom piece from a different tote I didn't use anymore.

The pieces are joined with single crochet and then a return of slip stitches back over the the sc.

The main body is knit from single strand bulky weight Lamb's Pride (10 1/2 US needle)Flowers, leaves and vines in single strand worsted (8 US needle)Straps in double strand worsted (10 1/2 US needle)

2006-02-15T13:49:00.000-08:00

I just finished a felted hat, now that winter is nearly over.
I am happy with how it came out. I’ll see if I am able to get a picture up. I am still learning this blog interface.
I found the pattern for it here http://www.lewiscraft.ca/project01.php?innum=3503
I used Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky in single strand instead of the 2 strand worsted method they used for the pattern.
The color is Chocolate Souffle… guarenteeing I’d buy it. hee hee

First Post!

2006-02-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hiya world!