First batch of finished Christmas gifts

This one is a scrubby washcloth from a pattern by my very own friend, Amelia. You work tulle along with the cotton to make it scrubby...
This one is another cat like the one I made earlier, this one is orange so I named it Butternut ;-). Note: the patterns call for size 6 needles for these, I did my first couple like that but it is hard working with the cotton on that size needle and it hurts my hand so I've gone up to either a 7 or 8, whatever is handy. It works fine and you can still see the pictures, they just come out a little looser.
Here we have a nascar washcloth for my grandmother of all people. ;-) This is a Mark Martin cloth since I'm working on 2008 numbers and he's switching next year. Excuse Trevor's arm/leg in the photo, I'm on a computer without photo editing software at the moment.

Here we have another nascar cloth - I could not get a good picture of this one no matter how many I tried! It actually does say 88 so this is Dale Jr. for next year. This one was for my father-in-law.
This one is also nascar related in a humorous way - it isn't a number pattern obviously but the stitch pattern is double woven. The cloth designer is a nascar fan and DW made her think of Darryl Waltrip so that's what she named the cloth. This was for my father-in-law.
please note that I am not a nascar fan but after being married to one for three years, plus a father-in-law, a grandmother, and a friend - you pick up a bit of knowledge. ;-)

Knitterly Gifts

I'm back! I got all of my Christmas knitting done except for a pair of socks (well, I cut a few things off the list. But I got everything that I decided I needed to do done). I got one sock done but then had to use a tiny sock stand-in for the other one. I'm knitting the second one right now. Then I'm going to sneak in the second of my pair of fetching so I can wear them at work when it is cold. After that I have to knit a belated pair of dashing for Trevor's anniversary present. Then I can knit something for myself. Oh crap, no, then I have to knit the 2nd sock of a pair for a January birthday. Then I can knit for myself. sigh. Maybe by February? The first thing I'm going to knit myself is a booga bag using this gorgeous alpaca I ordered on sale from Webs (Classic Elite Inca Print #4627 - I hope it retains the gorgeous colors when it is felted)*. I'm going to use the leather straps I got at Rhinebeck instead of the i-cord handle. Then I'll make myself a pair of socks.

Anyway, back on topic. I'll be catching up on FO photos soon, but for now I have a bunch of wonderful knitterly Christmas gifts that I received. It was the year of the knitting related present for me. (wonderful, eh?) First, the books:

I got Mason-Dixon Knitting and Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks from my in laws and I got Knit Socks! and Casts Off from my parents. I've had Mason-Dixon from the library a few times and haven't had time to make anything from it so it went on the wish list. I haven't knit any Nancy Bush patterns yet but I've been told that she's a real sock guru. Knit Socks! was recommended by somebody (I forget who) and of course I want to add another Yarn Harlot to my collection...

Then the needles:
I got a set of Harmony wood DPNs, and two sizes of Harmony wood tips with 3 cables all from my parents. This photo is crappy, if you aren't familiar with how beautiful they are take a look. I haven't used them yet of course but I love them already.

I got a skein of Sockina Cotton in a different color than the one I have in my stash, from my parents.
I got a knitting pirate style shirt from Trevor,
Lovely wooden sock blockers from my parents and the best Sock Monkey sock project bag ever from Trevor. I am in love with this project bag. It is handmade and just gorgeous. Hop right over to YarnTraveler to order one from her. She's also one of the masterminds behind Knit Map and you should check that out too if you haven't already.
Also, my mom has become a sock blocker lover and she doesn't even knit! She said she ordered herself a plastic pair to use to dry her handwash only socks on (ones I make her and ones she bought at Rhinebeck). Here's a closeup of the cute sheep cutout on my wooden blockers:


And, a bunch of other nifty stuff (all from my parents):

At the top we have some plastic pouches for the cables and tips, and some needle id tags for the options needles. Then we have a needle sizer and the little doodads that hold a pair of needles together, and a row counting bracelet. Great stuff, huh?

* I haven't gotten it photographed yet, but it is super beautiful. I got it in a few colors since it was so cheap. At least one will be for a gift, the rest might be for me.

Super quick list update

then back to the knitting. Photos and descriptions as soon as I'm done with everything.

This was the list I posted November 24th:

2 skully dishcloths
1 cat dishcloth
2 pairs of Fetching - working on the 2nd of one pair, the other not started
5 various Nascar related dishcloths - 1
1.25 socks (the remainder of a pair) - almost to the toe on the 1st sock
1 pair toddler socks - ok I lied, they aren't done. But I'm to the toe on the 2nd and they are tiny so I'll be done right away.
up to 10 mini socks, a minimum of 4 - 3
3 or more scrubby washcloths - 1 (all I'm going to do)
2 plainer dishcloths (on needles)
DW dishcloth (on needles) - worked on a little
1.5 pairs Dashing (3 gloves) - one pair I "gave" Trevor for our anniversary (the yarn) and told him they'll be made after Christmas. So the deadline is off that one.

Items in bold are done. Items in italics have had some work completed since the last post. BWAHAHAHAHa. Yeah. Some items aren't needed until January 1st though so I have a smidge more time.

A token post...

I have been knitting! And doing the myriad of other things that go along with Christmas. And so, I have no time to post about the knitting - yet. Also my computer died and I had to resurrect it... And a bunch of other excuses. So, in the meantime I give you A Knitter's Christmas Eve - it is around the internet and was emailed out by my LYS but doesn't have an author listed...

KNITTER'S CHRISTMAS EVE
`Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
`Cause the heels and toes had not a stitch there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,
And the sweater for him was six inches too small,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how much I still had to go.
Out on my lawn I heard such a noise,
I thought it would wake both Dad and the boys.
And though I was tired, my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
But what I heard then left me perplex-ed,
For not a name I heard was what I expected,
"Move, Ashford! Move, Lopi! Move, Addi and Clover!
Move, Reynolds! Move Starmore! Move Froelich –move over
Paton, don't circle 'round; stand in the line.
Come now, you sheep will work out just fine!
I know this is hard; it's just your first year,
I'd hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing.
And then, in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's feet coming across the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,
And as I turned 'round St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe,
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.
A bright Fairisle sweater he wore on his back,
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.
The scarf 'round his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I espied a small label,
"S.C." was duplicate stitched on the cuff,
And I asked, "Hey, Nick, did you knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair,
He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap
Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two,
For the first time I thought I might really get through.
He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks.
While I sat back drinking scotch on the rocks.
So quickly like magic his needles they flew
That he was all finished by quarter to two.
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me,
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year start your knitting sometime around June!"

Christmas knitting update

Here's what's left on my christmas gift knitting list. I don't see it happening but we are taking a long car trip in two weeks so if I get to ride a bunch of the way I can get a lot done then. So maybe.

to be completed:
2 skully dishcloths
1 cat dishcloth
2 pairs of Fetching
5 various Nascar related dishcloths
1.25 socks (the remainder of a pair)
1 pair toddler socks
up to 10 mini socks, a minimum of 4
3 or more scrubby washcloths
2 plainer dishcloths (on needles)
DW dishcloth (on needles)
1.5 pairs Dashing (3 gloves)

A few of the things I need 10 days before Christmas so I really need to prioritize and work on those first.

Go ahead and laugh at me. How's your holiday knitting going?

I'm back!

Sorry for the hiatus, I have been getting ready for the new job, starting the new job, smushing my car and needing to buy a new one, and getting a new cat. sheesh. But I have also been knitting! I have an hour lunch and usually stay in so I have at least a half hour of dedicated knitting and podcast time each day, which is lovely.

I have one Dashing off the needles and the second one just started. These are a Christmas present, hopefully for my brother but I'm a little nervous... he's a rather no-frills kind of guy and I'm a little afraid he won't wear them. For some reason the pattern gave me a little trouble on the first one so I have a bit of time invested and don't want them to just sit in his drawer. I'd rather have somebody wear them than I mind having my feelings hurt so I'm considering asking him honestly when I give them to him if he'll wear them and telling him I"ll make him something else if he wouldn't. Unless I can come up with a more espionage way of figuring it out...

Modeled by Trevor who wants his one snazzy pair at some point - his comment? "They're gauntlets!!" in a positive way. ;-)

I have one Fetching for me done, I cheated and snuck it in among the Christmas knitting. Why I'm not sure since they don't do me any good until the second one is done. ;-) These are made from Rowan Summer Tweed which is gooooorrrrgeous. You may remember it as a gifty from my Fall dishcloth swap from Jenna. It is 70% silk and 30% cotton and wonderfully soft and squishy. Neither silk or cotton has much give so it is a little hard on the hands to knit with (especially the cables) but the result is very nice so it is worth it. This one is on the wrong hand (the cables twist the wrong way) because I can't take a picture with my left hand and the husband was sleeping. :-) This yarn looks so nice worked up that I ordered some in another color for a gift Fetching (No, I'm still not done with these things) and a Dashing.

And then in progress I have three dishcloths: a Grandma, a Feather & Fan, and a DW, I'll save the photos until they are done. Dishcloths are boring enough without seeing half finished ones. (Well, I don't find them boring but many people do - did you know there's a whole dishcloth hating group on Ravelry? Where's the love people - can't we all just knit different things and get along?)

Coming soon: an update on the completely unrealistic Christmas knitting list and a foody post of Halloween & Thanksgiving goodies (I know, very late)

I can't think

of a clever title using the word dishcloth. So here you go, the petal* dishcloths I mentioned the other day, plus a "grandma's favorite"* type (this pattern is all over the place, this is just one version)... Next on the needles is a Feather & Fan dishcloth. I can't wait until Ravelry is open so I can just link to patterns there!

Sugar'n Cream Hot Pink

Sugar'n Cream Stripes Natural


Sugar'n Cream Stripes Lime

* Dishcloth Boutique seems to be gone, at least at the moment so the links goes to cached pages

Update: According to a post I found on a Dishcloth Boutique Message Board the website is permanently gone do to an illness in the host's family. So if you have any favorites from them and can still find cached versions print them now!

A few miscellaneous good things

1. More on The Loopy Ewe - I'm set up with them as referring friends so if you don't have an account with them yet and decide you want to order - click through my link on the side! If you do, I get a $5 credit. :-) (shameless request for free stuff now over
2. I am on a dishcloth craze! (which is good considering the number I need done for Christmas) I became obsessed with the petal dishcloth Jenna sent me so I had to tackle that pattern. I made two so far this week and also have a "grandma's favorite" on the needles right now (the striping cotton!) Photos coming soon, I'm not on my own computer at the moment.
3. I have a new job! Only 4 years after Grad School I have a full time job. ;-) And it is even the kind of job I have been wanting. I start November 12th. :-D Unfortunately this working full time thing is coming at the wrong time considering my holiday knitting list to finish. ;-) Hopefully it isn't too cold in there since I won't be able to make my own fetching or dashing until the holiday knitting is done.
   
4. I've also been working on the Tiger Lily socks. I love this color!
   

that's it for now!

p.s. I have a shiny green new ipod nano - does anybody have one and can suggest a case or cover that you like? I'm not sure what kind of thing I want for this one. It is so tiny and delicate seeming compared to my old ipod.

All my Fall into Autumn Goodies!

O.k., here it is, my Fall into Autumn swap package!
Here we have: the keychain sock blocker with sock pattern!!!, Halloween stickers, a cute little lion clip, a Hebert's Mokanola chocolate bar (dark chocolate with java drops and granola - yummy, I'm eating it right now), and that gorgeous yarn! It is Rowan Summer Tweed and I have been wanting to try it. It's 70% silk, 30% cotton and the pink has beautiful tweedy bits of yellow and purple. ;-)

And here, the lovely dishcloth Jenna made me (I haven't tried this kind of pattern yet so I am very impressed by the round kind of dishcloth!), a pretty fall kitchen towel, a shiny flower embroidered purse (soon to star in my knitting bag), and two yummy smelling soaps - Canus Goat's Milk Soap with Marigold Oil (saw this at Rhinebeck but didn't treat myself to any!) and Pre de Provence Exotique.

Thanks again, Jenna, I've enjoyed getting the secret swapper messages from you and love my package.

Rhinebeck part 3 -other good stuff (including the Yarn Harlot)

On Sunday they had a great author tent, I got there right at the beginning and got into the shortest line ever for the Yarn Harlot. Stephanie signed my two books and I got a photo... yay!
Note the Kauni sweater and the combo geeky (in a good way)/knitting shirt. She did a talk after lunch and I even managed to get a seat for that. I worked on a christmas sock during her talk so that one should go very smoothly with her knitting-fu rubbing off on it.

There were other great authors too, but I don't have their books yet so no signings (the Mason-Dixon ladies and Alison to name a few)

Other miscellaneous things to share:
This shop had a funny sign...

Punkin Chunkin!

Barfing pumpkin...
Felted ta-ta's
Over near the history museum building, they had some steam engines and antique machinery set up. Trevor was exploring that stuff while I was at the Yarn Harlot. This machine is cutting wood shingles.

They stencil some with sheep for the festival and give them away for a donation and Trevor got me one! It will be decoration in my craft room soon - even though all of my crafting is sheep free. ;-)

Rhinebeck Part 2 - the animals

We saw dogs doing Frisbee tricks
We saw dogs herding sheep

We saw sheep (of course)

Wait a minute, that's not a real sheep!

This cute guy with the bell is a Navajo-Churro

and this handsome fella is getting auctioned off to a new home.

This guy was really not enjoying his haircut and was really whining about it.
This weird sheep has four horns!

We saw llamas & alpacas
This one had a poodle style haircut! They said it keeps him cool for the summer. ;-)


we saw fluffy furball bunnies
There really is a head in there, it really is a bunny!
my biggest disappointment was that I wanted to see the bunnies being spun off of but didn't. :-(

and, even horses. 1 rider and 2 horses

Rhinebeck part 1 - goodies

Sorry, for the delay in my Rhinebeck report - I've had a mega busy week. Let's see... where to start. How about with what I brought home. I didn't buy very much, I had a particular list of projects I was interested in and I would only buy yarn if it was for one of those projects. I couldn't find anything that fit those projects so I only bought one kind of yarn (plus some non-yarn purchases) which is actually for a new project, not one off my list. oops. Anyway, here's what I got:These are leather purse straps - you really can't see how beautiful they are, but they are lovely. The double set is black (20" for $15) and the single is brown (17" "wine tote" handle for $5). The double set came with linen thread and matching buttons that you use to sew them onto a felted purse. (The thinner strap just comes with the thread, no buttons) The black set is for the Booga Bag I plan on making myself once I'm done with my Christmas knitting; the brown one is for a smaller prettier purse that I have in mind (it might incorporate a fun yarn I just got from a friend, I'll share it soon). These came from Homestead Heirlooms, "Genuine Leather Handles, Leaves & Tie-Ons"and you can also buy through their website.

This uninteresting looking thing is a piece of llama felt. My mom does needle felting where you stick bits of roving onto a piece of felt to make pictures and things, that's a bad description, but whatever. I had wanted to do something like that but needed some felt that I could use. I have bunches of alpaca roving leftover from making my crazy lady and now I have a sheet of felt to do something with it all. I got this for only $3 from the Northern Vermont Llama Co.

And, finally, the yarn.
This is Rayon Silk from Shel B. Yarn and it is so soft and squishy wonderful. Each skein is 4 ounces and I got 3 pink and 3 green and white ($30). They had (machine knit) "blankets" made of squares of all the colors to show off the yarn and how it would work up. They just looked so nice that way that I decided to use it to make a small blanket/throw or wrap.

Those were all my purchases! Oh, we also bought a tub of garlic goat cheese spread from a Pocono cheese company. It was expensive but is very yummy. That brings me to the other type of goodies - the food. We sampled lots of cheeses but that one was the only one we loved enough to buy. We made it to the French's artichoke cart I had heard so much about on Ravelry. yum! Most of the day (Saturday) the line was so long that there was no way we were going to do it, so we got other stuff for lunch. I had the deep fried pickles at Spacey Tracy's and some french fries. We were really looking forward to the deep fried pickles because we loved the ones we had at Quaker Steak & Lube. These were good, but the Lube ones were even better. I also tried some of the deep fried garlic cloves at the pickle cart. They were good, but would be better in pasta or something - too much for me to just eat them (they didn't seem deep fried since they weren't battered or anything). Then at around 4:00 we managed to find the artichoke cart with a very short line so we all got those. I got the French artichoke (battered artichoke with butter garlic sauce) with the beans & greens on top. The artichoke was awesome but I was iffy on the beans & greens so next time I'll just get the artichoke. They have a couple of different kinds, one is like a pizza on a flatbread, and one is deep fried like a blooming onion. I want to try both of those too, actually. On Sunday I picked up a sandwich at Bread Alone (very good, highly recommend the sandwiches and also the yogurt fruit & granola cup I had for breakfast) and brought that in my cooler to have for lunch, and we got these oozing chocolate lava cake kind of things.

Fall into Autumn package!!

Just a quick note to say that I got my wonderful Fall into Autumn package today! I love everything and I will be posting photos and info Saturday night. :-D And! See that link to swapdex over there? The Jenna of Swapdex was my secret swapper! :-) I really appreciate the work you put into swapdex, Jenna, so it is easy to find swaps all in one spot. O.k. more swap info tomorrow, I must go to bed!

Fall into Autumn post of the week

Thanks for the reminder, secret pal!

This week's topic of the week for the Fall into Autumn swap is:
Now that it is getting cooler here, it makes me think of apple picking and hay rides. Are you the type that likes to go to participate in all the fall festivities like apple picking, pumpkins, decorating for the fall, hay rides, baking fall goodies, etc. or do you just sit and count the days till Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah?

Oh yes, I like to participate in the fall festivities! Last week we (me, Trevor, my sister and BIL) all went apple and pumpkin picking. And we had the wonderful fall treat of apple cider donuts, of course. mmm (I've already mentioned my love of cider and shown some of our halloween decorations.) So far I've made one batch of applesauce and one of apple cheddar turnovers. I will be making another batch of applesauce and probably a pie. I made the first pumpkin pie of the season a few weeks ago, and I will be making some of my favorite pumpkin chocolate chip cookies sometime soon.

Rhinebeck and stuff

I'm on my 4th pair of Fetching and I'm starting to get tired of them. ;-) Too bad I still have at least another 2 pair I want to make! (I don't even have any of my own yet) I have unsuccessfully tried to cast on for Dashing twice now. Tried once, needed a smaller needle. Tried again and decided the yarn just wasn't right. So I'm back to the drawing board on that one. Maybe I will find the perfect yarn at....

RHINEBECK!! Woo, day after tomorrow, baby! We will be there Saturday and Sunday and will be camping out Saturday night. Tentative plans for Saturday include eating artichokes, watching sheep dogs, watching bunnies being spun, and vendor browsing. There is a Ravelry party that night but I don't think I'll make it since my long-suffering husband is already putting up with so much this weekend, I don't think I can subject him to that (which also requires a drive to Kingston). There is also a Ravelry/Blogger meetup both days at Noon near the food stands so I might make it to one of them. Maybe, depending on what it takes to keep everyone as happy as possible. On Sunday the agenda includes a visit to the author tent for some book signings, and then after lunch a talk by the Yarn Harlot! I just saw her a few months ago but who can pass up the chance?

So, my next post will be a roundup of all the fun Rhinebeck things we do, and things I buy, and photos of it all. :-D

First socks of Socktober

I veered a little away from the goals I posted just yesterday ;-) But! It was because I don't have the needles for one thing, and the needles for the other are tied up in the George WIP. I need to put George on stitch holders or something because he doesn't get finished until all my Christmas knitting is done. Anyway, what I did get done:

Voila, the Springtime socks! A Christmas present for somebody, who has similar sized feet to me so I could model these. The same pattern as my Koi socks except the ribbing goes all the way down the leg. However, when I tried it on I decided I don't like that as much for this particular sock so I think I'll keep the ribbing shorter the next time.

Then, I finished one whole sock today! Okay, it is toddler sized. But it is very cute and has cables even. Although the yarn I had for these socks is a little too patterned to show off the cables. Next time I do this pattern I'll use a solid color.

The left shows the colors better and the right shows the cables better.

These socks will be a Christmas present for my niece Lily. I like the pattern, I will probably make another pair for another toddler. But first I have to make the second one of this pair.

Happy Socktober!

Are you ready for Socktoberfest? I am! I love knitting socks so what's not to love about a month celebrating the sock. I have a few single socks that I'd like to finish the pairs but since Socktober is conveniently located near the holiday season I have other plans for Socktober:

• Finish the "springtime" Fixation socks (doing the gusset on the second sock now)
• Cast on and maybe finish one other pair of Christmas present socks - either another of these (same as George in another color) or, Lace Wings if I get a chance to get another set of 3s (shakes fist at cat who stole one)
  
• Make at least a few of the many tiny socks I need for holiday presents

Hopefully I'll be back with some FOs of the sock variety soon. :-)

Fall into Autumn

Yay, my Fall into Autumn swap pal has received her package! I had fun emailing with Katie throughout the swap and we've got each other friended on Ravelry so we can keep up with projects etc.! :-) Her daughter is a big cutie so I had to include a little something for her too and it turned out to be perfect timing for stampers. It's funny how that works out sometimes.

Speaking of Autumn, we put up halloween and fall decorations last night. Here's a nifty one of our front porch window decorations (I love these things - we had ghosts last year then this year we found cats too) O.k., one more. I love these giant paper lanterns!



On the knitting front... Last week I started a shawl with the misguided idea that I might finish it to wear at Rhinebeck. Yesterday I realized that Rhinebeck is only two weeks away! Yeah, that's just not going to happen. So I set that aside for a bit to work on something more "seasonably" appropriate (post to come). Speaking of Rhinebeck, anybody else going this year? I'll be with family at least part of the time but they are all muggles (not a knitter among them!), so I expect to be left in the dust when they tire of my yarn browsing. The plan isn't set yet as to when we'll be there, I'm trying to convince the husband to camp out so I can go both days (book signings by tons of people and a Yarn Harlot talk on Sunday!) but as of yet he doesn't really even want to go at all. sigh.

Happy Birthday, honey!

Today is my husband's 30th birthday! He is a wonderful guy and I think I'll keep him around. ;-) Saturday I threw him a surprise party with a whole bunch of friends and family. I think he was really surprised, don't you? ;-)


_MG_3913, originally uploaded by mollyoakley.

That picture was kind of funny so I'll show you one that shows how handsome he is too. :-)

_MG_4100, originally uploaded by mollyoakley.

Craftiness and a friendly swap

In June I went to visit my friend Amy and she let me pick out some fabric from her stash and said she'd make me a needle roll with it. She sent me the wonderful finished products a little while ago and I have been a little late in getting photos. In exchange I made her a few crafty things and sent them back to her! First, the lovely needle rolls (I actually got two different sizes!) both rolled up and in action. I especially love the pink and green retro cocktail fabric. :-)














the red one holds my straight needles and the black one is holding my circular needles and my long dpns



These are what I made her - a Skully Dishcloth, a tiny sock on a string, an emergency dropped stitch fixer, and some shrinky dink sock monkeys. Here's a close-up of the smaller items with a bit more information.















Excuse the sock monkey glare. The sock monkeys are very teeny tiny thanks to the wonder of shrinky-dink (I loved this stuff as a kid!). I used a rubber stamp (you need to use permanent ink not the plainest cheapest kind) - I stamped the monkey on with brown ink then colored the eyes and lips with colored pencils then presto changeo it is shrink time! A few are on jump rings to be stitch markers or charms, a few are earrings, and one is on a hook as a knitting bag decoration or something. :-) I am making bunches of the tiny sock monkeys as part of my Christmas gifts - the tiny shrunken ones will go onto my tiny sock ornaments and the full size stamp will go on the labels on my handmade sock gifts.
Thanks again, Amy!