I was going to mix n match their feet and bodies, to have different colours – which I think is what Rebecca Danger does – but J voted for matched, so here they are… sans faces…

… and with faces.

We decided that different expressions were the way to go, too.

These little cuties are for a one-year-old whose existence I learned of on about her birthday. She is the daughter of a woman who was an exchange student in my home many, many years ago with whom my mum and I have stayed in occasional contact. It sounds like the pregnancy was quite traumatic, but the picture we received of the girl today is adorable so hopefully it has turned out for the best, and will continue to do so!

… yeh, pretty happy with this one, too. This monster involved my first experience of turning a heel, to create feet, so that was… interesting… they’re not that pretty, but they work. Mostly.

The funniest bit? I have sold him! To a friend, to give to a kid who was having a monster party…

This one is even funnier-looking! It was some random wool I bought as waste yarn but I thought I’d give it a go on this little dude, who is officially Coco the Canister Monster. It’s 8 ply wool, and she fits in my palm! I think the arms are overstuffed, but overall I’m pleased… especially since J figured out how to make her less Dogbert-like….

This is Harold. I made him. Well, J cut out the eyes and the mouth, but from my template.

His feet are big for his body, and he is certainly very gangly, but I’m pretty happy with him overall. Hopefully the young recipient will not be freaked out.

I have never been a crafty person. I was into cross-stitching for a long time and still have the occasional burst; I like it because you just follow a pattern, and there’s no imagination required. I mainly have bursts of interest in winter these days as a friend gave me an ENORMOUS cross-stitch pattern of three frogs yeeears ago that’s still not finished… although every time I pick it up I discover old mistakes, which there is no way I am fixing.

ANYway, I decided recently to give knitting a go. A lot of my friends seem to have picked up the craze (Gina, aka Clutterpunk, in particular), not to mention those like Alisa who have been doing it apparently all their lives. How hard can it be?? … yeh, this is how my brain works. Drives my husband up the wall.

I started with a brown scarf, because I’ve been wanting one for ages:

When I first made it it wasn’t quite long enough, so I stole Gina’s idea and bought a brooch.

Then I decided to learn purl and ended up making another scarf in stockinette, which I later found out was a bad idea because it doesn’t stay flat… hello another brooch.

Anyway, then I went a little nuts and bought a couple of books of different patterns etc. I got Stitch&Bitch, since it seems to be the one everyone raves about… and I bought one for making knitted monsters. Because I love scarves, but even I can have a surfeit of scarves (although I do have plans for learning to cable). So I decided to start on a monster.

This is his body, made using the Magic Loop method on circular needles. His butt was done with double-pointed needles, and yes I managed to knit the wrong way out so it’s wrong-way-round. It’s all about Individuality.

 A foot. Learning how to do this foot caused me – and the long-suffering husband – a large amount of angst. Truly, the teacher in me absolutely LOATHES the learner in me, because I am Not A Good Student. Still, now that it’s done I’m quite smug about this little foot. Now to make another, and also two arms… how hard can it be?