Monique was inspired by Mona, which I made in 2008. To soften Mona’’s black on black/pink contrast, I included grey tones in Monique’’s jumper and hat. I also gave the ribbing on the hat a different color. Something I hadn”t tried before.

I have two more custom sock monkeys in the works. Plus I”ve been getting caught up on my knitting skills and other fun “Proyectos” thanks to this year’’s thing-a-day!

Blueberry Mars Sock Monkey

Monique Mars Sock Monkey

Sparkle Mars Sock Monkey was made for a friend to give to her daughter as a Christmas present. Her little girl liked one of my previous sock monkeys named Shayla so I created one almost exactly like her. The only difference is that Sparkle’s hoodie is blue with brown and green striped sleeves while Shayla’s is green with brown and blue striped sleeves (the reversed combination). A couple of days after Christmas I received an email from my friend’s daughter. She loved her sock monkey! :)

Amigurumi cupcake pictured below is available at Stitches fabric store in Capitol Hill in Seattle.

I enjoy using online print services from time to time. I already get mini cards from Moo and recently I bought some postcards from Zazzle. The postcard is of Samantha Mars Sock Monkey, one of my original sock monkeys with a knitted hoodie. This image is one of my most popular Flickr photos. I love this photo too!

The print quality is nice. They also have a Mars Sock Monkey logo on the back. I liked the postcards so much I decided to include them with my sock monkeys. There are 6 postcards now, although this might turn into an ongoing thing: Free Sam Mars Sock Monkey postcard with Mars Sock Monkey purchase. :)

]]> http://maribelmade.com/?feed=rss2&p=1658 http://maribelmade.com/?p=1654 http://maribelmade.com/?p=1654#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:28:13 +0000 maribelmade http://maribelmade.com/?p=1654 My newest Mars Sock Monkeys come with a bit of a Holiday flair and animal cuteness! There’s a sock monkey with a bear, bunny, piggy and a panda. I’ve done some of these cute animal designs on hoodies for my custom sock monkeys so I wanted to bring this nice detail to the sweatshirt hoodie. Included are some new colors: red and a Japanese piggy print fabric.

I used a technique called needle felting to add the small detail like the eyes and nose to the animal faces. I then embroidered their little mouths and attached the final pieces to the hoodies. I also tried something different by switching the heel part of the sock on some of the sock monkeys, which gave them different colored mouths.

This group of sock monkeys was fun to make. There were so many ideas that didn’t make it, but I’m sure I can incorporate them into next year’s sock monkeys! This Winter 09 batch of Mars Sock Monkeys are for sale on Etsy. As always, each of my Mars Sock Monkeys are one of a kind and handmade. Have a look. :)

Knitting needles: One of my favorite tools are my Addi Turbo circular needles. I love them. I use size US 3 and 4, which allow me to do some of the color work on the front of the sweaters. I also like that they’re circular because they don’t fall and there’s no hassle switching between them. My needles were bent, but they still get the job done! :)

Crochet hook: I saw a lot of these while growing up since my Mom is an avid crocheter. She uses some pretty small sizes for her work! As for me, I use a Clover aluminum crochet hook size C. It’s perfect for picking up stitches, adding finishing to the edge of knitted fabric and tidying those loose yarn ends. Also nice for making winter hats. The crochet hook has become such a useful tool for me.

Tapestry needle: Once all my pieces are complete I use a tapestry needle to sew the seams together. It has a curved tip which is nice for sewing knit fabric; the tip peaks out from the puffy stitches. The large eyelet works great on double knit (DK) worsted yarns. I own a set of Clover Chibi jumbo darning needles. They’re nice and big and come in a little capsule so I don’t loose them easily. ;)

Stitch holder: I used to use stitch holders to put my projects on hold, but these days I get some proper use out of them. They work like extra needles which secure knit stitches in place. I use one to hold stitches at the top the hood. While one half of the stitches are on hold I knit the other half of the hood using my circular needles. After both ends are done I connect them at the top using the  kitchener stitch. I have a set of 6″ and 7″ extra large Clover aluminum stitch holders.

Thread cutters: I fell in love with these cutters as soon as I got them. They’re cute and they’re the tool I use the most besides my knitting needles. They work great on thread and even thick yarns. I use them when I sew on the sewing machine because they’re not bulky like big scissors and they’re quick to grab. I bought these from an old Edmund Scientifics catalog but I recently ordered one and they’re nowhere to be found. :( I’d like another cute pair like these…I also have a pair of  these. :)

Yarn: I wasn’t going to forget about yarn itself. It keeps my sock monkeys nice and warm. I’m still learning about weights and types because there’s lots to know about yarn. I use double knits. They’re somewhere in between baby yarns and yarns for adult clothing. I also like to use cotton mixes and I prefer strong bright colors! I keep my yarns in a large clear plastic bag so I can see them when choosing color.

I hope you enjoyed my knitting tools write up! If you’re a beginner or advanced knitter, I’d highly recommend the tools above. Knitting is like many trades when it comes to using the right high quality tools. I’ve bought some cheap stuff and it doesn’t work as well as the higher-end stuff. :)

Thanks to Toby for taking some of these photos!

Gracie’s hoodie comes with a ladybug or ladybird as it’s known in Europe. This is Gracie hanging out in bed. See how the blankie is making her sleepy, very sleepy…

SoMo Sock Monkeys belongs to my friend Lisa who also makes sock monkeys. Yay! She picked out a great name and also designed the font. I just put the logo together. She officially started a blog recently. Check out her work at SoMo Sock Monkeys.

Playgrub is a cool open-source music project developed by my boyfriend Toby. He also has a brand new blog called Playgrub In the Works. To tell the truth I wasn’t too excited about making a logo with a grub, but it actually turned out really cute! Now I want to make grub plushies based on it. :)

Coming up next is a rainbow Mars Sock Monkey with a different little bug on its hoodie. I’ll also be writing a post about some of the tools I use to make a knitted sweater. Stay tuned!

Sock monkeys were later popularized during the Great Depression of the 1930s when “crafty” moms began making toys for their children using socks. In short, the sock monkey went on to become quite a cult icon! One of the most interesting things I found was that giving a sock monkey to a newborn baby brought good luck and happiness. :)

Well today is no exception because I made Sunny Mars Sock Monkey for a soon-to-be-born baby! The challenging part was not knowing the baby’s gender so I made a sock monkey that wouldn’t be gender specific using lighter colors like lavender, yellow and a bit of cyan. I also knew that the baby’s Grandma knit a lavender hoodie for the baby so it was appropriate to make them matching jumpers. With Sunny I wanted to make a sock monkey that would appeal to either a boy or a girl. I’m happy with the results. :)

In her blog, La Carnima writes about Japanese pop culture, fashion, music, cute things…everything I admire! It’s no wonder I immediately fell in love with her blog. She’s also author of two books, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo and her newest book on cute food recipes called Cute Yummy Time.

La Carmina is always up to something! This time she’s giving away 5 autographed copies of Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo to a lucky random winner who answers “If you had to open your own theme restaurant, what would it be?”…

Of course, mine would have to be a sock monkey themed restaurant! This wacky restaurant would be staffed by people and their sock monkeys pets. You’d be able to choose from a variety of sock monkeys to wait on you and your group depending on your mood and taste for the evening since each sock monkey would be dressed in a different style of clothes, which would match the waitress’ or waiters outfit! I would personally choose a kimono sock monkey or day of the dead sock monkey. I would also display books, artwork, fashion and interior design specifically related to sock monkeys.

Some of the things you could possibly see in my restaurant would be:
Rebecca Yaker’s sock monkey dresses (my favorite being the couture dress)
Super Sammy, one of the world’s largest sock monkey
And who could forget real monkeys! Snow monkeys. :)

Now that would be my kind of wacky theme restaurant!

Here’s a photo of me in my Sweet Lolita costume after a night of trick or treating with my friend Lisa Lovejoy, who’s also a sock monkey maker! I made the bow on my hair, dress and scarf. I also wore my pink Heart Knit Ring. Pictured with me are Lauren Mars Sock Monkey and my Waffle Ice Cream Cone by Laimee. Kawaii! :)