Monkey Two Toe New Year 2008 - a post in three chapters

Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey

The Heart Monkey hats were delivered today, and they were a big hit. And by "a big hit", I mean that they fit J_____ and Heart Monkey, respectively, and that both seemed happy to pose for photos wearing the hats. J____'s hat looks a little small in this photo, but I think she might be wearing pigtails underneath--it didn't seem like it would pop off of her head or anything. Heart Monkey's hat fits just fine, thanks to his squishy head.

Two Toe Tuesday: New Year's Day edition

In other news, I recently finished the Poppy Socks, but I've been holding off on posting them because I just delivered them to E__ (mother of the monkeys above) today. I love this yarn (it's from the Sundara Petals Collection), and am planning to use the ample leftovers for new socks that will be cast on today. I really like this pattern, although the toe is not one that I've used before and I'm not 100% sure that I love it. E__--keep me posted on whether it's comfortable! This is only the third finished pair logged into Ravelry, which feels like a low number to me. Maybe a lot of other people also fell behind in their sock club knitting??

Happy New Year, 2008!

I've been reading a lot about resolutions that people are making and goals that they are setting for 2008, both on blogs and on Ravelry. There are definitely some things that I'm planning to work on this year, but I hate to spell them out because they're soooooooo subject to change, and they aren't that different from anyone elses' resolutions. I've been trying to think of a way to categorize, prioritize, and plan realisically, and while I feel like I'm making progress I don't have an actionable plan ready today, January 1. Also, much of this type of planning feels like what I am responsible for at work, which makes it a less attractive home activity.

So at the risk of sounding totally unoriginal and unrealistic, here are some 2008 goals / things to work towards:

• TCB: Stop falling behind on routine, no-big-deal things that could turn into big problems with neglect. Stop turning things that are fun (like Holiday Cards?) into a chore. Stop turning small chores (putting away one load of laundry) into giant chores (putting away months worth of laundry).
• Cut Back on Spending: I'm starting to plan a big trip in May that will be a lot more fun if I save up plenty of $$ in advance. I'm not talking about deprivation, just not spending on unnecessary things (like one more sock club) or things that add up but that I don't enjoy (like crappy take out lunches).
• Get into a Healthy Exercise Routine: Three or four years ago, I was exercising regularly and weighed a fair amount less. I fell out of this habit during a period of job (or rather no job) related stress, and never quite got back into the habit. Again, my big trip in May will be a lot more fun if I am in better shape, and looking better than I do now won't hurt, either. Because there will be photographs.

Now the tricky part starts--the real planning and execution phase. I'm not sure how much I'll report on these goals in the general course of blogging, but I did want to put them "on paper" so that I have a checkpoint / reminder for myself going forward.

A Little of This, A Little of That: Part 3

I've finished the child-sized companion to the Heart Monkey Hat I posted about a few days ago, although the child has not yet tried it on so I only have the above to show for now. I've written out the pattern (including charts) for both hats, and will post the pattern in the sidebar once I figure out the best way to do it. Can't wait to get started on your Valentine's Day knitting? A PDF of the pattern lives here (or at least I hope it does--this is my first try with this kind of thing).

For J___'s hat, I wanted something a little softer and bulkier (i.e. faster to knit) than I used for the monkey's hat. My LYS (Renaissance Yarns) had Louet Gems Bulky in red, but no bulky pink so I used Cascade 220 for the light pink. I think that the hearts would look more "solid" in the bulky, and once J____ has had a chance to try it on I might duplicate stitch the hearts if they need some extra heft. The Louet bulky has an almost cotton-y feel to it, although it's 100% wool--it's very nice on the hands.

In other news, the second Bird in Hand mitten is coming along just fine:

I'm past the challenging braids, and found that by NOT doing all three in the space of 12 hours basically elimates the hand cramping that plagued me on the first mitten. Imagine that! This has moved from a Christmas deadline to a mid-January birthday deadline (sorry, E____ G____, I'm not talking about you).

And last but not least, I cast on the second Stripey Sock, and the stripes look like they are lining up pretty well so far:

The new toe looks like it might have a row or two more of the teal at the tip of the toe, but I'm willing to live with that. I'll try to make sure that the heel hits at the same row, and it will all even out on the feet.

A Little of This, A Little of That: Part 2

More updates on miscellaneous projects (though unfortunately not more tiny mittens).

I'm going to make you one of these for real if you don't hit next season, Ritchie Sexson.

My 2.5 year old friend J______ has a friend who goes everywhere with her. This friend is a red monkey with pink hearts, going by the name "Heart Monkey". Now that it's getting a little chilly, I thought that Heart Monkey could use a hat to keep warm. Like the tiny mittens, this worked up very quickly--not a lot of worry about gauge or anything. I charted the hearts, and will post the chart & pattern once I knit the companion child-sized hat--it's not fair if ONLY the monkey has a new hat! Heart Monkey's hat is knit in Cascade 220, but J____'s hat will be in something softer and with the colors reversed.

Yesterday evening, I bound off the first of the Stripey Socks, which I've been working on a little at a time since E______ visited over Thanksgiving. I really like the colors & stripey-ness of the pattern, although I still sort of wish that I'd chosen the red Kaffee Fassett Regia Sock yarn that E____ used, instead of the blues.

The pattern is Renaissance Yarn's basic toe up sock pattern. The next challenge will be trying to start the yarn in basically the same part of the repeat, so that the socks will match exactly. Or maybe the next challenge will be locating the pattern, with my notes on it, which I seem to have misplaced. That makes the second pattern this week!!!! I'm losing things right and left!!!