Sock Monkey Costume

First of all, I've got to say, Owen... my model... is SO FREAKIN' CUTE!!!! :)

Then I have to say... I'm completely spoiled for yarn now. This little outfit is made of 100% alpaca except for the red, which is Berroco Ultra Alpaca. The brown is baby alpaca and is probably the softest fiber I have ever, or will ever work with. I'd pick this one up to work on when I was feeling stressed out or sad because just touching it was like therapy. Any knitter, crocheter, tatter or embroiderer will tell you how cathartic needlework can be, but when you use luxurious fibers like cashmere or alpaca, it moves you into a whole new realm of finger-pricking happiness. I have just a tiny bit of it left, and I'm going to use it to make a hat for Owen, but I'm really going to miss it!

Maybe I should get some laceweight baby alpaca and start on that wedding shawl I've been wanting to attempt? A wedding shawl, for those who aren't knitters, is a lace shawl knit so fine that the entire thing can be threaded through a wedding ring. For most knitters, it's a years-long project... I think maybe if I started it out of baby alpaca yarn, it could give me several years worth of marriage and family saving therapy.

Happy fibers aside, I love how this cute little costume turned out. I surprise myself with my ingenuity sometimes. The tail is detachable. It just snaps through the fabric and leaves no mark whatsoever, which I think is pretty darn cool. I also LOVE the hat!! It's one of those things, like the Monster skirty/longies that just made me giggle while I was making it because it so cute! It was also a big hit with my niece and nephew. Jack, a 2 year old, put it on and went around patting himself ont he head, feeling how soft the yarn was! I made a matching adult hat for the mom who ordered it. The night I made it I was hanging out with one of my best friends, and we kept passing it back and forth, taking turns wearing it :). Now I'm going to need to make one for myself! It's so soft and cozy and warm! If I'm not too busy this Christmas season, I think I'll make several of them and take them up to the hospital children's oncology ward and donate them. My friend's little boy has leukemia and it makes me much more aware of how much things like cute hats are appreciated both by the patient and the family... just to know someone cares.

Oh, and just FYI, for anyone who wants to know, this entire outfit was improvised by me. I used several reference books to figure out technique, but the patterns are uniquely mine, which is very gratifying in and of itself.