twin sock monkeys
My family left me alone in the house all day so I could sit quietly and heal a sprained rib that's aggravated by talking and moving. So here I am in my house, alone, with the inability to pick stuff up and move it to a different location. Which is, let's be clear, pretty much what I'm either doing every second or THINKING ABOUT doing every second that I'm in the house. I mean, without cleaning, organizing, or reading books to children, what do people DO all day? I'm having a bit of an identity crisis.
Then I remembered I wanted to finish some sock monkeys.
hello hello
This is what happens when I get two pairs of Christmas socks that are too small. My feet aren't as petite as they were before I had my babies and started spending long periods of time picking up heavy things and moving them to different locations.
I've written about making a sock monkey before. They're not at all hard, though more time consuming than you think for something that necessarily comes out looking "homespun." The only downside to making sock monkeys is you really need a new pair of socks to pull one off. In a used pair of socks it's the heels that go first, and it's precisely the heels that you need to create the shape of a monkey (two to be precise: one for the butt and one for the nose). You can make a bunny form a worn pair of socks but it looks even MORE homespun, even on the verge of venturing into the "trash" category. So unless you have a new pair of socks that just ain't working for you, a sock monkey isn't really upcycling in any way.
On the other hand, maybe the upcycling obsession is a little much in this case. Maybe you can show your friends enough respect to not give their kids trash toys made out of your old dirty socks.
bye bye
I don't really know who these monkeys are destined for. The next pair of siblings to have a birthday, perhaps? The next two one-year-olds who invite us to parties? The couple at church who I barely know but I know are having twins? All possibilities, now that they're in the "finished" drawer. Oh how I love that finished gifts drawer.
Of course, Harvey and Zion were eyeing the first monkey as it came together, each of them fighting for their turn to hug it. So if I run out of steam next month maybe these could serve as impromptu Easter gifts for my boys. On the other hand, they act like that with EVERYTHING I sew. They pretty much want every toy they have ever seen or heard of, ever. And Harvey already has two sock creations that he never plays with. Except to throw at me when he's angry. So maybe no more monkey business for that one...