Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Matching Monkey bonnets, ahoy!

The Monkey socks for my Sockapalooza pal are done! Now I just need to wash and block them (ahem), as the cats and I have been wearing them for our little photo shoots.

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They seem to match fairly well in size/shape (Woohoo! -- my gauge apparently stayed fairly consistent), and the color variations are similar.

Bug and Moana remain under the impression that these are really poorly fitting stocking caps for them. They have been trying to humor me, but it's getting difficult for them:
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Moana: "Bug, you look like a total doofus!"
Bug: "Umm...hello?... I can't exactly see anything. Sheesh, primates!"

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Bug: "Phew! I can see now... Yo, Moana -- you look like a doofus, too."
Moana: "My ears feel weird."
Bug: "Grrr...Primates..."


Iris G's Pencil Sketch is coming along nicely so far. I remeasured my gauge swatch and realized that my stitch gauge is still too loose, so I did some math to recalculate stitch counts, etc. My row gauge, on the other hand, is a bit too tight, so I'm going by length, rather than row counts.

Here's where I am:
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I tried it on, and it seems to fit. The leafy lace inset is quite pretty, I think:
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Here it is pinned out:
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My stockinette fabric is a little wonky (due in part to the nature of the viscose/linen blend yarn), but not overwhelmingly so (at least for me):
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(Click for bigger wonky stitches)

I'm definitely liking the yarn. It's a little bit rough while knitting, but after washing, the swatch was silky, soft, and drapey.
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On my monitor, this photo captures the color better than the previous ones do:
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Such a nice, mellow green...

Oh! I almost forgot -- the sightless elephant cats bid you adieu:
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Moana: "Mmmpphh."
Bug: "Don't worry, Moana. The primates will get bored with this soon."

36 comments:

Amy said...

such a pretty green and I can't wait to see the camisole finished!

on another note, I'm totally in love with your cats. They wear knits so well! ;)

Risa said...

Your posts always make me laugh. I too am in love with your cats. :)

Your Monkeys look awesome, I'm sure your pal will be thrilled :) I know I would be.

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Your cami is amazing, I love that shade os green so much!

Please know also that at some point your cats will pay you back in spades for all of the tomfoolery at their expense, and it won't be pretty!;)

Anonymous said...

Those socks are such a beautiful color; I'm sure your pal will love them. Poor kitties, you may want to sleep with your eyes open, LOL.

Anonymous said...

Oh, how did I forget the top?? The lacework is gorgeous & I love that color.

Iris G said...

Great Monkeys and Poor cats...
And your cami looks better than mine so far (I really think so), the color and the texture are both delicious. As for the gauge, I guess that's because Trinity is a very unique/weird yarn ;-).

Anonymous said...

Wowsa, that's a gorgeous green! It'll be an equally gorgeous sweater. The Monkey socks are wonderful. Your pal is no doubt going to be making totally undignified squeeing noises or such after seeing them!

And ROFL on the cats! Oh dear, the body language in that last one... the expressions... Yeah. Watch out. You've gotta sleep sometime. (I also keep having visions of the lolcats you could make out of those pix! Oh, god.)

anphoe said...

I know everyone has said this, but "I love your cats!!!" I am a cat person too(I have two), I especially love fat, long hair cat, don't ask me why hehe.

The leafy lace is so breath-taking. I used to love cable the best, now I have changed my mind. I like lace better... I can't wait to start working on the MS3. Clues coming up tomorrow...

Tammy said...

Awesome Monkeys!! You did a great job!

Anonymous said...

What gorgeous monkeys and kitties. The wildlife is abundant! I really like that leaf motif too. I was the same about my first experience with linen. I was so unimpressed with the texture until it was washed, now I love it.

Sarah said...

I will never get tired of seeing shots like that last one! I'm sure your Sockapalooza pal will love the socks.

The top is looking great as well. I'll bet the wonkiness of the stitches works itself out in blocking!

Jofrog said...

Nice job on the socks.

I love that cami pattern. Will you be doing yours in all one yarn or changing for the middle portion?

The Kelly Green Rogue said...

we must have the same taste in colors, I really like the socks and the green you picked for the pencil sketch.

Alison said...

The cat photos are killing me -- I was OK up until the last one, actually. So funny.

Anonymous said...

Cute pair of socks! And I love the cat dialogue!

Thanks for your comment, BTW! I love the stripes, too!

rachel iufer said...

those cats are awesome. they must love you. hehe!

the monkeys look perfect, your pal will love them.

Anonymous said...

the cats looks so sweet in the socks! And I love that new sweater you are working on.

Laiane said...

Even though I'm a knitter, I confess that I came over here today with the sole purpose of finding a cute cat picture.

I am nearly in hysterics. Great shots!

Kasia said...

Monkeys look absolutely adorable!I love the cats' pictures! They must have hated the two of you after a while, haven't they? But you have the two cutes cats ever! Camisole looks lovely so far! I can't wait to see it done!

Jane said...

Love the monkeys and your top is going to be gorgeous.

knitography said...

Nice socks! I have been thinking of caving in to the 'Monkey' peer pressure myself.

Rosina said...

Congrats on your first pair of socks! They look great. The cami is really cute too... how do you always find these great patterns?

allie said...

Love the monkeys, especially on the cats! The cami is such a great color of green- it's rapidly becoming my favorite color to knit with.

Madge said...

Hilarious Monkeys-on-cats post. But, oh, the feline payback that's coming...can you bribe 'em with catnip to not barf on you at 2 am? Otherwise, watch out....

Congrats on finishing your first pair of socks. They're loverly!

Anonymous said...

Do you sleep with one eye open? Because, yeah, my cats would enact revenge if I ever did that to them. I'm impressed with how many photos you can take without them bolting!

Anonymous said...

Oh the camisole is so yummy - it is just adorable and I love that colour - a perfect colour pattern combo. How do you get you cats to behave - are they paid or something, they have the best expressions, I am also amazed at the dexterity of the sock modelling - you must be one bendy knitter!

Stephanie said...

lol. you could totally make a comic strip kind of thing featuring your kitties and various socks. darn primates! I'm glad the monkeys turned out perfect.

and good grief, that sweater is looking gorgeous. computers need feel-o-vision so I can squish the yarn :P

Rain said...

The socks look fab, I really like the colour way, it's so vibrant and happy.

Micky said...

Cute socks!
Thanks for the great comment.
:)

Peacock Chic said...

Wow the socks came out great. Like Fire Monkeys!! You are so lucky to have such obliging kitties. Mine would have drew blood after the first picture.

Unknown said...

Another FO! Congrats :) Adorable & cheery, your pal will love them. Excellent job as always!

So how long before one of the cats is sporting the camisole?

Cindy said...

I love your Monkeys! I'm seeing so many cute ones out there that I'm thinking I need to make another pair! I did mine a long time ago (feb) in a solid Lorna's Laces and they seem very boring in comparison to yours. Great job on the lace inset too. Cute cats!

Sharon in Ireland/NZ said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog, it's always great to get new commenters. LOVE the vibrancy of your monkeys, they are gorgeous.

Leslie said...

The cami is beautiful, the socks totally rule and the cats! Oh your cats are CrazyAuntPurl category! Thanks for the giggles and great knitting.

Rosina said...

Thanks for your comments on my blog :) and thanks for playing in my contest. Could you send me an email so I can get your prize to you? If you sent it before it probably got eaten by the spam filter.

LisaB said...

The finished socks look great! And that green is going to be so pretty in the cami.