Two New Sock Animals

These are sock animals rather than creatures.  I got both of them from Daniel's Stray Sock Sewing Book--the first one, not Stray Sock Sewing, Too. Here is the lovely white rabbit. 

I love the way the head came out and the frilly neck.  The body, though, is lacking something.  It's just misshapen and I cannot figure out what to do about it.  Next time, I'm going to cut it at the point where the legs go on and sew legs in separately.  Still, he has a beautiful face!  He gets to stay.  

I tried to find out the White Rabbit's name from Alice's Wonderland.  Apparently, it was White Rabbit.  That just won't do.  Someone thought it was Herald, but that, according to someone else, was his job not his name.  The spelling makes that kind of obvious.  I'm going to use it for my white rabbit's name anyway. I like the name and the spelling so this guy is Herald. 

This little pig was done almost exactly as Daniel's version.

I gave mine a curly tail.  I can't imagine why Daniel didn't.  A pig just has to have a curly tail!

Isn't that a great face!  You create a ball with the end of one sock and pull the top of another sock over.  (As I'm looking at the picture right now, I'm thinking those ears would make great horns.)    The idea of putting in balls of stuffing for the legs and sewing them in place was interesting.  It worked well, but I think I might try stacking circles of felt or fleece the next time.  It will be easier to create uniform shapes that way.

These are numbers 22 and 23 of the 30 I should have completed long ago!  I really want to try a few more of these pigs.  There are a variety of ways to do them in the book. There is also a fish made in much the same manner.  I want to try that too.  Now if I could just create a few extra hours in each day! It's nice to get a few things finished, though.

The new job is just sucking up my time.  Without a dedicated desk/phone/computer, I still have to do a lot of the work at home.  I'm not good at setting boundaries, though.  I tend to keep working way longer than I should.  Good news is that it is a year-long grant!  I'll be finished on June 10th!!!  (Lesson learned here is to be sure the place of employment actually has room and equipment for you before taking on the job.) 

Sock Creatures #18, 19,20, and 21 have arrived

I've been playing around with new ways of sewing the limbs on and some pointy ears with this bunch.  Daniel's book, Stray Sock Sewing:  Making One of a Kind Creatures from Socks has a technique for rounding the head I wanted to try.  I am trying to eliminate the no-neck look on some of my creatures.  Daniel's method of gathering and sewing the head into a ball seemed like it might work, and it was better. Al Bino shown below does have a nicely rounded head and some definition in the neck.

His legs just didn't look right so I sewed them into what looks like a kneeling position.  He does look kind of cute that way.

Here was the next try:

I do like this one named Phee Lexa after Felix the Cat whom she does look a bit like.  I am fond of the pointed ears and the cutesy sweater.  I ordered a bunch of different eyes from CR's Crafts online that I used on this batch.  I found this company when surfing the net looking for different kinds of eyes for my creatures.  These were the owl eyes.  The have lovely swirling lines through the gold-colored area.

I'm doing a bit of hand embroidery as well as hand sewing some of the head and limbs on this batch.

My next one was a royal pain.  I HATED IT!  Because I was putting a growler in it, (the thing that makes a mooing noise when you turn it upside down and then back),  I thought the torso needed to be longer. It ended up looking just plain misshapen.   I just could not leave it like that so I took scissors to it cutting out an inch or so in the mid-section and sewing it back together.  She's wearing a tutu to cover the scar.

She's actually much more attractive in person.  She's  Anna Catlova.

For the last one,  I sewed crescent shapes into each side of the head in addition to using Daniel's gathering method for closing.

I think this one was the most successful in getting some curve from head to neck..  Since she's got sculls and crossbones on her arms and chest, she is Lydia the Tattooed Baby named  from the song, Lydia the Tattooed Lady.

Nine more to go!  Then I can do some in other fabrics.  Do go take a look at CR's Crafts.  There are so many fun things.  In addition to a bunch of different eyes and a couple of growlers, I got a doll's wig  and some of the nerdiest little glasses.  Now I've got to figure out how to sew on ears and a nose to hold the glasses up.

The 16th and 17th Sock Creatures AND pouches

I decided to try a few pouches after coming upon the 3 Bears  tutorial for a "boxy pouch."  These are my first ones, and I will admit they need some work.  However, they are usable. I do apologize for the pictures.  They need some work as well.  The new camera is proving to be a challenge.

This pouch should have been rectangular.  I didn't have a zipper long enough, though.  I did, however, have five shorter zippers so this boxy pouch really is boxy. 

For the second one, I resorted to my usual habit of changing the rules.  I tried to keep the rectangular shape by sewing the zipper in the center and sewing the corners at 1- 1/2 inches rather than the three inches used by 3 Bears.

Lessons learned:  First, I need to use a heavier fabric or use a stiffer interfacing to make it sturdier.  The first one had some light  iron-on interfacing and the second was a mid-weight cotton.  Neither one is really heavy enough, though.  Second, I really need to try this with the longer zippers that were suggested.  I'm just going to have to get to Joann's this week!

On the sock creature front,  here is the first one.

It came about because I wanted to use up some of the scraps, and I do like those little red button eyes.  (I really do need to figure out the new camera.  These pictures suck.) I have named her Skye Bleu Pynk.

The second one is a combination of ideas I found in Stray Sock Sewing:  Making One of a Kind Creatures from Socks by Daniel.

Is she not adorable?  I really should name her after Daniel, so, continuing in the new style of mutilating names and the spelling of names, this is Dan'E-ella.

PVC Piping for Drawer Clutter

I hate messy drawers and shelves.  I also hate spending money on expensive storage solutions.  More often than not, these store-bought dividers don't fit my drawers anyway.  I saw a post somewhere long ago about using PVC piping for the catch-all drawer.  Everyone has one of those--or two or three.  I really work hard on keeping that down to one drawer, and I've kept it in check for the most part.  My mess was the in the clothing area.  Socks and, well, other things that just don't fold well or stay in place.  We had some leftover PCV pipe from house projects that fit the "well, other things," so I started there.  We tried a few pieces to make sure the pipe diameter would work.  Then we cut pieces to a height that would fit in the drawer.  Between small baskets that have accumulated over the years for belts and the piping for "well, other things," I've been able to keep this drawer in check for a couple of years now.  Sometimes I fold "the things" nicely and slide them in.  Sometimes I just stuff them in the pipe.  Either way, the drawer always looks great.  Here's the proof.

I did sand the edges a little to make sure they wouldn't catch on the fabric, but the need was really minimal.  I intended to use them for a while to see what arrangement would work, and then glue them together.  The drawer is full enough, however, that they stay in place.  Should I miraculously have so much drawer space in the future that these fall over, I'll get the glue out.  I might even hit them some spray paint for plastic!  Yeah, right!  That's only going to happen if I use that ugly purple stuff plumbers use for gluing. 

I'm still waiting to find some larger piping for the socks.  I am hoping that posting this will encourage me to get to the Habitat ReStore to find some.  If you have not visited a Habitat ReStore, do try to find one.  They are usually worth a trip especially for those who are able to think outside the box. 

While I'm on the subject, see that little bit of orange in the right-hand corner?  Scissors for cutting off tags on all the stuff that comes home.  I spent years running downstairs for the scissors before I smartened up and kept a pair in the room.  Then it took a while longer to realize that the scissors needed to have a narrow, pointed end to fit in tight spaces such as the bulky bits of thread used to sew labels on the waist of pants.  (Why do manufacturers do that, anyway?)  Martha Stewart has probably written about this in one of her many books already.  Just in case, though, I'm going to say it:  Put some scissors in the bedroom especially if you sew.  The sewing room/area is usually closer than that junk drawer where you keep the crappy scissors.  In a rush to get dressed, you WILL have a POWERFUL  urge to break that rule about never using the good scissors on anything but fabric.

Weekend Sewing Complete and Then Some!!

My house may need some cleaning, but I did finish the weekend sewing projects.  First, I finally got around to replacing the too-short handles on the slouch bag.  It is now perfect!

This bag fits around the body perfectly.  It's from Akiko Mano's book "Linen, Wool, and Cotton."  As I mentioned in my previous post on this bag, the only problem with the book is that does not come with an errata sheet.  That is an easy fix, however, if you know where to look online for the necessary changes.  My original post about this bag has the online source.  I love the book.  I love the projects.  I don't love having to find out the hard way that there are errors in it.  'Nuf said.

The next bag is from "Simple Gifts to Stitch:  30 Elegant and Easy Projects" by Jocelyn Worrall. It's the bag on the cover.

The alternating stripes were more than I could resist.  I was worried that this bag wouldn't be big enough, but the size turned out to be great.

Look at the number of books, etc. this thing holds!   It makes a great library bag.  I know this because it had it's first trip there today.

I think I like it better in the fabric on the book cover.  While I love the pink fabric, the irregular stripes don't show the alternating stripe patterns as well.  I followed the pattern completely--a novel idea for me.  (Okay, okay, ALMOST completely.  The handle fabric is not going in the right direction.  I just didn't want to cut into the large piece fabric to make the handles, so I used a leftover piece going in the other direction.  I have another piece of matching floral fabric.  I want to make another bag using the stripes and floral.)

My last project for the weekend was to do another of the oh-so-late sock creatures.  I did TWO!  These two are numbers 14 and 15.  I am truly halfway there!  I used baby socks.  Instead of being easier as I thought it would be, it was harder working with smaller socks.  Here's the first one.

She's actually quite small except for the head.  That's why I've named her N'Se-Phyllis.  Things learned from this one:  I need to put the eyes farther forward and/or make them larger.  Or, maybe I could sew a line across under the eye area to push the snout down.  It's hard to see the eyes with that big snout.  She's much like one of my previous ones, just smaller.

As so often happens when I have housework to do, I decided to keep working with some of those little socks.  I wanted to try doing some antennae.  That word looks so weird, I looked it up to be sure it was right.  Yes, that is the plural for antenna.  I also wanted to try some octopus-like legs.  So, here's what was born of the venture:

I could only fit four legs on.  I am really happy with this guy.  He's definitely a true creature, a Cycloptopus.  He's named after the cyclops in the Odyssey, hence he is called Beta Polyphemus.

I'm enjoying the heat immensely!  If summers were about two months longer and always this hot, I might consider staying in New York when the hubster retires.......naaaahhhh.  The only time I've ever liked snow was when I was sitting in a ski lodge next to the roaring fire in front of a huge picture window waving to the children as they trudged past on their skis.

I'm hooking up to:

Sewing again!

Why is it that I can't find the time to sew but always find the time to buy fabric?  I've been picking up bits and pieces of fabric and have some great projects in mind for all of them.  Yesterday I washed and ironed all the new fabric!  I try not to put any fabric away until I've washed it.  Occasionally something sneaks, through, and there is nothing more annoying to me than thinking I'm about to start sewing and finding I haven't pre-washed the fabric.

Finally, last night I started the actual sewing part.  I took apart the slouch bag that ended up having handles that were too short.  That will be finished today.  I've got some beautiful striped fabric for a bag that has the stripes going in opposite directions for the pockets.  Hopefully, that will be finished today as well--if I can just stick to the pattern rather than trying to modify it.  I shall post the pictures tonight and include the pattern sources.

And last, I'm going to finish a sock creature (or two!).  I've also been collecting some fun socks and designing new sock creatures.  Actually I should say I'm redesigning ones that I find in books for the most part.  It's not that I'm more creative, but, rather, that I am continue to have problems with sticking to the original patterns.  I'm going to try to finish off one of those projects today as well. 

Now if I can just ignore the house and the family for the day, it should be a great day for sewing. 

With the new job settling down,  it is so nice to get back to both sewing and blogging.  I've gotten five volunteers signed on in the first month. I don't know who was more surprised and pleased--me or the nursing home.  Oh, no, scratch that.  It's a "residential health care facility."  I guess the term, "nursing home" has gone or is going the way of  "used car."   I'm surprised that nurses are still called that.  Soon I shall have to say I am going to the residential health care facility in my pre-owned car to talk to a residential health care practitioner :-)

Deep Creek, A Novel by Dan Hand

I should be finishing off the thirty sock creatures, but I found a book at the library that looked interesting.  I was browsing the shelves to find books for my 93-year old mother which is not an easy task.  Her interests have become more and more limited.  They're down to modern day romances set on ranches--only ranches.

Instead I found Deep Creek by Dan Hand.  What a great book!  I didn't want it to end.  It is historical fiction set in the Idaho-Oregon area from 1886 through 1892.  The story is built around an actual event, the murder of thirty Chinese miners.  Using the racism of the period, Indian land grabs, excessive power of publishers and land barons, along with the ensuing social intrigue, Hand develops a well-balanced and fascinating look at a period in our history that is too often overlooked.

The characters are solidly constructed and fascinating.  This alone would make it a great book club selection.  Nature vs. nurture theories of human development are tested throughout.  Yet, Hand also looks at how a single event can override all.  One wrong choice might leave damage capable of destroying one's life and affecting future generations. 

My one complaint is that in a few places (very few) the book does not move from one scene to the next well.  In some cases, I felt disoriented before realizing that this new paragraph had moved on to another subject.  These few changes within chapters felt like places where a new chapter should have begun.  Hand's chapters, however, move back and forth in time from the  murders in 1886 to the attempts to solve the crimes and bring the murderers to justice.  The places that I found problematic would not fit with that.

All in all, it was a great read that I heartily recommend.

Working is Hard!

I've been away from my blog and my sewing for too long!  Between the housework and the job, I've been a bit drained both physically and, surprisingly to me, emotionally.  While my job is to recruit volunteers, I've spent most of the week going through the facility's units meeting people, joining in activities, and pushing wheelchairs in order to get to know everyone and their needs.

The emotional impact of dealing with residents has been enormous. Nursing homes have changed!  There is a push to have people "age in place" preferably in their home.   The level of care needed by the vast majority of the residents in nursing homes today is exceptionally high.  Most have moved beyond the ability to have more than a short conversation if that.  Having to leave your home,  lose a great deal of your independence, and deal with the physical ailments of disease or aging has to be devastating.

The residence is very nice and the workers are caring, yet, I often feel a sense of despair. Smiles from residents are few.  It  may well be that I am misinterpreting the situation and creating the negative attitude myself.  I am continually thinking about how much I would want to be in my own home. I do realize, however, that the care needed by the residents would be impossible for most families to provide at home.


I am trying to stay positive and focus on how much I can enrich residents' lives by bringing the community to them.  My job is to increase volunteers and volunteer programs.  This seems to be a legitimate need.  There are programs for activities and entertainment.  The number, though, is really insufficient.  I am amazed at the isolation of the facility.  This place has been open for sixteen years and is within a quarter of a mile of where I shop all the time. I had never heard of it, nor had most of the people I've talked to about it.  How can the residents feel like a part of the community when they are unable to get out often and so few in the community even know they exist? Many do have family members visit, but family is and should be a part of our social life not all of it.  I love my family, but I need to be around others sometimes as well. 

I have one year to build this program.  I know it won't be easy.  I remember how difficult it was to get volunteers for activities at churches and schools.  I do sincerely hope I can make make this work.  Wish me luck..

Steig Larsson's Newest Book, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

Normally I don't read stories about spies and corporate greed. I'm also wary of foreign books because sometimes they don't translate well.  Larsson's trilogy managed to overcome my usual disinterest in the genre and translated exceptionally well.

I read the first book in this trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,  after a member of my book club raved about it.  The story lines and characters were well developed and interesting.  I liked the second one,  The Girl Who Played with Fire, even more because it more fully fleshed out the characters as well as providing a fascinating and well written story.  This last in the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, is a more than fitting end to the set.     

I'd read a negative review before getting this last book in the series that made me nervous about investing in the hardcover as soon as it came out.  I HATE it when a book doesn't measure up in a series like this, especially when I've paid a lot for it.  In some cases, it becomes blatantly obvious that an author has pushed to finish a commitment rather than create a good story.  In the end, however, I felt this book was the best of the three--and I liked the first two a lot. The reviewer's summation, as it turned out, was flawed rather than the book.  It contained information that was factually incorrect.

These books are not just episodic stories using the same characters.   Each one builds on the last.  The first two leave you wanting and needing additional information as should be expected of a trilogy.  More in-depth answers come with each book.  While the individual books certainly stand on their own, the second and third provide  information that make you more fully understand and appreciate the first.

I love the characters Larsson has created.  Throughout, Larsson uses these people to prove that sometimes what we might view as flaws in individuals are, in fact, more clearly defined as differences.  He creates an understanding that these "flaws" often have positive influences not only for the individual, but for friends, family, acquaintances, and society as a whole.

I'm glad I went ahead and purchased the book as soon as it came out.  It was well worth the price.

The Week in Sock Creatures

I've fallen behind on my sock creatures.  As a means of covering my butt, I will point out that, thankfully, I did say "thirty days or so"  on my original post about this (or words to that effect).  I got four done this week. I've decided to go for quality rather than finishing on time.  My excuse:  I've joined Americorps.  (That "s" on the end just seems wrong to me, but that's the name.)  Americorps now have a volunteer program open to everyone from college students through retirees.  I'm serving half-time as a volunteer coordinator for an elder care facility.  In any case, here are the four completed this week.

This is #10.  He's Homer Simpson's evil twin.  Don't you think they bear a resemblance or is it just me?  I've named him Gomer.  This was my first attempt at teeth.  I think it went well.  The problem I have with this one is that it completely lacks symmetry.  I love symmetry.  It's hard to get when using leftovers from other creature ventures, though.  The Stupid Sock Creatures book has some rather rustic looking ones, too.  This one actually looks good in comparison.  It's growing on me.


Number eleven:

It's definitely part hamster.  From the back you can see the coordinating sock used for the underside.

I'm particularly pleased with the ribbon tongue.

I'm doing more of the sewing around the mouth and closings by hand which looks much better.  A mistake with this one was using loose stuffing without any batting.  It's lumpy looking.  Next time I'll wrap batting around stuffing and squeeze that in.  Since she, like Bob the Blob, is rather nondescript, she has been named Bobbette the Blobbette.

Number 12:

I like this one, but it is totally different than it was supposed to be.  Those flippers were supposed to be wings.  Everyone thinks they look like flippers including me.  I placed them too far back.  I also should have put something inside to stabilize the flipper/wings since they rippled a good bit.   I sewed about a quarter of an inch in along the edge of the flipper/wings and another line about a half inch from that to try to get rid of the rippling effect.  They are better but still not flat.  To get something resembling wings next time,  I will use some stiff interfacing.

I love the tongue sticking out.  It kind of resembles something prehistoric.  Name:  Sarah Jurassica Parker.

And last, #13:

Originally I was going to have the ribbons sticking out all the way around.  Because they are several inches long, however,  I soon realized that it would be nearly impossible not to catch the edges in the other side.  I'd like to try this again with shorter ribbon pieces.  It was late when I was doing it, though, and there was no way I was going to start cutting the ribbons down.  Name:  Whiskaretta.  I am sure if sock creatures could sing, this one would have a whiskey tenor.

Goals 10, 11, 12, and 13:  complete!  I'm almost halfway there!!!

Beautiful Sunday

Despite some heavy rains, today was absolutely beautiful.  In fact, I think the rain brightened the brilliant greens of early summer especially when the sun came out right after a downpour.

I've got a new birthday camera coming in a few days.  These pictures of my flowers taken with the old one will do until then.

 

I am so looking forward to playing with the  new 14 megapixel, 10x zoom camera!!

On other fronts, I've decided to post the sock creatures once a week.  I'll be doing them every day.  I'll just put them together for a group shot once a week.  It's probably a bit of overkill to have so many posts on the individual ones.  Must be off to finish today's beast.  I do hate to leave them for the late night.

The Ninth Sock Creature is Here!

This one is already named:  Eelinore.

She does appear to be part eel, hence the name.  My knowledge of eels is pretty much limited to knowing they exist and reading tiny bits about them in books.  I'm thinking eels would not have that food bulge, though. Yes, I did that bulge on purpose.  Those who have seen Eelinor hint that I just stuffed her poorly.  That is NOT true.   The stuffing shows through in the picture but not when you see her in person--or should I say in creature?

I'm particularly fond of her multifaceted gold eyes.

I'm feeling kind of guilty for not using sock fabric for the back ridge.  Frankly, my sock supply just did not have something that would give the right effect.  The blue sequins are spectacular. 

The eyes are kind of insect-like and the belly bulge more along the line of snake.  I think those features combined with the eel-ish shape and back ridge qualify Eelinor as a true creature.  Goal 9:  completed.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my 60th birthday.  I am astounded to have lasted this long.  Actually I've been pretty cautious in life. There were those fifteen years of smoking, the early motorcycling, and a few years where I let the weight get a bit out of control.  All in all, though, I've taken better care of the "vehicle" than many.  

Lately a lot of thought has gone into what my goals will be for this new future.  They've certainly had to change. Staying home with the kids was hard work and a great pleasure.  As it turns out, there is some very real negative payback for having children a bit later in life, leaving a good number of years between each one, and staying home to home school them.  Despite two new degrees after getting the last child into high school, no good jobs have turned up.  My plan WAS to get a fairly decent job for fifteen or twenty years doing something interesting and paying off the college loans.   If I got really lucky in the salary department, I might have gotten enough money to bring in the Merry Maids service!  Reality:  with the economy, my lack of work experience, and--lets face it--my age, I've  gotten offered a couple of minimum wage jobs I could have had with just my high school degree. 

So now, I volunteer.  My first goal for turning sixty was to get a volunteer position that would use the brain a bit more than my work as cashier/maintenance worker/heavy lifter at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.  Yesterday, I found that I had succeeded at that.  Starting Thursday, I'll be volunteering part-time to help develop the volunteer base for an elder care center.  Kind of funny volunteering to get volunteers, don't you think?  It is a year-long experiment really for the organization.  I'm looking forward to the challenge.

My second goal is to develop more outside interests.  I've tended to focus on family which has been great.  As the kids are moving on with their own lives now,  I want them to see parents who are well capable of having a good life on their own.  So my first goal in this area is to spend more time on my sewing.  While "thirty days of sock creatures" may seem frivolous and wasteful to many, it actually is giving me a good bit of sewing experience on fabrics I've tended to avoid. Also, while I joined a quilt guild last year, I need to really get more involved by taking classes and joining in more than the monthly meetings. 

Last, I am going to get in better shape.  I do some exercise--elliptical trainer.  I've found, though, that a sixty year old body gets pretty stiff.  It needs more than twenty minutes on the elliptical a day.  I'm going to experiment with this goal.  Yoga and pilates are first on the list. 

So, happy birthday to me!  I'm feeling good about this new part of my life.

Day 8 Goal Complete and Not Bad If I Do Say So Myself

It is not even 11 a.m.,  and I have completed the day's creature!  I think it's a record.   I am pretty happy about "it" because I don't know what to call some of the parts when describing it.  Hair or tentacles?  Nose, mouth, or something else?  That's a good thing when going for a creature.

I must admit that originally there were to be three legs just as there are three things on the top of the head.  I tried to eyeball this rather than to measure as I did the head piece.  I ended up with two fatter legs and one very thin one.  I am obsessed with symmetry.  That third skinny leg would have had to go in the middle.  With the third leg looking quite different than the other two, I feared it might be misinterpreted as being some other body part that often holds that place in the anatomy.  I decided to use it as a navel, but  it was still a little too close and open to misinterpretation.  After the debacles with the two face creatures, I am intently trying to keep the bawdy level down.  I finally settled for placing it higher up which seems to have eliminated the problem.   

Between my old camera and the fact that the "things on top of the head fall to the back or sides, it was hard to get a good picture.  In any case, here it is.  I think the third leg problem becomes more obvious here.

I'm going to have to think a while about a name for this one.  (Update:  He has been named Bob--Bob the Blob) 

Major lesson from today's work:  invest in some black stuffing.  Those legs didn't turn out as well with white stuffing.  Another piece of information:  don't use those tiny safety eyes with knits if it can be avoided.  It is difficult to poke a hole large enough for the eye stem and small enough to be  covered by the actual eye part.

Day 7 Goal: Completed But...

I did finish the sock creature yesterday, but I had to sleep on it (not literally!) to come to terms with the results.  My intention was to create one from the winking Betsey Johnson socks again.  I had two reasons for this.  First, I bought two pairs of these socks for a grand total of four faces.  I have to use them up.  Second, I was thinking about Rue McClanahan who just passed away.  I loved her in The Golden Girls. While I didn't get to see the show often when it was first on,  it was always good when I did.  I happen upon reruns of it all the time now when channel surfing, and it stands the test of time well. 

Rue's character, Blanche,  was what my niece, Binnie, would call sophisticated with a touch of sleaze.  My intention with this creature was to honor Rue by making a doll-ish creature that would also be sophisticated with a touch of sleaze.  Unfortunately, my sewing is much like my bowling.  The results are seldom what I intended.  I have just as much chance of getting a strike as a gutter ball.  Amazingly, I never improve from that.  I joined a bowling league once.  Everyone assured me I would get better.  That didn't happen, and  I was not invited back the next year.

I can kind of understand the bowling (and tennis).  I lack depth perception.  Both my eyes work, just not together.  Sewing, though, I do not understand.  Yesterday's creation should have been an improvement from the first face sock.  I tried to give this one a neck.  The garish coordinating socks were changed to a floral for the torso and arms.  This one has more hair to eliminate the punk look.  I made sure she wouldn't look naked by making the legs the same color as the face and putting a skirt on her.

Somehow, though, I missed the sophistication entirely.  This one looks like an older alcoholic housewife after a serious binge.  How I managed to make the very same face that is on Charlotte the Harlot look so different I do not know.  I've named her Betsey the Boozer.  The Betsey is, of course, for Betsey Johnson.  I think she should bear some responsibility for these off-the-mark characters.  So here it is:

Unintentionally, I left some of the oxox Betsey signature the socks have on the neck area on the doll.  It came out as, "xox ETSY" which I find rather amusing.  Can you just see the Regretsy people finding this on Etsy?  They would have a field day presenting this to their followers.  If  you have somehow not used Etsy or seen Regretsy, just click one of those words.  I've linked them all.  I just love creating links.  Etsy is an online mega-store where people can create their own smaller stores for selling handmade items.  Regretsy is an online site presenting  the bizarre and just plain bad items listed on Etsy.  By and large, Etsy has incredibly wonderful items from very creative people.  Everything I've purchased has exceeded my expectations on arrival. 

So based on past experience, I should  unintentionally over-compensate with today's creature making something that resembles a baby toy rather than a creature.  The only thing I can guarantee, however,  is that whatever does happens, it will be unintentional.

Handy Portable List Taker Giveaway at Lemon Tree Creations

Lemon Tree Creations is having a giveaway from Knitty Bitty!  You might win a "list taker."  Click here to find the site.  There are several ways to enter.  The list taker not only has a small tablet, but also a pocket for coupons.  On top of that, it's just plain cute.  If I don't win it, I'll have to buy one.  Keeping my coupons handy is not my strong suite.

Success! A True Sock Creature

Attempt #6 was  a success, I true creature.  And it was finished by 5 p.m.!

Is it acceptable to make the legs from mini boas rather than socks?  I've not seen any official rules for what constitutes a true sock creature.  The boas were supposed to be for a Charlotte the Harlot (she was creature #4, I think), but they make perfect legs for this one.  Obviously, the name had to be Bo'a-Dora.  I don't know why so many people are putting all the apostrophes and hyphens in names, but I am going with it.

I like the way the head stands up:

And that his mouth is underneath.
.

I got Zombieland from Netflix today and my night is free.  Life is good.