Jumper to it

Aw, how cute is this little guy? I made him from a jumper sleeve for my lovely workmate Laura, who needed a gift for a one-year-old's birthday. You might recognise the fabric from an earlier critter's jumper.

Earn your stripes

Q: What do you give a friend for her birthday when you're not sure what she'd like?

A: A birthday hug and a stripey sock critter.

I made this cutie for my friend Marion with socks my friend Fiona gave me on the weekend.

Q: What do you give a friend who's moving interstate?

A: A farewell hug and a stripey sock critter.

Yep, this lil' lady was made for my pal Judith from those same socks of Fiona's. Sometimes a pair of socks goes a very long way - in this case, all the way from Melbourne to Sydney.

Q: What do you make for your friends' special occasions? Hmmmm? Post an answer if you like!

Miss Squid and the Shadow of Death

She looks innocent, but a dark shadow follows Miss Squid. It whispers to her in the night, demanding she seek revenge on those who've feasted on her relatives.
"Kill!Kill to avenge your Cousin Calamari!" comes the shadowy voice. "And get me some ice-cream while you're at it!"

Monsieur le Monstre - a stunning creation in any language

Reasons why learning French is useful #412:

so that when you're introducing Monsieur le Monstre* to the world, you can say something other than 

"Je voudrais un café et un travesti s'il vous plaît".

Yes, the ONLY thing I can say in French is "I'd like a coffee and a transvestite, please".**

*Who is clearly French because he is wearing stripes and a beret

**Don't ask. And especially, don't ask for this next time you're in Paris...

A critter shows his stripes

I don't have a heap of stuff to say about this guy, so here are a few random thoughts I thunk while making him.
1. Striped socks are THE BEST.
2. Socks with black foot-parts and striped uppers are supremely ace to make sock critters with. The contrast lends itself to tres chic creations. Here, the foot part forms the head, and the upper forms the legs, obviously. A heel forms his mouth (a bit hard to see in this picture since black things are notoriously hard to photograph, as black absorbs all the light. Did you know that?).
3. Therefore, when I'm emperor, I shall issue a royal decree: that all sock makers must include at least one pair of striped and one pair of striped-with-contrasting-foot-part socks in their collection. And that black things will be easier to photograph.
4. That I will need a sex change to become emperor.
5. But apart from that, I am TOTALLY QUALIFIED.

Focus on craft

In Bangkok, buying T-shirts is a bit like breathing - you don't really notice you're doing it, it just happens somehow. T-shirt vendors line the more touristy streets and the designs are so good (and the prices so low) you can't help but buy a few every couple of days. OK, hours. I visit Thailand every year or so and have amassed a huge collection of T-shirts, but not all of them fit. Sometimes I donate those ones to charity, other times I turn em into MONSTERS! This little guy was made from a T-shirt printed with a pattern of cool retro cameras. I used part of the shirt to make the flap part of a courier-style bag (I called it my camera bag, geddit?) and used the remnants to create Mr Cameraman here. Sometimes he goes by the name Papa Razzi. You can read more about him here.

Knit one, purl one, ah, forget it

Knitting has always seemed like craft on another plane to me, a high-up one that's more or less unattainable unless you have a grandma / kind, elderly neighbour who can teach you how it's done. I see all these women shoving needles in and out of long bits of wool and producing something that isn't just a tangled mess and I think, wow, that is AMAZING.

So a few years back I decided to teach myself how to knit using one of those ''teach yourself how to knit" DVD and magazine combos (you know, the kind where the first issue is at a "special introductory price of just $2" and the subsequent issues are "just" $12 each). It wasn't easy. The instructor on the DVD sounded rather like she was an automated air hostess teaching passengers about the safety features of the plane, and despite her calm demeanor, for the most part I felt like the higher plane of knitting was crash landing with me in it. My first knitting session featured a lot of swearing, plenty of tangled yarn and me yelling "pause...PAUSE!...rewind...PAUSE!" at my craft-tolerant husband, who had heard my cries of frustration (from the depths of the back garden, most likely) and came running in to see if he could help by operating the remote control while I watched the instructional DVD.

Eventually I got the hang of it and even learned how to switch colours so I could knit stripes. I had grand visions of knitting my own jumpers, of becoming one of those women who could knit while they were watching a movie, never once taking their eyes off the screen, of investing in high-quality cashmere and making beautiful scarves using decorative stitches...

Then I realised how incredibly slow I was at knitting, and how it gave me RSI, and how expensive super-nice wool is, and I put aside the very beginnings of a black-and-green striped something and went back to making critters and drinking vodka instead.

I came across the black-and-green striped something recently (I started it so long ago I have no idea what it was originally intended to be), added a few bits and bobs and turned it into this little guy, Bug - so named to remind me what an absolute bugger knitting is!

Suit yourself

Hi, I'm Sally the Victorian governess. You might think I look a bit like a pointy-eared cow wearing a suit, or you might wonder how I walk since it appears I have no legs, or you might simply give up trying to work out what I am and go and eat some chocolate. That would be the smartest thing you could do since no one can really work out what I am and many have starved trying. For convenience's sake let's say I'm a bunyip, OK? Now pass the chocolate.

Rabbiting on about critters

This week I made a rabbit for a workmate, Megan, who's having a baby. I guess I should say I made it for the baby but secretly, I am hoping she keeps the rabbit for herself - come on, he's a pretty cute rabbit, she deserves to have him all to herself.

I'm really pleased with his cute expression and his jumper. I don't usually make clothes for critters - I'd rather leave that to the experts like Cat-Rabbit, softie-maker extraordinare.
But Megan has a penchant for stripey tops so I thought her critter (er, I mean, her baby's critter) better have a stripey top, too. I made the rabbit's jumper from some bias binding and the sleeve of, er, a jumper. Yep, it seems that particular jumper is destined always to be a jumper of some sort.

The rabbit was made from a grey jumper. Now there's a jumper that knows how to be transformed into other things. This monster is the first thing I made from that jumper about a year ago. I kept the scraps, of course, partly because I knew one day I'd want to use them for another project - like the rabbit - and partly because I am a hoarder. Look, you can't just wake up one day and discover your whole house has been filled with fabric scraps, you have to work on it.

I also made Mr Bunny from the same grey jumper. He's pictured here in a patch of rocket with his buddy the be-jumpered rabbit. I have no idea why that photo has loaded on that angle, but I'll pretend it is because I am an avant garde artiste making a statement about...um... my inability to get it to load correctly.

I still have a few scraps from that jumper. It just keeps on giving. If only chocolate lasted that long!

Have a cow, man

A few months ago my pal Erika asked me to make a softie for her niece Ruby, who loves cows. Ruby's barely a toddler but the girl has good taste - cows are one of my favourite animals, too.

I like making comissioned critters as personal as possible, and I like making things in a sustainable manner too. So I asked Erika for some of Ruby's old clothes - that way, I could make the critter from the clothes, giving it a more personal touch, and also add life to something she'd outgrown that may have otherwise been discarded.

Anyhoo, Erika provided a spotted jumpsuit which I turned into this little cow. She's even got a rattle inside her (the cow, not Erika), which I made by sewing some bells into a little fabric pouch and placing the whole lot inside the critter while she was being stuffed.

Last year, I made a rattle in a similar manner for Erika's baby, Joseph. Erika's husband Simon is a Coke addict (the drink, not the drug) so as a joke I made baby Jo's rattle softie in the shape of a Coke can. It's about life-sized and far more nutritious than the soft drink!

Feeling sheepish?

A few years ago at an op shop, I bought a fake sheepskin jacket with a big furry collar and cuffs. You know, the kind that looks good when you try it on, but when you get it home you realise it makes you look like a deranged Muppet.

In retrospect, I am not sure what I was thinking when I made the purchase, as the jacket was white and I am a Melbourne gal and hence wear only black. I suppose I was thinking, hmm, this is a cool jacket and it is only $6 (thank you, Savers) and if I never wear it, I can turn it into a critter.

I suspect I was also having a bout of "but I've been op shopping all day and haven't found anything I want, I can't return home empty handed, I have to buy SOMETHING!!"-itis. I am quite convinced this is a contagious illness suffered by many an op shopper that leads to many stupid buying decisions (hello, silver lurex dress that I don't have the confidence, body or occasion to wear, I see you're enjoying the company of a super cute pair of shoes that are only two sizes too small that I couldn't resist because, you know, my feet might shrink one day).

Years passed with the jacket taking up valuable wardrobe space until one day, I hacked off a sleeve and made this little critter here as my first "critter a week challenge" creation. See, even things you buy in a fit of stupidity just because they are cheap come in handy eventually. That's what I tell myself as I wade through the pile of "what was I thinking" objects invading my house, anyway.

As a result of all this, Amy - as the critter calls herself - has a slightly sheepish expression and horns made from another op shop purchase - a 1980s-style pink and grey striped jumper. And I can proudly say I bought that jumper solely to make into a critter. I might be deluded enough to think I would wear a white furry jacket but I would NEVER wear pink and grey!!