hello pineapples

Due South: Sgt. S. Monkey, RCMP

Step aside Paul Gross! Here is the latest addition to the RCMP:



The monkey was sold to a friend (the excellent illustrator, Rhonda Mulder) at the Halifax Crafters Handmade Holiday Market and she made him even awesomer by crafting his delightful red serge. I believe this monkey is officially a Cornucopia of Awesomeness.

More to come about the Crafters market...I just had to share the Mountie Monkey tout de suite! It's nice to see what happens to the monkeys after they are sold and head off into the world. They take on names and lives that I have no idea about. If you have ever purchased or were given one of my monkeys and want to share their story with me, I'd love to see a picture of them in their new homes. Especially since I am horrible at remembering to take pictures of my monkeys before they are sold.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 2 comments  

filed under: monkeys, show and tell, sock monkeys

Monkey Makers

Tonight at Love, Me was my first Sock Monkey Workshop. Now there are ten new sock monkey makers in the world - hooray for spreading the sock monkey joy! I was feeling woefully under-prepared as I went flying out the door, running late. That's the trouble with trying to do three or four things at the same time. But I think everything worked out in the end.

My day was split between making sure I had everything for the workshop, getting assignments marked, discussing marking, and finishing the instructions for this evening. Oh, and I overslept. I made it through the day, only a little bit behind the eight ball. I was seen trying to rush to work carrying four bags and a chair, but I made it. I did have to call the mister and get him to do photocopies, seeing as I ran out of time and forgot my wallet.

I'm pretty sure the workshop went well. One thing I did learn is that folks should have very little socks at a sock monkey workshop. Only one monkey came close to being finished. I did promise to post some links to help answer any questions the workshop attendees may have.

• The first is one I recently posted, which is the monkey instructions via Urban Threads. My instruction sheet (which I hope to scan and post later), didn't really do a good job of explaining how to attach appendages and the mouth. I think the Urban Threads' instructions do a decent job of that. Especially the mouth. That's a tricky bit.

• Next, is how to sew things on so that you don't see the stitches. The natural inclination is to do a whip stitch or the like around the mouth or arms. It's what I did for ages. But what really works is using a mattress stitch. But wait! Isn't mattress stitch for knitting? Well, yes. Technically it is. But look at the tutorial and then look closely at your socks. Your socks are mostly likely a knit - just a very very fine machine knit. This method is way more time consuming, but combined with a thread colour that matches your socks, you end up with almost undetectable stitches attaching your monkey bits to the monkey body

.

• Finally, there is the subject of embroidery and your monkey's face. Embroidering a mouth and "nose" on a monkey can seem daunting if you've never tried to embroider. Well, pick up your floss, your needle and some scrap fabric, because you are going to learn embroidery with Crafty Daisies. Seriously. That's how I taught myself.

And with that, I'm going to head to bed. It's been a busy day and it's shaping up to be a busy weekend. Before I do, I'm going to share with you the site Monkey of Sock as it is full of sock monkey facts and tidbits. I passed on the little bits that I know, but this site really is everything sock monkey. It even has the dress that I mentioned:



I first saw that dress years ago and it is so awesome that I am always impressed by it. I don't know what would possess the making of such a dress or any practical use for it. but I do love it.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Thursday, November 13, 2008 1 comments  

filed under: how to, monkeys, sock monkeys

online marketing possibility or a flash in the pan

I came across a new site yesterday and the jury is still out as to whether it's worth my time. iMooch seems to be a form of online panhandling/busking. You create a something (they call it a mooch) and hope that people will like it enough to "tip" you. Tips are always $1. Since the site is still in beta, I gave it a go and posted pics of my sock monkeys. If I want to post another "mooch" or post one after the beta run, it would cost me $6. $1 goes to iMooch and $5 goes to my account. This is money that I can use to "tip" someone else. Not sure what would happen if I want that $5 back (instead of using it for tips). Eventually, you can cash out your "mooch" and you will get that money. the $6 fee seems odd. I think I'd prefer to pay $1 to post and then add tip money when I feel like it. So far, only one tip and that one is from a friend. boo.

Ah well, if it does work, then I'll be pretty happy to make money from this free post. Who knows, I might even pay to post something at a later date. I'll keep you posted.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 0 comments  

filed under: imooch, monkeys, sock monkeys

Monkeys on Monday

Just finished up the second of two custom sock monkeys. This little guy is made out of camoflauge socks and has the name "Lukey" embroidered on the bum. The other one has the name "Lily" on the bum. They also have embroidered eyes instead of buttons, because little monkeys have a tendency to put things in their mouth and buttons are a bit of a no-no. I'm pretty happy with them, particularly on my embroidery on the name 'Lily'. Check it out:



and the "Lukey" embroidery (which I'm not as happy with because of my colour choices):



Regardless, they are overall cute monkeys:





Tomorrow, when I'm not finishing the final details on my proposal, I hope to get some decent photos of my other monkeys to post on etsy.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 1 comments  

filed under: arts and crafts, mondays, monkeys, sock monkeys

Monkeys at the Khyber

Craft Fair at the Khyber today. It wasn't the big Christmas craft fair, but a part of FemFest. Business was slow and my sales were all friends. ah well. A sale is a sale. There was some other awesome stuff there and I wish I had pictures and links for them, but I sort of sucked at that. I think I was too cold to think of it. No idea what was up, but the bar area of the Khyber was frakking cold! We were all in there with coats and hats on.

But the Monkeys had a good time.



There is supposed to be another craft fair at the Khyber in two weeks or something. I'm not sure how to get involved with it. It's the same weekend as the birthday party for le husband, so the timing may not work out anyway. Regardless, I'm going to get my Etsy account back up and put the monkeys for sale online.

Posted byHello Pineapples! on Sunday, November 25, 2007 0 comments  

filed under: arts and crafts, craft fair, khyber, monkeys