Date Started: September 4th
Date Finished: September 9th (the kniting was finished on the 8th, but the stuffing and seaming and embroidery took an extra day)
Pattern: Monkey, from Knitted Toys by Fiona McTague
Yarn Used: Patons Classic Merino in Chestnut and Natural Mix, small bit of black acrylic
Needles: US 6
Modifications: None, really. Except I knit the tail as a hybrid i-cord, semi-round thing.
JP tried to steal Mister Monkey (as I've taken to calling him, but I know Danny will rename him soon) and I might consider knitting one for him soon, too. But the pattern is tedious so I'm not sure if I can handle it again so soon.
The finished product? Totally worth the effort. I almost didn't want to give him up, but I knew if anyone would appreciate an adorable knitted monkey, it would be Danny. I gave it to him last night at one of our (long-awaited) Ziti Parties* and it ended up spurring a long knitting discussion! I brought out yarn tubs and knitted hats and my crazy friends actually showed interest in my hobby. :) I even agreed to knit a hat for my friend Dana which totally made my night (I love it when people I love express interest in getting hand-knitted objects!).
In other knitting news, I'm worried that I'm going to run out of yarn for my Hogwarts scarf! It's 75% done right now (11.5 out of 15 MC stripes finished) and I've got about half a skein of the MC left. I'm supposed to use the MC for fringe, too, and I'm feeling doubtful that I'll even get the 15 stripes out of it, let alone the fringe! I'm just going to keep knitting and keep my fingers crossed. It's not a big deal if the stripes don't exactly match the movie version (it's already thinner than those because I don't love SUPER wide scarves) but I think the fringe is necessary. We'll see how it goes.
*Ziti Parties are sort-of self-explanatory. They are gatherings of friends during which the ingredients for Ziti are purchased, prepared, and cooked into a delicious meal that is then shared. It's a tradition with my friends dating back to September 11th, 2001 when we couldn't do anything useful so we cooked together. Ziti Parties are <i>always</i> a good time and last night's party was no exception.