teacup sock monkey

hello. it's been a busy month. actually i think that life is going to get busier and busier each month as my children get older. they are all at quite different stages and all need attention all of the time. it's exhausting. regardless of that i have somehow still been sewing almost every day. most of the time it's in the evening after all the kittens are tucked up in bed. something that i get asked all the time is 'how do you have time to sew with three young children?!' well i don't get to sew as much as i used to obviously and i certainly don't get a chance to carry out any big time consuming projects like quilts. i grab whatever time i can. sometimes washing doesn't get done (shock horror!) and gracie and harrison will often take their naps at the same time while lachie is at kindy. that time is spent getting shop orders ready, photographing stuff and all the other computer stuff. i received the best gift any crafty person with children could ever ask for a few christmas' ago - SLOW COOKER. bung it all in together in the morning, forget about it for the rest of the day and by dinner time all the work is done, your house smells divine and your family think you're a star. no more 'what's for dinner sweetie?' 'ummmmm nothing.... but look what i've sewn up!'

it's my daughter gracie's very first birthday tomorrow. the time has flown but in many ways she is still like a 6 month old baby. she's tiny still. still wears infant size huggies and 00's and she is in no hurry to get mobile which is just fine with me! after having two boys it's funny to be buying girly wrapping paper and seeing girly birthday cards around the house. i realised on friday while picking out wrapping paper that i hadn't even made her anything for her birthday. it didn't seem right to only have store and op shop bought gifts. unheard of in our house. she doesn't have a sock monkey, i made her a sock bear for when she was born. so it seemed the obvious choice to make her a sock monkey. as i was searching through my sock stash i came across the sweetest tiniest pair of purple stripey baby socks. i ended up staying up til after midnight on friday to get them done but a mini sock monkey was born and i love her.





a bit fiddly you ask? let's just say by the time i was finished i'm pretty sure my eyes were bleeding. oh yes, and she has her own special cosy sleeping bag with built in pillow, naturally. this is the kind of thing i would have loved as a child, ok who am i kidding? i still do. tiny things with tiny accessories make my heart sing.





i have made similar sized sock monkeys before but this is by far the best as far as proportions and cuteness go. i forgot to measure her before i wrapped her but i think she's about 3.5" tall. i think gracie will love squishing her in her tiny hands and later on she will enjoy popping her in and out of her sleeping bag. cute? i will absolutely be making some special little guys n gals like this one for my madeit shop.