more xmas prep

[cimorene]

1. Knitting.
   
   I finished the pint-sized sweater. (For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture I'm just hoping furiously that it fits the niece appropriately. I did do all the math I was supposed to do, but with a garment so small in relation to the stitch, a tiny difference in stitch size can make a pretty big difference in finished dimensions.)
   
   That means I have a bit more time to knit and I cast on for a sock monkey. I've wanted to knit a sock monkey for quite a while, and the littlest niecelet is about 4, so opportunity for making stuffed toys for children is running out. I'm pretty excited to make it. I love this self-striping yarn and I haven't knitted anything properly self-striping in a long time.
   
   I'm thinking a couple of things about this sock monkey though:
   
   
   • I hope I have time to also make a tiny Aran sweater for it
   
   
   
   • I saw a toy pattern that suggested stuffing with wool roving and now I totally want to do that, but I don't have any and I have tons of polyfill, so not this time



2. Candy.
   
   I spent some time this morning trying to decide how to use my peppermint candy crush. Maybe a layered dark and white chocolate peppermint bark or two different shades of chocolate peppermint pretzels? Either way I also have to make some without mint crunch for waxjism, who hates mint mixed with chocolate. (IDK.)

Comments

[ironymaiden]

I think you'll be happier with polyfill in this use case. If the toy is loved at all the roving will compact and lose its shape. (And can't be fluffed again once it's felted.) It can't be washed for the same reason.

Unless you want to do intentional felting? I knit dog toys out of wool stuffed with roving and then felt them in the washer and dryer. It makes a springy toy that's tough to pull apart, but I haven't done a shape as complex as a sock monkey.

[cimorene]

Interesting, so the use case that the roving was recommended for was actually a TERRIBLE use for roving! I suppose that actually before artificial fibers toys tended to be stuffed with rags or straw - maybe flax/tow bits... of course there are times when you could stuff a knitted toy and want it to be solid and dense, but a sock monkey definitely isn't one.

[lazulisong]

Wax is correct about mint chocolate