Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Monster Power

I am busily writing reviews, preparing a brief tutorial (with links to information and photos on the web) for the stranded mystery Knit A-Long I will be running later this month, and working on a new modular triangle shawl pattern. But I keep being distracted by "The Big Book of Knitted Monsters" by Rebecca Danger. As a reward for writing four book reviews on Monday, I decided to knit the first monster in the book, Harold. (photo above).
As soon as I had added his face (felt secured with super strong fabric glue) I immediately was impelled to cast on for monster number two, Baldwin. I am making myself stop and work between sessions of knitting Baldwin, and using the 'treat' of knitting such a fun guy to keep me motivated and on task.
I intend to knit most if not all of the monsters in the book, as it is incredibly relaxing to not have to worry about perfection. I am using the tag ends of various yarns I have gathered over the past several years, which has a twofold purpose; one, it us a good use of the scraps and two, being able to look at the yarns in monster form remind me of the patterns and projects I have created. For example one of the main yarns in Baldwin was used for the first Espalier sample I made.
Knitting the monsters is fun, but it is inspiring me to begin designing my own later this summer. Summer is a wonderful time to knit such small objects as monsters, socks, mittens and hats without the draping of the project on my lap. I just have a few design projects to get through, first. Who knows? I may end up with a Monster Book of my very own!

2 comments:

Ria said...

I think sooner or later I'll have to give a monster a go!! Maybe I'll wait for yours!

AlisonH said...

The feet. I love the feet effect!