To be honest I have been meaning to get more done in the way of crafting this year, but the new house build just got in the way at every turn. This is not a complaint mind you, more like a grasping at straws excuse.What with this and that I just couldn't seem to settle down and do some and when I finally did I completely forgot to take pictures as I was doing some of them. But I did do another little sheep, about a month or more ago, and forgot all about posting him, so here he is...I must be getting old!
Here is my newest sheep to join the flock. He is on the left, next to Beulah in the middle, and Hammish on the end. The older sheep of course see this new sheep as something of an intruder and wanted to horn in on his photo shoot.
There was a bit of bickering and shoving and the next thing you know they all fell over. This really chuffed Beulah and Hammish. It was all just too embarrassing.
As of one accord they all turned their back on me and refused to face the camera. That was okay tho because it gave me a chance to get a picture of their backs. Sheep can be so knit picky, at least these three can.
Finally I got Ruddy to go it alone, because the other two just got in a huff and stomped off. Ruddy was a bit sheepish about it all, because I think he had been the one to precipitate the fall over.
One think a sheep hates to do is lie on its back, but I convinced Ruddy to do it so we could see his fine snowman shirt. Young sheep can be so funny. One minute they are hating it, the next they are out of control, rolling from side to side and over and over.
I could barely get a good shot of his tummy and told him he needed to stop it and get up. He of course didn't want to, and it took some convincing to get him to mind.
The next thing he started doing was pushups. I was like, "Since when does a sheep do pushups?! Can you stop that?" He just said, "Baaa" and kept right at it. Ruddy sheep! Always trying to drive me batty! At least I was able to get a pretty good picture of his back. It has a couple of deer and a Christmas tree. His cute little tale has little red cardinals on it just like his ears. To say nothing of his checkered trews.
I moved around to get a shot of his ears, so you could see the cute little red cardinals better, and he was still going full guns. I said that it was quite enough of that, and he finally stopped. Now you know why I named him Ruddy. He is one Ruddy sheep! Always getting into coils and kicking up his heels and showing off. He is right proud of his Christmas suit, and has made Beulah and Hammish pretty peevish over it.
I turned around and the next thing I knew Ruddy was trying to stand on his head. Now, I told him, you have gone just too far. Stop it this minute before you break you neck! I took a quick pic of him doing it tho. I guess it's one way you can see the funny deer under his chin. What a Ruddy show-off! I gotta hand it to him tho, either he is going into show biz, or a three ring circus, I'm not sure which?! At any rate, no doubt when he has settled down a bit, he will hang out with Beaulah and Hammish really well, or maybe at least on my Christmas tree this year?! We shall see.
This next project I did just yesterday and as per usual I let it wend its way as it would. I never know from the start how these funny sock creatures will turn out, so am always happy when they turn into something fun.
I have some fun and funky socks, so I selected four in which to think up a sock creature. I thought at first I would be making a sock monster, as I have made them in the past.
Here I have folded the heel up inside the sock and put some tiny yellow yarn ball teeth in the fold for his teeth, and trimmed off the toe. I didn't like that in the end, so I stitched the heel part shut, because I found the sock pattern itself lent itself to making a mouth pattern that I thought was better. As you can see to the left I have taken a yarn ball, like those two on the right, and have cut an orange one in half to give me his big round eyes. I've used a couple of tiny black ones to make his iris' and stitched the little black ball to the orange half ball.
I laid them on the sock where I wanted them and stitched them down. I took a bit of the black and pink second sock to fashion a neck scarf and cut out some thin arms. I stuffed my figure with old pillow stuffing. I like to wash and dry old worn out bed pillows that have gone flat. Their poly-fill stuffing is just right for crafts like this. Before I cut the part out for his legs I first did a running stitch exactly the way I wanted them, cut out the v-piece that formed his very short legs, then went over the raw seam edge with a whip stitch.
This sock had a hilarious pattern all of its own, and was extra fun because of the two zebra's on it. They had been a favorite pair of mine, but washing shrunk them, and Hawaii killed their ankle elastic.
I decided to use this to my advantage, and use that stretched out top to form the brim of his hat. I decided I didn't like the pink on his arms so cut it off. This made his arms shorter, but I liked them better that way. Together with his black neck scarf he really took shape. I thought his hat needed a pit of pizazz so dove into my embroidered flower collection and came up with this funny little one in purple and lime green.
Here he is on his side, showing off his zebra tattoo's. He really has turned out to be the funniest of fellows. I don't know what to make of him?! he reminds me of Buster Keaton, The Keystone Cops, Green Bean of the Grand Old Opry, and a Hobo from yesteryear.
Here is another back shot so you can see how the tattoo's of his zebra's go all around his head. He is truly baffling. Is he a second story man burglar?! I'm not really sure?!
He may be something of all of these things, but one thing he is not, is a clown. I have never liked clowns. I don't have a phobia, but I've never liked clowns. They always seem to be deceitful or something scary. He at the moment is pulling a long face, which is new territory for me. I don't like making things with sad faces. But maybe he isn't sad at all. I had a grandma who always looked irritable, but I found out it when I got older it was just the way her face looked normally. I thought she was always angry, so didn't much like her. Now I wish I had tried a bit harder to know and understand her.
Here was a slick trick for the hat. If you remember earlier I had cut off the black toe of the sock, before designing and cutting out his short legs. I pre-stuffed the toe with poly-fill and stitched a quick running stitch through the two to hold it in place. I put it on top of his head and pulled the sock opening up past it edge, pinning it in place, and stitching the two with a whip stitch, to hold it firmly in place. This formed the perfect funky hat I wanted him to have, and it was fun and simple.
When I was through, I couldn't help calling up my Sis to show her my silly man. She laughed and said he looks like a Hobo... ...his named should be, "Zobo the Hobo", and so his name was born. I loved it, it seemed to suit him to a tee. You can see what Zobo was before. A sock with no name, lying around flat and deflated, and he surely was down at the heel. Now he sits in my bedroom among my other stuffed friends, instead of crammed inside a dark drawer.
Here is a closer look at his eyes. Once I had him to where I thought he was finished, his eyes to me just looked a bit too bugged out. I saw the little triangles I had cut out of the sock for his legs lying there, so I laid them up over his eyes for eyelids, and it was just the thing. But those eye's you might ask, what's up with those bright orange eye's?! Well any number of things could be the reason. They could be bloodshot from drink, too much dust in his eyes from riding the rails, or just plain irritability from folks asking too many personal questions?! It is what it is, and you can blame me, because I thought they were just funny in that color. Ha, maybe that's why he is frowning?!
To make his nose I had stuffed him with the poly-fill, but added two wool balls under the sock and carefully stitched around them to make his raised nostrils. He turned out so funny I was laughing most of the time I was making him. If you notice there is a tiny white fleck in his eyes too. That is just one little white stitch with thread. I think it always helps to pay attention to the details, and that little white fleck helps his eye's appear more real.
Now I could have done all hidden stitches, and turned all my seams inside out for a smoother finish, but I like that homemade craft feel that rough stitches make. That's the fun part of making something like a sock man, or creature. You can make it however you want. Just let the sock speak to you, and you will soon have a fun creature that makes you smile.
In the end, this was all the scrap I had left, of the two socks I chose, and it should be just enough to do another sock creature too. So there you have it. Ruddy the sheep and Zobo the Hobo. Hopefully I will have more things to share with you soon that I have made.
Comments