13 posts tagged “sockmonkey”

I love seeing vintage crafts. Especially up close.
Recently, I was sent a very cute monkey that needed to be rebuilt.
Luckily- I had the technology.

You can see even in the before pictures she is a beautiful piece of work- just a bit torn up.

Before

After

 

 

A scooter club was in need of a mascot. I was so happy to help!

 

 

A first for me! I got an order for a sock monkey and a matching hat and scarf for the human friend.

I had to model it before it went into the box. :) I wish I'd taken a shot of them together not on the me and the monkey.

 

My brother has recently started designing paper craft stuff. One of his first creations was inspired by sock monkeys.
Needless to say, I love them and think they are awesome. :)

Take a look.

He is working on the .pdf files to make the pattern available for download. The basic one will be a freebie.

I love this idea!

I got an order for a sock monkey to help the ring bearer of a wedding. Who wants a lifeless little pillow? ;)

I can't wait to see the pictures from this wedding. :)

 

I was so happy to be interviewed for the great local site DIY Alert.

Head over there and check out the interview.

I love summer! It is so much easier to get good lighting outside. Here are my 3 latest sock monkeys.

First up - Dr. Zira from Planet of the Apes. Her ‘do’ was a challenge, but with the right yarn it came out nice.

Then came a character I’d never heard of - Sun Wukong or Son Goku or the Monkey King depending on your language. This was my first time using fur (I had hand-knit fur before for Chewy), I was very pleasantly surprised with how well it worked.
Lastly, is a sock monkey similar to one I’ve already made. Here is Betty Boop! Really, I don’t think she is a monkey… more of a sock doll.

 

The Red Heel Message Boards' own Benny Hathaway.

Recently, a reporter sent me an e-mail interview for a story she was writing about sock monkeys and a fellow monkey maker. I thought it might make a good post.

How long have you been involved with/ making sock monkeys?

I have been a crafter since childhood, but had never really encountered sock monkeys until about 3 years ago. That's when I decided I had to have one. And being a crafter I didn't want to buy a pre-made one.

 

How did it start, how did you get involved?

I had a client with sock monkeys. I would see them every week in a new pose and I thought they were so cute. She had a web-cam at the time and would put them in front of it. From there, I searched the web and found lots of other sock monkeys on the web (Lucius, Nate, the Red Heel Monkey Shelter ect…). And then I knew I had to have a sock monkey for a travel companion.

I started by ordering 6 pairs of socks and intending to make up those 6- keep one and give the other 5 away to friends and family. I did give most of the first 6 away, but I never stopped making sock monkeys. As a gift, my husband made a website for my sock monkeys. Not long after, I started to get orders...which was strange. Now, I have more orders than I can do. I only accept custom orders so that I don't get bored. (www.sockmonkeyfun.net)

(http://www.sockmonkeyfun.com/Gallery_Sock_Monkey.html)

 

 

How many sock monkeys have you made? How many do you have?

I have made about 150 sock monkeys. And I have had the fun of showing about 30 people how to make them. I only have two that I call my own. Ceru our traveling companion and a sock monkey I rescued from ebay. I bought the vintage monkey cause he was very cute and I wanted an old monkey to see how he was constructed.

 

 

Tell me about some of your monkey's personalities.

Ceru is gregarious and fun and has the personality of a little boy. I kind of think of little boys as monkeys so there is a connection in my head with sock monkeys and little boys. I think they make fantastic toys for young boys.

 

What is your profession outside of making sock monkeys, or is making sock monkeys your profession?

My husband and I have 2 other small businesses. We have been operating a commercial/residential cleaning service for more than 15 years. For about 4 years now he has been working as a freelance computer consultant and web designer. He helps me with the sock monkey business and I help him with the computer business.

 

 

In what ways do you partake in the world of sock monkeys? Message boards...Businesses...making clothes?

All of the above, I love the RHMB (Red Heel Message Board). I love having a business making monkeys for people and even making clothes for other peoples monkeys. I have worked mostly the last year making custom monkeys for people. I love getting funky weird ideas from other people and trying to make their visions into reality. The most challenging monkey I've made so far was Don Quixote. I had to figure out how to make armor, and a lance. But it was really fun and I love new challenges.

I have started keeping track of my new monkeys and anything sock monkey related via a blog  http://sockmonkeyfun.net . I have even been trying to get a sock monkey podcast started, but have not quite been able to conquer the technical side of that yet.

 

Is there anything quirky about your sock monkeys?

They have a tendency to have really big mouths. :D And I have not been able to make any mean, angry, scary monkeys yet. I have had a few requests that I have had to turn down, because the monkey the person wanted could not be made cute… I have only been able to make what, I think, is cute. Maybe someday I will break free of my cute shackles.

 

Have you encountered anything out of the ordinary since becoming involved in the subculture?

I never really thought of it as a subculture, but I suppose it could be looked at that way. Everyone I have come into contact with in connection with sock monkeys has been a neat person. I have had only positive experiences. Making sock monkeys and finding other people who make sock monkeys or collect sock monkeys or write books about sock monkeys has fired my creative side and inspired me. 

 

Thanks for letting me express my creative bug.

 

 

Another first for me- my first Golf Club Cover. A special order from our friend Shannon Grissom. She liked the idea of a golf club cover made in the likeness of her famous sock monkey. 

 

Thanks for another great idea Shannon! :)