Scary felted monster...with thumbs!

Maybe not so scary.....altho' he does have huge thumbs.
This little guy is for my grandson James. I promised to knit the boys monsters for awhile now so this guy is long overdue! I'm sure he'll be loved!
Yarn:-Malabrigo worsted weight. Colour:-Oceanos. James' favourite colour is blue.
I used almost a full skein, but had more than enough left for seaming!
Needles:-Sz#10.5 and #8 DP's and a 10" circular 16" length.
Basically I used what needles I had, gauge isn't really important!
Pattern:- I made it up as I went along. I am going to knit another one for Will in his favourite colour orange and then I will write down the pattern .
This little guy after felting measures 9" in length from top of ears. The body width is 10" add the arms and it's about 12.5" wide!
I was going for seamless and for the most part he is...however I made the arms separate and after felting attached them to the inside. When I do Will's I plan to do his a little different and pick up the stitches for the arms. This way there will only be an opening across the top of the head to allow for stuffing! I knit a couple of squares in red and white and felted them for the eyes, big teeth and nose. I used my sewing machine to attach them after felting.
He came out pretty good and is so cute!
Happy knitting everyone!

Accessories....felted beads, knit beads and a scarf!

Knit Beads...

I promised Leslie, one of our Saturday morning knitting group a knitted bead necklace.

The pattern can be found here

http://www.pompomemporium.com/content/anjies-knitted-bead-necklace-0

Things I do different than what is written in the pattern....

I knit these with leftover sock yarn on Sz#1 needles and I use a small wooden ball instead of fiberfill to stuff the bead!

I do love knitting these altho' they are a bit fiddly and all the colour changes mean a lot of ends to weave in!

Felted Beads....

I thought while bead making I'd try my hand at doing felted beads..I used the wet felt technique.

I made a hole in each felted bead and this wasn't easy. Do them when they are wet as that's a little easier, but not much! Let the beads dry for about 48 hrs. I knit an I-cord and strung the beads about 1" apart!

Easy-peasy and I love the solid colours...maybe next time I'll embellish them!

Scarf:-

This little scarf is knit with "Socks that Rock" colorway "Fairgrounds." I had only 74 grams of yarn leftover after I finished another project and I couldn't figure out what to knit! I hated the idea of that much yarn laying around unused. I suppose I could have knit footies but I decided on this pattern, and it is called "Fit to be Tied" and it's by Kristi Schuler. I did the increases for 37 grams worth of yarn and then decreased for the other 37 grams. Perfect...the little scarf measures about 8.5" at the centre and it's about 40" long!

I used sz #5 needles.

This is a free pattern and can be found here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fit-to-be-tied-3

Another nice easy pattern but with a lovely eyelet edge!

I am working on a couple of things...but mostly I am spending time outside..I love warm weather!

Happy knitting everyone!

Mags.