Happy Halloween!

Today’s a great day to debut my most recent finished object: an un-named Toy Box Monster!

Knit from Rebecca Danger’s Big Book of Monsters, it is too cute! It’s not quite finished; Mr. TEK thinks he needs a tongue, and I need to get some red felt for it. This little guy is destined for a new baby, due in March 2012. I modified the pattern quite a bit, and I’m so happy with how it knit up. I used Classic Elite Liberty Wool in Rainforest (#7893). It took 2.5 skeins. I really liked working with the yarn, though it could be kinda splitty.

My changes:

• Cast on and initial increases. I tried 3 or 4 times to get the cast on and the increases started on the bottom of the monster. It did not go well at all. It just looked messy. Instead I used a toe-up sock technique, knit up a square, then picked up stitches around the 3 edges without live stitches. From there I was able to increase to have the right number of stitches. 
• Lengthened the body. I thought the ball shape would be too small, so I made it more of a pill shape. 
• Pick-up stitches for arms and legs. I hate hate hate hate hate seaming, so instead of knitting the arms and legs and sewing them on, I decided to just pick-up stitches and knit the limbs directly to the body. For me, and my lack of finishing skills, it looks cleaner and has a smoother transition. 

The specs:
Pattern: Toy Box Monster from Rebecca Danger’s Big Book of Monsters
Yarn: Classic Elite Liberty Wool- Rainforest #7893
Needles: US5
Ravelry Link