A monkey with no legs is still a monkey.

My mom's been in town visiting this past week. She's been a production line machine of knit teddy bears for she's making to give to an orphanage in I don't remember where...somewhere far from Canada, anyway. During her visit, I picked up the book she's using and tackled this monkey.   

 

 knit monkey with no legs

Lacking patience for the many small knitted parts and immense sewing requirements, this guy's legless, and may live in this tea cup for a while. Made with remnants of the super-deal Rowan Wool Cotton I found last year. 

Time to go outside, the snow's finally melting.

Odessa

Oh, what the hell.... Everyone's doing it, why not join in. A need for a quick fix brought this Odessa hat to life. A nice quick knit, simple-simple-simple, but interesting enough to hold through to the end.  Rowan products are scarce - and expensive, $12/ball minimum - in these parts, so it was nice to give the Cashsoft a whirl.  Lovely, lovely yarn, a real treat to knit with.  I suspect my hands may never touch another ball again, though.  Too rich for my blood.        

 

 Odessa in Rowan Cashsoft DK (Thunder)

I do enjoy the beads, but opted for an even three rows in the middle, and another row along the bottom edge.  Nothing too flashy, just a hint of clear beads.  Perfect, a wool hat, just in time for rainy spring.  Harumph!

I think my next stop will be a foray into lace knitting. I've been hoarding and contemplating lace patterns for years, and after watching hundreds of shawls and stoles in development online, it may well be time I shop my lace weight stash. There are some great ideas brewing at See Eunny Knit, a whole series on lace knitting in her Majoring in Lace posts.  I may well even have the pattern and supplies for this Sampler Stole-a-long, another Eunny-led lace adventure.