Maddox the Mischievous Monster and Pancakes!

Thank you all so much for your many suggestions on what toy to knit for Ellen's little boy.  I let Steve make the final selection and he chose Maddox the Mischievous Monster! A big thank you to Hilary (TheYarniad) and Kelly (Celtic Cast On) (both awesome knitters) who came up with this suggestion.

Maddox the Mischievous Monster is well known for small acts of mischief such as hiding socks and jumping out from under the bed and someone is responsible for my chewed up glasses.  Just look at those teeth.  And yet.  There is someone else in this household with big teeth.  Someone with more of a criminal mind.  I don't think we can lay blame for my glasses on Maddox.  Do you?

I was pleased that this was the toy Steve liked best because I wanted to make something fairly substantial in size that could be hugged and lugged about (the little boy is only just turning four next month).  It was also important to me that the toy be tactile in appeal similar to a fuzzy teddy bear.  To achieve that feel I selected a very soft base yarn and stranded it with a mohair yarn and it did come out very soft and fuzzy. 

Oh, before I forget, aren't his eyes great!  They are Suncatcher Craft Eyes in metallic purple (24 mm size) sold at an incredibly reasonable price on-line by ChezMichelle.

Particulars:  Maddox the Mischievous Monster by Danger Crafts; 1 skein (plus a small amount of a second skein) of Rehue Multy by Araucania, colorway No. 10 (baby alpaca 75%, silk 18%, 7% polyamide) stranded with kidsilk aura by Rowan; US 9 needles using both straight and circular.  No modifications except I used a kitchener stitch to BO instead of a 3 needle BO as I think that creates a softer seam.  Dimensions: 10" (height) and 17" (around his middle).

Toys Toys and More Toys

There were so many cute toy ideas either left as a comment or sent to me in a private email that I wanted to make a list for quick reference as a thank you to all of you for being there for me! 

Bunny by Berroco ~ free pattern
Garden Slug by Cheezombie  
Airplane by Patons ~ free pattern
Daphne and Delilah by Danger Crafts
Itty-Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson
Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor
Toys by Fuzzy Mitten
Penelope the Empathetic Monster by Danger Crafts
Nautie by Knitty ~ free pattern
Toys by Twins Knit
Otto by Ysolda
Teddy Bear by Debbie Bliss
Loch Ness Monster by Hansi Singh
Horse by Lion Brand ~ free pattern
Rosemary or Robert Bunny Rabbits by Adrienne Deaville
Bunnies by Mary Jane's Tea Room

The Long Journey Home

Miss Elly (blogged here) and Maddox the Mischievous Monster are getting ready to start their journey to their new home.  I'm sure they will be BFFs ("best friends forever") just like the children who will receive them.  That is actually a prayer I have for these children.  That they will be BFFs forever and ever and ever and never grow apart.

PS the flower attached to Miss Elly is a broach I made with hand painted wool roving.   There will be more about wet felting with wool roving coming up in later posts!

Pancakes Anyone?

Maddox the Monster just loves pancakes for breakfast and, coincidentally, so do I.  So I thought I would send along a recipe for pancakes so he can be fed properly in his new home and I'm going to share the recipe with you too.  This recipe makes thick fluffy pancakes just the way I like them. The recipe came from an old copy of Joy of Cooking (at least I think it did) which is slightly different in the current edition.  Because I like them made this way, I'll share what I believe is an original version of the recipe:

Old Fashioned Pancake Recipe

Sift before measuring 1 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour
Resift the flour with the following:
Scant teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

In a separate bowl combine:
1 slightly beaten eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/4 C. Milk (or slightly more to make batter consistently you like)

Steps:
Mix liquid ingredients quickly into dry ingredients.  Immediately cook pancakes on hot oiled griddle pan.

Tip:  I like to flip my pancakes prior to all the bubbles bursting as I think it helps fluff up the pancakes to have some of the air bubbles still trapped.  Serve with butter, maple syrup and fresh fruit.

Until next time, be well, love well and why not add a Mischievous Monster to your life?  It's a great excuse to make pancakes!