free halloween projects to knit or crochet during trick-or-treat!

Happy Halloween, fellow crafters!

In honor of one of my favorite holidays (the others being Thanksgiving and Christmas), I thought I'd compile this short list of fun and free Halloween projects to knit or crochet while you're waiting for all the ghouls and goblins to visit this evening:

• You of course have to try making my mini witch hat pattern this year!  A quick and easy proejct to whip up before everyone arrives!
• Here's a fun Halloween Skull chart pattern.  You can probably use the chart for both knitting and crocheting.
• Look at these adorable spider decorations!  I have plenty of sparkle yarn left over from my witch hat, so maybe I'll be making a ton of these tonight during my horror movie marathon.
• Get ready for your Halloween party with this set of hot pads and potholders.  These would have been great at our party last year with all the hot food we made - including some delicious corn pie.  Yum!
• Cover treats of chapstick or lip gloss with these Monster Finger holders.  Take them to parties with your kids as favors or, if you feel like making them in bulk, give them out to trick-or-treaters!
• Don't forget your pets this Halloween.  Choose from a variety of cat costumes and dog costumes to knit or crochet.
• Why carve a pumpkin when you can knit one?  Or crochet one, too?
• Candy corn is so gross... but looks so cute when it's made from yarn!
• You, too, can be hipster when you wear this ironic mustache.
• These treat bags are some of the cutest I've seen!
• And last but not least, these cute little Boo Coasters.  I actually chose to make these for my Halloween project, and here's how they turned out:

All of the above links go to their respective ravelry pages.

Where I live, everyone comes around the Friday before Halloween. It's been an adjustment for me and just doesn't feel like the holiday when that happens. But I can guarantee that I'll be continuing my family's tradition of making wimpies and watching fun Halloween specials. Lifetime Movie Network has been having some good ones!

Enjoy all the trick-or-treaters, and let me know what you worked on this Halloween!

free halloween crochet pattern: mini witch hat

For Halloween 2011, I wanted something I could wear to work and answer our door with that didn't require a whole lot of effort.  I went all out last year with an Alice in Wonderland costume, but we just didn't have time to throw together a party this year.  Simple is always a good option when you've got a lot on your plate!

I've always loved those mini top-hats you see floating around now and then, and I thought it would be super cute to make a Halloween version.  So I came up with this quick and easy witch hat.

 






Supplies: 
Hook: H8/5.00mm
Yarn: DK-weight novelty

The Pattern: 
Begin by making a magic loop.

Row 1: ch1, 6 dc into magic loop. Pull loop tight and join with sl st in first dc
Row 2: ch2, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st across, join with sl st in first dc
Rows 3 & 4: dc around; join with sl st in first dc
Row 5: ch 2 (counts as first dc), dc in next 2 st, 2 dc in next st, (3 dc, 2 dc in next st)around, join with sl st in first dc
Row 6: ch 2, dc in each st around.
Row 7: ch 2, dc in next 3 st, 2 dc in next st, (4 dc, 2 dc in next st)around, join with sl st in first dc
Row 8: ch 2, dc around, join to first dc with sl st.
Row 9: ch 2, dc in next 4 st, 2 dc in next st, (5 dc, 2 dc in next st)around, join with sl st in first dc
Row 10: ch 2, dc in each st around, join with sl st in first dc
Row 11: ch 2, dc in next 5 st, 2 dc in next st (6 dc, 2 dc in next st )around, join with sl st in first dc
Row 12: ch 2, dc around, join with sl st in first dc
Row 13: ch 1, fpsc around, join with sl st to first sc
Row 14: ch 2, 2 dc in each st around, join with sl st in first dc
Row 15: ch 2, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st (1 dc, 2 dc in next st)around

Fasten off

Decorate as you'd like! I added some lace underneath and orange grosgrain ribbon. I think this hat would look really cute with some spiderwebs and maybe a spider hanging down from the point, as well!

To wear, simply secure with bobby pins wherever you'd like.

I'd love to see what everyone does with this pattern, so let me know if you use it :)

and so another pet crosses the rainbow bridge

Early this morning, Hubby and I were devastated to discover that our youngest cat, Peter, had suddenly decided to leave us.  He wasn't even three years old yet, and the only thing we can hope is that his last moments were peaceful.

It's sad to end the week like this, but this is the one way I know I can help to remember him.  Rest in peace, Pinderschloss!

This is the second beloved pet to pass since I started this blog three years ago, and our third major loss.  Sometimes I don't think we're meant to have nice things.

On that depressing note, I'm going to try and get a grip on myself this weekend.  I've started by venturing back to Pinterest and looking a crafty things in pretty colors.  It's been a hard couple months, and we've just now started to feel better, so this is a huge setback for us.

I hope you all have a good weekend, and if you, too, have an adorably fat kitty - make sure to hug and squeeze them tightly!

baby sweaters everywhere!

I went to a baby shower for my BFF a couple weekends ago, and here are the two sweaters I made her!







You may recognize the dark blue one from previous posts of mine (here's one and two).  I wound up not having enough yarn to make the back sailor flap, so I adapted it for another pattern in the book that didn't have the flap.  I still think it came out uber cute!

I can't find a link to the pattern I used for the crocheted lighter blue sweater, but I'll keep looking (edit: FOUND IT!).  I was happy with the result of that one because it required a LOT of seaming (not that the other one didn't) and the stitch pattern was easy to memorize, as well.  We joked that the baby - who I've nicknamed Sparkles - will enjoy wearing it when we take him fishing.  A week from never.

Hope you're all having a good week!  I had another presentation last night that went very well, so I only have one more left for the semester.  The end is in sight, with only four weeks left for our winter break.  I still have to start my final paper for another class, though.  I never worried about this stuff in undergrad and usually wrote my final papers with less than a week to spare.  When I become old and responsible?

monday munchkins!

Happy Monday, everyone!  I hope your weekends didn't go by as quickly as mine did.  I was supposed to visit friends on Saturday, but after taking a step back and realizing I had four papers and a presentation all do at the early end of this week, I just couldn't.  So my weekend wasn't exactly fun.  Needless to say, I could use a drink right about now.

Anyway, I just wanted to show off some munchkin hats I completed.  These are for a trade so I can have the rights to sell hats from a pattern I liked on etsy AND I'll get some professional photos of babies actually wearing them.  I'm a sucker for good pictures :)

My trade partner wanted an all-cream colored hat and a brown/green combo hat.  The only green color I had that looked good with that specific brown was sparkly... and I don't think it came out half bad!  I really love the results.  I'm also really loving my model:








The cream hat is made in Red Heart Designer Sport and the brown/green combo is all Caron Simply Soft, except the green is their "Party" brand.

Okay, I'm off to be productive now.  If I can make it to Thursday, I'll consider this week a success.  Just gotta keep my head above water until then!

happy 2 year anniversary

Much love to my hubby!

another knitted headband = sold!

Just wanted to pop in and share with you some photos of the headband I finished over the weekend. It's a custom order I received through my etsy shop.

I used the Red Heart Designer Sport I talked about in my last haul blog. I really love that yarn for headbands because it's soft (but durable) and it doesn't scratch like crazy. I always tell people I'm not necessarily allergic to wool; it doesn't make me break out in hives or anything. But it does scratch me a lot, and I've received feedback of the same kind from many of my customers. These days, I've stopped using staight-up wool for my custom orders unless it's requested.

Something fun I did for this headband was Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off. You have no idea how unbelievably stretchy it actually is, and it looks great bound off in pattern. I'd been looking for ways to make my bind-off for this headband a little stretchier, and this worked out great. You should definitely try it if you haven't already. I know I'll be using it for many more projects.

If you want to make a headband of your own, the pattern is available for FREE right here on my blog! Click here to go there :)

baby hats galore!

Here are just some of the baby hats I've been working on :)


I particularly love the munchkin hats.  I've made a couple before and it gets easier every time, especially now that I've switched to the magic loop method.  In the past, I've added pom-poms to the end, but this time opted for a tassle.  It was really easy to make (I've never made a tassle before) and I think it looks great!

Just need to finish up some toddler hats and diaper covers to match the football and baseball hats and this order will be done.  I completed the girl's toddler hat last night and have to make a flower for it before starting the boy's.  Haven't figure out what I'm doing for that yet, but I did buy an awesome pattern over the weekend to make those owl hats we've all seen floating around.  So maybe I'll get creative.

And another week begins...