Pumpkin House

I saw this pattern last year after I'd sent out the Halloween box and had it on my list as a canidate for this year's additions to the Halloween Village I'd begun for last year's box. The pattern is Elisascrochet and I purchased it from both Annie's and Etsy. I returned it to Annie's after working with customer service and not getting it to print. I tried again with Etsy hoping for better luck. I was able to download the pattern which is how I made it working off my laptop. However, even with the amazingly helpful designer who sent me a PDF of the pattern for some reason I just can't print it. Others may have better luck or do as I did.

Since I needed to work from my laptop this became an Olympic viewing project for me. As my DH and I were streaming the Olympics I'd open my pattern on my laptop and work on the pumpkin. This actually worked well because the directions are clear and it made a wonderful viewing project.

I used a light worsted yarn and a c hook as I wanted to keep this pumpkin smaller so it wouldn't overwhelm the other houses I'd made. If I'd had lighter sport yarn in orange I might choose that next time as this is still a good sized pumpkin.

This was actually one of the easier stem constructions I've made to date and I'd use it again, possibly as a substitute as it works up and attaches better than others I've used.

Pumpkin Man

Since I do the holiday boxes each year I'm always looking for new patterns to try. Pumpkin man was on my pattern birthday list and I was very pleased the pattern arrived on my birthday. You can purchase the pattern here.

The pattern calls for Yarn Art Jeans. I've been working on the goal of using up yarn on hand when ever possible. This isn't a huge hardship as I've got a large yarn supply but I often find I don't have the specific brand and colors called for as I begin new projects. I chose Omega Sinfonia cotton sport yarn for this project and used a B hook. The buttons are some of the new ones I've purchased to use with Barbie's outfits.

One change I had to make to use safety eyes rather than sewing on beads for the eyes as suggested was to not have the eyes sit in the pumpkin ridges. I love the look of the ridges but they are made after the pumpkin is stuffed and I needed to place the safety eyes before closing the pumpkin. It was the right trade off for me, others may make a different choice.

This ami is onn the edge of being small enough to fit into last year's Halloween Village that I'm hoping to add on to for this year with additional houses and Halloween villagers.

Candy Corn House

This is the final house for the Halloween Village this year. I'm going to concentrate on making villagers and finishing the October birthday presents so I can get both boxes in the mail before the beginning of October.

This house was made by adapting a free Christmas house pattern found here. When I saw this pattern something just spoke to me about making it into a candy corn house to go with the candy corn villager.

Just a few notes about this pattern, first it is written in UK crochet terms it looks like it was originally part of a crochet kit possibly found in a UK magazine. 

There is no specific yarn specified but the designer suggests a 4mm hook which led me to worsted 4 yarn as I had the colors I wanted for the candy corn idea. The g hook made a HUGE house, far too large for the village I'd made. I pulled out what I'd crocheted and continued with a D hook and the worsted 4 yarn. The yarn is all different brands, the windows are Caron Simply Soft Ombre Gold that I had left over from an old project. I wanted something different for the windows.

This would make a cute Christmas house should I attempt a Christmas village at some point. It goes together relatively quickly and simply.

Frankenstein

For a village to be fun to play with someone must live there. So far we have a Pumpkin Witch and a Candy Corn villager. Now Frankenstein moves to the Halloween Village.

Frankenstein was created using the Halloween minis pattern which can be purchased here. This is one of the most detailed pattern sets I've ever purchased. I will warn you the set is 47 pages. The directions and pictures that accompany them are amazing.

Lately it appears my hobby has been yarn hunting. This designer uses Schachenmayr Catania Originals yarn. The only place I was able to get most of the colors, the orange appears to be unavailable, was Love Crafts. I hit them at a crazy 50% off sale and items were disappearing from my cart as fast as I could order. However, I did get most of what I needed for the set. That being said while I will finish up the yarn I ordered I think I'll be sticking to the Sinfonia from now on. This yarn splits more than other and I found it more frustrating to work with over all. My ami's may end up being slightly larger but that isn't a huge issue for me.

I will be picking up more patterns from this designer. In fact she has a new book coming out in December Mini Kingdom: Crochet 36 Tiny Amigurumi Royals! that will be on my Christmas wish list. I'd love to see a collection of her holiday patterns in book format.

Pumpkin House

I was actually looking for another pattern by the same designer for the Halloween box when I came across a folder that I'd failed to file away in the appropriate pattern binder after I received it as a gift. I'd forgotten about this pattern and it works perfectly into my Halloween themed village. You can purchase the Pumpkin Pocket Pal pattern here.

This pattern didn't specify yarn or hook size for the pattern. I started with a g hook and worsted weight 4 yarn and I found my pumpkin was smaller than I wanted for my village theme. I moved to an I hook and worsted weight 4 yarn and was happy with the outcome.

There is no requirement to sew a hinge on the pumpkin stem to attach it to the pumpkin. I did this because I figured it less likely to be lost if it was partly attached and it still allows figures to go in and out of the house.

This is the only house I will be making this year that has the option for the figures to enter the house. I have other patterns that provide that option but those hopefully will appear next year when I have more time for assembly. This year the pumpkin house will be the only interactive house.

The pattern has two options for figures for the house, the pocket pal of the title. There is a doll like figure which while cute didn't quite fit my Halloween villager theme. However the designer also gives directions for making a ghost using the same directions and that fit my theme much better.

I did start by using worsted weight 4 yarn and a g hook for the ghost however, I mistook the ghost bottom for the face and needed to begin the pattern again. I put the pattern aside went to bed and approaching the pattern the next day I decided I wanted to try it in sports cotton. I added an additional bottom row to make the ghost a bit wider as it was considerably smaller once I switched from worsted 4 to sports cotton 3.

You may have noticed in the first ghost picture he lacks a smile. I realized when I took the picture I'd forgotten to sew his smile. I chose not to retake the house pic but I wanted an up close picture of the ghost completed.

Halloween House

In light of the limited activities that are going to available for Halloween this year I wanted to add something special to my Halloween box this year and settled on beginning to build a Halloween village.

Now time is limited so this might be the only house in the village this year. We will see if I get to build more, but every village begins with a building. So we begin with this round home with a witch hat for a roof. I have a haunted house pattern that if I don't get to this year will be a good addition for the village for next year. For those of you interested in the witch house you can purchase the pattern here.

The pattern calls for cotton sport weight yarn and a 2.0/2.2 hook. I started with acrylic sport weight and a D hook and even with increasing the hook size to an E I just found the house was too small. This actually worked out well for me because it meant I could use up some worsted 4 weight yarn I had left over from making the baby doll carriers from the Christmas donation. I love projects that help me work on finishing off yarn I've already dug into. I still have enough to make a small village but it is a start. To make this size house I used an E hook.

To make the door and window I did use acrylic sport yarn as I was concerned the worsted would make the items too large to fit on the house. I also added a few rows to the hat brim to make the brim wider.

I ordered the yarn I need to make more of the villagers so I have hopes of this being a fun play set for the little ones who may have curtailed fall activities. I'm hoping to have this out of here in time for it to arrive by the beginning of October so I do need to get moving.