Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween. Time to celebrate by remembering all the Halloween projects.

Bewitching Sloth

After sending off the summer birthday box it became time to start the fall boxes. I've already posted a couple of the October birthday projects, this is the first of the Halloween box items.

I'd been looking for a sloth pattern to go with Eric Carle's "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth that I'd picked up during the Christmas sales. I hadn't planned on a Halloween sloth but after seeing this pattern I decided to put sloth and book in the Halloween box even though the book was not a Halloween themed title. For those of you who are interested, you can purchase the Bewitching Sloth pattern here.

I've been trying for some smaller Halloween figures that would fit into a growing Halloween village that I started last year. With that in mind I used a D hook and worsted yarn for the sloth. When I did this I found I needed to use sport cotton for the hat and cape to make them fit using a B hook. I continued this trend with the Pumpkin. If I make this again even for a village I'd make the pumpkin with larger yarn as it was a bit smaller than I'd anticipated.

Ghost in a Haunted House

Laura Sutcliffe has a whole series of affordable pattern designs featuring various creatures in various types of homes, blankets, etc. I made the Rabbit in the Carrot for Easter. She also designed the pumpkin house I made for the Halloween village.

She's become one of my favorite designers for quick holiday themed projects and I even have some of her non-holiday projects on my to do list for future packages. The haunted house was the most detailed one I've made to date. I haven't done much embroderiery on crochet but this was fun. I'm not a huge fan of spiders in general but they were necessary for this project and I like the way the came out.

Yarn can be tricky for project choices. She suggested using DK I wanted worsted 4 but the yarn I chose is a lighter worsted and my project was slightly smaller than I'd envisioned which meant less room to add the details for the project. Sometimes color becomes an issue. I loved the color for this project and I had nothing in a heavier weight that equaled it and I was not buying more yarn.

The results were less room for the details of the house. I ended up using sport weight cotton for most of the details on the house other than the door. I loved the bat motif and I could easily see this appearing in other Halloween projects. It is easy to make and looks better than others I've tried making.

I was least pleased with the windows. I just couldn't get them to work out the way I wished. I loved the spider web which I made with size 10 cotton rather than sewing thread. It made it easier to see. The only other change I think I'd make is use a smaller hook or perhaps sport weight yarn for the ghost. While I do love him he ended up slightly larger than I'd expected. He's a good size for the little one he's headed to so I'm not overaly concerned.

I made a backing for the house following the house directions and joined it with sc to the house pattern. I waited to add the roof and used the roof to join the top of the house. This solved 2 issues for me. It cleaned up the back of the house stitching so it wouldn't be seen and it also made a more solid house for a child to hold. The single house is a little light for the ghost not to fall out of or for a child to hold. It is quite easy to add a back and doesn't change the product overall.

Mouse and Pumpkin

As I'm working on my doll donations, and the dino baby blanket, I also have to keep an eye on the calendar as the beginning of the next round of holiday boxes will need to go out in the not to distant future as well. I finished the first Halloween item, the Mouse and Pumpkin pattern that was again a gift from DH. You can purchase the pattern here.

I liked this set because it added a little fun play to the idea of safe decorations for little hands. The mice have made a home in the pumpkin and the child can place a mouse in the hole or play with them around the pumpkin, but there is more than just a pumpkin that won't break should little hands pick it up and drop it or want to hug it.

This pattern was well illustrated and the directions were clear, which was great since I was trying some new things with adding the mouse tunnel. Once you see the directions it does make sense, but it wsan't something I guessed. I will say when she says cut the yarn, cut the yarn, don't do what I did the first time and think you can avoid sewing in ends with slip stitches, the hole ends up being much to small. While I dislike sewing in ends, it is even more frustrating when your realize your efforts to save yourself work made more.

I've started the 3rd dino block and I'm working on another Halloween ami project. I've got to get started on another doll donation project as well. Summer sped by so fast and the deadline is creeping up faster than I can possibly believe on all the projects.

Halloween Box Done

Just a reminder if you haven't entered the Barbie/Fashion Doll Leaflet Giveaway you can check it out here.

I picked a bad day for it, hot and humid, but I put together the Halloween box yesterday. It took me three tries to find the right size box, but it is ready for mailing tomorrow.

I was surprised at how much stuff there was to put in the box. That is why the first two boxes were too small. The afghan took up more space than I had anticipated. Then the toys and books began to fill all the space. Before I knew it, the box was full.

The only doll that is missing an outfit is Stacie. I hope that next year I will get to one for her. I have promised that Skipper will have a Pilgrim outfit this year.

I also had some books and other holiday items I purchased in the post Halloween sales last year. I have present boxes in the attics to keep stuff I buy in advance. I use an Excel sheet to track the stuff and print it out to go attic hunting. It proved helpful yesterday, as there were a few books that were not where I predicted I would find them. Without the list, I am not sure I would have located everything.