Happy Halloween!

It's almost Halloween! Can you believe it'll be November soon? The fall has just been flying by so far. I snapped this pic after a storm a few weeks ago and thought the contrast of orange leaves and black crows and branches would be perfect for an All Hallow's Eve post.

What are your plans for the occasion? We'll be dressing up the little guy as a raccoon in honor of his current favorite book, "Wait Til the Moon is Full" by Margaret Wise Brown, and hitting a few houses in the neighborhood. And then eating some of his candy when he's asleep because a.) how much candy does an under- 2 y.o. really need, am I right? and b.) the kid is hyper enough (and currently on a nap strike) without adding sugar to the equation!

Knit Pumpkins for October, Halloween, and Thanksgiving

When you live in a small city apartment with not enough closets for storage, you need versatile seasonal decor. I made these easy knitted pumpkins because I knew I could use them for both Halloween *and* Thanksgiving! That's also why I used brown and yellow-brown yarns. I thought orange might be too Halloween-y, while browns could work for both October and November.

I loosely followed the directions for these knitted pumpkins. Scroll down and read the comments before you knit - helpful amendments have been added there! I made the two bottom pumpkins shown here using those directions, but varied my needle and yarn sizes. The larger pumpkin was made on larger needles, and I did 55 stitches across and I think about 30 rows.

I didn't have the right tools for the stems shown in the tutorial, so I cut about 6 - 10 pieces of yarn (depending on my pumpkin size) all the same length. Then I knotted them at the bottom to form a sort of tassel, trimmed the yarn beneath the knot, and then glued the "stem" onto the pumpkins with tacky glue. 

I'm debating whether or not to add veins like the original tutorial does. I think I like them as is so far!

Happy Halloween

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Halloween - I hope you have fun plans for the night, and great costumes to wear! Oh, and your favorite candy to eat. Can't forget that part!

I couldn't resist posting these photos of faux carved pumpkins on Beacon Hill in Boston to my Flickr, in honor of the holiday. You never have to worry about these pumpkins rotting - or getting smashed!

Curly Purly Pumpkin Pattern

How cute is this knit pumpkin from Curly Purly? It's perfect for Halloween, and seems to knit up very quickly. All you need are double pointed needles, yarn, and something to stuff in the middle!

Get the free pattern and spin-off ideas from Curly Purly here.

Halloween Dolls

Adorable bandits from Zime. They'd be great cake toppers for a Halloween wedding!