Tag Archives: pumpkin

Done-kin

You guys, I did it! I actually did it! I finished a project in a reasonable amount of time!

That’s right. I finished up my little no-pattern knit pumpkin, and I’m so pleased with how it turned out.

I put it together it one night after the kids went to bed. I stuffed it, closed it up with some sturdy cotton thread, and gave it a cute little “pumpkin” shape by sewing a couple stitches through the center and pulling them tight. I left it out on the coffee table, meaning to go out in the morning to find a nice twig to hot-glue on as the “stem.”

Well, the next day my husband took the “early shift” with the kids, and so when I got up, I was greeted by both very awake children taking turns chucking the pumpkin at each other as hard as they could and laughing like crazy. Ah, brothers.

Needless to say, I changed my mind about the “very pokey stick” idea. Instead, I knit a couple inches of I-cord and sewed it in place as a little loop stem, and called it a day. I have to say, it looks pretty cute. And it won’t (knock on wood) cause any scratched corneas. I hope.

Have you done any quick, successful projects lately?

Pumpkin

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I’m back on the horse (sort of). I’m starting real slow, and digging (once again) into my stash. I’m all about easy, fast projects right now. I need something that I can work on for max 1 hour per day and get finished in a week.

I was inspired by the pumpkins I wrote about last week, and decided to go ahead and make my own. (Bonus, it will be a pumpkin that my almost-2-year-old can throw across the room without hurting anyone or anything. Which has been a problem… He’s got an impressive arm on him for someone who is literally knee-high.) Of course, I didn’t want to do anything like “following a pattern” or “reading instructions,” so who knows how it’ll turn out. It’ll be a Halloween surprise!

Basically, I grabbed a handful of half-used skeins from a craft kit I finished years ago (I think it was a basketry kit? All I know is that this yarn was not exactly meant for knitting. It’s soft and pretty, but very splitty). I cast on a multiple of 12 stitches (maybe 60? 72? not sure), and got knitting. I started doing a 2×4 rib, but then got bored and threw in some cable crosses every 5th row. I literally grabbed colors at random, and switched when I ran out. It’s all very scientific.

But I like how it’s turning out. My plan is to use some crochet cotton to close the top and bottom like a drawstring bag, then stuff it, and use a few big stitches through the center of the form to give it a more realistic “pumpkin” shape. Then, I was thinking I’d either knit up a little bit of I-cord for a stem, or maybe find a real stick out in the yard to glue in place as a stem. Not sure yet.

But, I’m feeling positive about this project, and I’m excited to see how it turns out. And if I have extra yarn, well, maybe I’ll end up with a little family of pumpkins. Fingers crossed that it turns out as cute as I think it will.

Are you working on any fall-y projects this year?

Inspiration: Pumpkin Spice

Inspiration: Kid Pumpkins

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Happy Halloween, everyone!

I’ve got something very cool to share with you. It’s a pumpkin!And it was made (with almost no help) by one of the 7-year-olds in my after-school knitting class (we’ll call her “Raven,” since that’s a suitably Halloween-y name). Sure, it’s a little knobbly, but I’d like to think it looks “homegrown.” Raven made a big square(-ish shape… she’s a big fan of the “accidental yarn over”) of garter stitch with pumpkin-orange yarn. She worked so hard on it- spending the last 4 weeks of class chugging away on her knitting. Then she sewed the cast-on and bound-off edges together to make a tube, and closed up the top. After stuffing the pumpkin with fiberfill, Raven closed up the bottom. I showed her how to make big stitches around the pumpkin to form the “seams,” and then she knit a little green stem and sewed it into place all by herself.

How awesome is that?! It looks even cuter from this angle:Want to make your own? Follow the procedure that Raven used, or try one of these adorable (but slightly more complicated) patterns: