Little Pumpkin Man

Just a happy little pumpkin. 

Near the beginning of October my manager told our group of four that she wanted to do a pumpkin decorating contest. She mentioned this about a week ahead of time, so we had a bit of time to plan. But, I kept forgetting about it. A few days passed and I still hadn't gotten a pumpkin.

I didn't know what I would do once I did have a pumpkin. I started mentally going through my craft box. What did I have to decorate a pumpkin. I have some teal paint and a lot of wasabi tape. My manager only had one rule. We were allowed to decorate in any way we wanted, but we could not carve or cut into the pumpkin in any way. It just makes a mess and speeds up the decomposing process.

I had my own rule. I was not going to spend any money on this contest, other than the cost of the pumpkin. I have enough art supplies that I figured I could come up with something.

 The Thursday before the pumpkins were expected I had a idea. I could make a pumpkin hat and sit it on a little pumpkin. It would be simple, yet cute. I started searching online and on Pinterest and quickly found a few pumpkin hat patterns. I settled on this pattern for a pumpkin hat from DROPS design®. I still didn't have an actual pumpkin, but I figured I could start on the hat and then use the pattern measurements to find a pumpkin the size of a toddler's head. I found some orange yarn and cast on my hat.

Yes this sketch was on a napkin. 

The next day when I woke up I did a quick sketch of what I wanted the finished pumpkin to look like. I guess it had been in my mind all night as I slept. On my lunch break I got a little pumpkin from a shop near where I work. I don't know how many people bring their own tape measures when looking for pumpkins, but no one seemed to question it.

 I found one close to the size that I needed and took it into the office. I drew a little smile on it and told everyone that my pumpkin was half finished. I knew they would be confused and I thought it would be funny. This was my plan to confuse  the competition.

We were expected to have the finished pumpkins by Monday, so all weekend I knitted like a mad woman. As I was starting on the stem I realized that this pattern did not have the curling vine that I wanted. So I went back to looking for pumpkin patterns. This time I extended it beyond hats. I found this pumpkin decoration at www.allfreeknitting.com and loved the way that the vine twisted on the top. The pattern called for pipe cleaners, which I didn't have. But, I do have paperclips which my husband and I twisted. He had the idea to use more than one to give it a longer vine.

Hanging out with his pumpkin pals. 

Surprisingly I had a bit of time left, so I made a couple leaves using this large leaf pattern that I found on Pinterest. It may have originally been from a site called webmail.meta.ua, but I'm not even sure what language that site is in. Thankfully the whole pattern is on Pinterest, so I was still able to use it. Although it was not planned these leaves curl up and I ended up liking that look. It looks more natural. I don't know about you, but most of the leaves than I've seen are not flat.

I ended up winning the contest, but that was mostly by default. Some people didn't bring a pumpkin in and the only other pumpkin didn't last until Halloween. But, a win is a win no matter how it happens.

My little guy doesn't mind that he won by default. He is just happy that some people thought he was cute. He is still going strong and continues to be a work decoration. Maybe I'll bring him home around Thanksgiving.       

Something New

Creating an original pattern and sharing it with others is new to me. I have been adapting, changing, and making my own knitting patterns for years. I write ideas in the margins of other patterns and will use sticky notes or a note app on my phone. However, these adaptions or patterns were always just for me. Even when making a pattern I wasn't expecting anyone to look at it.

However, recently I realized that if I was looking for a pattern to make something and didn't find it then maybe others might have this same problem. Maybe others are getting frustrated over not finding exactly what they want. This is actually the reason I started this blog in the first place (that is a story for a different day).

A week to two ago, it happened to me again. I wanted to make a quick knit hat with some chunky yarn that I had. However, I had a very specific idea of what I needed this hat to look like. I wanted this hat for my blog post about The Big Comfy Couch and I wanted to look as much as Loonette as possible. Click here if you missed that post.

I found a few patterns, but they were not exactly what I wanted. They didn't look enough like Loonette's hat. So, I decided that I needed to make my own hat. This was never anything that I was planing to keep or wear more than just for that photo. But I fell in love with it. I loved how the hat looked so much that I had to make a matching scarf.

For once I let the yarn do it's thing when it came to the color. I used Caron® Tea Cakes™ color Oolong and for once in my life I did not try to manipulate it. I didn't worry about the color changes. Even when I was adding a new cake. Usually when joining more yarn I will unravel it to the point where it matches the pattern created with the color work. This time I joined the new cake when it was needed without any thought about the colors. This yarn allows these patterns be knit up quickly and beautifully without any stress.       

Below I have included the instructions for the hat and scarf. This pattern is also available for download or to be saved at this link: Easy Chunky Hat and Infinity Scarf. I hope that it will be the quick and easy hat and scarf set that someone out there is looking for. I enjoyed this quick knit. I was able to finish the set in about a week.

If you are looking for a hat and scarf set that knits up quickly than this pattern is for you.

One of my favorite parts of the set is the doubled over band on the hat. Because it is knitted folded over then it will not roll. I can not stand it when the band on a hat rolls down when I am wearing it. I want the band to cover stay put and do its job which is to keep my ears nice and toasty.

Scarf is wrapped three times. 

I also love the length of the scarf. I made it extra long, so that it can be wrapped around several times. My favorite winter scarfs are always infinity scarfs. Personally I think they are easier to wear and less likely to slip off. Even if I get warm I can just loosen it and keep it still around my neck. I might be known for losing a scarf or two or many many more. But all of those were traditional. Hopefully I can keep track of this one, at least for a winter or two.   

Now all I need is some colder weather to wear my latest creations. Not that I am asking for winter. I'm patient and can wait. Winter can take its time and come when it feels like it.