I am pretty sure that Moon’s Creations is a big fan of Halloween, too. Just like last year, each day in October will mark the debut of a one-of-a-kind halooween-themed amigurumi bunny.



Freddy Kreuger MoonBun Photo from flickr user Moons_creations

And the best part… they are available for purchase from her Etsy shop. I am the proud owner of the Bride of Frankenstein from last year’s series, and I have my eye out for a friend for her this year.

If you have made any other amigurumi, you should be able to make this. I assume that you know how to increase, decrease, and start using a magic ring.
To make your own monster finger filled with chapstick you will need:

• Crochet hook – Size F
• Worsted weight yarn in three colors. I used Cascade 220 wool for the brown and green, and Caron Acrylic for the red.
• button (optional)
• key ring (optional)

This pattern has 3 parts. The fingernail, the finger, and the bloody severed top portion. I’ll give you the pattern for the fingernail first. If you are clever, you can make it first, and have it ready to sew on as soon as the finger is long enough. I always forget to do this.

Fingernail
The fingernail is worked in brown yarn, and is worked flat.

R1: Chain 5
R2 and R3: Sc into second from the end, Sc 3 more.
R4: Decrease twice. Pull end through.

Finger
Work 5 sc using the magic loop method.
R1: *sc 1, inc1 * repeat once. sc1 (7 sts)
R2: *sc2, inc1* repeat 3 times. sc 1 (10 sts)
R3-14: sc all the way around.

This is a big enough circumference for my standard sized chapsticks. After you are done with the increases, you might want to check to see if yours will fit. If not, sneak in another increase on the next row. Continue in the green color until you are just below the top of the chapstick. For me this was row 14. Change to the red yarn.

Severed top
There will be four loops that make up the severed finger top: one large one to wrap around the button, and three decorative – one of which can be used to attach a keyring.
R15: Sc in red
R16: chain 8, sc into base of chain to create loop (you just made the button loop). *Sc1, chain 3, skip1, sc * repeat 3 times (you just made the 3 decorative loops).

If you haven’t already done so, sew on the fingernail. Make sure to place the fingernail towards the “front” of the finger, which is the side opposite the large loop. I just whip-stitched along the edge with the chapstick in the finger so that I didn’t accidentally sew everything closed.

Use the brown yarn to add a knuckle. You can also use green to make some warts (french knots).

Attach the button to the front of the finger, at the top opposite the largest loop. Thread a keychain loop in one of the decorative loops if you wish. (detail photo of top loops)

Now you are ready to creep people out.

I expect that there may be errors in my pattern, so check back for updates (and let me know if my pattern doesn’t make sense!).

Pattern modifications

• Make a long grey fingernail to make it a witches’ finger!
• The fit of the finger is very snug. you might not even want a closure at the top. I think I like it best without one
• Some of the fingers in the pictures are constructed a little differently. Instead of a button closure, I threaded a crocheted chain through the loops to make a drawstring closure. you might prefer this if you aren’t going to attach the finger to a keychain. Plus it makes more creepy, bloody strings to dangle out of the finger.
• I have been addicted to softlips since high school. It is a more narrow chapstick than the standard size, I found that 7 stitches around was enough.

Visit the Octopus Revolution Flickr group for a free crochet pattern for a basic little octopus. The group will showcase many variations on the same pattern. So make a little Octo and then dress him/her up!

Found on Craftster.

From Ana Paula’s Pattern

Partners will be assigned on June 1st, so sign up before then. You will have until June 20th to make one large (~ 8 inches) or two small (4-5 inches) amigurumi creations to send to your partner.

I have had tremendous luck with most of my swapbot swaps. I was lucky enough to receive the most appropriate granny square in the fancy granny swap that I hosted:

Can you tell what the one on the right is?? Bacon. That’s right. A stranger crocheted bacon for me (thanks purplesparkler!). Awesome. I will have the most fantastic granny square afghan ever.

These are the eyes you have been waiting for… I stumbled upon this idea after finishing an amigurumi cactus for my friend, and not wanting to sew on eyes. So I turned to one of my all time favorite crafting materials, Shrinky-dinks. I get my shrinky-dinks directly from the “Magical Land of Shrinky Dinks.” The shipping is a little steep (UPS) so the last time I

This one is really no biggie, and you probably already have it figured out after reading “polymer clay eyes,” but I’ll go into a little more detail for those interested. Polymer clay is widely available from two manufacturers, Sculpey and Fimo. It is available at craft stores as well as many art supply stores. Choose a color, sculpt your creation, bake it in the oven, then keep it forever.

For the eyes I chose sculpey (simply because it was cheaper). Before we start, preheat your (preferably toaster) oven to 275 F.

I cut out a small portion

and the kneaded it until it was soft.

I rolled it into two small balls of equal size, and squashed them flat. Then i used a toothpick to poke two holes in each eye, button-style. Don’t forget to flip them over and poke through from the other side so the hole is clean.

Finally they went onto a piece of foil and into the 275 F oven for 10 minutes.

Finished!

If you like your eyes shiny, you can seal the sculpey with commercially avaliable sealants. I have had no problems using clear nail polish. This method has the advantage of being able to create a wide variety of sizes. You can add color by using other colors of clay. Some of them are glittery which could make some nice eyes. **Note: These of course would not be safe for children.**

Next… Plastic eyes (my favorite).

The finalists are now up, and voting is open (until march 30). I was so excited to see that I was familiar with two of the finalists!

I am a frequent reader over at Raspberry’s crafty blog, and I was happy to see one of her creations as a finalist in the “creepy but cute” category.

photo from raspberry’s flickr stream

And I am a long time fan of Ana Paula’s amigurumi creations (remember the cute little cactus?) and her Christmas ornament ami’s are up in the holiday category.

photo from anapaulaoli’s flickr stream

And if you like the little cactus, check out Ana’s Mr and Mrs Cactus Pattern.

So go vote!

A hat for me
This was supposed to be the hat that preventing me from catching my death while working in the lab early last month. Since I was in a big hurry to finish it and was concerned about running out of yarn, I started the decreases prematurely. Here i am modeling it while at work at about 2 in the morning. At the time, I thought it fit.

I decided to pick up the cast-on stitches at the bottom and knit some ribbing until I ran out of yarn. I couldn’t be more pleased with the result.

Pattern: My own
The top is knit with a seeded rib pattern. The bottom band was picked up from the cast-on stitches and is knit with 2×2 rib. This construction made it so the bind-off row was at the bottom, and I was able to use a stretchy bind-off to finish.
Yarn: 50% wool, 50% silk, dyed by me.

I also finished my Knitpicks Emma Jacket, but I am a little disgusted with it (and don’t have any good pictures) so we’ll talk about that later.

Finally, the cutest FO is last

i bought some amigurumi patterns from Ana Paula’s etsy shop and completed a cactus just in time to give away as a housewarming plant (the kind you can’t kill). All of her patterns are cute cute cute. I made this one on no time from scrap acrylic. Highly recommended.

photo courtesy of teapotgirl

he is a little amigurumi droplet. we thought he looked like melted mochi so we put him in the mochi tray. I am also working on crocheting some bacon – you can see it in the foreground.

I also whipped up a prototype baby beanie that is supposed to look like a buckeye. The pattern needs some improving, so i will probably give it another try.

i will be sending it off to my cousin for his new baby that is due in a few weeks.

I have also made some progress on the the only big knitting project that I am working on right now, the clapotis. I have 3 dropped rows!

and finally, the results of my solar dyeing adventure

whew! That is some bright green.