why did I think I could knit Halloween costumes?!



Thing One and Thing Two t-shirts and hats
my own patterns knit in GGH Bali and Lion Brand Fun Fur

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Look the t-shirt goes with pajamas too!

And the hat works with jeans. Who knew?!

Oh, they were excited!

B actually said "I'm Thing One. Now I can bump around the house!" Uh oh, what have I gotten myself into?!

Don't they just look like they're about to go cause some trouble?

My Cat in the Hat "costume" was a little less literal. I got the colors right though.

Trick or Treat!

The Things were a huge hit in the neighborhood. When a group of 11 year-old boys in Scream costumes spontaneously declared "those are the BEST costumes", I took that as a real compliment. A similarly-aged cowgirl passed S and said appreciatively, "nice hair!" S responded, "no, it's a wig."

This is your thing on too much candy. Any questions?

They came home with baskets filled to the brim. And crashed.

Just one more sleeve to sew in and then the costumes are all done. Pics later tonight after the Things go Trick-or-Treating and to bed.....

1:30 UPDATE: Things are all done and I've already caught B trying to slip his on all by himself before it's time.

I guess they're excited!

I think it was finishing the neck that really made the difference. I used Cashsoft DK for the neck, because the blue was just perfect! I know the original Thing shirts are all red, but since the boys will be wearing these as regular shirts after Halloween (that is to say, without the silly bright blue Fun Fur wigs), I wanted to bring a little of that crazy blue into the shirts.

just sew in the sleeves, mommy please

The boys are so excited about these shirts! While B has been enjoying trial fittings, S has been anxiously watching the progress of his Two shirt.

second verse, just like the first

He's been so patient that I decided to start sewing in the sleeves on his shirt first.

With the extra hour we got today from setting the clocks back, I should have no trouble finishing these up for tomorrow. Hooray!

Okay, it's nothing special, but you did ask. This was my first time working with Fun Fur and so I wanted this hat to be easy, easy, easy. To me that meant no shaping, no seaming, and no buying a 16 inch circular needle in a size I didn't already have. Here's what I came up with.

finished measurements:
9 inches wide by 7 1/2 inches tall
(hat should have enough stretch to fit todder to woman's head)

gauge:
um, I'm guessing 3 to 3 1/2 st./inch or so
(how are you supposed to measure in all that fur?)

materials:
1 1/2 balls Lion Brand Fun Fur in light blue
1 pair 6.5mm needles
third needle in similar size for three-needle bind off

Cast on 60 stitches. Knit flat in stockinette stitch for 7-8 inches (depending on how big you want your "hair" to be), ending with a purl row. On next row, knit 30 stitches, and fold piece in half so that the two needles are each holding half the stitches and are parallel to each other with the knit side facing you. Using a third needle, work three-needle bind off across the row (= knit one stitch from front needle and one stitch from back needle together, *knit one stitch from front needle and one stitch from back needle together, pull first stitch on right needle over second stitch*, repeat * to * until end of row). You should now be at the side opening and have one stitch on the right needle. Continue the three-needle bind-off down the side (= *insert right needle into edge of front, then edge of back, wrap needle and pull a loop through, then pull first stitch on right needle over second stitch*, repeat * to * down the entire side). Don't worry about being too exact when picking up stitches. The Fun Fur is so furry that you can fudge it quite a bit. When all stitches have been bound off, turn hat inside out. The purl side will be worn on the outside, so weave in ends on the KNIT side.

S wanted to take a picture of me wearing the hat - this is what he got

I've been neglecting all other things* to get these two things finished. Instead of completely finishing the Thing One shirt, I chose to put it aside once I was past the intarsia and start working on Thing Two.

Now that both fronts are well underway, I feel like I'm much closer to being done. The second one is actually coming out better than the first. My hands seem to have found the right rhythm and tension with this pattern and yarn. I'm not having to tug on stitches here and there to even them out quite as much. I guess being first has its disadvantages as well. I wonder if my son B (first born, Thing One, and always running ahead of the rest of us) will ever learn that.

* Like my email. Sorry if you've written me recently. I'm trying to catch-up today. To my Sockapal2zaer Sock Saviors: I have found matches for all the pals I wrote to you about and sent the info to those who will be knitting make-up socks. If you didn't hear from me, let me say "thank you, thank you, thank you!" for offering to be a sock savior. I will definitely keep you on the list for the next batch of pals who need sock saviors.

... it's slow as can be,

one whole night to get this started

it's not for the faint of heart (don't look at the ends in back, don't look at the ends in back...),

oh, my OCD is so not happy right now

but it looks so freaking awesome when it's done, how can you resist?

wicked cool!

Halloween knitting has reached fever pitch here. Every spare moment has been devoted to knitting "Things". After neglecting my email and the laundry for over 24 hours, I have four finished sleeves.

Next up, those pesky fronts...

Speaking of things, the real "Things" had a little Christmas-in-October this morning. We were at the toy store yesterday and I spotted something on sale that Santa really wanted to get for them. They were so busy throwing tantrums and crashing from a night with too little sleep to notice, so I decided to try to buy everything real quick. Well, there was a big mess-up at the checkout counter, I had to go to the service desk, and while there was checking and rechecking, eventually one of the boys says, "heeeeeyyyyyy, can I have that?" Once they had them in their hands, they wouldn't release them. They held the boxes clutched to their chests the whole ride home. Daddy and I "talked to Santa" and all agreed that the boys could have the toys this morning. And they've been putting together Lego pieces since 7:30!

Two backs, knit almost entirely on my weekend trip to Rhinebeck. That leaves two fronts, four sleeves and one hat to knit in eleven days. Pressure? What pressure?

Yes, yes, the boys will be Thing One and Thing Two this year for Halloween. Remember Thing One and Thing Two from The Cat in the Hat?

The perfect costumes for the boys, since this is what they always look like at home.

Well, except for the shirts and the hair. And that's where I come in. Bright blue Fun Fur hats for thing hair...

thing one hat - check

...and red boy-sized Thing 1 and Thing 2 nothing but t-shirts.

GGH Bali comes in the PERFECT colors

I better get knitting - only 17 days left to make another hat and two shirts!

We got back from the weekend wedding late last night, so I had no time to prepare a sock update for today. Wednesday will have to be knitalong day this week. This Tuesday I bring you more wedding pics and a very litte knitting.

you asked for it, you got it: Shannon pics

the men of wedding party lifting up Shannon during Hava Nagila

Monday was the bride's family vs. groom's family softball game

The bride and groom couldn't decide whose side the boys were on, so they split them up. B in yellow on the groom's team and S in red on Shannon's.

the groom needed more players, so hubby got a quick lesson in batting
(what a trooper - they don't even have softball in Germany, so he's never played)

the happy couple with their happy ring bearers

And a little knitting on the ride home.

something for the boys to wear for Halloween

Yes, I am actually knitting their costumes. How dumb was that idea?! I just couldn't stop thinking about how to make something for the boys with that Fun Fur that they always play with when we go to the crap store. More details on the costumes later...