Last month, in need of a quick-project-fix, I cast on for two of these little fellows. Nothing says Happy Halloween like a friendly little bat. B picked his colors and button, and named him ‘Glidey’ even before the last stitches were complete. Glidey has already been to the store, the eye doctor, and on a bike ride to the local park. A well-traveled friend, indeed.

The pattern was lovely, and went together quickly. The making up was a little fiddly, as toys are apt to be, but following the mattress stitch toy directions on Mochimochi Land helped quite a bit.

The boys both love that the wings button shut, and that they can hang the bats from fingers and pencils. There’s a notion of hanging them from carabiners, but luckily for the bats, the boys can’t find their clips.

You can click any of these pictures to make them larger

In ‘Kids Clothes Week Challenge’ news, I still don’t have a pair of jeans finished for the boy. I did spend an hour every day that week working on it, so I’m rather glad about that. Then, I took a break and knit instead. I’ll be back to work on the jeans tonight and will be sure to show them to you all when they’re done. Fall weather has arrived here, so I need to get cracking!

Bat details:

Started:	15 Sep 2010
Finished:	5 Oct 2010
Pattern:	Boo the Bat by Anna Hrachovec. Link to pattern on Mochimochi Land here. Link to pattern on Ravelry here. It was $5 US when I bought it.
Yarn:	Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash in Blue (812) and Black (815). I used in the neighborhood of 8g of blue yarn and 7g of black yarn.
Needles:	US 6 / 4.25 mm bamboo dpns from Clover
Notes:	9 mm safety eyes (found them at Jo Ann’s.) The button is around 1/2″ and also found at Jo Ann’s. My Ravelry project page for Glidey is here.

Here’s the gal the coffee-dyed yarn went into. I whipped her up as a fertility totem for a friend who was trying to get pregnant. She was more potent than I realized… my friend was pregnant before I finished the bunny. So now she’s a happy spring / healthy pregnancy totem. We are nothing if not flexible! This little one was fun to work up, though I had to give myself quite a pep talk before attempting to embroider the details – I’m trying to keep in mind that it’s better to at least *try* to do things that aren’t my forte. How am I ever going to learn them, otherwise? Have a great weekend!

Details: Started: 16 Mar 2009 Finished: 25 Mar 2009 Pattern: Elizabeth in a Rabbit Costume by Mia of Owlishly Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Gray (don’t know the exact color) and Plymouth Galway worsted, coffee-dyed by moi. Bunny tail is a smidgeon of Sirdar Foxy ‘silver fox’. Hook: D / 3.25mm

Notes:

Since the photos appeared ‘inside out’ to me, I worked all the pieces inside out. I like the look, but it was kind of a pain to do that way. The designer is left-handed (well, so am I, but I crochet right-handed), and that might account for the difference. Link to Ravelry project

Although I’ve been crafting away, there isn’t terribly much to show for it, so let’s continue with my holiday knitting before we end up in February, shall we?

These fun fellows made up in no time. I tucked a homemade hacky-sack / footbag into each of them to weigh them down for better juggling.

The footbags are what took the time with this project! After dithering among several stuffing options (beans? rice? plastic beads?) I ended up going with little glass pellets in the hope that they’d weigh more than plastic. I didn’t want to go with dried foodstuff, as these were going straight into the hands of an adventurous child. Who knows if they’ll take a spill into the river or a bucket of water at some point.

The footbags are made from a ruined pair of chinos. By the third bag, I was getting better at sewing and filling them. I originally tried a baseball-type design, which would have worked with a larger bag. With the size I was going for, though, I had better luck with a four-panel bag. I used this tutorial from Daniel Botkin to construct the bags. I filled them with teeny 1mm glass pellets. If I ever use up all the pellets I bought, I’ll buy larger ones next time; using these is like using sand.

The toads themselves were crocheted from Wool Ease and stuffed with a little fiberfill. I have standing orders from my hubby and sons for more toads, so you may see them again someday.

Details:

Started:	14 Dec 2008
Finished:	18 Dec 2008
Pattern:	Halloween Toads from Brigitte at Roman Sock.
Yarn:	Lion Brand Wool Ease (worsted weight; 20% wool, 80% acrylic) in Avocado and Fisherman.
Hook:	3.5 mm (E)
Notes:	10mm safety eyes. Footbag instructions from Daniel Botkin’s tutorial. I altered the pattern size, but can’t find it to measure it at the moment! Footbag stuffed with 1mm glass pellets. Toads stuffed with the footbag and polyester fiberfill.

Adventure Kitty gets ready to set sail. Note the tissue holder hole that she’s over for size comparison. Adventure Kitty was made to be stuffed into pockets, loved, and easily found in the woods when dropped. For extra adventure, I crocheted a harness belt for her. The top loop has a plastic hook, so it’s nice and stable for hooking Adventure Kitty to whatever her little owner’s imagination can think up. I have it on good authority that within 48 hours she’d almost made it to the roof of the house already. Twice.

This is a quick and easy knit; great for a gift.

Details: Started: 17 Dec 2008 Finished: 21 Dec 2008 Pattern: Knitted Kitty by Lillian of angry t-rex roars Yarn: Louet Gems, sport weight, hand-dyed by me. Harness in Lion Brand Wool-Ease. Needles: US 2 / 2.75 mm Notes: Features embroidered with blue pearl cotton left over from my Temari days. Finished kitty measures around 4.5″ / 11.5 cm long. Ravelry Linky

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday. We are in the throes of a fun-filled Christmas day. I crafted just a few gifts this year, and here’s a sneak peak. I don’t want to take the time to detail them all today, but will let you know about them all soon. Happy Holidays!