Wednesday 22 October 2014

Hallowe'en Hands


Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat,
Please put a penny in the old man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny then a ha'penny will do,
And if you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you!

That's the rhyme we used to chant at Hallowe'en when I was a lass, we didn't have trick or treating back then, and the braver children (of which I was not one) would go round the doors chanting the rhyme, essentially asking for money! The cheek!

In fact we had trick or treaters call at our door here LAST WEEK!!!! 2 whole weeks early, and I'm pretty sure they were chancing their arm for some cash, not just for chocolate or sweets. I gave them short shrift, I can tell you. To be fair though I had just bought pumpkins and had them on display in the porch, so perhaps they thought it was worth a try. It wasn't. 



I usually buy 3 pumpkins - one for each Little Person - at the last minute, carve them hastily, shove them in the window on the 31st, then take them away the next day, and chuck them out. All that effort for one evening. This year I decided to buy them well in advance so I can really enjoy their vibrant colour on the front porch. A Good Move - I'm loving the cheery welcome every time I arrive home. My pyracanthas and cotoneaster are in full berry-bloom too, gorgeous autumnal reds, oranges, and golds.






Anyway, back to Hallowe'en.....  in preparation for next week's (correct day of) trick-or-treating there has been much discussion about costume choices. I have mixed feelings about the whole trick-or-treating thing but that's a subject for another day. Mummy's thoughts on the matter aside, the Little People all LOVE the dressing up that is required for the occasion. There do seem to be a lot of suggestions on the table at present. But Little Miss has decided For Definite that she is going to be "Draculaura" - a cartoon character who is basically a pink-clothed girl vampire. To go with her costume I made her some long fingerless bright pink gloves.



I worked out my own pattern - which I'll share when I've written it up properly - and embroidered the spider-webs on once the gloves were complete. The diagonal ridge you can see on the left hand one is because I crochet in the round with an invisible seam - ok so it's not invisible but it isnt't loose and hole-y which is what I find happens if I don't do it this way. It's a technique I learned for making hats, but I'm not sure it translates as well to gloves. But hey-ho, I still love how they turned out:)


Little Tomboy got in on the act and asked for orange ones with spiders .... I was happy to oblige ....



They were really quick and easy to do, and a real crowd-pleaser. Also a great way to use up some rather gaudy yarn that a friend had donated to my stash a while ago. I'm definitely going to make some for myself as well, to coordinate with my many scarves :)



There has also been a request for a green pair with creeper faces on (you mine-crafter-peeps-or-parents will know what that is!), so guess what I'm doing in front of the telly tonight :) 

18 comments:

  1. Love the hallowe'en fingerless gloves/wrist warmers! Cute! X

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the wristies! Like you say a good way of using up brighter colours! I agree that your trick or treaters are a touch early!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are such a wonderful Mom!! I think both designs of mitts are fab and what a smart idea to use fluorescent yarn, so your kids will show up brightly while trick-or-treating!
    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cute wristwarmers! I'm off to buy a pumpkin tonight and I'm going to do the same as you and use it as a decoration before carving (and eating!) it :) Hugs, Elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
  5. The wristwarmers are great. I'm not much 'into' hallowe'en - especially not trick or treating.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very cute wrist warmers-especially the spider, nice vibrant colours for the night itself.
    Bought pumpkins-will tackle them this weekend.
    Helen

    ReplyDelete
  7. The wrist-warmers are brilliant - you're very clever, and I'm sure your children love them. The spooky spiders are very neatly done :) x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your fall photos look amazing. The wrist warmers are a great idea. I know just who Draculora is and the minecraft ones sound just perfect for my 9yr old :) GO you on making these for the kids! I laughed at your response to the early trick or treaters. Looking forward to seeing how the minecraft ones turn out, if you would like to share them that is.

    Hugs,
    Birgitta

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I put on my best teacher voice (bearing in mind I've never been a teacher!) and said:
      You're far too early girls. Come back next week.

      And I bet they flipping well do too

      Delete
  9. Your gloves are so cool! I love the colors and the stitching. I can't believe you've had trick-or-treaters already. That is pretty cheeky of them. Hopefully they weren't planning anything more sinister like robbery? I'm sure they'll be back in full force next week. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. The wrist warmers are fantastic! Hope your girls have fun trick or treating on Halloween..The pumpkins do look inviting. I'm now tempted to buy a couple for our front window too. x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Aren't you just the loveliest Mum, making these terrific wrist warmers to keep your little ones warm on the big night. We are going to see a picture of them on their big night, right?
    Hugs,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course :) And I fully expect a cute overload of Little Buddy
      too :)

      Delete
  12. Hi Jill - So glad you stopped over at my blog. I love the gloves - I've never made them before but I'm hoping to give it a try for my granddaughters. Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete

Thankyou so much for visiting, and for taking the time to leave me a comment :) I really really love getting little messages, I read and value every single one, so thankyou again, and have a great day :)
Jillxxxxx