Gruesome Knitted Eyeballs for Halloween

At our house we like to offer these on a plate. I offer you a free pattern!

For a shiny new PDF version of the pattern please visit me at:

MaryJaneMucklestone.com and click on "Free Stuff"!






If you would like a visual aid, please visit my Knitted Olive Tutorial. It is made much the same way.





As it turns out there are quite a few knitted eyeballs rolling around the planet:
insubordiknit has beautiful multiple felted ones nestled in a mass of bloody guts, softly felted bloody guts.
kitkatknit has a beautiful shot of knit-art "sushi with eyeballs" scrumtious!
domiknitrix has a great all-purpose Large (22") eyeball with a downlaodable pattern.
Knitzelmade a nice one for a Doctor's office, with correctly placed muscles!
Shari suggested filling them with catnip, for catnip eyeballs! Brilliant!
BlondeAmbitionKnits has a nice veiny one.
Please comment if you eyeball any more!

I Love This

Yarn and Leaf Love at Downtown Yarns

So I totally lost this post. I'm trying again. Some of the pictures didn't show up on safari so I'm trying again.

It was a love letter to Downtown Yarns on Avenue A in the East Village of NYC. My old neighborhood, which used to be considered so dangerous cab drivers wouldn't even take me the whole way home. They often made me get out on 2nd Avenue.

The neighborhood has changed so much, and definitely improved with the addition of a wonderful yarn shop!!! The best one ever:
Downtown Yarns, at 45 Avenue A, is a narrow yet spacious little shop with yarn to the rafters, accessed by a roly library ladder. Mary, a gem, who was holding down the fort, is friendly and knowledgeable. I didn't get the name of the other madly knitting knitter, but she was available with cheerful comments. The project samples are varied and inspiring, that lace slip-dress* from Rowan, the tiered skirt from Loets, funny little creatures and other great patterns they make-up themselves.

So if you're in the old neighborhood stop by, or better yet make it a plan! You can visit the Bistro on Avenue B for lunch! Or walk down to Katz's for old-times sake. (2nd Avenue Deli is gone, but rumored to be opening soon in the 20's somewhere.)

The Yarns:
Blue: Jamie Harmon, naturally dyed, 150 yds, says wool yarn, but has a picture of a bunny on it and feels like it has some angora in it. No color # its wispy blue sky.
Yellow: malabrigo, Kettle Dyed Pure Merino Wool, 216 yards, Sauterne 22,a rich lucious yellow, from Uruguay
Red:Punta Del Este Yarns, Mericash Solid, 80% Merino Wool, 20% Mongolian Cashmere, SOL370, an unbeleivaby beautiful red।

*link to knitting Iris's beautiful verison with lovely photographs.

Adorable City

I was lucky to visit NYC for a job-related trip. I was even luckier to have my son come along. We attended a great conflict-photographer, Samantha Appleton's opening party, visited another friend's new office where live-feed from around the world comes in constantly, attended the trade show where we took workshops, visited a few other friends.....and I managed to squeeze a yarn shop visit into the jam-packed 60 hr adventure!

Downtown Yarns, very sweet, lots of yarn, the nicest people! Kindly recommended by Eliza.

Next trip, I take pictures and knit a little!

Pink and Brown Mitten

At last a bit of time to finish the unfinished. Do you believe that only the thumb was unfinished on this pair of mittens? It must have gotten warm in a hurry last spring, though I recall deep, late, snowfall.

A simple pleasing repeat makes up this mitten by Inger Fredholm, from her delightful self-published book Knitting With A Smile.

I used a watermelon pink and a dusty brown from Frog Tree Alpaca, which I think is actually merino, I've lost the ball bands.

Fall

We're having a lovely fall. Granted much of mine has been spent in a darkened room looking at images on a computer screen, seeing high summer on the high seas!

Step outside and all is changing.... red, yellow, and gold with brilliant blue skies. We took a trek to the bog behind our house to seek out ingredients for dinner. Lucky rewards: chanterelles, though not as plentiful as last year, and cranberries! Many different speckled colors, hard not to eat them all right on the spot.

The colors sort of just soak in. I find myself reaching for the deep maroon and the mustard yarn, with just a speck of brilliant green...future fun!

The Coveted Cover!

Thrilled! Speechless!

So here's the info you probably already have:

December Lights Tam
by Mary Jane Mucklestone

Finished Size 18" head circumference at brim; 10" diameter at widest point.
Yarn Rauma Finullgarn, 100% wool; 180 yd [165 m]/50 g): #445 rose, #456 magenta, #424 red, *#४६05 blue, #430 green, #455 lime, #498 olive, #454 chartreuse, 1 ball each. Yarn distributed by Nordic Fiber Arts.
Needles Ribbing—size 2 (2.75 mm): 16" circular (cir). Body—size 3 (3.25 mm): 16" cir and set of 4 or 5 double-pointed (dpn). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
Notions Markers (m); tapestry needle; 10" diameter foam core disk or plate.
Gauge 26 sts and 28 rnds = 4" in color-work patt on larger needle.

It is really zippy and fun to make. My favorite kind of project, and the yarn is my new absolute favorite.
And don't worry about left over yarn, think of it as a bonus! Mittens...another hat (in opposite colors) or the useful and decorative wrister


Postscript: I am sorry about the price of the yarn dear readers. I know all about scrimping and saving for yarn. I would buy one skein of shetland, (which was once $4.20) a every week or 2 and religiously scour the sale bins and thrift stores for my favorite yarns. I eventually worked in a yarn shop to be near the stuff and get a discount. I love fine shetland-like yarns, and when you design, they send them to you! I do try to limit the colors when I write patterns, but when I knit for myself I use even more colors.

Don't hesitate to change the colors with what you have on hand, choosing your own colors is really the most fun of all.