October is my favourite month of the year. I love autumnal colours and I usually end up knitting something that reflects the season. Pumpkin Man was this year’s project. His head and leaf is from Autumn Pumpkins by Jan Lewis (a free Ravelry Download.) I embroidered the eyes and mouth. The bat on the pullover is from Monica Gausen’s Bathat
(http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bathat.) I had to place it sideways as the bat would not fit across the chest. The pullover and body parts are my own design which I made up as I knit.
The body is stuffed with a Soft Touch Polyfil Supreme. Every part was knit on 2.50mm/1 ½ US size needles except for the pullover which was knit on 2.0mm/0 US needles. The wools were Brown Sheep Nature Spun Fingering (Pepper), Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Baby Ull (Bright Orange, Green and Dark Brown, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool (Gold), Knit One Crochet Too Gourmet Collection (Creme Brulee), Morehouse Farm Merino Merino Lace (Henna.) . I used a vintage, unknown crewel yarn for the leaf.
Pumpkin Man stands 6 3/4” high, not counting the stem.
A friend who has one year old twin girls asked me to make the hats below and I was happy to oblige – more autumnal knitting! The pattern for the hats is my own - just a simple ribbing and a knit 6/seed stitch repeat. I decreased at the top with the brown and knit an I-cord stem. I used Julie Dietz’s Leaf Knitting Pattern For Pumpkin Hat (http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/holpumpkinleaf.htm)
for the leaves on 4mm/6 US needles, and added an I-cord vine from the crocheted edge around the leaves to wrap and sew around the stem. The wool was Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted 1233 (green) and 1383 (orange), Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted (Butterscotch.)
