Halloween Black Cats

    So I made myself cut the sashing for my table runner and I actually put it together today.  I started early this morning before I had to leave for work and got the rows put together.  Then tonight I sewed all the rows together with sashing.  What a quick make.  I love all the different poses of the black cat.  He/she is wonderful.  I just have to sandwich it, quilt it, and bind it.

One Project That I Had to Give Up On

    I recently frogged the hat I was making from this yarn.  It was a project that I started several months ago.

     I tried to love the hat, but it was not going to end well.  I was holding the yarn double and it was not a fun knit because I was using a size 7 needles and those needles were way too small for the yarn doubled.  I made the fateful decision to take it apart. 

    I still have almost four skeins of this yarn and I have to find a project for it so I can use it up.  I love the color, but I don't know what to do with this yarn at this time.

Pattern Purchase

   I had to have this cute pattern.  I'm going to put this on my to do list for next fall.  This is called Patchwork Pumpkins by the Crafty Quilter.

More Knitting Projects

   I shouldn't have even started these knitting projects, but I wanted a hat and scarf made with black yarn.  Of course, my yarn is acrylic.  One of my favorite acrylic yarns is Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in black.  This yarn is super soft and so affordable.  I bought four skeins from JoAnn's the other day.  They were on sale for $2.99 a skein and I got an additional $20% off, so the four skeins ran $9.57 plus tax.  I ordered them online and picked them up in the store.

    I'm making The Boyfriend Hat, my favorite knitted hat pattern.  Link to knitted hat pattern.  It's a 3 x 2 rib that comes out perfect every time.  I'm going to make this one a little slouchy and see if I have enough yarn to make a pom pom.  I knit this hat in the round on a 16" -  size 7 circular needle.  When I get to the crown decreases I move my stitches onto two circular needles, splitting the 100 stitches to 50 stitches on each needle and work the decreases that way.  It's the easiest way for me to make my hats.  I could always use magic loop, but two circulars works really well for this project.
Yes, I know there are a lot of stitch markers, but they really help me know where I'm at when I'm knitting one hundred stitches.  I put a stitch marker in for each 10 stitches and with 3 x 2 rib that includes 3 knit stitches, 2 purl stitches, 3 knit stitches and 2 purl stitches, so as long as I can count to 10 I can tell which stitch I'm supposed to be making.  It's very helpful to me have all these stitch markers in here.

    I'm also making a lacey knitted scarf in the same black yarn.  It's the same pattern I used two other times this year to make scarves.  I made a white one and a blue one.  I should be able to make a six foot scarf with a little over one skein of this yarn.  I'm knitting this on a size 11 circular needle to get a very drapey fabric.  So pretty.

I Thought I Was Finished Making Fall/Halloween Decorations

I really disappointed in myself.  I am still not finished with all my Fall/Halloween decorations that I want to make.  I still have a Halloween table runner that is partially cut out.  It will be made in the next week, but not in time for Halloween.  Once I finish that table runner, I can get started on my Christmas projects.

This past weekend I made myself some hanging Halloween dish towels.  I love these.

And tonight I finished decoupaging cards and paper napkins onto painted 8" x 10" canvas panels that I got at JoAnn's a few weeks ago.  The panels came in a pack of three for about $7.99.  I think I had a coupon as well.  I already had the paint and the Mod Podge.  I bought the cards a few weeks ago and the paper napkin was a donation from dear daughter.  She likes to do decoupage projects as well.

This is the front a greeting card that I decoupaged.  I think I got this card from the Dollar Store.

This is the paper napkin.

This is my favorite.  I love this card (my daughter has a Cairn terrier) and I love the paint treatment I gave the panel.  So much fun.  This card was more expensive, it came from Target.

Halloween Hanging Dishtowels

I made these dishtowels for dear daughter to help her decorate for Halloween.  I love the black and cream homespun fabric on these.  The other black fabric has the deathly hallows symbol on it from the Harry Potter story.

I know I said I would stop knitting dishcloths, but I can't.  I knit dishcloths all the time now.  It's the perfect waiting room knitting.and I'm really enjoying using the dishcloths in my own kitchen.  I found that I like them a lot better than the crocheted dishcloths I have been making.