... but seriously folks!

 
Ok, perhaps not SO seriously, but more seriously than silly hats.  Have you seen the movie Spaceballs?  Why do I feel like my daughter might walk in on my son-in-law playing with dolls?  Because he now has his own jedi.

Hmm... which Star Wars characters should be next?

This monkey is getting ready to attend a toga party in the Slytherin Dungeons.  I hear that after the toga party, he changed into his Count Monkula costume and went to visit Donna!

I also sent Donna some of my Nearly Headless Necklaces, they are a lot creepier than I thought they'd be.  I think it's the changing color in the yarn.  What do you think?

Creepy right?!
It almost matches the scoodie (scarf with a hood) and shrug I made for Amanda.

The biggest projects of the month though were for Steve... since the weather is chilly but not yet COLD, I made this aran style blanket out of lightweight yarn to leave on his chair.

When I found The Crochet Dude's pattern for a cubana style sweater, I had to make one for Steve.  It reminds me of the striped shirts worn by Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men...

Even MORE silly hats!

You can tell that October is prescribed burn month here in the woods... the air is smoky and horrible, and I tend to spend less time on the computer, and more time in the window seat mindlessly crocheting.

Sometimes it's a fun thing, like finding myself in the mood for more silly hats.  I blame Lisa after she sent me a link to this hat.  I took it as a challenge and had to make one!

That got me thinking about holidays, and thinking I'd put the turkey before the dressing and I'd better backtrack to Halloween.

Hence, a sweet pumpkin and some monster hats.

Rumbling through my patterns I found photos of character hats I had been intending to make... Pirate Mickey, a Smurf...




... and this yellow guy most folks will recognize.  (It's too funny that my grandson was wearing a SpongeBob t shirt the day the hats arrived!)

Just when I thought I was done with silly hats, but the Weekly Challenge for Hogwarts on Ravelry was to make something representing the Giant Squid at the bottom of the Black Lake.  What could I do?  Yep, I made a hat.








Last but certainly not least, I improvised this Toad hat as part of a Halloween costume that also included a vest.  Not bad considering I worked from a photo.  Hopefully, we'll get a trick or treating photo.

It's a puzzler!

I'm so proud of my daughter Christy and her husband Andrew... they each have their first classrooms as new teachers this year.  It's the beginning of a lot of things for both of them personally and professionally.

You may recall that I made a couple of things for their classrooms, and I've made a couple more.

This Amish Puzzle Ball might be my favorite.  It's made in three identical pieces.  If you put them together in just the right way, they make a ball.  A fairly cool 'sturdy enough to play with' ball.
The puzzle part may seem simple at first, but it's made most people stop and think for a minute or two.  I'm hoping it will be a fun addition.

The next puzzler is one we've all seen at some point and I think may have even been the inspiration for the more complicated Rubik's Cube (if I remember).  I got the pattern from Wooly Thoughts - a cool site full of math based patterns.  You should check it out!
The toy is made of blocks attached to each other in such a way that you can manipulate the shape and colors.

You can basically turn it inside out by changing the cube into a rectangle and back into a cube!




 









It's one of those things that you just can't put down... even though there's no real mystery to it.  :oP

I've also been busy crafting things for the House Cup on Ravelry.  Oh who am I kidding, I'm always busy crafting things for the House Cup!  I love that I can crochet whatever I feel like crocheting, and then make up a story about how it fits the class assignment. 

These slipper socks for my Mom became Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts homework.  Everyone knows how Dumbledore loves warm socks!

Lastly, I made this crocodile/scale stitch hood to match the gauntlets I made last month.  I wasn't sure how I would like it, and I haven't had a chance to wear it outside yet... but I think I like the idea of a cowl (round scarf) that will cover my head when I need it.

What do you think?