Halloween(ie) and #Hooktober | The black magic of being overly ambitious

We LOVE fall. As soon as spring comes around, we start counting down the days, and as soon as it gets here we feel the need to feast on all those things we've been missing for seasons. Maybe that is why October is all about biting off more than we can chew. From overindulging on candy, to lampoon-style home decor plans, to signing ourselves up for the seemingly infinite number of crochet-alongs, insta challenges, and other crafty Halloween themed shenanigans, we are here for it. On top of that, there is finally a little nip to the air and our energy is up after months of oppressive heat. So, we do what any perfectly sane, not-at-all-pathologically-over-self-confident crochet design duo would do. That's right, we create our own overly ambitious instagram challenge for the month of #HOOKTOBER: #TexasChainStitchMassacre.

If you haven't already encountered our challenge (or one of a hundred others like it) we provide a prompt for every day of the month and make a post each day responding to the prompt. Anyone who is interested can join in by using the hashtags #hooktober and #texaschainstitchmassacre.

A lot of these kinds of challenges target illustrators (think #mabsdrawloween or the famous/infamous #inktober). Turns out, trying to recreate the concept with crochet is a TOOOOOOOON of work. We are fairly fast makers, but it takes real chops to respond daily with a well thought out and executed crochet item. (Unless you are one of those crocheters who focuses on paranormal, mythological, and other occult themes all year long. If you are, maybe this will be no problem for you!)

And so, well, we haven't That is, we've responded every day so far, but not every post is a new and novel ami, and there is a pretty strong chance we will skip some days if our brains and arms poop out on us.

Yes, we started this Hooktober challenge to make it rain inspiration for ourselves and other crocheters, but it is f%#$ hard! It's barely 11 days in, and the two of us are already fighting in full Kardashian drama mode over how to stay creative. It turns out we are not performing monkeys. Even if all you really want is to entertain your audience and are willing to stake bloody fingers, carpal tunnel, and lack of inspiration, sometimes you just can't perform.

And so, we wanted to leave you this note to make sure you understand that hooktober is supposed to mean freedom and fun. We are humans, not over producing robots. There is no pressure here to be a perfectionist about the challenge, even if some of the Freddy Goat design team has issues with that [Goat coughs under her breath while Freddy stares blankly into the middle distance and a single tear rolls down her cheek]. Respond to as many or as few of the prompts as interest you! And, pleeeease share your posts with us so we can see the silly, weird, and frightening results of your stitchcraft.

Without further ado, we present the pattern we wrote for Day one of this year's #hooktober challenge, Halloween(ie). Enjoy!

Before we get started, this is what you need to make your free Halloweenie:

2mm crochet hook
Schachenmayr Catania or similar weight yarn in colors:
Color A: Weenie color (Terracotta 00388)
Color B: Cape Color (Schwarz 00110)
Tapestry needle
Embroidery thread in black and white for face details
stuffing
Flexible craft wire