Halloween Week: Funkins

Hey y'all! Before we get to today's Halloween Week installment, I'd like to answer a question from one of my legions of fans. Ms. UbranKnitrix [with Flava] submitted this question: Since Christie got to dress you as Zero, what would you dress Christie as if you could?

Hmmm. That's a good one. I would have to think of something that would be embarrassing to her. Something she'd hate. Condeleezza Rice comes to mind. Complete with helmet hair flip, scowl and unflattering pantsuit. Either that or Gayle King. HAHAH AHAHAAA! Why do all my costume ideas for Christie involve bad wigs?

Thanks for the question. Send me your address and I'll get a little Halloween treat out to you.

Today's Halloween Week topic is Funkins. Funkins are carvable foam pumpkins. I was a little skeptical, but we gave it a chance. Let's look at the pros and cons of using Funkins rather than real pumpkins.

On the plus side, these are hollow, lightweight and very easy to carve [Christie used a regular paring knife]. There's no pumpkin innards to clean up, but there are bits and pieces of foam which can easily be vacuumed up. Since it's foam it won't rot so you can store it after Halloween and reuse [good for people who want to decorate with out the hassle of carving a pumpkin every year]. Christie used a pencil to draw her Jack Skellington face and any mistakes were erased very easily. The best feature of all, it looks like a real pumpkin.

The cons of using foam rather than a real pumpkin are few, but very important. First off waste. You can compost a real pumpkin, which is good for the environment and your garden. Also, funkins cannot be exposed to fire..so no lit candles on the inside. Funkins won't give you pumpkin seeds, which is a tragedy in itself. And lastly, tradition. If you do have kids, it's fun to make a special trip to the pumpkin patch, choose the perfect gourd and to carve it...annual family togetherness, people!

So, as you can see, there are a lot of good points to both. It really is just a matter of what your looking for in your Halloween decorations.

And for those of you looking for something crafty, here's Christie with a fun pattern!
Backstory
Pattern: Zero the Ghost Dog
Yarn: Bits and pieces of 100% acrylic yarn in off white and orange. Black cording for eyes, mouth and nose.
Hook: Size E
Exposition: We're having a Funkin carving contest here at work and I wanted to add something knit or crochet to my entry. This is what I came up with.

I followed the instructions for the head, but deviated for the body. The original pattern didn't have ears so I made them up. Really rough instructions for both are on my Rav page. I love how his jack-o-lantern nose came out, but I think there's room for improvement on Zero's eyes.

His ears were curling pretty badly, so I ran some thin craft wire along the length so I could add the appropriate airiness to them. I also threaded the wire along the length of his 'legs' so that I could attach Zero to the Funkin and give him the appearance of floating.

If you don't crochet, there is a knitted Zero pattern here.

I'm not sure if I'll win, but I think it's pretty damn cute!

See you tomorrow everyone!