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85-Year-Old Vet Shows Craftiness Knows No Age, Gender

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Vet loom knits hats, to take part in ManCraft show in Colorado.If you need a feel-good story to start of your week, check out this one from the Denver Post about Orville “Mark” Skattum, an 85-year-old National Guard veteran (he served during the Korean Conflict) who has taken up loom knitting hats for vets and others and is participating in the Holiday ManCraft show in Denver and Boulder this weekend.

Skattum said he started the hobby when he saw a woman loom knitting hats while watching a football game, and he said he likes to be doing something while he’s watching TV. He can knit a hat in three hours or so and aims to finish five a week.

After giving hats to everyone in his family he started making more hats and donating them in bunches of 50 to his church and the Denver Veterans’ Administration (tagged “Made By a Vet for a Vet”).

After attending the ManCraft show last year, his daughter joked that he should get involved. He took her seriously and has amassed more than 150 hats to sell at the events. He intends to donate whatever he earns to charity.

The event takes place Dec. 5 at the VFW Post 2461 in Denver and Dec. 6 at American Legion Post 10 in Boulder.

[Photo by Kathryn Scott Osler for the Denver Post.]

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Adorable Ghost Knitting Patterns

Adding a bit of knitting to your fall decor is a lot of fun, whether it’s knit pumpkins or a bunch of adorable knit ghosts like these.

Knit ghosts can be super simple like this free ghost knitting pattern from Trixie Zynch on Ravelry. Using about 50 yards of worsted weight yarn, they’re worked from the bottom up and are super cute as a pair. 

This fuzzy little ghost from Forest Knitting Toys is holding a pumpkin and wearing a witch hat, though of course the accessories are optional, as is the fuzzy yarn. The main yarn is chunky and the ghost measures about 10 cm/4 inches tall. It’s worked in the round. 

Another fuzzy ghost in more of a Pacman style is this ghost plushie form South Stitch Girls. It’s worked in the round with bulky yarn and includes a sweet little bow you can make in whatever color you like. 

The ghost doll from Edith Grace Designs has little arms and a curl at the top of its head. The body is worked flat using DK weight yarn and you could also work it in glow in the dark yarn for extra fun. The body and head are worked in one piece with the arms knit separately. 

The Grim Grinning Ghosts from Susan Claudino are super cute and you can knit them in any yarn and gauge you like to make ghosts of different sizes. These are worked in the round with the body done in one piece and the arms are knit separately. The ghosts shown were knit in sock yarn, DK and worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Make a ghost with funny striped legs with this ghost shelf sitter design from Claire Fairall Designs. It’s worked in three colors of DK weight yarn, and the letters spelling out boo are made with strips of garter stitch sewn into shape.