It’s Halloween Contest Time!!!

Hello lovelies! I know, I’ve been writing less frequently, sorry about that.  Can’t quite come up with why, but I’m sure it’ll sort itself out.

So, I’m sure that you remember me saying at least once that I was going to have a Halloween story contest, similar to my Easter-Bunny one…think back, I’ll wait……… Ok, yea, you remember!  So now it’s time to give you the set-up, my guidelines for the story.  Just like in the Zombie Easter Bunny contest, I wrote a short story, I thought I’d set up the contest with a story.   I’ll be writing a bit afterward, so keep reading until the end.  

                                                                                                                     ♦

   This spawn began as they all do, with me sitting and thinking about what I wanted it to look like,  choosing yarns and putting it and a couple of hooks in a Ziploc-type bag.   Then I put up a few pictures for inspiration, or look at any notes I’ve made and just kind of  try to “see” it in my head.  When I feel ready, I open my eyes and start…weird, lame, just part of my “ceremony” for starting a new spawn.  This time I never got a quite clear picture of him…he was always moving around!

I was distracted when I started this spawn.  This is was the first prize for my Halloween contest, and he had to be good.   I’ve made a Frankenstein’s monster before, but this one was going to be different (Boy, was he!!!).  He’s the first green one I’d made.  I really do like the off-white skin I typically create him with, it makes it look like he’s in a black and white movie, but I also like the green skinned monster from my childhood.  The one thing I did that I’d always wanted to see,  was to make him look like he’d been made of different people, which would give better reason for all the stitches.  Supposedly he’s made from different people, so he should look like it.    I was crazed with wanting to find the right combination of yarns and greens so that it looked and felt like he was made from different people.  I’ve blogged about how I get all crazed about things “looking right,” so this shouldn’t surprise you. 

I had really meant to have him done before the contest, I wanted folks to see what they were going to win.  It seemed proper and all.  But life gets away from you sometimes, and my life, well… there’s just lots going on.   I’d start him Saturday night, just to get a bit of work in before going to bed.  I’d work really hard on him, and send him out on Monday on the way to work. 

I stuck my finger with a needle while sewing in an end, which is not at all a rare occurrence.  I say, half-jokingly, that there are “special ingredients” that get put into each spawn, and that’s what makes them come to life… I like the image in my head of sprinkling special, secret, creepy ingredients into each spawn.  I didn’t really, really, believe that I needed to bleed for each spawn.    I feel a bit differently now, of course…  Usually, I stop when I stab myself 3 times enough to draw blood.  That’s my cut-off.  I figure when I’ve got 3 fingers that I’m trying to keep from bleeding on the yarn, that’s enough.  This time I was driven, I really wanted to get as much done as I could, so this time I decided I could keep going after the 3^rd stab… But I kept stabbing myself with needles.   Not the same needle even, I used a few different needles when I use different fibers… stuck myself with each one…… in the very same finger… in the very same spot.     

The thirteenth time I stuck my finger, in the same spot, a drop of blood landed on the stuffing inside his head.  I’d almost bled on him the other times, but I ended up wiping it on my pants until it stopped bleeding, and then moved on.  It was a really big drop of blood.  Like really, really, big.  Of course I wiped off the blood I could see, but really, it’d dry up in a second.  I giggled for a second about “adding the secret ingredient,” and decided that it was time to put him down.  My finger hurt a lot, and I needed to get an adhesive bandage for it, have a glass of milk and try to calm down enough to go to sleep. 

I woke up at 5:30 am Sunday morning, as usual, fed the dogs, made coffee.  Then I pulled out yarn.  I never do that.  I need time to wake up before I play with yarn.  I usually read a bit, facebook some, check twitter, do some chores, and then late morning/early afternoon, I start in with the yarn. I like to create after chores and responsibilities are done, so I get more uninterrupted time.  This morning I couldn’t wait to get my hands on my spawn.  It was understandable. It was possible that if I just worked very intently, I could finish him that day, I just had to focus. The house was completely quiet—my husband doesn’t wake up super early like I do, he’s a night owl, so he’d just been asleep maybe 3 hours…maybe. He’d be out for awhile.  The dogs would settle back into sleep pretty quickly, and I could work unbothered.

I’d finished more of his torso than I’d remembered, only a couple rows and I could start the legs.  Man was I tired last night…  I barely remembered working on his face,  but it looked how I’d wanted it to.  I usually saved that for the end, I like getting some personality in the body, and then creating the face, but I’d decided to give him one anyway.  I liked his eyes, they weren’t anything more than a few wee stitches with black and white embroidery thread, but still, they had a bit of something behind them… I love making the eyes, they’re the windows to their creepy little souls…  Did he just smile at me?

I’d been working for what seemed like ever, but was really only 3 hours. I’d finished the body, his legs, and his arms.  He was a monstrously handsome vision in black and green yarns.  But it was time to go get a shower, have something to eat, and take the dogs to the park, my husband was giving me that look that says, “Do you really have to crochet all the time?”  I shot him a look that said “Sometimes, yes,” but went and got a shower anyway.

Nearly the entire time we were at the park I was slightly irritated.   It was too bright.  There were too many people.  It was too warm.   It wasn’t yarny enough…  My husband could read me, and probably finally was bothered enough by my whinging that he said, “Fine!  Let’s go home, you’re making me crazy!”  I practically skipped to the car.

We got home, I got myself some more coffee, and sat down in my spot.  There he was, my monster, laying in his bag with all his yarns and hooks.  I took him out and straightened his fingers and adjusted his jacket……… I totally didn’t remember making him a jacket.  I’d thought about it, all the movies had him in a jacket, with sleeves that are too short, so that you could see the scars at his wrists.  I’d thought about it… but I hadn’t quite decided on grey or black… I’d thought.   I’ve been kind of tired lately, and there really has been so many things going on in the back of my mind that I’ve felt a bit on auto-pilot, but… Well, I’d obviously decided on the black jacket since his sleeves were already black, and it was a good choice, he looked really good in the black jacket… did he just wink at me?

Well, since I’d already taken care of the jacket, all I needed to do was give him hair, and look at him once more really closely for anything that needed attention, wee ends that needed to be cut a bit closer, errant threads, bits of fluff trying to escape.  I picked up the black thread I was using as hair, and a sharp needle and stuck the needle in his head… did he cringe ever so slightly as I stuck the needle in?  I pulled the thread through, and stuck the needle in him again, looking really closely at him, just to make sure.  Of course he didn’t cringe!  Crazy much!  I needed to finish this spawn, and then take a break for a day or so.   I continued to sew in hair, it didn’t take long.  The very last thread I tried to sew into several stitches, and several different pieces of yarn, for a good anchor.  It was really hard to pull the needle through, so I gripped it really tightly, and pushed the needle through the yarn, and into, and out of, the tip of my thumb, and through some more yarn.  It’s happened before that I’d pushed a needle through the very tip of my thumb, it’s mostly callused, and I usually just pull the thread through, and cut it.  It’s never gone through quite so deeply before… or come out with blood.  I looked at my thumb, it hurt more than it usually did when I stuck a needle in it. It was actually throbbing.  Had to finish him.  I picked up my scissors, pulled the thread taut and cut it as close to the scalp as I could.  Ok, so there was a bit of blood in the thread that was inside his head.  People paint with their blood ALL THE TIME!!!   I looked at his hair, which perfectly complimented his face (which is probably why I had decided to put his face on so early).  Hey wait, he was done!!!  I held him up, turned him around, over, moved his arms and legs, twisted his head, checked his hair to see that there were no holes or places that needed just a bit more attention.  Nothing.  As much as I’d felt like I wasn’t fully attending to him, I must have been, all his ends were woven  in and cut close, all the yarns and threads in the right places, none of the fluff trying to escape.  He was…just right.   I smiled big.  I always know when a spawn is done, I contemplate keeping it.  I turned him around, “walked” him across my lap, put his arms up into the classic Frankenstein’s monster pose… and my husband handed me a plate of food.  It was 6:30 pm.  He looked kinda miffed, as if I’d been ignoring him all day for something made of yarn, but he’s really understanding.  I put the spawn down, and ate my dinner … tacos, mmm, one of my favorites!  I ate the four tacos on my plate in a few minutes.  My husband had just sat down with his plate when I got up to get more.    I sat down with 3 more tacos, and finished them on in just a few more minutes.  The husband looked at me like I was some kind of freak…ok, I was gobbling, but I was hungry.  When I came back from the kitchen and sat down again, he said, “You worked on him all day.  When I asked you what you wanted for dinner you grunted at me.  I asked you to feed the dogs, you grunted, but didn’t do it.  When he is all done, I’d like you to spend your next day off with me, and no yarn.  I never ask that, but I think I deserve it now and again.”  He was right.  I never took a day off from  yarn, except when I was sick.  And he IS really understanding, and, well, the spawn was done. I told him Tuesday, my next day off, was all his, but now I needed to take some pictures.

I got out my camera, and Brainy, and some of the other creations I had around, some mine, some made by others.  It was like a party!  They all wore the feather boa and took pictures with the new monster, there was some dancing, I got up to go find some more props, and it was 10 pm… my husband was in bed watching a movie on his phone…  I had taken 117 pictures… I really needed sleep, I had to go to work tomorrow.

I woke up about 5:30, same as usual, feeling tired, like I’d been running all night.  I remembered running in my dreams.  And there was lots of blood… and my Franken-spawn was walking around, talking to me… but that’s all happened before, so…it was just Monday creeping in on me.  I went on with my usual routine, feeding the dogs, making some coffee, checking facebook and twitter, but I kept hearing things.  I looked all over the house, thought the husband had left his phone playing a movie, or music, nothing.  As I walked back in to sit down, I kicked the bag with my spawn in it.  I didn’t think I’d left it in the middle of the floor, but, well, maybe I kicked it there or something.  I put him, and the address of the winner with all my stuff that I take to work, and went to get in the shower. I had to leave a few minutes early to go to the mailing center, so I could mail the spawn.  I got out of the shower, got ready for work, and walked into the living room to get my stuff…  I thought I’d left my stuff in the middle of the floor, as usual, not leaning up against the door.  Grr, Mondays…   Got to the mailing center, found a box the Franken-spawn fit into,  and gave him one last look before closing the lid… HE WINKED AT ME AND SMILED, WITH TEETH!  I DIDN’T GIVE HIM TEETH!!!

I must have been looking bewildered for a bit, the guy behind the counter took the box, and the address I had on the counter, typed it into the computer, and said “Mondays really suck don’t they!!!”  I couldn’t respond.  My spawn just winked and smiled.  I don’t really give them that ability… I may pretend I do, I may say I do, I definitely WISH I could, but…  “Ok, we’ll add this to your account.  He’ll go out at noon, and be there on Friday. See you later!”  I looked down at the box on the counter, it scooted itself toward the mail bin and hopped in!!! 

I slowly walked back to my car, and just sat for a minute.  What had I seen?  Should I go back and get the package?  Did they all do this, and I just didn’t know?  What was going to happen when he got where he was going?                                                                                                                                                                                      ♦

So, in the story are just basic guidelines.  Your stories should be about what happens to the spawn once I leave…it can pick up with the spawn in the mail, or once it gets to YOUR house,  The first prize spawn is a Frankenstein’s monster, he’s green, and he’s got some special ingredients that I knew about before sending him to you, but now the story is yours.

I’ve just started the first prize but he won’t take long, and there will be 4 keychains for some of the really great stories that didn’t win.  All prize updates will be on my facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/KimsCreepyCreations .  That’s also where the official contest is being held.  There will be a pinned post during the contest you can add your story to, or if you don’t facebook, you can email me at kimperial1492@gmail.com, in the subject line write Halloween Contest Entry.  I’d also like to ask for permission to put your stories up on my blog after the contest.  All entries have to be on the official post on facebook, or in to my email midnight PST, September 30, 2013.  My plan is to read and judge the entries during that week and choose winners by the end of the first weekend in October.

The legal stuff: Facebook isn’t responsible for my contest, for the  judging or for the prizes. Facebook doesn’t get any information from me about you, and other than that’s where my page originates, facebook doesn’t have anything to do with my contest.

It’s possible I won’t update much until the end of the contest, when I put all the stories up on their own page for you all to read! I’m super excited to get some cool Halloween stories to read.  I should probably  go work on my Franken-monster, to finish him before the contest ends.  I’ve got to make something worth writing a story for!!!

KEEP IT CREEPY!!!