Halloween

I couldn't decide on which picture or two to post, so I ended up with six. All in all I think they turned out well. People knew who they were and they had a lot of fun, especially Little P who got really into it by casting spells on us all. Baby N didn't collect much candy - losing the binky might have helped him project a more grown-up, ready for candy appearance, but it wasn't worth the sacrifice for him. Little P faired better in the candy department, but was more interested in eating it than collecting more. In his defense, it was quite cold and I think he just wanted to warm up while enjoying some sweet things.

The component of the costumes are from various sources.

1) The scarves -My best friend, Cayenne, knitter and spinner extraordinaire, knitted the Gryffindor scarves. They are so great! Thanks Cayenne!

2) The pets - The crochet rat pattern (really it is a mouse, but I figured Baby N is a small kid, he needed a small rat) came from here. The owl pattern came from here. If I get really ambitious, I'll make those Harry, Ron, and Hermione softies. This was my first try at crocheting amigurimi. I liked it just fine until I got to the tiny parts - like the owl's feet! Yuck! So, I fashioned some feet out of heavy interfacing and fabric. I really like how they turned out.

3) The wands - Wand instructions came from here. E-mail me for tips if you decide to make these. They were slightly tricky.

4) The glasses - store bought crazy eyes glasses (you know the ones with the lenses that make your eyes look crazy?) with the lenses popped out.

All in all, it was so much fun to see these come together and even more fun to see how much the boys enjoyed them. Little P is just now getting into dressing up and such, so I think this will be the start of our dress-up box. I can't wait to see pics of all of your Halloween adventures. Happy November to all!

Halloween WIP

I'm still finishing up on the boy's Halloween costumes. This is how some of the different parts look today:Any guesses yet? There is a dead giveaway in one of the pics.

There's not much left to do one these. I would have been in trouble if we had had any pre-Halloween activities, but I think everything will be finished in plenty of time for tomorrow. Hopefully the boys will cooperate and we will get some good pics of the finished product. Happy Haunting everyone!

In the Air...

It's in the air - that crispness and chill that says autumn is here! And with it comes that most fun of all holidays, Halloween! Remember these? (I hope you do - it was only a few days ago) - here is what they became...

And I made four - one for our family, one for a gift, and two for the shop. I'll list one today and one later this week. I still have a bit of fabric left, so I might have to think of another little project - any suggestions?

To start out the Halloween fun, we had some friends over last night to make pumpkin cookies (and ducks - somehow the boys found the Easter cookie cutters and insisted on making some Halloween ducks). The boys (theirs and ours) licked the frosting off the cookies and sneaked bits of dough while the adults enjoyed each other's company.
And a few more bits of handmade - this is my trick or treat bag from my youth. My mom made it for me - isn't she great? I think I am now just realizing how lucky I was to have all these handmade items. I grew up in the 80's - handmade was not cool (at least not where I grew up - even though there was a lot of handmade going on where I grew up). I'm so glad that handmade is making a comeback and people are appreciating the one of kind, unique, and lovely nature of it. I would love to make these for my boys - I'll have to see if my mom still has the pattern.
And this - well, this is Funky Frank. I made him the first year we were married. I made him from a Simplicity pattern that came with many other wreath patterns. I think it must be out of print now because I don't see it when I'm perusing the Simplicity catalog. My favorite part about him? His bobbin bolts! Happy Halloween Everyone!

weekend plans

My order from Sew, Mama, Sew was in my mailbox yesterday! It was so lovely to open - all the fabric folded so beautifully and tied up so nicely. I meant to take a picture of it before I ripped into it, but I was too impatient. And among other yardage (oh, yes - there was much more than this - maybe I'll show some of that later...), I got some bits and pieces of these Halloween fabrics. Then I stopped by the local quilt shop today and picked up the polka dots and now I think I'm ready to whip up something festive!

I realized I haven't really been sharing anything I've been making lately (lots of fabric, but no wips or finished project). I certainly have been sewing, but it's mostly been purses, which is something you've all seen before. But, I am officially declaring the next few days purse free, so it's time to figure out the costumes (Ryan is still not 100% on board with Peter Pan family costumes, so I'm thinking about plan B), time to do some fall clothing sewing, and time to get some aprons back in the shop.