Halloween post op--pictures

I promised pictures last time, and pictures you shall have.

First up the teenagers asked me the weekend before Halloween if I could help them do a group costume with their friends. And I said--Yes, if we can do minimum fuss. So Each friend bought a blank t shirt in a different color and my job was to make the t-shirt look like an M&M. Pinterest had ideas and I found an M template. Quick trip to the craft store and I had this iron on stuff that you print designs on and then iron it on your tshirt. It was white though and that was all I needed. I made four M's and then sent two off to school Tuesday with ironing directions and ironed two onto shirts and BAM, costumes.

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Instead of sewing kids (teens) costumes this year, I ironed them.

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 30, 2018 at 1:37pm PDT

That's good because of MY costume. You see, I had some last minute alterations on my costume because the size I had to make assumed a busty woman and, well that was a bad assumption. So Much taking in was required, but in the end, I was a fabulous Ms. Frizzle. Complete with Lizard. And don't worry--MANY many kids knew who I was.

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To the bus! This year I made my costume instead of the teen costumes.

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 31, 2018 at 12:32pm PDT

And finally, I am trying to make time to knit a little every day so I can finish these socks and maybe try something else. I love how the purple ended up at the heel so I have a front and back shot for you.

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Front and back of a sock I’ve been working on since September.

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Nov 5, 2018 at 6:40am PST

Am hoping for more time to knit and maybe a bigger project or two. We'll see.

costumes

I have on my to do list to blog and I really really really want to get a good chunk of my list done this week. But I don't really have any updated pictures. All I have are old pictures--and a whole lot of anxiety.

Ok, so my daughters declined Halloween costumes this year (well at this point I hope they aren't going to spring something on me last minute) but a new job in the children's department of the library means that even though I didn't have my schedule for Halloween until recently, I am hard at work making myself two costumes. Well one and a half.

I decided at first that I would be Olivia the Pig. and then I learned a co-worker had done that last year and may do that again. So I decided to be Ms. Frizzle from the magic school bus. So I bought some planet fabric and a dress pattern.

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Started my Halloween costume. Any guesses?

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 2, 2018 at 10:20am PDT

And thus begins the anxiety portion of our adventure. I have measured myself and have made the size the pattern says to make--which happens to be the largest size the pattern makes. Yes, a commercial pattern. And the waist/hips section are really close to my measurements. I've had to let go of the number attached to this size as it is larger than anything I've ever purchased. I have finished everything on the dress except the zipper. I figured that if it didn't fit, I would add some fabric there. Well, I tried it on last night and I think that it will fit. So also on the to do list: sew in the zipper.

The second costume is for the library's Harry Potter week. I'm recycling a Harry Potter robe made for a certain fourth grader and wearing black slacks, and a gray v neck sweater. I've made a dicky (love that 1960s word) out of a shirt I picked up at a thrift shop and now all I need is a tie. I was feeling like I should make or buy a few different colors and wear this all week, but the robe says Gryffendor so maybe once is enough? And really, I am thinking I may need to make the tie.

I'm hoping that I'll have some pictures next time. I'm also working on a sock that I'm sort of half thrilled with. And one child is telling me she wants a red cardigan, so I know more knitting is coming soon.

picture post

I promised some pictures, so here goes

First up a picture of all three costumes I made this year. Faces blocked because internet.

Next, I promised to show comparison pictures between the FIRST time I made pooh and piglet costumes--2005-- and the second time. Girls tried to recreate pictures, but you know.

And last--my current knitting project. Which is "Age of Brass and Steam kerchief" That I am knitting out of Noro Silk Garden Sock. I decided to run another pattern repeat and I'm not sure I'll have enough yarn. This has actually progressed enough that I may finish it soon.

Current WIP. #knitting #noroyarn

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Nov 9, 2017 at 12:53pm PST

I think that's all the pictures I was too lazy to pull together last time. Now back to my sewing machine....

Halloween wrap up

It's November so it must be time to talk about the costumes!

As I mentioned int he last entry on October 19--I had not started Halloween costumes. Or maybe I had, I don't remember. I didn't mention it anyway. At any rate, I did mention that I was making three. Which is kind of a story in itself. You see, my daughters started high school this fall (you may now pause for a moment to hum Sunrise, sunset) and they weren't sure if a) they wanted a costume for school or b) trick or treating or c) both. Then they decided a group costume was in order. Then they decided that they wanted option c. BUT only if they could talk someone else into going along. They managed to twist their BFF's arm and ended up with: Winnie the pooh, Piglet and Eeyore.

The hitch was, that they wanted me to make them all "onsie style" costumes. BUT, I did have a pattern because I made the same thing last year.

Usually I compare my costume making with Project Runway. This year felt even more like that. I had a design meeting, an epic trip to a fabric store, picky clients, and a deadline that seemed impossible. Of course unlike project runway, I also had a pattern (two actually), unlimited access to most of my models, and no Tim Gunn.

Let me just say--I know next year will probably be more hectic, but MAN... someone stop me when I say--Oh yeah that should be EASY.

One thing I did different than the pattern last year--I purchased a different pattern that had an attached hood and I used THAT pattern to model the hoods after so I could make the hood attached. I thought this might be hard, but I picked a good "easy" pattern and honestly, I might actually use it to make a jacket later. The hoods were a little big for my costumes, but I just added darts.

One thing that both helped and hurt, I aimed for Friday. I knew we wouldn't need them until Tuesday, but I figured if I aimed for Friday and missed, I wouldn't be in a panic on Monday. And yes, and no on that. I had Pooh and piglet completely done Sunday. Eeyore needed to be hemmed and we couldn't do that until Monday late afternoon when everyone got home from school (including me because I had to work all day--boy howdy are little kids excited about Halloween).

Anyway, I don't have a good public picture of Eeyore right now, but I do have Pooh and Piglet:

They were trying to recreate a picture from when they were two and a half and dressed as "winnie and a pooh and piget" Again, I may have to do a separate picture entry because that costume pre-dates my use of Flickr.

Anyway, they did trick or treat with a group--and no they weren't the oldest trick or treaters--our first group included a guy who put out a cigarette before coming to the door and a guy with a (real) beard. Yes, unlike my stick up the ahem neighbors, I didn't hassle them, and I gave them candy. Maybe not the handfuls I gave later groups but that's the price you pay for hitting the door at 6pm on the nose. Come at 8:15 and I may dump what's left in your bag--regardless of how old you are.

They also wore them to school and were sweltering because that's a whole fleece suit--perfect for cold, possibly snowy Halloween. Not so perfect for overheated classrooms.

Oh and I started knitting something. I'll put that in my future picture entry.

Halloween wrap up

I guess I want to start this with a disclaimer: I love Halloween and I love making costumes for my kids. I don't judge other people for not enjoying this. There are things other parents do that I just do not like, will never like and therefore, if I do them I do them halfheartedly. So, if you are reading this and thinking gah: I could/would never do that. Great--get on with your life! No judgement at all from me!

For us Halloween prep usually begins in August. In August I drag the girls to Joann and we spend a happy hour leafing through the pattern books and dreaming about what we want to be. I try to have a final idea/concept by labor day (when typically patterns go on sale for $1-$2) and I get started sewing by the end of September. One year I finished by October first, because I'd been laid off from my part-time job and found myself with gobs of time in September, but usually I'm done with costumes about a week before Halloween--give or take. Very rarely am I rushing around on Oct 30, trying to put finishing touches on something.

SO this year was different.

If you'll recall, I spent a lot of summer feeling very much off. And thus, things that had always given me joy seemed exhausting. I did take each child individually in August for the pattern book leafing, but it became one more exercise in frustration as each girl had a vision that they were not seeing in the pattern books. And I might add, a vision they could not articulate to me without me feeling very much like a failure.

Then at the last part of August I very suddenly (like within 10 days) came out of this fog and... well had a bunch to catch up on. There was back to school, and canning and my toe was still infected, and my work hosts these fundraisers three times a year and one of them lands in October, so I had planning. So yeah--I set a deadline of September 30 for the girl to finalize and articulate what they wanted. And I was kicking myself for missing my usual labor day sale.

But honestly, the girls were pretty solid in what they wanted: BB8 from start wars and a "unicorn in a onsie." I confess right there with you I had no idea how I was going to pull either off and furthermore, what a unicorn in a onsie would even look like. She helpfully drew a picture:

Yeah the picture didn't really help.

BUT, I did also get a description from this and believe it or not saw this exact thing at Target! I was so thrilled, I came home and told her and asked--would she rather I buy her that? The answer was a definitive no.

AS for BB8? She told me she wanted a dress with BB8 designs, and I created a whole pinterest board of BB8 ideas. And guess what--she liked NOTHING I pinned. She kept saying she wanted a teacup dress. I had no idea what that was. I had her look through the dresses part of the pattern books, and she kept asking me to make her prom dresses. I finally googled teacup dresses, and got an idea of silhouette.

We discussed materials for these costumes and finally, I had a plan. Of course it was October at this point.

And remember when I said my work has a fundraiser in October? Well I usually spend a chunk of time working on that because it was scheduled for the week of the 14-16. And at this point, it's early October and I have NOTHING.

Well, my MIL was headed out of town and before she left she dumped a bunch of Joann's coupons on me (see everyone was worried at this point) and Lo and behold, Joann's was having a blowout sale. Patterns were $1-$2 and fleece was $2.99 a yard. Plus there were coupons. Good coupons too.

So on Columbus day(!) I hiked my butt to Joann's and bought both patterns, and all the material for the unicorn. BB8 was still a problem though because the material I wanted was $24.99 a yard and I needed 2.25 yards. I'll just let that sink in.

Joann fabrics was having a sale! Any guesses what this becomes?

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 10, 2016 at 12:51pm PDT

So on October 15--the day after my part in the fundraiser was over--I started the unicorn costume.

Then, another Joann coupon hit me--20% off your entire purchase including sale items. I had just about decided that 20% off 24.99 was about the best I could do--but when I went in, the fabric was listed at 30% off! And it ended up ringing up lower (I asked before cutting)--something like $14/yard. So I bought it (even though I did have to let the checker know that it rang up wrong--the slip SAID one price and it rang up FULL price--and she was NOT happy with me).

Now, one of the reasons, I usually start so early is that because when you are winging it like I often am, and you aren't a good seamstress--things happen. And usually I need time to puzzle it out.

Not so much here. I needed to just get it done. And so the unicorn has the messiest zipper i have ever put in in my entire life. And if I had had time, I would have switched from the pink I bought to white, but I didn't have time. So I made it work.

Oh and then, The weekend after I started, I got word that my deadline had changed. No longer was Oct 31--A Monday the day costumes were needed. Nope--Friday the 28 was costume day at school. Eliminating 3 whole work days that were mostly WEEKEND days. Let me tell you--I should get an award fro restraint that I did not email the school in a FURY.

Thankfully, aside from the zipper, the main Unicorn costume (actually a cat or gorilla pattern) came together smoothly (as well it should I think this is the 9th time, I've made something from this basic pattern) and BB8's dress was a "learn to Sew EASY" pattern that because it was a knit, didn't have set in sleeves or gathered skirt.

I did finish the Unicorn costume, pretty much by Wednesday and Thursday, I just really focused on ONLY sewing and cut out and sewed on the BB8 symbols.

"The secret to working with super stretchy knits is to use a stretch knit needle and pin the hell out of it" -- Joann's employee

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 27, 2016 at 11:13am PDT

Just so you know, I did NOT go for cosplay style accuracy. I went for the least I could do to make the costume look like BB8.

This is not to say that this was all without drama. Do you remember I mentioned that the unicorn was modeled after something you could buy at Target? Well every popular girl in middle school announced that SHE was going to be a unicorn. Which made my unicorn girl flip out. She was worried that my version would not match up with theirs, that the mane I was planning wasn't fluffy or long enough. In fact at one point, I told her I wasn't working any more on it until she calmed down and stopped screaming at me, and started BB8.

I managed to entirely finish the BB8 dress and I did cheat a little on my--I'm not doing another thing on your costume, and cut out the pieces for the hood before she calmed down. You know what finally did it? On Monday they had pajama day and someone wore the unicorn suit as PJs (a boy) and suddenly she became convinced of the sheer epicness of her costume. Which meant that I was able to sew it all together (finally) and have her be excited about it.

How did they turn out? Fabulous. I took pictures on Friday before school and I'm hoping to get more tonight before they trick or treat (yes, they are 8th graders, yes, they are nearly 14 and YES they want to trick or treat). Because it is not my practice to put my girls' pictures out on the blog--I have covered their faces:

Compare the drawing to the actual Unicorn--Nailed it didn't I!

It was super fun, but I hope I never have to pull off costumes in less than two weeks ever again.

Oh hey

So again, another month flew right past me.

I've sort of struggled with how to put into words how the last 5 months have been for me. But let me say this--I spent a good chunk of the summer not feeling like me.

Usually, I am good at rolling with the tempest that is a household with tween or teen girls. The moodiness, the insults, the criticism. I've learned I laugh weird, and I sound drunk when I get silly, and my teeth often have food in them. I've learned I have no clue what a squad is, or what goals they might have. I've been learning this for a while from my biggest critics--my daughters, and usually I can handle it. And by handle it, I mean keep it in check and not take it personally--but rather use it as social teaching (it is polite to softly tell someone that the poppyseed bagel they just ate is in their teeth--it is not ok to say, Mom you are so disgusting you have food in your teeth--for example). This summer though it all started to weigh very heavily on me. Suddenly I could do nothing right, knew nothing and basically was wrong always.

You know typical teen stuff

But it hit me, it hit me hard.

I cried a lot this summer.

And I fell out of doing the things I once loved for lack of energy, as I felt that every ounce of my energy was focused on being enough.

Because that's what I felt--I felt like I wasn't enough, in a lot of ways. And I didn't feel like I could ask for help. Because what could anyone say to me that my husband wasn't already saying? Why would I believe my friends if I couldn't believe my best/longest friend?

I'm not sure what happened that changed it, but here are some things that all happened about the same time:
I got an infection under my toenail and I started on an antibiotic (actually I ended up a month on different antibiotics, before having a surgical procedure that finally ended the infection.--But this all started to change after the first one)
We went on vacation and..
I had a total meltdown where I walked out on saying goodnight to my children and went downstairs to the family room and cried--and my husband went up and lectured the girls on how mean some of their comments had been

I'm not sure why, but after that vacation, I just felt more like me. Like I was back. Like I could weather the storms of teenagers. But it left me a little weak.

Much like skipping exercise (another thing that's been happening--see Toe infection surgery above) makes you feel weaker for a while, and makes it hard to build up stamina so this has made me struggle at things that used to come easier.

So why say all this now? Well, I guess it is so I can explain why daily life is keeping me so busy. Why I had my latest start on halloween costumes ever (I started SATURDAY--like as in OCT 15!!!), and why I don't have a ton of stuff to show you.

I'm better and I get stronger at the day to day stuff all the time, and I am certainly feeling more like my old self. I'm getting so the day to day stuff doesn't exhaust me, so hopefully it won't be another month before I check in again. But you come here for the knitting, and knitting happened!

Reknit of my bloom striped cowl. Finally finished something in time for it's appropriate season

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 2, 2016 at 10:43am PDT

I re-knit my bloom striped cowl. I felt like my original one was way too short (as it only wrapped around once and even then felt like a turtleneck. So I ripped it and knit it longer. I love it and even though we are back to 70 degree weather, I did manage to wear it twice!

Sneak peek at the costume I've started:

Unicorn 🦄 tail #costumes2016

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 17, 2016 at 5:00pm PDT

A co-worker of mine is having a baby and I'm knitting a hat, kimono sweater and maybe booties. I need to finish this by November 7!

Just a little something that I'm knitting

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 20, 2016 at 10:20am PDT

halloween 15

Ok. So at this time of year, I usually take much needed sewing breaks from my making of halloween costumes to blog about sewing on said costumes. This year? Ok this year was both easier and harder.

It was easier because one girl decided to be sadness from Inside Out. And if you follow that link you'll understand the ease of this. We found some blue leggings at Kohl's for $7 and a fleece blue cowl necked shirt at the thrift store ($3!) and I bought some blue and white face paint and a blue wig. Due to my policy on not showing kids faces on the blog, I may not actually post the finished photo here. In essence this costume is more about the face, than the clothes.

But it was harder because the other girl had trouble making up her mind. First she wanted to be a three headed monster, than a princess, then finally a minion. But not just any minion--A cute minion. She declared a need for goggles, a tutu and overalls. I'd love to say that hey I have all that done and am basking slightly in the glow of the tealights in the pumpkins.

No

I have in fact purchased at thrift store a shirt the right color and was told it a) smelled like old man (Before I washed it--I wanted her to try it on so I could return it! if it didn't fit) and b) had a turtleneck. So I washed it and removed turtleneck. Then she said she wanted to wear her blue leggings so ok. But then she wanted a tutu that "stuck out" and overalls with a Grue symbol.

This is what I have come up with:

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 29, 2015 at 11:11am PDT

I created the overall part, managed a buttonhole! and used fusible web to create a Grue eymbol. She thinks the tutu is too long but eh.

Goggles might be the end of me. I saw a tutorial on Pinterest that used canning lids and wiffle balls, but I thought I'd use very large googly eyes instead. BIG MISTAKE. Those googly eyes are too big for ANYTHING. and nothing I've been able to work out has satisfied her.

So basically I am waiting for her to come home from school and approve the latest incarnation which is a wide mouth canning lid and said eye. She can go as one eye or I can glue a second one on. Maybe. I don't have the rivet tool from the pinterest tutorial I found, and so I bought elmers brand super glue and I'm hoping there is enough surface between two lids to glue.

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 29, 2015 at 11:11am PDT

So here I am basically last minute (wearing these to school Friday) throwing stuff together. I hate that feeling! But I have a coffee date planned for after everyone is off and I plan on sleeping that extra hour out over the weekend, and come back with more knitting in November!

wrapping up the summer of socks

I guess summer isn't technically over, but I feel like maybe the summer of socks is drawing to a close. As I said on instagram; the summer of socks is probably over when you feel the need to wear socks.

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Sep 12, 2015 at 8:28am PDT

What I feel most bad about not completing is the large scale darning project I attempted. I hate darning, but thought it might be a good idea. In the end, I fixed the worst of my socks, and really what is left are places where some swiss darning or duplicate stitch would work (thin spots). My attempts at it have been less than stellar, and I need some practice. This is always a clue that it probably won't get done.

I did finish the first of the "emergency travel" socks. One of my daughters (the one who is not extremely picky about socks)claimed them.

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Sep 18, 2015 at 4:50pm PDT

Second sock is underway.

Also in the underway category, Halloween costumes. If you have been following me for a while, you know I like to sew these and I like to get a head start on them, because I am not a big fan of night before runs to the store for blue paint or whatnot. I thought initially that there would be little or no sewing involved this year. One girl wanted to be Sadness from Inside Out. I figured blue facepaint, blue hairspray, blue leggings and a trip to some thrift stores for a light blue or off white turtleneck sweater and presto.
The other daughter wanted to be a three headed.... something. Again, not terrible, wig stands from the craft store, a toy football shoulder pads to attach them, maybe make a garment to cover it all and presto!

The three headed girl wanted to look at patterns. (no sadness patterns this year, still no Olaf patterns) Remarkably three headed girl changed her mind. She decided she'd rather be a princess. Perhaps like Glenda, but more grown up. (she was Glenda in kindergarten). We found a pattern that she liked and bought it (on sale--score!). She wanted to buy fabric RIGHT NOW, but I made her wait until I could read the pattern. This weekend we went fabric shopping. There was talk about scary blood stained lace princess, silver princess, fuscia princess. Imagine my surprise when suddenly she wants to be a minion.

Officially, I have no idea what to do. I gave her a deadline (October 1) and I guess I'm leaving it at that.

As for the future, aside from much shopping at thrift stores, and possibly attempting to make minion goggles from canning lids, I want to plan sweaters for the girls. It has been three years since I made them sweaters, and they have both outgrown them. I made a gray sweater and a purple sweater. The gray sweater replacement will be the same pattern, possibly in gray(!) or maybe pink, or maybe blue or maybe.... (Yes, she wants to be a minion this week). The purple one wants to look at celeb and gossip magazines to find a "fashionable" sweater. I think we will be looking at ravelry--easier to figure out if I can actually replicate. She is thinking a blue green that will "compliment her eyes." Never a dull moment when you live with tween girls.

I'll keep you posted.

Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

You would think that given how crazy this month has felt to me--I'm sure it has come through here--that last night would have me in a sewing frenzy. But aside from adding velcro to panda girl's belt, I had no sewing after 8pm! Everyone was super pleased with their costumes. the puppy even mentioned that she thinks she wants to wear her "new jacket" on days besides halloween. They left this morning, decked out--worrying about if they would be the only ones dressed up. It is raining (and cold) I drove them today (something I rarely do) and we saw at least 2 other kids dressed up. You'd think that would help, but no--both were boys which--no matter how nice the boy--all boys are YUCKO (unless they aren't if you know what I mean).

here's the public picture so you can see the costumes.

So does someone care to explain to me how ALL of October was above average temperatures and less rainy than usual and today--the ONLY day that really counts for weather--it is cold rainy and going to snow? Is this just some cruel trick? Would it be sunny and 70 if I had not busted my butt on costumes?

Yesterday was all about the accessories. I had bought enough "fake shiny leather" to make boot covers, gauntlets, a mask and a belt. She ended up wearing her boots, and since she had on a black shirt (for panda arms duh) she didn't need the gauntlets. I did make the belt, choosing to rebel against the instructions and instead of fusing together the fake leather and some lining fabric (Oh the yards of back scraps I still have from last year's Harry Potter robe!), I chose two pieces of leather, sewn together and turned inside out. Um yeah--don't do that. And it looked funny, so I started to do it their way--and started ripping out my seam, when suddenly the point in the belt popped and wham-o--it looked like it was supposed to! Right as I needed to leave for work.

When I got home, I sewed it back up (Top stitched all the way around) and done! Then the mask. I did the mask the way the instructions said (sort of--I fused the webbing to the lining first instead of the leather first) and fused those together, and topstitched. I wasn't sure how my glasses wearing kid was going to wear it, but I thought--what if I make the eye openings as big as her lenses? So I did that--tracing around her glasses. She was thrilled because the mask fit right UNDER her glasses. So she could wear both and see!

I must confess that ever since puppy girl told me she needed "a headband with a bow and ears" I have been wondering how on earth we were going to pull it off. First, she hates headbands. Second, how do you attach ears to a headband? But in true rubber meets the road fashion--I had a brain spark. What if they were all on hair clips? The year panda girl was medusa, I had bought all these hair clips. Amazon calls them "duck bill clips" I called them something else. I had a whole sentence about it--then googled to get a picture, and lets just say I called them something that was slang for old lady porn. Don't go there.

ANYWAY, I couldn't find any of those around the house, and I was out for lunch around Michael's and decided to pop in to see if they had pink ribbon for the bow, and they had those duck clips! After I got home, I cut out some ears (I HATE that fabric can I be done with it NOW), and started playing with adhesives. Soon, I had two ears glue gunned to duck clips! The bow got wired on to a third and then we had puppy!

Halloween also brings us to the end of October, which means time for goal check in, and new November goals. But I don't really have big November goals and I'm thinking it will be boring to both write and read if every day I write--todays goals: get 10k steps, declutter, plank, hang out and read. Yesterday: I accomplished all that! Because I don't have big projects--I'm not knitting gifts this year, I thought I'd just write when I had things I was working on--hopefully more often than I did before September--but not every day.

I do have some projects though--I have some Christmas PJs I promised to help with (I haven't forgotten!), that I'm excited about. And I have some other sewing projects--a quilt one of the girls started, more pjs for us and all that Halloween fabric gave me ideas for barbie clothes! I mean, how crazy are you when you are sewing a costume and you think--would barbie look liek a hooker if I made her leather pants? Hey, you know who needs leather pants? KEN! Pretty crazy. Also--wouldn't barbie look gorgeous in a evening gown that had a leather bodice and a fun fur skirt? See, CRAZY!

Dont worry, I have no pattern for Ken clothes.

October 29

Yesterday was the last day of the five days of black and white photos. It makes me a little sad because there were several things I liked about this challenge. First, it made me get the camera out and take more photos. I mean you can't find one good photo if you don't take at least one photo. Second, it made me think about contrast in ways I don't usually think. So, for example, the beautiful fall colored scene out my window looks not just muted in black and white, but monochrome. And last, I figured out that my camera has a setting to take black and white photos, so I didn't do much post processing. I'm a pretty SOOC (Straight out of the camera) person. I will crop, and sometimes brighten, but I hate fiddling with that stuff. I'd rather take 40 pictures and find one that looks decent. My style was made for digital cameras I think.

I also got all of my big three done, pulling in 11k steps, planking 3 sets--one of 35, and 2 of 30, and putting one string of bat lights in the donate bin. I hung two outside and realized that the outside outlet isn't working, so I may actually get rid of another string of bat lights--I have 4 and this is the first year I've hung them.

I didn't sew at all. I didn't start on the tutu either. I did vacuum up the fuzz in the sewing room (And a piece of fabric and maybe broke my basement vacuum). Oh wait, that's not right--I hand sewed. I got eyes for the cape sewn on the dress (or at least one shoulder--I need her to try it on to get the placement for the other--and hand sewed down the edges of the panda girl logo--because I'm terrible with fusibles.

Today, the tutu gets made. I have the elastic cut--all I need to do is cut and tie the tulle. Also the fitting for the panda girl costume, so I can finish the hooks and eyes for the cape.
I am skipping the last farmers market of the year, but going to yoga. I have a lunch date with my husband too! But the theme of the day is definitely tulle.

October 27

One of the good things about not updating on the weekends, is that when I come back on Monday and start listing things I got done, I feel like there was real progress.

First, I got my 10K steps all three days. I got 2 days of de-cluttering, and 2 days of planking --and they were not the same two days, if you know what I mean. I did not plank Saturday, because we went to see Lyle Lovett in concert and got home very late--I am a lazy bones who saves her planking as a bedtime routine, there was just no way that was happening.

But really this weekend was all about the sewing. Poodle girl's jacket is ready for a zipper--which is the last step. Honestly, this jacket should not have taken me this long, but I ran into a problem with a vague direction, and let me tell you this fabric is not great for ripping out seams. It is also not very structured, which means it is hard to see where things are supposed to go. But I have it together, the girl has tried it on, and it fits. I swear, I don't know when I have ever been more proud of something I made, not because it looks professional (far from it) but because it was so fussy to make. Now let's see if I can get the zipper in with a minimal amount of swearing.
I also happen to think this is amazing because my parents are visiting--but they are pretty understanding of my need to sew as Halloween is less than a week away.

The weekend was also about a black and white photography challenge. The challenge is to post a black and white photograph (to facebook) every day for 5 days. I'm having quite a lot of fun with it. Here is Friday's entry:

Today, my parents are leaving. Originally I thought they were staying until tomorrow morning, so I cleared this day too. Which of course means--free day!

On tap aside from the big three: Buying a zipper and perhaps more tulle--so I can get the jacket finished and the tutu started, cleaning, and running. I'd also like to get busy reading chapter 8 (aka the LAST chapter). In fact this whole week has some big reading goals. I have two books to finish for book club (one we are discussing, one I am passing) and chapter 8. I think this is on the order of 400 pages by next Monday. Oh and it would be great if I finished chapter 8 by Wednesday--no pressure. Sigh. I tried to get my book club books on audio thinking I could listen while I sewed, shopped and cleaned. Only one of them was available and I would have to get it through interlibrary loan--plus it is the book we aren't discussing, so if I don't get it read by Monday it is no big deal.

October 17

I am feeling very much like I am treading water. Or more accurately, like I have been treading water for 3 or 4 minutes and am about to go under. Yesterday I sewed for nearly 2 hours and I feel like I barely have anything to show for it. I cut the tulle, I sewed it all together (9 pieces, sewed in sets of three--actually doublestitched), made three layers of tulle, put in two gathering stitches and gathered it and started to pin it to the underskirt. If I were optimistic, I would see the end in sight. The end where I sew it to the underskirt, sew the bodice to the skit, fit it, add a zipper, and then BE DONE. And then start costume number 2.

That's an awful lot of skirt and tulle!

I got my 10k steps yesterday without trying, and my planks went pretty easy. I had trouble with de-cluttering, but got rid of a bath puff right before bed. so that all should have felt good. Also I managed to get the living room vacuumed, and the frog water changed and dishes done which all contribute to a general feeling of cleanliness. But it was tempered by this feeling of impending doom at work. I am glad that not every event feels like this, and that I know that it is a combo of my under-preparedness and some staffing issues that have come up (if you can call volunteers "staff") at the last minute. Today should be the end, I just need to get through the day.

On that note, getting through the day looks like: running this morning (minutecast and radar say 120 dry minutes--sigh I was kind of looking for an excuse to skip.), sewing before I need to head off to errands (bank, post office) and then the craziness that is work. I also work during my usual "chill out" time tonight as our fundraiser starts. After that, the weekend looks clear. So there should be a LOT of sewing, as I'd like to finish super panda's costume, so I can start cutting on the poodle's jacket on Monday.

I'm going to cut myself some slack on de-cluttering and planking today. Steps should not be an issue at all today.

And on the brightest note yet, I did unravel the leg and heel of the sock, looked at the foot and thought--why does this not fit her? So I stopped unravelling and this morning, I tried it on her. The foot part fits perfectly. It just needs a bigger ankle. So, I think the plan is to do a wider heel--add some stitches to the ankle/leg and go from there. So only the weekend's knitting (a long traveling weekend, but STILL) is lost.

Man, I really don't want to run, but running always clears my head, and makes it easier for me to focus.

October 14

Yesterday, I posted my update, checked both accuweather's minute cast and the weather channel radar, determined rain was not imminent, grabbed my ipod and headed out the door, promising that if it rained I could quit at 2 miles. I ended up going all 3, run/walking a 7/3. I also went to Meijer and did lots of running around the house, and so ended the day with what must be a record for me: 18K steps. I remembered to (grudgingly) do my 3 sets of 30 second planks. I ddi not de-clutter, but rather watched in amazement as people took my discards from the curb and loaded it into their pickup trucks. I worked on panda girl's costume, and got the bodice sewed together! I also cut out the skirt from fabric, realized the "interfacing" specified on the pattern was actually supposed to be an underskirt (and whoops, I didn't have the right kind or nearly enough). I went out after dinner, and bought some crinoline, because Joann's does not sell light buckram interfacing at all, much less in a 60" wide like the pattern calls for!!!

I also started on binding off the sock. It is a sewn bind off and is taking me for ever it feels like.

Plus you can see some last minute division practice in the background--big test today!

Today, I have a hair appointment, which cuts into my sewing time and probably will cut into my steps. Besides the big three, and the appointment, my goals today include, sewing on panda girl's skirt (hopefully trying to get to the tulle part), changing the frog water (ugh), and getting some work done for work. Hopefully it won't leave me too exhausted, as I'd like to have the girl try on the sock and it if fits, I'd like to finish binding it off.

PS I know it looks long and skinny, the child has long and skinny feet.

October 8

Well yesterday I did get my steps, and I planked 3 sets of 30 seconds, and while I dithered for the longest time about de-cluttering, I did decide to go have a looksee in the storage areas of our basement. And there I found several empty boxes that I felt like I didn't need, so i broke them down for recycling. Yes, that's sad, they weren't even broken down.

I wasn't sure how much sewing I was going to be able to do, because I had both volunteering and work. But I managed to get the panda girl logo mostly done (all it needs is some drawing):

And I did google the cross cut thing, and I think I have that figured out. (Maybe).

It also came to my attention that certain people in the household are sick of the stress of halloween costumes. To which I say 1) I'm stressing more on the fact that I put this off and 2) if this applies to you--you might want to stop reading this month.

Today, the usual plus, Farmer's market, yoga, cutting out the panda dress, gassing up the car, more work, and some routine cleaning.

Part of my wanting to get into a routine for the month was to figure out which "chores" I could reasonably do on which days. I like knowing when things were last cleaned, and being able to say--Oh hey it is Wednesday, time to clean X. I don't actually like cleaning though, so I tend to put things off until they bother me. Am attempting to get ahead on things.

Oh hey you made it through to the end--here's a picture of my coffee mug and my knitting.

Sept 16

Yesterday I finished up my canning with 2 pints of pizza sauce. My only complaint was that I had most of a third pint, but not enough to get up to the required headspace. So now I have pizza sauce I need to eat or freeze. Also that took 3 hours, I kid you not.

I did a little sewing on the pj pants, but not a lot--enough to run out the bobbin thread and get too lazy to replace it. I got my errands run, including a trip to the next town over to buy pants for my picky picky daughter. I got my 10k steps in with a little before bed pacing, and planked 4sets of 30 seconds.

I'm feeling good about the decluttering. I went through the kid art, photographed it, had the girls pick their 2 favorites, and gave the rest to their grandma. Out of my house! Although now I'm wondering if they gave away the pieces I saved to keep (I saved one each).

Probably most impressive was that my husband solved the Halloween dilemma. One girl usually decides what she wants to be before we go pattern looking, and you can't budge her. The other usually changes her mind lots of times. This time, they flipped until I bought the super hero pattern for the girl insisting on being a pink batgirl, and then my usually stubborn child decided SHE wanted to be the superhero panda girl. For 2 weeks any time Halloween was mentioned, a small fight broke out. Last night my husband had a talk with the pink batgirl about why she wanted to be that and what she wanted in a costume, and she decided she'd rather be a poodle. With a tutu. She helpfully drew us a picture:

Believe it or not, I can work with this.

Today the goals include running (spoiler alert--I am writing this as I just finished my run), aiming for 15K steps, planking, de-cluttering, and working on the PJ pants. Ideally I'd like to have 2 pairs ready to fit. I should at least have one, as all it needs is the elastic casing. If I have time, I need to figure out how I'm going to make the poodle "shirt." One thing I will not be doing is canning. In fact, I'm going to put the canning pot in the dishwasher--and when it is done, I am packing it away until next spring.

halloween recap

Ahhh November! A time to gracefully make the transition from "pumpkin all the things" to "peppermint all the things." A time to go from the craziness of Halloween costumes, into the craziness of Christmas gifts.

But before we make that transition, there are some ends to tie up. So without further ado, here is the rundown/smackdown of the Halloween costume craziness.

Ever since Nov. 1, 2012, one of my daughters has been wanting to be Hermione Granger for Halloween. And this did not waver (as it does with her sister who has wanted to be statue of liberty, a toothbrush, a penguin, a flamingo, and a tube of toothpaste--all in the last 3 months!) and so this is how I came to find myself weeping in frustration in Joann's In early September. Every year of the last 15 years there has been a pattern for some version of Harry Potter. Sure they might call it magical wizards, but you and I know that it is Harry. Sadly, this is the year that every pattern company decided no one wanted to be Harry Potter (although tell that to the TWO other girls in my daughter's class who ALSO went as Hermione). But hey no biggie right, Hermione needs a grey vest, a white shirt, a grey skirt, a gryffendor tie, and a robe. How hard can this be? Well. I started strong by finding the perfect skirt pattern. Then I found a great sweater vest/white shirt combo at Salvation army. Eventually, I found an adult robe pattern (yes, only adults now want to be Harry Potter evidently--as this was entitled something like "Wizarding world!"). I decided to fake it on the tie, and found bias tape in the perfect shades. I even had my MIL print out the Gryffendor crest of fabric, which I fused to the robe!

The skirt was to be my undoing. The skirt pattern was up to a girls size 14, but pattern sizes often bear little or no resemblance to "real" sizes (by this I mean sizes of clothes you can buy). And thusly neither of my girls is little enough to be a size 14--despite the fact that they both wear that size. I had my Tim Gunn moment, in which I decide to make it work even if I needed to work every spare moment the last week. And then! OK back up a little here.

One weekend, I was frustrated with the general state of the house, and my inability to actually sew on weekends (do you KNOW how many barbie clothes will be requested if I get within a foot of my sewing machine when the girls are home?) I decided to clean out my closet and once and for all stop kidding myself about some of the items in there. One such item: My interview suit. When I was first out of Graduate school, I splurged on the perfect librarian suit in which I would interview and land the perfect librarian job. That was 20 years ago. I am neither that size nor that style anymore and furthermore: I never will be. Well, I may be that size again, but I doubt I'll want the huge shoulder pads. Heck, I get that size again and need a suit, I'll splurge again! So I dumped it in the bag and set the bags in the basement awaiting a trip to Goodwill.

In my frustration over the skirt, I passed that goodwill bag and it hit me! That skirt is grey. That skirt should fit my daughter! That skirt would work in a pinch. And guess what--the day before Halloween IS a pinch. And lo and behold it did. And so I present Hermione with a candy corn over her face because this is the Internet:

The other daughter is a tad indecisive. But I make them decide when patterns go on sale in early September. And she did waffle a little, but I talked her into this adorable teen monster . (as an aside, do you want to know how whack pattern sizing is. This pattern which to me looks so tweenish--was barely big/wide enough for my admittedly tall 10 year old) She of course wanted her own spin. One eye please, in green and pink and blue. And aside from the silky fur making a huge mess, this went together easily. And even with that mess, I would totally make this again.

Seriously, how cute is that!

She is happy--even though I put a smiley over her face.

And now trick or treating is over (we being of strong stuff and never postpone halloween for a little rain! And thankfully, it was only a little rain--despite the deluge and gale force winds predicted) and we can move on to the craziness of Christmas.

progress

Part of me hesitates to update since I do not want to take the time to take some photos and upload them. And what is a craft blog without some photos of craft? But alas, if this is going to be updated, it probably needs to be photo-less. So I present you with a photo free project update.

Halloween costumes: I started late this year. I have two costumes to make: a monster and Hermione Granger. The monster had a vest, skirt, leg warmers and mitts. All sewed. All with a pattern. Hermione, oh sigh. For years I've seen patterns for Harry Potter characters, but the year my daughter wants to be Hermione, there are none. So, I'm faking it. Hermione needs a skirt, a tie, and a robe. I bought a grey vest/white shirt. I looked for a tie in the right colors, but couldn't find one. I did buy this pattern for the robe. I also bought a plain skirt pattern, so I could make it to match the grey in the sweater I bought. I decided that I'd make the tie out of bias tape.
So that said as of today, I have the monster costume done with the small exception of velcro on the vest. I have also learned that Silky fur fleece will make your house look like you murdered a muppet. But now the sewing room has been thoroughly vacuumed. I am starting on the robe very soon.

Dahlia sweater: I have the sides finished which means that I am hesitating. Why am I hesitating? Well, the next step is to unzip the afterthought spots for the sleeves. At that point I need to do two things:
Try it on and make sure it is long enough and
Read the pattern

Hopefully, I'll get past both of these, because I really want the sweater!

progress

I think I have said before that I am real product knitter. Sure I like the process, I find the endless stockinette soothing at times, I find socks to be this great way to achieve a particular kind of meditation, BUT what I like best is that at the end of all that, I get a new sweater or pair of socks. And often times I pick projects because I really really want that thing--be it socks or sweaters or scarves.

This is why I started knitting the dahlia cardigan way back in... gosh Ravelry says June! I wanted that sweater for the early fall when you don't need (I almost spelled need "kneed" as if every N sound needs the silent k because knit and knitter and knitting all have it. I KNOW!) a heavy wool sweater, but you do need something light to throw on to make that transition. I thought of course that it would be done by the time the weather turned.

Well the weather has turned, and every day for the last week I have thought I need my Dahlia cardigan. I even saw at Kohl's a sweater that was similar in construction (without a fancy lace back --but still a lace back) and nearly bought it (darn that Kohl's cash!). I held back because "Dude! you are almost done with that puppy!"

Except I'm not. I just started last night the edging on the left front. I still have SLEEVES to make for pete's sake! And that's if I made the fronts long enough.

I did put lifelines in. I may be stupid, but I learn from my mistakes.

Mainly I've been busy working on halloween costumes. I feel totally far behind, I wanted to finish one costume up this week, and while technically I have 2 days before the week is up, my children do not have school today, so week over! I will leave you with a peek of how messy the fabric is for the costume I had hoped to finish.

This is what I looked like after cutting the pattern out.