Happy Halloween!

New Halloween header!I planned on getting it up at the beginning of October. Obviously that didn't happen so here it is now just in time for the actual day. Enjoy.

GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!!

GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!!

I was so sad when I missed winning this skirt last time, but now I can win three of them and matching shirts as well. Or I suppose you could. Well, whoever wins them is going to make one little girl (or three little girls) very VERY happy.

Shana's Giveaway

Shana's music, writing, etc etc etc.: My Very First GIVEAWAY!

This is one of my recent favorite blogs. Shana makes the cutest hats and now I have the chance to win one! And you do too! (You know me and hats.)

Check out her blog to enjoy her wit and wisdom and her etsy shop to see her creations. I've put her Bows Crocheted Cloche and Autumn Red Scarflette Ribbons on my Christmas list.

(Photos Courtesy of Shana's etsy site and blog.)

More Cupcakes

Here is my little offering of fall colored cupcakes for my sister-in-law's birthday party last Saturday. I made them in the same way as the cupcake bouquet for the baby shower in May. Basically, I used various star decorating tips and squeezed a blob of frosting out then slowly released pressure and lifted up the icing bag at the same time over and over again. The roses are just spirals using a large star tip. The variegated color comes from first adding one color of frosting and then another to the icing bag. Simple, but time-consuming. I thought they turned out lovely. Like a bunch of fall mums.

The glass "cake platter" in the back was made from a vase and platter from a thrift store just hot glued together in a rush. I probably should have used some sort of epoxy, but it got a little stressful just before leaving. I got the idea from Stuff Lyssa Makes who got the idea from At Home With the Farmers Wife. Next time I'll have to try a candle stick holder. I kind of wish I had turned the vase upside down and glued the bottom so that I could have put something colorful inside to spice it up.

I recently attended a funeral where in place of floral arrangements on the tables at the family luncheon they put cake platters with desserts. What a great idea for a wedding dinner, reception, or any big get together too. Talk about a money saver when you can get the candle holders/vases and platters from a thrift store, and you usually already have desserts at such things.

(The other cake holder is seriously two large pieces of Tupperware with orange fabric duct-taped, yes, duct-taped to the outside. The tape is on the inside of the containers and they are placed upside-down, so no one ever knew.)

Costumes 2007

Here are our costumes from last year. Will was a knight, I was a princess, and Liam was a dragon. We won't be able to do matching costumes for much longer, but I'd like to keep matching until Liam picks something unmatchable. If any of you have any ideas for themes let me know. I'm always looking out for them.

For Liam's dragon costume I used Simplicity 3599. I really liked this pattern for a child's costume. It's an easy jumpsuit type pattern that Velcro-s down the back and ,that cuts out fast. I added a couple of things to the pattern to make it work for me. Nothing hard. First, I cut out an extra set of dragon spikes and added them to the back opening. The pattern only called for them down the tail and on the hood. I wanted them to go all the way. I also added a fleece lining to make it extra warm for our cold Utah Halloweens. (To do this, I just cut out a set of the body patterns in fleece, sewed it following the pattern directions, turned it inside out and stitched it to the inside of the costume.)
For Will's knight costume, I used Simplicity 4942. No complaints. Easy and simple. It makes a big large robe that you pullover your head. For this reason, I recommend this one for plays or anything else that requires a quick change.
For my dress I used Simplicity 9891. This one runs big so cut out a size smaller. Also, I never could get the front where the inlay connects to the dress body to lay as flat as I wanted. It was reasonable, I just wish it was a little less bumpy. Over all I liked this pattern.

Pirate Costumes 2006

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year for two reasons: the costumes and my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law, Julie, has a birthday just before Halloween and so Halloween has always been her favorite holiday. We're talking more decorations for Halloween than for Christmas favorite holiday. No joke. She gave me my first Halloween decorations, and now I'm hooked! My addiction only increased after having Liam. He's just so much fun to dress up. Here are a couple of pics from his first Halloween and a few costume pattern reviews:

Will and I were pirates and Liam was our "not-so-undead" monkey.

I used Simplicity 4914 for my pirate shirt. It is a fairly "advanced" skill level pattern, but still really reasonable. Maybe it's because of the fabric choice, maybe it's because it has a lining, I'm not sure, but this shirt has a nice professional costume feel when it is completed. Be warned though, this shirt pattern runs BIG so plan on cutting out a size smaller than your measurements.

Will's vest and pants come from Simplicity pattern 4923. The vest is fairly simple, but the pants were on the difficult side. Those pants are so funny. You actually pull the flap up over the front and button it. A usable flap! Kills me every time I think about it. (It's the flap that is the difficult part.) Not to mention they are capri length pants, so funny to see on a man.

Will's shirt came from Simplicity 5023. The shirt pattern actually runs a little small if I remember right, so plan on cutting out a size bigger. Actually, I wouldn't use this shirt pattern. It was an annoying pattern, very illogical. Perhaps it was meant to be historically acurate, but this pattern was a pain with all of it's weird gussets and I can't think of why anyone past or present would want to take so much time on one shirt especially if you had to sew all of your clothes. I've since sewn the pants from this pattern too. They are on the advanced side of things, but definitely reasonable unlike the shirt. The pants run big though, so cut out a size smaller.Liam's monkey costume was purchased by my mother-in-law from Old Navy and it has been well used. Liam used it again later in the year to make a little movie for his Uncle Ben who is serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Peoria, Illinois. Then, cousin Cael used it last year for Halloween. This year, cousin Aria is using it as the monkey music box from Phantom of the Opera. It's a nice WARM fleece costume, so if it gets cold on Halloween where you live too, I HIGHLY recommend Old Navy costumes.

Monkey and Kitty Hats

Last week we had our first snow of the year. Of course, it had to be on the day that we'd decided to go hiking in Provo Canyon with the cousins. Talk about cold! I bundled up Liam as best as I could, but I realized that he didn't have a hat so I ended up sticking one of my hats on him. It was cute, but a little big so it kept slipping into his eyes. Then...it hit me! I could make Liam a hat! I have such a hard time coming up with ideas of things to make for my little boy so to finally find something he needed that I could make made me so excited and despite the fact that I already have more projects than I can handle, I started right away!

I used this pattern from kittyville.com. I used size 7 needles to begin with, but then the hat was too big for Liam, so it ended up being a hat for me. I don't know if I'm really that partial to cats, but with a name like Tabi, I just had to add the cat ears. I put them closer to the front of the hat than where the pattern says they should go. They looked too much like horns when they were further back. Not the look I was going for. I also did the front and the back of each ear at the same time on double pointed needles in circular fashion so that I wouldn't have to whip stitch around them in the end.

Liam has always been our little monkey, so it was only fitting that his should be a monkey hat. I used the same pattern with size 5 needles. I also shortened some of the measurements. I did about 1 1/2 in seed stitch and 2 1/2 to 3 inches in stockinette stitch. Here's hat I did to make the ears:
Pick up two rows of 12 stitches above the earflaps toward the front of the hat.
R1-2: work in seed stitch for 2 rows
R3: *K1, K2tog,work in seed stitch for 6 stitches, K2tog, K1* twice
R4: *K1 K2tog, work in seed stitch for 4 stitches, K2tog, K1* twice
R5: Work in seed stitch around
R6: *K1, K2tog, work in seed stitch for 2 stitches, K2tog, K1* twice
R7: *K1, K2tog, K2tog, K1*
R8: *K2tog* four times. Draw the thread through the last four stitches.

Just a Doodle

October is a very busy month for me because I love costumes and I love to make them! That makes for a lot of sewing. Add the pile of projects I start on a whim and the pile of unfinished projects lying all around my house, plus, that pile of clean laundry that never seems to get folded before the next wash day and you've got a pretty overwhelmed crafter. Yesterday, overwhelmed and under-slept, I stopped in the middle of the afternoon and took a gloriously long two-hour nap while my husband graciously watched our sweet little boy. Then, he even made dinner. What a wonderful man! How did I ever survive before him?

Today is a much better day. I'm rested and well-fed. All is right with the world once more. I feel ambitious and happy and ready to start another week! I even had the chance to do a little doodling with a crayon this evening. Always relaxing. Here's what evolved:
Here's the recipient of my little doodle, my sweet niece Katie who once again is planning on being a witch for Halloween. I was just so thrilled that she wanted to keep my drawing. Talk about making a girl's day. I'm referring to my day, of course, although Katie does look rather enthusiastic.

Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!
I am so excited for Halloween this year. Liam is finally old enough to really know what is going on and to say "Trick or Treat." You know what that means, we're going cruisin' for candy this year! We actually practiced trick or treating this afternoon. He loved it.

My favorite part of Halloween is the costumes! I hope I win this darling one from Grosgrain. I love Civil War era dresses. We were this close to doing Civil War costumes this year. I even bought the patterns. Then again, sometimes I think I collect patterns more than I actually sew.

If I win this I might reconsider dressing Liam as Buzz Lightyear...though I don't think he'd really like wearing this one. JK

Speaking of costumes, Liam is napping and time is ticking. I'd better go cut fabric while I can. I can't wait until the costumes are done so I can show you!

Vintage Knitting Patterns

I am so excited. I just found the biggest collection of FREE vintage knitting patterns on the web. I found them at freevintageknitting.com. They are adorable! I wish I knitted faster than I do now so that I could make all of them. Here are a few of the ones I thought were darling:

Don't be surprized if you catch my little one in this darling Mr. Roger-esque sweater this Christmas...or make that next Christmas because I knit so slowly.

Mary Jane Slippers

I just finished my first Christmas gift for the year! (I won't tell you who they are for, for obvious reasons. Cross your fingers and hope it's you!)

If you know how to knit and have a little time, I highly recommend making yourself a pair using this free pattern from knitwhimsies.blogspot.com. I just added a couple of buttons and lazy daisy stitches to jazz them up, but they are adorable without as seen below in the picture from knitwhimsies.

I also highly recommend knittinghelp.com for any knitting concerns you may have. They have the most helpful videos.

Now for something not so adorable. This is me bending in half to take the picture shown above. You'd think a girl would learn to set a camera timer once in a while or at least take a shower before dinner time.

Gathered Pocket

Here are the pocket pattern and instructions from the two in one dress. (I also used this pocket on the dress I auctioned and added a flap and button.)

This is a nice one because you really could add this pocket to any pattern.

Supplies:
Fabric
1/2" double-fold bias tape (I like to use a contrasting color to add a little spice.)
1/4" Elastic
Safety pin

Instructions:
1. Cut out the pocket. (Pattern is below.)

2. Sew along the rounded edge using a long stitch length and a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

3. Encase the top edge in the bias tape and then top-stitch along the bottom edge of the bias tape making sure that the back bottom edge of the tape is also caught in the stitching.

4. Cut a piece of elastic about 4 inches long. (You can use the pattern as a guide.) Using a safety pin, insert the elastic into the bias tape casing you have just created. Sew along both ends of the casing to secure the ends of the elastic.

5. Notch the rounded pocket edge, and then press the edge to the inside of the pocket using the stitched line as a guide.

6. Fold down the corners of the bias tape casing toward the back of the pocket so that the side edge meets the bottom edge. Stitch in place. (This keeps the edges from peaking out on the finished pocket.

7. Pin the pocket to your garment where you want it to go. (You can use the pattern below to trace the placement line onto your fabric ahead of time and then use it as a guide for pinning.) Top-stitch along the edge of your pocket. If you expect this pocket to be used rather than just looked at, reinforce the stitching along the top edge.

Tah-dum, you are finished!

Here are the patterns for the pockets. One is a size small (up to 2T-ish) and the other is a size medium (2T to 5ish). Click on the pictures below to download the patterns. You will need Adobe Reader to do so. It's free, and you can download it here.

Happy Halloween Pillows

Here are my most recent projects. Done on a whim, not planned, very fast, very fulfilling. The haunted house pillow was purchased from a Provo Craft outlet months ago, and I wanted to have a couple of pillows to go with it. These pillows sit on a wicker chest that serves as a place to store shoes in my entry way.

They are both made of felt. For the circle one I cut out a bunch of circles arranged them in a grid and stitched around the edges using a blanket stitch and a contrasting color of embroidery floss. For the spider pillow (my son's favorite) I stitched an orange circle ( created by tracing a dessert plate) to the pillow using a blanket stitch. Then, I cut out a spider from black felt using a free clip art image I found on Google as a guide and stitched it to the orange circle using a running stitch. Then I stitched on a strip of white felt using a running stitch.

Red Riding Hood

Another Grosgrain giveaway.
This is a sweet little jacket. Exactly the kind that I would have loved as a child. If you want a chance to win it, click the link below.

Red Riding Hood Jacket GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!