BATMAN & FLAPPER COSTUMES 2008

Well, it's a busy week here for many reasons and these costumes are only one of them. The flapper dress took pretty much no time compared to the batman costume that's mostly complete. With batman, I didn't fuss with hemmng sleeves or pant bottom and I fudged the top a little cuz I didn't have the right size zipper and so I added the bias tape to the neckline for ties. The belt has some parts that you glue and I don't have a buckle so I might hit the goodwill store to see if I can find one there?? That's pretty much what I think is left on this. I could tweek the face hood a little to snug it up but Matty didn't seem to care so . . . The flapper dress is a neat hairy-like fabric and I just made a straight tank-style dress and added the trim at the bottom. The fabric is very sheer so I actually made a slip out of some black swimsuit fabric that I had so if my niece wanted to wear that underneath. I just hope it fits?! I didn't have all her measurements, just the waist so I really did wing it a bit. She's very petite so I think it will be fine.

HALLOWEEN COSTUME BEGINS - BATMAN FROM THE 80's??

Halloween is just around the corner and no, I haven't completely procrastinated. My daughter said she wanted to wear the same costume as last year - a gorilla costume that I bought off the clearance rack for Matty many moons ago, but he never wore it and now she wants to wear it twice? Now there's a girl who wants to get the most out of an already bargain. I wonder if that's an inherited trait? I won't complain and while we've shopped for Matty's costume I've simply told her to keep her eyes peeled for something for next year. Matty decided that he wanted to be batman so my first stop was ebay, first for costumes and then for patterns. It seems there are several versions/color schemes and he strangely enough chose this blue/gray version. I looked and looked and . . . . finally decided to just buy a pattern that I saw in ebay where they had "make an offer" which I did and they accepted - yeah me! I saved a whole dollar! I guess I should back up and say that I wanted to simply buy a gray sweatsuit and make a face mask and the cape and outer undear wear and put the batman logo thingy on the front and Matthew just wasn't buying the whole idea of wearing a sweatsuit because he insisted that a sweatsuit isn't a costume. I think that he needs to get a job. Then there was finding the fabric. Lucky for me it was ALL on sale - 60% for some and 50% for the felt - so that was awesome and I already had the blue swimsuit fabric that seems to be a close enough match so that was great too. Sew . . . the pattern pieces are prepped, I've cut a few things out of felt. I'm going to maybe hit goodwill to scrounge a belt buckle instead of buying one new. I'm hoping it goes together easily but the silvery bodice fabic I got is really quite slippery so by the end of the week I may want to hurt myself?? I also volunteered to make a little flapper skirt for my niece but after googling that, I kinda want to make her just a short dress with the cool black fuzzy, shimmery fabric I got for that. She's going to look adorable, I just know it! Of course I'm also going to TRY to do halloween shirts with the kids tomorrow night and I've got to find the time to do halloween pretzel rods for Matty's class for Friday - oh joy! Plan B - call my friend Jen from work and ask to borrow her son's batman costume from last year - tee hee hee!

JAY LENO INTERVIEWS KEVIN SMITH

Honestly, I don't even know who this guy is but when I came home from work on Friday night and started watching Jay with this guy, my poor husband who was sound asleep must have thought I'd lost my mind. I was cracking up laughing. Here's the Youtube clip and it's about 10 minutes long but it is absolutely hysterical. http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?swf=http%3A//s.ytimg.com/yt/swf/cps-vfl59689.swf&video_id=SbCFSJiftH0&rel=1&hqt=1 The famous line that keeps getting noted is "dropping the kids off at the pool" and if you can't guess what he's talking about, well then maybe you should watch the clip! For those that don't know me well, you might seriously start to question my character considering the types of things that I find entertaining. This is really funny shit! (no pun intended) Enjoy!

CUSHION COVER COMPLETE

Just a quick post to show I haven't been completely idle. I had a nagging project. Now, mind you . . . the project recipient wasn't nagging but rather patient if I dare say. I felt that since she did bring it up recently it was about time that I tackled the cushion cover which was something I'd never ever done before so I admit that I was a little nervous to cut this curtain up knowing that there was only one curtain and if I screwed this up I'd feel horrible! Well, I'm going to say that I think I did just fine. Thank you Jodi at http://happyhousequilts.com/ for suggesting that I wrap the pad in plastic wrap so it slides easily into the cover. I had no idea, although my back flap opening was full access with a velcro closure so it might have worked o.k., but still smoother I think with the plastic wrap. Rather than do the seams with my serger, I opted to serger the seams (fabric definitely wanted to fray alot!) and then sew them together to maintain a seam allowance in the event it needed repair. I think that I could have had a slightly snugger fit but the cushion wasn't completely even either so I simply did the best I could. The recipient was thrilled as was I just for trying something new. Yeah me for coloring outside the lines! And do I dare say GO RED SOX! (this is totally the time that it sucks to only be using a rotor antenna on roof - can't watch the game?!)

MICHAEL MILLER ROCKS MY WORLD

I'VE MADE SOME PROGRESS ON THE RAINCOAT THAT I SAID I WAS GOING TO MAKE OUT OF SOME MICHAEL MILLER LAMINATED FABRIC. I BELIEVE THAT THE PRINT IS CALLED CARNIVAL BLOOM BROWN. I JUST LOVE THE VIBRANT COLORS IN THIS FABRIC. I ACTUALLY STARTED BY TRYING TO GET GOING ON A HAIR STYLISTS CAPE THAT I WANTED TO GIVE TO A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS ALMOST DONE WITH HER SCHOOLING. OF COURSE, I MANAGED TO SCREW THIS UP TOTALLY AND CUT TWO HEAD HOLES IN THE DAMN THING SO RATHER THAN WASTE THE FABRIC, I CUT ANOTHER CAPE AND THEN USED MY MESS-UP TO CUT THE RAINCOAT IN A SIZE 5 WHICH ACCORDING TO THE MEASUREMENTS SHOULD BE PLENTY BIG ENOUGH - JUST NOT THRILLED WITH THE LENGTH. NOW, WHEN I CUT THE COAT OUT, I WASN'T PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE CUTTING DIRECTIONS AND MANAGED CUT ONE PIECE INCORRECTLY (I THINK THE PATTERN PIECE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOWN AND IT WAS UP AND I HAD NOT A STITCH OF EXTRA ON THIS FABRIC - JUST BARELY ENOUGH TO DO THS PROJECT. SEW . . . I FIRST WANTED TO THROW A TOTAL TANTRUM BECAUSE THE FABRIC WASN'T CHEAP AND THEN I THOUGHT . . . HMMMM . . . I ESSENTIALLY CUT THIS IN REVERSE SO WHAT IF I CUT EVERYTHING REVERSE??? I CALLED MY FRIEND JODI AND WE BOTH AGREED THAT IT'S A DIFFICULT CONCEPT TO WRAP YOUR BRAIN AROUND WHEN YOU'RE NOT RIGHT THERE SEEING IT AND SHE ALSO HAD ANOTHER GREAT IDEA - LAMINATE THE SAME FABRIC (I DID HAVE THAT PRINT IN UNLAMINATED TOO SINCE I LOVED IT SO MUCH!). IT'S CLOSE TO DONE AND BACKWARDS CUT WORKED OUT FINE. I'M NOT OVERJOYED WITH MY STITCHING JOB ON THE BIAS TAPE IN THE BACK NECK BUT I'M GOING TO GIVE IT ANOTHER ROW FROM THE INSIDE SO I'M SURE I'M CATCHING IT ALL IN AND YOU DON'T SEE THE STITCHING ON THE OUTSIDE ANYWAYS CUZ IT'S UNDER THE COLLAR. I NEED TO HEM IT AND IT CALLED FOR A 1 1/4" HEM AND I USED ONLY 3/4" BECAUSE I FELT IT WAS SHORTER THAN I'D HAVE LIKED. I THOUGHT I'D PUT SOME SIZE 16 PINK SNAPS ON IT BUT I ONLY HAVE 4 AND IT CALLS FOR FIVE SO I THINK I'M GOING TO PUT 5 DIFFERENT COLOR SNAPS ON FROM A COLLECTION OF BRIGHTS - EACH OF THESE COLORS IS IN THE PRINT. I CAN'T DECIDE IF I SHOULD GO THROUGH BOTH LAYERS OF FABRIC OR JUST ONE AND SLAP SOME INTERFACING BEHIND IT FOR ADDED SUPPORT. I'M NOT EVEN SURE WHAT THE DIRECTIONS SUGGEST. I RAN OUT OF THE HOT PINK THREAD I WAS USING SO I'VE GOT TO GET MORE TO FINISH THIS ANYWAYS. FOR NOW, HERE'S YOUR SNEAK PEAK!THE FAMILY DID THE DEERFIELD FAIR AND OUR ONLY REGRET WAS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE MORE TIME. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY. MATTY SKIPPED SCHOOL, KIDS LOVED FEEDING THE ANIMALS AND DAVE ENJOYED SITTING ON HIS DREAM (IT'S A $20,000 DREAM?!) HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND I'LL TRY TO GET MY BLOGGING WEEKLY BUT NO PROMISES!

SEW . . . I'M ON A ROLL NOW

I'VE BEEN BUSY AND YES I KNOW THAT MY BLOG IS GETTING STALE (SORRY MOM) BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MANY SLEEP DEPRIVED NIGHTS THAT ONE CAN HANDLE IN A ROW. WHY OH WHY MUST I NEED SO MUCH DARN SLEEP? SEW . . .HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY LIFE AND IN MY SEWING ROOM.

ONE OF MY DEAREST FRIENDS JUST LOST HER HUSBAND TO ARDS AFTER HIS SUCCESSFUL BATTLE WITH CANCER. UNFORTUNATELY, THE CHEMO WORKS WONDERS WITH CANCER BUT YOU'RE BODY SIMPLY CAN'T FIGHT BACK AGAINST ??? I FEEL HER PAIN AS HE WAS A GREAT HUSBAND, FATHER AND FRIEND AND I WILL MISS HIM TERRIBLY AS WELL AS THE PIECE OF CHRISTINE THAT I KNOW HE'S TAKEN WITH HIM. TAKE A MOMENT TO READ ABOUT THIS AMAZING MAN KNOWN TO MANY SIMPLY AS BUD http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080907/NOCOMMENTING/809070336/1006/COMMUNITY02

YET ANOTHER CLOSE FRIEND AND PARTNER IN CRIME (O.K., NOT REALLY CRIMES BUT IT SHOULD BE W/ ALL THAT WE HOARD) HAS RECEIVED HER LAST ROUND OF CHEMO FOR HER BATTLE WITH BREAST CANCER. SHE HAS STILL MORE PHASES OF TREATMENT AHEAD OF HER AND YOU CAN VISIT HER THROUGH THIS JOURNEY AT HER BLOG http://www.happyhousequilts.blogspot.com/. THIS BLOG IS ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL AS JODI IS AN AMAZING WOMAN - TRULY ONE TO LOOK UP TO FOR HER STRENGTH AND DETERMINATION. HER ARTISTIC ABILITY IS BEYOND MY COMPREHENSION AND I HOPE THAT YOU WILL TAKE A MOMENT TO VIEW THIS IN EITHER HER BLOG OR AT HER ETSY SITE http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5093295 BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU THAT YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

SEW WHAT? WHATEVER! THAT'S WHAT I SAY! I JUST NEED TO TRY NEW THINGS I GUESS?? I GET BORED, I WANT TO EXPAND MY HORIZON'S OR MAYBE I'M JUST A D D AND I JUST DON'T KNOW IT? CUT OUT I'VE GOT BOTH A RAIN COAT AND A HAIRDRESSER'S CAPE IN SOME BEAUTIFUL MICHEL MILLER LAMINATED FABRIC CALLED CARNIVAL BLOOM I'VE NEVER WORKED WITH THIS TYPE OF FABRIC BEFORE SO WE'LL SEE IF I MAKE IT THROUGH THIS. THE ONLY REASON I'M DOING THE RAINCOAT FOR KRISTEN IS SO I DON'T WASTE THIS EXPENSIVE FABRIC SINCE I SCREWED UP THE CAPE THE FIRST TIME I CUT IT OUT. THE DAMN THING HAD TWO HOLES FOR THE HEAD WHEN I WAS DONE WITH IT - STUPID STUPID ME! ANOTHER PROJECT ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK IS NOT SEWING BUT RATHER A PENDANT SO I'M REALLY EXCITED CUZ THE DIY NETWORK SAID IT WAS SOOOOOOOO SIMPLE - RIGHT JODI? OH, I SHOULDN'T FORGET THAT I'M WORKING ON A CROCHET ROLLED BRIM HAT THAT IS TO BE FELTED ONCE I COMPLETE IT AND THAT'S A FIRST FOR ME - FELTING THAT IS. RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS WOULD BE

THE PINWHEELS - DON'T ASK, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO USE THEM FOR, I WAS JUST TRYING SOMETHING THAT I SAW IN A BOOK. THE PURSES, WELL, I'LL LIST THOSE ON ETSY SOMETIME IN MY LIFETIME . . . MAYBE?? THE APRON I ACTUALLY MADE FOR MYSELF BUT I FEEL LIKE MY HONKERS POKE OUT THE SIDES OF THE TOP WHICH MIGHT DEFEAT THE PURPOSE SINCE THOSE ALWAYS GET CRAP ON THEM - ?? THE PICTURES SIMPLY DON'T DO THIS AMY BUTLER FABRIC JUSTICE SO I'VE GOTTA CHEAT AND PUT THIS LINK IN HERE SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE FABRIC REALLY LOOKS LIKE. LOTUS STAR PAISLEY LIME http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=c680785a-7611-4c15-a85e-ef43e29c18d4

AND THIS ONE TOO LOTUS FULL MOON POLKA DOT LIME http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=7613caf9-7f31-4b30-811d-124232b49131 IT'S TOTALLY REVERSIBLE AND YES, IT WAS A LOT OF WORK AND I ACTUALLY ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT BELIEVE IT OR NOT.

I SHOULD MENTION THE KIDS - THEY'RE GREAT. KRISTEN'S STARTED DANCE AGAIN AND SHE WAS GLAD THAT I FOUND HER "RETARD" (SHE WAS TRYING TO SAY LEOTARD BUT SHE SAID RETARD INSTEAD). SHE'S DOING PRESCHOOL 3 A.M.'S A WEEK AND SO FAR SO GOOD. THANK YOU TO CARPOOL DIVA CINDY! MATTY HAS STARTED 3RD GRADE AND THINGS ARE GOING WELL. HE'S ALSO PLAYING SOCCER. HE'S GETTING A LITTLE GOOFY ON ME AT TIMES BUT HE'S A GOOD KID. AND LET US NOT FORGET THE FAMILY TRIP TO SIX GUN CITY! NOW THAT'S SOME SERIOUS FUN PLAYING LASER TAG OVER AND OVER AND OVER . . . AND THE ROLLER COASTER REPEATEDLY?!

I KNOW, I KNOW, SHUT UP KIM - RIGHT?? BUT HOW WOULD IT LOOK IF I DIDN'T MENTION THE HUSBAND AND THE WONDER THAT HE IS?! HE'S DOING SO WELL AT HIS JOB WORKING OVERNIGHTS (OUCH!) AND SOME OVERTIME AS TIME PERMITS AND SO NOW YOU KNOW HOW I GET ALL THIS SOLO TIME IN MY SEWING ROOM! WHEN THE HUSBAND'S AWAY MOMMY DOES PLAY . . . IN HER SEWING ROOM! TO THOSE SELECT FEW THAT ACTUALLY READ THIS POST UNTIL THE END - YOU ROCK!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN AND WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO YOU ASK?

Well, those that know me well know that my husband was laid off so I began working extra nights to bring additional funds into the household. This presents a whole slew of infringement issues with my crafting & computer time for more reasons than I'll get into right now. I'm pleased to report that my husband found a fantastic job and he's now working several overnight shifts a week so it leaves me some alone time after the kids are in bed! Well, I've got a lot of catching up to do! I thought maybe I'd post tonight with some projects I've been able to do recently, including my last post which was a new Jalie pattern that I tried and I wrote my first pattern review. Yeah me! Brief notes on projects . . . flip flop bag was a gift for one of my nieces, the small purse was just a first effort at a new pattern, the hats I started after a friends recent diagnosis with breast cancer and thought I might try to sell them but maybe not?? (her blog totally rocks so check it out http://happyhousequilts.blogspot.com/), the swimsuit was for the queen and believe it or not I got another two-piece completed out the same 1/2 yard of remnant fabric (now that's some creative cutting!), and the pink diaper bag was put up at Etsy. I think I even came across an incomplete knit dress on my sewing table last week and finished that w/out directions and I think I'm going to just use it as a beach cover-up, but don't have a pic of that. Oh yes, then there's Kristen's blue butterfly outfit where I made my own cording. That was fun (ha, ha)! And Matty's 8th birthday where he HAD to have a turtwig cake. Last year it was a pokemon cake - turtwig is just another character. I was so worried he wouldn't even know what it was but he was thrilled with it. Sorry that my blog has been so uneventful! I'll try to do better but I make no promises!