Mr. Six and a Pokeball

hula girl

I was cutting out the pieces for S's Mr. Six costume on Saturday morning, but I made it! By Sunday, the kids' costumes were all done and I'd even found time to improve that crappy looking cummerbund I'd made for Mr. Six.

Mr. Six's bow tie and cummerbund were from McCalls 4290. Turns out, I could have skipped the cummerbund entirely because it was so chilly that S had to keep his jacket closed the whole night. The jacket was from Simplicity 3997 and looked awesome! It came together very quickly and really made the costume.

The pokeball costume was made from Simplicity 3993 (the same pattern I used for the boys' pumpkin costumes four years ago). The little quilting experience I have helped me rework the pieces into colored sections and stitch on the big circle applique in the center. Recalling some quilt labels I'd made with inkjet printer fabric, I thought that what the pokeball really needed was a big Pokemon sign across the chest. I found an image online, printed it out on the fabric, stitched it on, and it was perfect! The Six Flags logo on S's jacket was made the same way.

And then there was the hula girl. This costume was from McCalls 2795, which is a great simple pattern for six different costumes. I'm so glad wee changed from the ladybug costume we had originally picked out to this one. It was so her! Once we talked her out of wearing her flip-flops, she had a blast running from house to house telling everyone she was a hula girl and beaming when they told her she looked pretty.

I'm so lucky that the kids enjoy the costumes I make for them and I can't wait to hear what they want to be next year!

Yesterday, B brought home the requisite 'what are you thankful for' activity that he'd done in school, but this year, his teacher had them think of less tangible, more conceptual things. He wrote that he is thankful for space, friendship, laws, light, warmth and the full feeling of food. (He's a poet at heart, our B!) Of course, he is also thankful for LEGO, K'Nex, and Pokemon...

...and books, to hold up giant marble roller coaster creations.

Told you he was a poet at heart!

I am thankful for brothers who get into tickle fights while I'm trying to take a picture of them.

And little girls who love to shop for purses.

And a husband who takes care of them while I go back to school.

And two homework-free days to enjoy with them all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween night was cold! Too cold for a hula girl without outerwear. So our little hula girl grabbed her mother's just finished hat and wore it for trick or treating!

I've been teaching a lot of hat classes recently and it always helps if I make a hat along with my students. I can model techniques on my hat and they can all take a turn using dpn's even if they haven't gotten that far on their own hats. In my hat class before Halloween, I pulled out some left over Spud & Chloe Sweater yarn from wee's crazy pompom hat (which has pompoms now, but is still awaiting its tassels!). There was plenty of pink and green left, so I thought I'd make a little striped hat for wee. About halfway in and I realized the hat was more my size than hers. No worries. I can always use a new hat. I finished it up and set it in the hat box by the door.

The next day was Halloween and hula girl needed something to keep her head warm. Something in a "watermelon" pink and a "grass" (skirt) green maybe... My hat! We stretched her flower headband around the brim and she was all set. Serendipity!

A few weeks later and I had another hat class and still more pink and green Spud & Chloe Sweater left over. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a hat just for wee one! This time I thought I'd make the reverse of my own green and pink hat: pink with green stripes. It looked awesome...

Until I ran out of the watermelon pink yarn right there, a mere inch from the top. So much for using up leftovers.