the tradition of last-minute costumes begins

Last year I put off making the kiddo's costume for his first Halloween party until the last minute. This year was no different. Do we see a pattern emerging? Shall we just call it a tradition? There are a million online tutorials for making a dragon/dinosaur costume out of a sweatshirt, but I didn't refer to any of them because it's such a simple, straightforward project. I used an old green sweatshirt that used to be my favorite until the zipper stopped working, nipped in the sleeves, tucked a little here and there, attached a row of white wool felt teeth and a couple of eyes, and added a tail made of two pieces of green Kona and lightly stuffed with Polyfil. No big whoop. It was the easiest costume ever. It's a little rough around the edges, but he wore it well and seemed to enjoy chasing his tail around like a cat (yet ANOTHER way in which kids are like cats).

Today was the party, and he was a shy, quiet little toddlersaur only roaring when he wanted a donut. Tomorrow afternoon we go trick or treating, and I expect that will be a ton of fun. We've been practicing our roaring and tail-swishing.

bloomin'

I have neglected the dahlias this year. I picked up tubers at the last possible moment, at which point all they had left were this pink variety and some red ones. I think I grabbed all they had left because I wanted a very full garden. I also had a few tubers that survived the winter in the basement, but I didn't label them like I usually do so we had no idea what was what. Matt planted them while I directed, taller varieties in the back, smaller in the front. The unlabeled ones went in the back just in case they were the huge purple ones that grow so well here. I staked them once, only reinforcing before the mega-storm. Thankfully, all the rain we had this summer has made for a happy, healthy crop of dahlias because really I have made no effort to ensure that on my own. We have dozens and dozens in the garden now. They are making their way into our home - and into our friends' and families' homes, too. And really, I love them so.

happy-making

The quilt top has grown since the last time we talked about it. I added another row consisting of two huge blocks each made up of four smaller blocks. Although it's taken me forever to post about it, this was all accomplished within a couple of hours of sewing and pressing. Seriously, easiest quilt ever. I'm hoping the people taking my class tonight feel that way about it, too. I've scaled it down a bit for them because this size (50 x 75 inches) might be a tad too big to be a crib quilt. It might also prove to be a bit easier to quilt at a smaller size for someone doing their first quilt. 

We've also put together some bundles of fabrics to make this quilt outside of the class available at gather here. The pattern will be ready by the end of the month, so I think the bundles and the pattern will be available as a package then. I'll have more info on that soon, though.

holy knit what the hell is this?!

It's the first knitting project I have picked up in months - seven months to be precise. My knitting mojo up and left me, and I haven't thought about (or cared about) knitting in all this time. Of course, the project that broke the camel's back might have had something to do with said mojo's sudden disappearance. All the Rhinebeck talk spurred a spontaneous decision to go and join in the Fall festivities with friends. And all the talk of Rhinebeck sweaters led me to cast on for a Wallaby for the kiddo yesterday. I just finished the first sleeve and hope to have the second finished and joined later tonight at some point during my Parks & Rec marathon. We'll see how it goes....

time for tricks or treats

I am sitting here over-thinking this post, partly because I'm so tired that I can only think in terms of slap-happy profanity. Also, I am trying way too hard to think of something even remotely profound to say about Halloween. Oh, Halloween.... It thrills me every year and takes me back to the awesome parts of childhood. When designing a trick or treat tote for a class at gather here, I kept thinking back to those plastic orange jack o' lanterns my mom would get us from Woolworth's. We would take them along with us as we hit every store on the way home from school and every apartment in the building later that evening. The goal was always to fill it to the rim and then some. Later that night we would sort through our treasure like satisfied little pirates, separating our plunder into three basic categories - "Yum!" "For Trade" or "What the fuck were these people thinking and how old is this gumdrop?" I would try to convince my sister that she wouldn't like my favorite candies so she should trade them with me for something "better." What can I say? I was a fiend for Almond Joy.

So this tote... easy to make, a fun project for the kids, and all you need is a couple of sheets of felt. If you're in the Cambridge area, come on by and join us next Tuesday. I also have a batty version of this which will be included in the class pattern. I'm hoping to have some photos of that before the end of the week.

batty for my barra

While making bats for the bat mobile class, I just had to make one for my wee. It's so cute when he runs across the living room making it "fly." I almost want to deck out the apartment in a mass of these for Halloween, but that might be a tad, you know, insane. Or it might be brilliant. Only one way to know....

I may be a little smitten

This might be my favorite project right now. I know this is the size I need for the class, but I am contemplating making it bigger for myself. I love this so much I want it in my everyday life.