Finishing Touches

I am still sewing Halloween costumes...well, to be exact, costume only so far. If you remember a few months ago, I posted a blog about just "how smart and clever" I was to grab what would surely be this year's "hot" costume pattern. It was sold out everywhere and the asking prices on Amazon were even more ridiculous than the asking prices of any pattern these days. But, if you are patient, either JoAnns or HL will put their patterns on sale. That is what happened this summer and I ran straight out to JoAnns to see if they had the one I wanted. Nope...no where to be found. But, I have been doing this so long that I know to always double check so, I got a number and waited in a very long line.

When it was finally my turn, I had a very nice young lady wait on me and when I told her my plight she told me they may have just gotten one in on a truck that just unloaded. Loonnnggg story short, I got it! Yeah smart and clever me!! I would be ready for Halloween this year - way ahead of my usual schedule even.

Fast forward to the start of sewing this year. This costume would just not look right without two of my LEAST favorite fabrics to sew on - sequined stretch and filmy glitter! I have been making many costumes for many years. In fact, I have probably made about every Halloween costume made by McCalls and Simplicity. Some of them were doozies...but, I made it through. This one did not look like it would be that difficult - even with my eye surgery obstacle.

Was I ever wrong! I should have known when I found mistakes in the cutting instructions, failure to even mention the lining material (thank goodness I am as old as dirt and knew this bodice would have to be lined, so I bought fabric in advance) and an incomplete list of notions. When I got the bodice done, I thought it looked a little big but this child measured right in the middle of all of the 5-6 measurements so after making sure that is the size I cut, I continued on with the lining. Then, I made the skirt...and, when I went to attach the skirt to the bodice, there was a difference of at least 4". That is when I ran over and tried it on her and found the top was huge! In fact, even the 3-4 looked a little big. There was no taking the sequined piece apart, so another trip to JoAnns was necessary where I had to dig in the "re-shelf" bin to find what I needed and wait in an interminably long line.

Now that I know there is a problem, I am taking it slowly. When I held pattern pieces of the same size up to each other, they were off as well as none of the notches matching up. It will be a miracle if this thing even goes together Because of the construction of the costume, there will really be no way to tell if it will all come together until the last pieces go on. Fingers crossed. If not, I am praying the Halloween stores that have popped up everywhere still have one.

This is the first time in all my years of sewing that this has happened to me with a pattern being sooo wrong. So much for this being a simple project.

But, after looking at this little dancer, who wouldn't want to make her dreams come true. Yesterday was observation and it is always so fun. She is the youngest and smallest in her class. She has taken tap and ballet in the past, so this is also her first try at jazz...I think she did incredibly well! And, it was a much welcome reprieve from the sewing machine.

Thought I would also share a little project that I fit in today during breaks from the sewing debacle. I saw this vase on Pinterest a year or so ago and was going to have the kids make them when they were here for our craft weekend. Unfortunately, everyone else must have seen it too because everywhere I checked was out of the spray chalkboard paint. So, I shelved the idea for another holiday or next Halloween. I was just zipping through WalMart the other day when I looked up and saw a large display of the paint. By chance, I went on to their craft section just to see if they might have the chalk marker and, voila, I won again. And so, I decided to give it a try for myself. I didn't buy the generic WalMart brand "mason" jars because I happened to have a few old jars hanging around but if and when I do decide to make these as gifts, I will because apparently the generics don't have embossed lettering as the "real" jars do.

Such a simple project...the hardest part is just waiting for the light layers of paint to dry before you could add another. I taped off the top of the jar, painted, drew on the face, put the rim of the lid back on and tied it up with some twine. I am going to get some orange, bush roses the next time I run by the grocery store but for now these flowers from the garden will have to do. I think it is cute and can really see this working for any holiday depending on the sentiment you write on the front. Just embellish appropriately and you are good to go...and, if you don't want to use flowers, it could easily be a pencil holder.  

See that beautiful hunk of wood the vase is sitting on....more to that story next post. Stay tuned.