On the prairie

October is going to be an insane month for us. We are both traveling this week, and then once we return, Craig departs for Paris. The day after he leaves I start a three week long contract, which my boss tells me will be much more challenging than the previous job. So, knowing that the month will be busy and that I'll be alone for a spell, I decided to do Halloween costumes a month in advance. I sewed all weekend long, and today, finally, one is done.



Inspired by a trip to Conner Prairie (where we purchased the bonnet) and the Little House books, Grace asked to be a prairie girl. Turquoise isn't really a prairie dress color, but she loves it (and isn't that the most important thing anyway).



There are buttons to be added, but Grace couldn't wait to get it on. As I write this, she's gathering pecans from the yard. True Prairie Girl! Up next are the finishing touches on Princess Leia for my darling, Julia. Given that Julia's hair is only three inches long, it's going to be a challenge to fashion Leia's hair.

Halloween 2010

Introducing...


Word Girl and Sacajawea

Every year when October rolls around my office turns into a sewing room, as I madly try to complete costumes the girls have chosen. Not surprisingly, each year they get a little more complicated. Thankfully, my sewing capabilities have improved over time. I doubt I could have handled Sacajawea five years ago.

Though October turned out to be a crunch month for us, I enjoyed these projects, and what's more, the girls were absolutely thrilled with the results. Word girl has flown around our neighborhood a number of times (not only on Halloween), and Sacajawea will be worn for years to come (Julia's called dibs for Halloween 2012). We put them to use too--trick or treating on Saturday with Grace's buddy, Noah, and scaring the animals at Zoo Atlanta's Boo at the Zoo on Sunday. Now we're all worn out.

We hope you all had a great Halloween (and it's Halloween, people, not Fall Fest or Harvest Fest, as so many of my more religiously minded neighbors might tell you). Enjoy the pictures and video.

Mini Me

Once Julia saw Grace's costume, she ditched the ghost idea. I didn't have that much fabric left over, so Julia's is more of a cape. Let's hope no one changes her mind in the next few days.

Made

I bought a linen skirt a few years ago. It was long and flowy and looked like spring. The reality of the skirt on my body wasn't good. It was too long, so I looked stumpy. I never had the right shirt to wear with it, and I almost always felt a little more frumpy than flowy with it on. The skirt sat in my closet, at the back of my closet, begging to go to goodwill, but I liked the fabric. I kept it around.

Finally, yesterday I did something with it. I transformed the skirt into a summer dress for Grace. She wore it all afternoon, and put it back on this morning--a very good sign. I had just enough fabric leftover to make a skirt for Julia last night, and today the girls match. I had no pattern for either of these pieces, and overall I'm really happy with how they turned out.