Simplicity Pattern 2788 - A Purple Cat Costume

Lawd knows how much I love a good Halloween. And a good Halloween we HAD.

This year Everett's costume was store-bought, since I had no desire to tackle the whole cosplay thing. Alice wanted to be a purple cat, so we went to Joann and let her pick out her favorite fleece fabric. Her arms and legs were kept warm by purple leggings and a long sleeved shirt from Primary.com.

Her costume pattern was Simplicity 2788, and I substituted a cat ear headband for the hat options. The cat face was freehand work. I cut felt pieces out of fabric left over from costumes of years past, then did a whip stitch to secure them in place. I prefer this hand sewing method over gluing or fusing, since I find those other methods tend to peel at the corners.

I wrapped the headband (one with cat ears I found at Joann) with random purple polka dot fabric I had in the basement (also used for the cat's pupils). To do this:

• Cut fabric in 1/2" strips using pinking sheers (to avoid frayed fabric). Ribbon could also work.
• Use a hot glue gun on about 1-2 inches of the headband.
• Carefully wrap the fabric around the headband and over the glue.
• When the glue cools a bit, press the fabric down.
• Add another 1-2 inches of glue (depending on how fast you work), and keep wrapping until you reach the end.
• To finish, put some glue on the end of the fabric covering the headband.
• Tuck end of fabric strip and place over the glue. Hold until firmly in place. 
• I also added some little pieces of pink fabric to the ears using hot glue because I knew it would make her happy.

And there you have it. My little purple cat! 

Is there anything more fun than trick-or-treating? 

So you don't think this all went over without a hitch, Alice was DEVASTATED to discover I had used green felt for her cat's eyes. She wanted PURPLE. Even though the pupils were purple, she did.not.want that green. I explained to her that cats' eyes are green or yellow. She didn't care. So I reasoned. Iiiif there was time, I would change the green to pink. But, Mommy might not have time to fix it, ok? She was completely fine with this, and we (surprisingly) moved on with life.

Candy Corn Halloween Dress

When your niece sweetly asks if you will make her a Halloween costume, you wipe a little tear from your eye and quietly whisper, "Yes. I'm not crying. You're crying."

She specifically did NOT want it to look like a costume. She wanted a dress. She's stylish like that. We went to Joann's together, and I showed her how to look at the pattern books to see if anything spoke to her. She settled on Simplicity 8101, but she did NOT want a pocket. She then went to the fabrics and picked out what she wanted, and declared that she would be wearing bright yellow leggings for the bottom yellow portion of the candy. Isn't she the best?

When getting the bias tape for the neckline and hems, she discovered the magic of rick rack and had the idea to add fun accents to the contrasting fabric. She's such a gem!

I can't wait to see it on her. Yellow leggings were ordered from Primary.com. She's going to be the belle of the Candy Corn Ball*!

*Not a real event. It only exists in my mind.

Curb Appeal

Happy Tuesday after a 3-day weekend! Everett had an extra day off school last Friday, so we took the opportunity to travel to the Oregon Coast. It was a heavenly break from the real world. We are having one of those periods in life where it seems things are more difficult than average. Right when you think the universe is balanced again, Alice bashes her head and ends up in the hospital. I'm spending a lot of time wondering when the carpet will be ripped out from underneath me, and I'm looking for that one thing that will put us on course again. In the meantime, I'm doing an A+ job ruining things in my path (breaking wineglasses, shattering my iPhone, staining all my white clothes, etc.). Let's just say that my personal curb appeal is not looking so good right now.

That being said, you can only imagine my disappointment coming home to grass that needs mowing, weeds that need pulling, and wallpaper that needs stripping. And so life continues, along with all the projects we have on our to-do list. But if I'm honest, these projects are what make me happy. I feel the most like myself when I am outside working in the yard, doing home improvement projects, or creating new things. It's all that other stuff that gets in the way...you know, like having a job and making money and stuff like that. Le sigh.

Despite all that, we are full steam ahead with our spring outdoor projects. 

The most obvious change we have made to our house so far was painting the front door. One other change that may not be as noticeable was that I painted the shutters a glossy black. They needed a little facelift, as the color was definitely showing age. This After picture was taken last summer, and believe me when I say it looks even better now! Especially since there isn't a weird smoke cloud looming over the city (this picture was taken when half of Washington and Oregon were on fire).

I planted dozens upon dozens of bulbs last fall, and those gave us a great show this spring. My mother-in-law helped me add some hydrangeas last summer, and those survived the winter. We have also transplanted quite a few hostas from our backyard to the front, and some hellebore I brought from the old house is thriving.

Finally, I spray painted a few pots I had on hand and put them on our front porch. The picture of the pots was taken over two weeks ago. Much of what is in there was grown from seed in our house, so they started off small. They look even better today with everything blossoming and spilling over the sides.

That's all for the front yard now. We have done a lot of work in the back as well, so maybe I'll remember to share that one of these days. In the meantime, send all #goodvibes our way. I'm hoping that vacation ended our streak of bad luck, but it can't hurt to keep praying!

Painting a Rocking Chair

The weather is warming, the rain is ceasing, and flowers are blooming. Garage sale season is finally here! 

Now we own some sawhorses (of which we share 50:50 custody with my mom), and a rickety old rocking chair.

I am a firm believer in paint. Specifically Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. You know what I love most? There are roughly 37 paint color options and that's IT. No staring at color cards and buying 3 different paint samples before settling on a color. You get what you get. Sort of...

We are going for "French Country" in this room, so I bought a can of Napoleonic Blue. Is there anything more French? Except it was a tad too Crayola for me, so I custom mixed it with a bit of Graphite from a sample that was available. By the way, I buy my Annie Sloan paint from Mel's in North Spokane.

I think my blue to black ratio was about 1/8 - 1/12. I just kind of eyeballed it.

I really love the result. It is so pretty in person, and it has a very custom feel to it since the color is truly a one-and-only-anywhere-ever. And of course I added a bit of wax to make it glow, and to protect the chalk paint. Then I did some distressing with sandpaper around the edges to give the curves some contrast. I've been watching Queer Eye, and I can just picture Jonathan yelling at this chair saying, "Highlight those curves, Queen!" while chasing after it with sandpaper.

The back pillow will eventually end up outside when we have our annual drought. It is technically an indoor pillow, so here it resides until the rain officially ends.

I'm so happy I could rescue this chair from its fate in the junk yard. There is something so gratifying about upcycling things: good deeds, saving money, turning something old into something new-er. This chair has watched generations of children grow, seen maple sprouts turn into a tree canopy, and now gets to be a part of our family's story. 

Chair news aside, it's been busy around here, as usual. The garden is coming together, and we enjoyed our first fresh-cut salad the other night. Lawdy I love the summer. Even though I am already covered in mosquito bites.

Wallpaper Removal Round 1

The projects never end when you own a home. Even though our house was move-in ready a year ago, there are still remnants from the former owners that are not necessarily our taste. Namely: wallpaper.

For the most part, I believe most of the wallpaper in our house was tastefully chosen. I love the way the living room wallpaper reflects the golden afternoon light. The whole room is aglow, and it makes me feel so happy and content. However, if you look closely the print is super outdated, and it is in pretty poor shape.

Our bedroom wallpaper is a classic smoky blue color that is still very popular in many homes, and it is dark enough to hide any aging. But then you look closer and it has an odd texture, and there is a white border that was added on top that is...no longer white. Not to mention the off-white wallpaper accent wall and off-white trim that make the room feel dingy.

Alice's bedroom would not be so offensive, except the emerald green carpet that is paired with it. The kids' bathroom has already been (mostly) cleared of wallpaper. This project was expedited when they decided to take the wallpaper removal process into their own hands. Once the weather gets nicer I'll need to wrap up that project, so more on that later.

Today, we talk about the dining room. This wallpaper pattern was by far the most offensive to me. The pattern was a compacted version of what is currently in the living room. When I took a picture of my kids, all I could see was the wallpaper.

The pattern was far too dark and busy for the size of the room, and it really did date the house. When I say date, I do not mean in the classic way like our original pine finishes and built-ins. The picture below is one I saved from the listing.

I had the help of a couple girlfriends. It took 2 days just to get this stuff off the walls, one day of priming, 2 weeks debating on a color, and an evening of painting. Here is what I did:

•  Rough up the walls with a scoring tool. I used the "Paper Tiger".
• Get the walls damp with soapy water. I dipped a washcloth in hot, soapy water and got the walls super damp. Have plenty of towels ready so you do not damage any baseboards or wood flooring.
• Start picking at a seam and peal as much as you can at once. This paper was put on really well, and the glue was stubborn in many places. Having a flat head screwdriver was helpful in these areas, and tweezers were often a requirement. Do not let the walls dry! The glue will reset itself and you will end taking two steps back in any progress you have made.
• Once all the paper was off I washed down the walls once more with water, vinegar, and tea tree oil. While they were wet, I took a plastic ice scraper (for windshields) to the walls to get that last layer of glue off. 

Virgin walls!

• Apply paintable caulk around molding, baseboards, windows, etc. Seal it all in! We use the painter's tape trick for this, making sure to tape the wood finish really well, and do not forget to remove it while the caulk is still wet. 
• I filled any plaster cracks and nail holes with the paintable caulk and spackling compound. This probably isn't the way a contractor would fill these, but it meets our needs for now. I read blogs where they tore out all the plaster and redid it with drywall, but that was a bit beyond my capabilities and time frame.
• Apply 2 coats of primer. I am SOOO glad I did this. There were a few areas that still had glue I unknowingly missed, causing the primer to bubble. I was able to scrape that off and add another coat of primer without any repercussions. Losing a layer of paint like that would have killed me. 

Freshly primed walls.

• Two coats of paint finished the job.  

I love how you can see the "matching" living room wallpaper in these pictures. It helps me picture what the whole space will look like once I am brave enough to tackle the next room.

This is much easier on the eye.

You would not believe how much brighter the house feels now. It is amazing how much one room can affect lighting. I'm nervous and excited to get rid of that "golden" living room wallpaper.

What are some wallpaper removal tricks you've picked up? I need all the help I can get!

Icelandic Sweater

Did you know March is Icelandic Wool Month?! Ever since we visited Iceland, Jeff has coveted  handmade Icelandic sweaters. The problem is that they are ridiculously expensive.

When you are in Iceland spending an excessive amount on food and lodging, coughing up hundreds of dollars for a sweater is less than appealing. Since Jeff and I are cheap, he assumed for years that I was just going to make him one. Ha! Why does he think I know how to make a sweater? In both my distant and recent memories, I know I have uttered this statement at least three times: "Jeff, I am never going to knit you a sweater. Ever. So please remove that from your life expectations."

...I knit him a sweater...

The problem with making somebody something for Christmas is that you have to do it all in secret. Anyone with a child will tell you that secrets are not easy to keep with little mouths that talk. 

For 3 months, everyone in the house was talking about the blanket Mommy was knitting for Baby KJ (a rumor I personally started). By the way, it took me a god's age to make this because I really only had time to work on it a few hours a week. Stop judging me!

I had to restart the bugger 3 times. Please feel sorry for me. When you cast on hundreds of stitches using tiny little needles this is no small task. One time I was a good 8 inches deep into the project when I realized I had twisted the knitting at some point. *@#^$%@#!

Starting off is easy once you get over the initial cast-on drama. You really just knit in the round for the body and the sleeves. I put stitch markers at every 50 stitches, and a different colored one at the halfway mark, to easily keep track of counting.

Once you get to the sleeves it's business as usual. Keep knitting in the round until you get to the desired length. I made the sleeves and body a little longer for Jeff, since he is taller than the average global citizen.

When it came time to join the sleeves to the body...now this is where it started getting tricky. I have an image that I took on my phone. I will spare you from that image since it is poor quality.

At this point we were really getting down to the wire. Christmas was around the corner, and I only had a few days left to finish the project. I made excuses to hide from Jeff for hours at a time: my mom needs help wrapping presents, my brother needs a babysitter, I have to help out at church. Lord, forgive me for all the lies. On Christmas Eve it was finally done (after I spent 4 hours that morning knitting in a Starbucks).

I blocked the sweater in the upstairs shower underneath towels and the thickest Harry Potter books on our shelf. I crept upstairs early Christmas morning and quickly wrapped it after weaving in a few loose threads.

In conclusion, knitting a sweater (especially in secret) is not for the faint of heart. Be prepared for late nights and voluntary seclusion. If you decide to tackle such a project, hopefully it will be worth it. In my mind, this sweater will be passed on to our son and grandchildren. May they appreciate it as much as I am imagining. Who am I kidding, it will be at Goodwill in 15 years.

A few things to note if you are considering such a project:

• The pattern I used is from the Handknitting Association of Iceland. The kit I used included the pattern, the yarn, and all the knitting needles I would need. The website also offers free pattern downloads, but I thought the price of the kit was worth it, considering the yarn was authentically Icelandic and of high quality. I think it was around $90 at the time plus shipping.
• If you decide to use yarn from Icelandic sheep, be aware that is is very course and slightly scratchy. This does not mean the quality is inferior. On the contrary, the yarn is more lightweight, durable, and waterproof than other softer wool options you will find on the market. If it protects Icelandic sheep from harsh climates, it will do the same for you. Jeff wears a shirt under his sweater to protect his delicate, American skin. 
• Lettlopi (pure Icelandic wool yarn) can be purchased from the Handknitting Association of Iceland, but I also found some at this shop in Western Washington. You can order online from Tolt Yarn and Wool with extrasuperduper fast shipping. I know this because I just bought some Lettlopi to make a sweater for myself! This is a much more economical way to complete the project since you do not have to pay international shipping, and you can get the needles from Joann with coupons one week at a time...I told you I am cheap. I got this pattern for my sweater, but you can use a free one from the Handknitting Association of Iceland.
• When knitting the fair isle pattern, do not knit too tight or too loose. Keep one ball of yarn to your left and one ball to your right, making sure to stay consistent on which one gets looped under/over to avoid twisting. If my memory serves me right, I believe the "under" yarn will pop more in the pattern, so plan accordingly.
• Have fun and take your time. Expect mistakes, and embrace a missed stitch - hopefully it will be under the arm and no one will notice. Otherwise, I am here for you when you have to backstitch.  

The kids and I went on a pilgrimage to Tolt when we were in the Seattle area last weekend. It was everything dreamy that I was imagining, and no one gave me the stink eye when my toddler was pulling every reachable pink and purple skein off the shelves. Definitely visit them if you happen to be near Seattle, and snatch up one of their cute mugs. 

Months of Making

It's been a while since this space has been updated. A lot has happened in the last few months: holidays, ski trips, birthdays, and making memories. I think these days of the kids being young, innocent, and happy will be our best. As challenging and busy as this life can be, it is so rich, so full of good things.

I have dedicated a lot more time to creating things these past few months. Starting with Everett's Halloween costume. Luckily I didn't have to put too much work into it, and I was able to add wings to his dinosaur costume from last year to create a dragon.

There were wings that came with the Simplicity 1765 dinosaur costume pattern, but I just could not get them to look right, and Everett seemed pretty bummed by the way they turned out. So I decided to go rogue and design them myself to create a more cape-like effect - something I thought he would love since all his friends would be dressed like superheroes.

 

Yes, I wear Christmas pajamas all year. 

I used the costume for dimensions, added a seam allowance, then cut 4 pieces of the hand-drawn wings. After sewing the right sides together leaving the large (body) sides open, I trimmed the seams, turned right-side out, pressed, then top stitched around the outside of the wings to give it a finished look. To attach the wings to the body, I pressed down the large/body/open sides a bit to close off that last area of the wings, attached them to the body near the original costume seams, then did my best to stitch along the original lines. A couple hand stitches along the shoulders, arms, and wrists finished the look.

Alice's unicorn costume from last year still fit like a glove. She was just the sweetest. I died every time she walked up to a door and said, "Tricky Treat."

It was a fun and crazy Halloween! Someone please remind me to take the afternoon off work next time though, because feeding two littles and getting them dressed before the chaos began was a little much.

Other highlights from our autumn included harvesting all our squash, making pumpkin pie with said squash, preserving seeds for next year, visiting the arboretum, planting hundreds of bulbs for spring blooms, Everett's first Harry Potter symphony concert, walks in the leaves, beginning the wallpaper removal process, and Everett starting a new school.

Even in times of struggle, may you always find ways to create in your life, may you always find joy in the ones you love, and may you remember these times with fondness.

Easter Love

Life is full, life is rich. We are spending our days in the grind and staying afloat, magically. Here's a little of what has been going on:

• Alice moved up to the toddler room at daycare a couple months ago. This has been life changing in the best possible way. She eats, she sleeps, and she is so happy when I pick her up at the end of each day. She is still not walking, but scooting around quite a bit. I honestly believe much of her development was stymied by her experience in the nursery. She was always cranky because she could not get any sleep, so she was always being held. I am so lucky that she was in a center where the workers cared enough to give her what she needed: physical contact. Even though she was cranky, she always felt loved. She is thiiiiis close to walking and takes a few steps unassisted, but still prefers to scoot around on her hands and knees.
• Everett has been taking one-on-one swim lessons at Gonzaga for the last couple months. I can see an improvement every week, he loves the experience, and he absolutely idolizes his swim coach. Bath time these days has featured him giving his rubber ducks swim lessons. He has also enjoyed the change in our weather, since that means he can play outside and explore.
•  We planted our cold weather veggies! It will be so nice having healthy food to come home to once everything starts growing. The rhubarb is coming back in full fury, like it always does. I rediscovered this picture from a couple years ago and it continues to crack me up. All that being said, I think I need more rhubarb recipes. Please send them!
• We are planning some pretty great vacations, so that is exciting. Our camping gear will get a lot of use this summer.
• Easter came and went. We had a wonderful day surrounded by family, and I did not lose my sanity with all the church obligations that were on my plate. And now it finally feels like spring is officially here. 

For the Easter extravaganza I made Alice and I matching outfits. The boys were maaaybe going to get matching bow ties, but I certainly didn't prioritize it, and I definitely didn't budget for it when ordering fabric. Next year. Maybe. Probably not.

 I had been eyeing the Hanna Andersson matching spring outfits for a while, but hated the idea of throwing down hundreds of dollars. Much of it is sold out now, but I believe the adult skirt was upwards of $80, the t-shirt was $34, the shoes paired with it were well over $200, and the baby dress was $45. Not happening.

I spent less than $40 on fabric from Fabric.com (I still have a TON left), the t-shirt was $7 from Target, and I already had the Saltwater sandals. The skirt pattern was $1 from Joann's, and Alice's dress is a free pattern from The Cottage Mama.

Regarding the picture...Alice had just woke up from a nap (see: hair), I still hadn't brushed my teeth or put on makeup, and Everett was over it. Also, Jeff couldn't figure out how to use the camera. A winning experience for all involved.

Please also take note of the rhubarb plant photo bombing us in the bottom right corner. 

Everett was pretty much head to toe in Cat and Jack. He picked out everything himself, with a small bribe of shark slippers to sweeten the pot. Honestly, I'm shocked that we got him in this outfit since it doesn't have any firetrucks, dump trucks, dinosaurs, or monster trucks on it. Boys. The suspenders were from the dollar bin at Target, and he loved looking like a farmer.

Alice was comfortable in her dress all day. We had a sweater layered over it for most of the day, as Spokane springs are still quite chilly. She even took a couple naps in it without complaints. It should also be noted that she and I wore our outfits all day without the fabric wrinkling. That's a major bonus in my book.

I would say the day was a success, and so were the outfits.

Happy Halloween!

We did it! We made it to Halloween!

Everybody, now is the time to buy stock in Joann's because I was there DAILY for 2 weeks straight. AND...I finally bought myself a pair of Gingher designer scissors to reward myself for my efforts. Just in time to cut out the eyes for Alice's costume. Worth the money! Use those Joann coupons!

Alice's unicorn was sewn from Simplicity pattern 1032. I admit I did not add the tail or wings for three reasons:

1. Over it.
2. She will be in a carrier while we are out getting candy, so what's the point?
3. Over it.

The wings and the tail are all cut out and ready to be added...but I'm not doing that right now. Maybe next year since the costume will obviously still fit her.

My thoughts on the pattern: it is very basic, simple, and straightforward. I got most of it done in just a few hours. There are a lot of hand sewn elements, but that never bothered me - I actually welcomed the change of pace. For the eyes, I hand sewed them in place, rather than using the zigzag machine stitch suggested in the pattern.

Everett's costume was sewn from Simplicity 1765. For a while he was saying he wanted to be a lion again (Jehovah be praised!), then he changed his mind and asked if I would make him a stegosaurus (womp womp).

The pattern: super straightforward! The feet were the most challenging part. It took me a hot second to figure out how to attach them to the legs, but I managed. The instructions for the bias tape (which houses the ankle elastic) were confusing to me, but I think I was reading them at about 11pm and I'd never used bias tape before. My only #questioningface happened when the pattern instructed me to attach the little front plates with fabric glue. So far they are sticking, but if your kiddo will be wearing this more than one night I suggest stitching around the outside to secure them in place (I did this with one and was over it, but I will do this with all of them once I feel like winding another green bobbin). Also...I didn't line the hood, which is why it looks a little wonky. I know my kid, and don't see him wearing the hood for longer than a couple obligatory pictures (see first picture), so I didn't care to add more steps to the process.

You guys, as long as my kiddo asks me to make him a costume, I will make him one. I think these days are numbered, and I hope the little a-holes his age do not crush his sweet spirit when it comes to Halloween costumes. Today I watched his classmates talk about how they were dressed as bad guys, and they were talking about killing things. Right now my sweet son just wants to be a dinosaur who eats spinach. I'm just over here wondering why 3-year-olds are watching violent movies, but that's just me being judgmental.

Another good Simplicity pattern find from one of my many trips to Joann's: NEMO! Can you even imagine how cute it would be to see a Nemo at your front door? I die! (Maybe Alice will not be a unicorn again next year after all.)

Enjoy your night! Stay safe! Don't slash anyone's tires!