Catching Up

Mr. Husband left town over the weekend and we had an all lady house (except for one kitty cat man).  We started our weekend by watching Maleficent and then we got crafty and loungey.  The Lady Bean listened to a lot of music and worked on homework (wow).  I decided it was time to pull out old projects and new ones... always new ones.

Let's start with the new!

Pumpkin form

I made progress on the pumpkin mask, but for some reason I don't like using a black bag for the form.  I don't even know why, but it's covered with paper now.

Linoleum block

I finished my first product review for Cut Out + Keep.  A project with a tutorial and final photos will be posted there.  I am not sure when, but I will put a link here when it happens.

I call this "The Louise Pattern".

Miss Bean decided to be Louise Belcher for next Halloween.  I know this seems insanely early, but I enjoy working on the costumes when I'm stuck inside during the winter.  I also realized after years of last minute costumes, it's much more fun to be done with a costume when October hits than it is to be starting one.  The other benefits are better costumes because I'm not rushing and if it's already made, it's harder for her to change her mind 5 times.

Now for the old...

From white to grey.

I pulled out a bag of supplies that I had for a project(s) started two years ago.  I used to feel awful about doing things like this (you know, setting something aside and then just sort of walking away from it), but then I realized that I often end up going back (eventually) and it works better that way.  Sometimes I need to develop a few skills or step away in order to figure something out.  The problem with this method though, is that sometimes you decide you want more of a certain fabric you were using, but you can't find it anymore.  So the photo above is me "making it work" and dying some similar fabric that I already have.  Not what I would liked to have done, but I learned to buy a little extra in the future.

Fancy Bat is back.

That brings us to this, Fancy Bat.  Fancy Bat wears a fancy hat.  Fancy Bat also wears a vest and maybe some sort of a pocket watch, sips drinks with a pinky out, etc. because Fancy Bat is fancy.  FB is inspired by Mary Engelbreit characters, personified animals in children's books, and a bit of the Victorian era.  I drew the original sketches and sewed the hood and cape in 2012.  I was using this piece to challenge myself to sew a complete outfit based on a created character.  At the time, I was planning to purchase a shirt and tights to layer the pieces over, but now I've decided to sew those as well.  If I'm using this as a personal "sew a complete look" challenge, I really should go all the way.  Anyway, the next piece is cut and ready to sew and I've made a few tweaks to the design. I am loving it.  

Does anyone write?  Fancy Bat needs a story.  Maybe someday I'll write one, but that's not really my thing.

xoxo,

b

Halloween Hold-over

Okay kittens, I've been a time management mess lately. So please excuse my absence, but in my chaos I've decided to keep Halloween around for awhile.  This means I'm still making costumes and crafts. Eventually I'll move on to Christmas, but does anyone else ever feel like Christmas is a big holiday bully?  It's always crowding the others and overshadowing their presence; it always creeps in just a little too early.  Well, that needs to stop.  I also tend to feel like the general public doesn't accept an extensive Halloween celebration, but they'll overlook the overzealous celebration of Christmas.  Also, be honest, those light up lawn decorations have nothing to do with being good Christians so it isn't about being religious either.  The flashy holiday celebration is pure commercialization.  Just admit you like the pretty lights and presents.  This concludes my unscheduled rant.

Anyway, let's look at what's been happening during the great Halloween hold-over of 2012...

Life Aquatic Costume Pieces

I don't believe I ever showed you how the Team Zissou shoe DIY turned out.  I'm content with it and it was much cheaper than buying the actual shoes.

Spider web poncho

Next up is this poncho.  I have two versions of it going.  This is the one that I prefer.  The other is my first effort.  I'll finish them both and model it up later.  The poncho is inspired by this one I found while aimlessly browsing (aka collecting visual research).  It's out of stock, but it's also out of my price range.  I'll show you my version of this too when everything is finished.

Fancy Bat

Then came Fancy bat and the kitty cat attack on sewing...

Napping with the fabric.

Complicatting the fabric cutting.

Lining my fancy wings.

Making progress...

Occasionally, they got up and I was able to work.  At other times, they attacked my marking pens and my sewing thread.  The wings feel like a blanket and I suppose they'll end up being sort of quilted.  I cut the fleece wrong in the beginning so it became a liner fabric as opposed to a finish fabric.  Now my wings have some weight and will probably keep me warm (because you know when I'm dressed as a bat in December, I don't want to be cold.).  Tonight it will be on to pressing, top stitching and the addition of piping.  Oh, and I should also add some sort of closure.

Here's hoping for more organization and better photos soon (my camera is repaired and shipping back to me today!).

xoxo,

B