More Halloween Costume Stories - what was the greatest Halloween Costume you ever wore?

Click to enlarge the image. These are from the October 2012 issue of Real Simple. Clicking on the holiday label at the bottom of this post, will bring up other holiday posts including more of these stories from past Halloween Posts.

New remotes as a proactive, avoiding carpal tunnel, action

I have mentioned, many times over the years, that I am super careful about my hands. If I do a lot of handwork one day, I do not do any for several days or even a week.

I am careful of my hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, neck placement pretty much all the time. So careful of my lower back too.

I have also mentioned I record everything I watch and then blink thru commercials. Our recorder is set for 30 second blinks. So I am not fast forwarding. I am jumping in 30 second segments.

So I push the jump button, a lot.

And I had sort of noticed the jump button was getting harder and harder to activate.

We ended up with extra remotes, because we only have one tv hooked up to cable now.

As the kids have moved out, we went from 3 (5 of us) to 2 (4 of us) to 1 (3 of us). So we have one tv hooked up to cable and three TV's hooked up to Rokus (which get Amazon and Netflix and PBS and other services). 

So I took two old remotes to the cable company and traded them for two new ones. They were free. They did not even look up my account.

World of difference between the old remote and the new one. So, I actually should have done this long ago.

Two remotes is a very handy thing in general. Two that work easily is wonderful.

I did this while oldest was home to program remotes for me. Yes, I am sure I am capable. But so much faster for him to do it.

I have a list going for when he is home for thanksgiving.

Top of that list is an iPhone for me. A whole series of buttons now do not work on my phone. And my love of a keyboard for texting is now being out weighed by Internet access and a camera.

And third on that pro list is the ringer shuts off but can call twice to get thru at night thing. Because 6, 7, 8am is often the middle of the night for me. And 11pm - 1am is sometimes the middle of the night for me. So that feature will be great, IF it has an option for texting that works like the calls.

Oldest is my go to for all things computer related.

Seams Unlikely by Nancy Zieman

Gretchen, habits interview

Elmer the Elephant Jacket

Yes, it looks just like Elmer the Elephant.

Lining is a cotton print with elephants. It is very light, nearly white with pale etching. So it is not competing with the bright, pieced solids.

Those are 3"x3" cut squares which finish at 2.5"x2.5". I made some effort in placement of colors, trying to keep them random and like colors somewhat apart.

The pieced outer layer was sewn to double nap flannel. I used a quilt as you go, flip method. So the jacket is three layers thick - pieced layer, flannel layer, lining.

I used Butterick pattern #6139. I think a size 12. Middle probably needed a size 10 and I went up one size. I probably should have gone up two sizes to a 14. I ended up needing to use a 1/4" seam allowance instead of the standard 5/8". It was too snug in the shoulders with 5/8. So I sewed the sleeves in once, at 5/8 and then took it apart and redid it with 1/4 seams.

So when I cut out the pattern pieces, I was cutting pieced squares already sewn to the flannel.

I used 5/8" seams to attach the side pieces to the center front/center back (princess seaming which makes it more fitted and less boxy), and at the shoulder seams, and when I sewed the pieced front and the lining (right sides together, leaving an opening in the back hem and then flipped the whole thing right side out). I think I used 1/4" seams everywhere else. I serged everything I could.

I sewed in the ditch (side seams, shoulder seams, around the hem and sleeves) from the front/pieced side to hold the lining and pieced/flannel layers together for ease of taking it on and off. The only place I top stitched was the neck opening.

I certainly would not like to be making more than one of these, because it was labor intensive. It was more than just making a jacket. It was all the piecing and then making the jacket.

But it turned out really cute. And she can just leave it at school for chilly days.

I loved these

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/03/magazine/01-brown-sisters-forty-years.html

Pete the Cat

This is a long sleeved, heavy weight, woman's shirt from Goodwill. I think $4.50.

Just so you know, incredibly hard to find plain yellow anything in fall. 
A kind clerk at my box store told me yellow is a spring color 
and I was wasting my time looking in all the stores, now.
So, I bought 3 shirts at Goodwill, had middle try them, 
and this was the keeper.

I split it up the center, added yellow cotton facing that was heavily interfaced, 
one layer of iron on plus another layer of cotton. 
I had three of the buttons. I had to buy the top, aqua one.

I returned the shirts I did not use. 

It looks like a doll size shirt in the pictures, but it is actually a women's size large,
so middle can wear it as a sweater/jacket over regular clothes.

It was for Pete the Cat week at preschool, last week. 

The next set of pictures are for Halloween in her class. 
The theme is children's books.
Everyone is supposed to dress as a character.
I found this picture, and that gave me the idea.
The hat is a stocking cap I remade.
The cap was $1. 
The shirt is actually a waffle weave shirt from the boy's department at Walmart in a size XL. The shirt was $7+. 
I had the pipe cleaners and fabric in my stash.

Dress up clothes line

See the long leg piece, against the wall, running along the floor? That is what keeps it all upright.

The U screwed into the back of the bookshelves keeps it steady.

This was a place to get a bar for the dressup clothes (posted a week or two ago) without taking up much extra room.

The doll blankets are "therapy" blankets, a rough side (towel) and a soft side (minky selections), the pillows have pillow cases

Knit shirts for modern dolls, I took pictures of the steps as I did them, so I remember next time