M’s play opens this week, so I absolutely had to finish the costumes during the weekend. As you all know, a sewing marathon requires (a) lots of coffee–always in good supply in this house; and (b) fortifying foods. Saturday morning, I whipped up a batch of banana chocolate chip muffins to get me started.

They were quite possibly the best muffins I have ever made…light in texture, moist and sweet, but not too sweet. I’ve used this recipe before, but this time, they were inexplicably better.

By Sunday afternoon, I had finished the bodies of the costumes.

It was an awkward affair sewing on those tails. I can’t say my stitching was particularly beautiful. I *think* they’ll stay attached…if Eeyore’s falls off, I hope the actor has presence of mind to pretend it was meant to happen. After all, Eeyore’s tail is supposedly only affixed with a tack. I used an uncovered button from a make-your-own button kit for the “tack.”

M and I decided to use flannel–and not faux fur or fleece–for the bodies of the costumes so the actors wouldn’t get too hot under the stage lights. I couldn’t live with an unfluffy skunk’s tail, however, and used faux fur for that. Boy, that stuff makes a HUGE mess. I think I still have bits of that up my nose and my sewing machine certainly needs a good cleaning.

I finished two hoods shortly afterwards. Here’s the skunk and Piglet.

Eeyore’s hood required a little more work, since it needed a mane. I didn’t finish that until later in the evening…

I’m not too thrilled with how the mane turned out. It looks a little bit like the moppy ‘do worn by Moe of the Three Stooges. I am not a hair stylist for people or talking animals. I did the best I could and called it quits when I ran out of the yarn.

My pattern review can be found here.

The kids are both old enough now to appreciate holiday traditions. They remember doing some of these things in years past and look forward to doing them again. As you can see, pumpkin carving was a big hit with them.

Sam and Claire cleaned out the pumpkins as best they could and directed the cutting of the designs. I, of course, was in charge of sharp implements. Sam chose an elaborate spider design. Claire was happy with a goofy face.

Our jack-o-lanterns garnered compliments from the neighbors!

Of course, trick-or-treating was the most exciting part of the holiday. Their dad and uncle took them around the neighborhood and they came back with an unbelievable amount of candy. I guess our neighbors were suckered by how cute these two kids are (I know I would have been!)

More holiday photos can be seen here.

I had hoped to finish my orange jacket in time for trick-or-treating. I had imagined attaching some black felt cutouts (only temporarily) to make it look like a jack-o-lantern, but I just plain ran out of time. I did finish it the next day and am very happy with it.

I think I managed to save it from looking too “clownish.” Cutting down the sleeves helped a lot. It’s not something I can wear all the time, since that neck is deep and wide. It looks best when I wear a turtleneck or crew neck top underneath it. Also, the wide neckline allows the cold in. My next jacket is going to be less “stylish” and more practical. Even though I disparaged the material a lot in the past, I’m eager to sew with fleece again. It’s easy to handle and makes perfect outerwear for the damp weather we have around here.

More details on the McCall’s jacket can be found in my pattern review.

I have a confession to make. I am completely obsessed with sewing. So complete is my obsession that I resent having to take out time to do other things like eating and sleeping. I attribute this phase to a “eureka” moment I had recently about getting things to fit me. That was my big stumbling block for so long–and now that it’s gone, I want to sew all the wonderful patterns I’ve got filed away.

I’ve been busy test fitting garments by first pinning together the tissue pattern pieces (often retraced onto separate tissue to keep the original intact) and sometimes sewing up muslins, i.e. test pieces out of cheap fabric. It’s going really well, but I don’t have much to show for it yet.

Folks, I’ve got to air a pet peeve of mine. The term is MUSLIN–ending with an N. Muslin is a type of fabric. Many people seem to confuse this term with MUSLIM, which is a practitioner of a certain religion.

Stepping off my soapbox for the moment…

In the meantime, I’ve stitched up some garments, which required less fitting work than what I hope to make in the future. Here’s the pajama pants I made using the instructions in Heather Ross’ book, Weekend Sewing:

They turned out great and are extremely comfy. I made a pair for myself out of the same fabric as Claire’s. I’m going to make many more of these!

I also stitched up what I’m thinking of as a “lady of leisure uniform.” I really should be sipping (a) martini(s) when dressed up like this:

While the design is fairly simple, it was my first time sewing on knit fabric and I’m thrilled to report I got the hang of it. I read Wendy Mullin’s book, Home Stretch, and studied my machine’s manual before I began. I do not have a serger (nor can I afford one right now), but am glad I can do a nice job with these fabrics. I’m planning on sewing some t-shirts for myself and the kids…special t-shirts…fun!

Finally, Robert cleaned out his closet to make room for some new spring clothing he purchased. This made me giddy with excitement–not because we would be getting rid of a pile of stuff that was cluttering up our home–oh no! I was excited because all that fabric could be cut up and used to make something new and fun.

I’m going to use some of the fabrics to make blouses for myself. I’ll use others to make shirts for Sam.