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Tuesday, October 03, 2006



Come sew away, Come sew away, Come sew away with me
(get ready for music to begin)

My sewing machine will be running non stop until after the first of the year. With my Pink Christmas projects, Christmas gifts and Halloween costumes.
What is my problem? Why can I not just buy the costume off the shelf. I have this thing where I have to make the costume. The fact last year I bought Caroline the buzz lightyear costume from the Disney store about pushed me over the edge.
I have made all of Annie Kate's Halloween costumes and have loved it. So this year I am getting ready to sew away.
Annie Kate is going to be Pipi Longstocking
Caroline is going to be Sleeping Beauty
(totally against my will)
Sally Jane is either going to be Cindy Lou who or Holly Hobbie

Caroline had wanted to be Cinderella for a month. So I bought the fabric (luckily for like $5.00 for all of it) and now she wants to be Sleeping Beauty. I bought the above pattern because I was going to tweak the Snow White Pattern into Cinderella because I didn't like the Cinderella pattern. Huge mistake. Caroline has seen this pattern sitting on my table and now is obsessed with Sleeping Beauty. I am not about to make a dress she will not wear so now it is off to buy new fabric. I am so cheap when it comes to buying fabric anyway, I hope I can find something for a good price.
But the funny part about the above photos is that the other day I came into my sewing room and found Caroline with the pattern in the sewing machine. She had even lifted up the presser foot and had put the pattern underneath it. "Mom let's make it" she said. I was laughing and crying at the same time.
Laughing because it was funny , but crying because I was reminded I have to make this dress. In my opinion it is the hardest of the princess's to make. I am not looking forward to it.
If someone has therapy for how I can just buy the one at Costco please let me know.

So what are you or your kids going to be for Halloween?
Do you have a vote for Sally Jane
Holly Hobbie or Cindy Lou Who (book version not movie version)

lyrics from one of my favorite songs of all time! so I am hoping for the sewing angles to come sew with me on this S. B costume. And anyone is welcome to come sew away with me... If you listen to the words it kind of fits my dilema.
A gathering of angels appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said
They said come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me

19 comments:

Serendipity said...

Oh, I need some sewing angels too!
I just took out a Dorthy pattern, looked at it, then I put it right back in the envelope! I decided I'd rather deal with it all tomorrow...
(Then I read your entry & smiled, I can so -laugh/cry- relate!)

Anonymous said...

I vote the book version of Cindy Lou Who for sure. She is one of my favorites and Sally Jane looks just like her!!! As for the sewing...if there is an existing dress (ie the Costco one) Just use it!! Add to it or alter it slightly to give it the one-of-a-kind-Kristi look but don't feel like you HAVE to sew it. Make her a candy basket made out of roses (the ones the prince has to cut through) or have her holding the spindle. Have fun with the other details and don't worry about the dress. ( Is it obvious I don't sew???) As for Ellie, I have talked her into being Macaroni and Cheese!! hee-hee. She'll hate me when she's older! Mark is willing to be a Diet Coke and I'm going to be a Weight Watchers Fudge Bar. All of our favorite things!

Elisa said...

I would say buy it at Costco but I LOVE the snowwhite dress that I know my mom stayed up nights sewing for me. I have it and it makes me feel so loved everytime Miriam wears it. It makes me cry thinking of my mom trying so hard to make sure I am happy....just like I now do with Miriam.

On the other hand...the princess dresses at Costco looked pretty nice. They are long gone from our Costco, they were gone in September. I understand your adversion to the Disney Princess thing...judging from how fast the costumes flew out of Costco there will be thousands of princesses on Halloween night(maybe that is another plug for sewing it yourself...at least C's will be a bit different). A friend told me to just let Miriam be who she is and I am trying hard to do that, Disney princess and all.

Anonymous said...

My vote--Cindy Lou Who! My children (okay the whole family) are into an animated series called The Avatar. I picked up Chinese robes from Chinatown this weekend and will go from there! I used to feel that way about making things, but I am an overwhelmed, tired mom these days and have tried to simplify my life. Your children will have WONDERFUL memories of each costume you have sewn. Make sure to keep them and put them away for keepsakes!

Bond Girl 007 said...

I'm speechless...I wished I knew how to sew and embroider, I bought a sewing machine a couple of years ago (200) and I have not really used it that much! at least my husband knows how and has made some wonderful cushions....true! talent...halloween??? need to get busy!

Anonymous said...

We were almost stuck with Sleeping Beauty, which is my favorite princess, but I'm not that good of a sew-er, so I implemented the distraction and switch method to get out of it. I took Tess to the costume dept. of the store, went through all the patterns and looked in all the magazines until she decided that she wanted to be a penguin. I'm so happy! I can do this penguin out of Family Fun magazine. Piece-of-cake!

Spencer the Bomb Diggity said...

oh please take off that song off of your site. Yikes, the hair is freaking me out.
Oh, and Savannah bug is goinf to be a ladybug. Sorry Kristi we just bought it at costco.

Anonymous said...

This will make you feel better, Riley has wanted to be a shark since last halloween (He never changes his mind) no patterns out there and only store bought have men hanging out of the mouth, so I went to ebay and the patterns were selling for 25$!!!! I had no idea what to do, then found one at an ebay store for 2.99$-but it was a larger size, I thought I could make it work. So I get the pattern in the mail, and all the shark pieces are missing!!!!!!!!! Ugh! I have the directions and may have to make my own pattern. I am right there with you in halloween mayhem trying to make my little ones happy with what they want to be. I did Cinderella for emma last year, alot of gathering...she is a fairy butterfly this year.

jenny said...

I'll I have to say is that patterns completely FRIGHTEN the heck out of me. I would loan you my princess costume but mine is the disney store version. I would have to say just break down and get the Costco costume! I thought it was pretty cute. She would probably love it and afterall you are making the other two.

My vote would be the book version of Cindy Lou that would be totally cute. As for my costumes well, you read my drama.

Amy said...

I vote for Cindy Lou Who. How cute would that be?! I wish I had some good tips for how to get over buying a costume, but I don't. Maybe it's a good thing that I can't sew. I would feel too pressured to make costumes for my kids. My mom always made ours.

This year Kailtin is being Cinderella--the Disney Store version. We have the dress, the tights, the tiara and the "glass" jelly slippers. I have the dress hanging up on the back of her door so she can look at it. She's not allowed ot wear it in the house becasue it gets glitter everywhere! Alexander is going to be the frog prince. And Jeremy and I, as usual, wil be nothing at all. We're so boring!

Liz said...

I once bought 2 of those same patterns for princess dresses, but I never made them. Like Jenny I freak out when I try to decipher patterns! If I were you I'd send it to my mom and have her make them (that's what I was going to do with mine) ha ha. Anyway, I'd also vote for the CIndy Lou, my friend made her daughter a Holly HObbie costume last year, and while it was darling, no one really knew what she was (all the Mormons thought she was a pioneer). Good luck with all your sewing!!

Jill said...

You're stressing me out, how do you do all of this? Silly question, it's your passion so of course you can do it because you want to do it. I guess I just wish I could do it. I have no sewing skills and am not inclined to make the kids' costumes. I'm not opposed to doing something creative, I'm just not going to be sewing it from a pattern. So sad.

I vote for Cindy Lou Who too!

Anonymous said...

well, i cannot sew a straight line to save my life, so my kids all get store bought. plus, my husband grew up with a mom who sewed everything (and while it is totally cool for girls... because my mom sewed for me and 90% of the time i loved what she made.. apparently for boys... not the coolest thing over the age of say... 3, so he says) so he has an aversion to anything homemade. but then again, i guess if i was a really good seamstress he wouldn't.

but here is what you do... make the cinderella dress anyway (you got the fabric so so so cheap and actually, it will make a fabulous play dress for her... so do that anyway). then and only then.. go and just buy the Sleeping beauty dress at Costoc. Don't think about it, don't look at it... just find her size and throw in the cart. quickly pile all of your cereal and crackers and fruit and other things on top of it. then pay for it (let them unload your cart for you) and just hand it to Caroline when you get home.

and forget that you didn't sew it. if you must, rip out the tag and put in a pockets and posies tag. or put in a tag that says "because mommy loves me so much." then when you look at it you will know that you gave her something she really really wanted but it didn't cost you in the terms of time with her and the other girls.

Kristi, you are SO busy... I bet if you think about it, the $15 is worth all the extra time you would have with the girls and your husband. Just my p.o.v. though.

my kids will be:

Undecided but leaning toward Harry Potter Quidditch (do you know how I could possibly tweak last years costume to this... I am stumped)

Tinkerbell (old dance recital costume)

Peter Pan (hand me down from older brother who never wore it after he swore that is what he wanted to be when he was 3)

and

either a Clown (hand me down... $7 from 8 years ago) or an Elephant (hand me down $12 at Costco from 4 years ago)

All store bought. Which now makes me feel extremely un-crafty after reading what most everyone else is doing...

Angie said...

Can't sew and would freak if I had to try and figure out a pattern. I've bought many and got everything out and starting crying because I don't understand sewing jibber jabber. Good Luck.
I vote for Cindy Lou Who, too.
My girls are wearing poodle skirts, that is if I can make two more to go along with the one we have. I think Greg & I may dress up as Danny Zucco and Sandy from Grease.

Anonymous said...

ok Kristi, i read your post on my blog and then i started laughing. i didn't think i was being funny... ok, well may be a little bit. btw, i just reread what i wrote... sorry, the 9 year old was regular HP last year, that was why i asked how to tweak him to Quidditch. I realized that even though I know Heather and she knows what my kids were last year... you don't. yeah, a little crazy mommy moment there. sorry.

good luck with whatever you decide to do. I know that the disney store has their costumes on sale a lot the whole month of October. My costoc already had Christmas dresses out yesterday so that probably means no costumes. Hmm... oh Target just put out all of their stuff. I went to mine today and there was not a dent int the costumes at all yet. so maybe there?

have a really good day! glad I could make you laugh. :)

michelle said...

I totally vote for Cindy Lou Who -- I already think she looks like her!

If I were you I would buy the costome from Costco. I have sewn Halloween costumes for my kids, but I have no problem with buying one if it is cute and not too expensive! Will Caroline really care? If not, then why should you? Just my opinion. (Maybe if I was a better seamstress I wouldn't be so quick to buy a costume...)

Anonymous said...

Kristi - I am laughing so hard. You are too funny, and the added song on your site cracks me up. Seriously, the things you need therapy for are the things the rest of us take for granted- we all WISH we were 1/10th as motivated you are on any given day. My mother made all of my halloween costumes, prom dresses and then my wedding dress. She complained to me just this week that she is sad that Sabine won't play with dolls because she can't make clothes for them. You are headed straight there!

Amie said...

I made James a Santa Claus suit last year and am more than happy to buy this year.... I don't sew so it is a form of torture for me.

Jennifer said...

I definitely vote for Cindy Lou Who in spite of the fact that my 4-year old costume was in fact Holly Hobbie complete with pastel blue swiss dot bonnet and dress which I also wore to church on a regular basis. be careful of what you may breed...hee hee! The question will be-can you make "Cindy Lou's" strangely morphed face?