Growing Worm

I finally completed the Halloween costume for Lillian last weekend.  I was so excited on Saturday to be so close to finishing...all that was left was the snaps to close the costume and eyes for the headpiece. 

This process took at least 3 weeks...probably more...to complete.  My husband and I worked very hard on a pattern that we thought would produce a costume (for an infant) that would resemble a worm. 

I tested the first pattern on some muslin (inexpensive fabric) and it seemed to turn out alright except for the placement of the tail and the way it would attach. 

I went back and made a couple of slight changes, cut out the pieces, and started sewing them together.  Then I asked my husband what I thought would be a simple question which turned into making a totally new pattern and starting over.  This is where the question of the tail or skirt came in for those of you that voted.

We borrowed a dragon costume from our sister-in-law and used that as a model for the new pattern.  Then I had to choose fabric that I thought would keep her warm and comfy but still look good.  I decided on lightweight fleece for the lining and shiny, glittery green fabric for the shell.  The green was the suggestion of our wonderful playgroup moms :)  I was very confident and pleased with our new design and went to work pinning, cutting, sewing, stuffing, adding ribbon to signify the segment, etc. 

Last Saturday night...approximately one week to Halloween...Being as excited as I was I figured I should try it on my little wiggle worm. 

Note: Lillian is small for her age (like me) and her Dr suggested we feed her a diet that is heavy on fats (oil, butter, avocado, etc.) until her 1 year appointment...we call it her "Fatten Me Up Diet."



See the big belly...that's preventing the costume from closing!



The back of the costume...it definitely had us laughing really hard!

 I'm happy to report that Lillian went through a growth spurt in the past few weeks that made the costume way too small...not great for the time and effort that we put into making it, but great for our little girl's development! 

She will be the dragon that we borrowed for Halloween tonight...it's really cute on her and I will always remember the first Halloween costume I ever made. 

Oh and one last thing about this process...be careful when you go to Joann Fabrics...it can take hours to get fabric cut on the weekends!!!



Our Dragon Princess at the Pumpkin Patch



V is for Violin

I realized recently that I have a lot of pages left to create in this First Year ABC scrapbook for Lillian.  I think my count before yesterday was 11 out of 26 (13 of 28 if you count the covers). 

Yesterday I made the page I plan to use for Halloween.  I also worked on the Playgroup Pumpkin Patch page...both of those will need more pictures to complete the layout. 

V was a difficult letter for ideas.  I was nursing my wonderful husband back to health on Valentine's Day, so we didn't really do anything fun or cute that day.  I still have my violin from my younger years, so I put Lillian in a pretty dress and snapped off some pictures while she explored the instrument.  Unfortunately I need to replace a string and tune it otherwise I could have played a little song for her.  Maybe someday...

Costume Update

After working feverishly all weekend with Brent to come up with a pattern fir this costume, I think I may be ready to start cutting...again. 

We thought we had it all figured out.  I even bought Muslin to try it out and pinned the pieces together to try on Lillian.  It turned out to be too small around her body, no problem, and the tail wasn't in the "right" place, I can fix those problems. 

So I adjusted the pattern and started cutting out pieces.  Then I was finally ready to start sewing!

I started with the hood which I think I can keep :)  Then I sewed the collar, arms and legs.  Then I put the pieces together and realized that the tail would not attach the way we originally planned...so it was back to the drawing board. 

Luckily at this point we went to Brent's brother's house for dinner.  I was able to borrow a couple of infant/toddler costumes including a dragon with a tail attached.  So I'm using that as my example of how to create this worm outfit.  I redrew my pattern and outlined what steps I'm going to take when sewing.  I need to go back to Joann's to get more fabric and other supplies, but I think it may finally work (I actually feel confident about this pattern). 

Unfortunately, I need to take a break from the costume in order to get some birthday gifts ready...hopefully just a couple of days with those, and then I will be back full force working on the costume with pictures of everything - pattern, practice, failed attempts, and hopefully the completed worm costume.

U is for Umbrella

My friend Laura is interested in digital scrapbooking and wants to take a look at what I have done on Lillian's ABC scrapbook.  I pulled it up today and realized I still have a LOT of work to do on it...better fire up the old computer to see if I can recover some old pictures from Lillian's early days. 

Here's one of my favorite pages:

As for all of my other projects...I think I may have overwhelmed myself with crafts and so I'm not really getting anything done :(  I'm trying to make gifts for all of Lillian's friends that are turning one...they aren't too hard, but most of the work has to be done while she's sleeping.  I need to make four of these in the next two weeks.

Of course Halloween is right around the corner as well...so I'm feverishly trying to create a "wiggle worm" costume out of my imagination.  I'm going to sew an outfit with segments, but now I need to decide if I make a green tutu to represent grass (that the worm would be popping out of) or do I extend the outfit to make the tail of the worm?  Not sure which will be more obvious in the end but I think the tutu would be easier to construct than the tail of the worm...if you're reading this, let me know what you would do? 

And some day I will return to the skirt that I bought a pattern for a couple of weeks ago...some day :)