halloween

Halloween part 3

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We usually attend the Halloween festivities in San Francisco’s Japantown- it’s very family friendly, all the activities are free, and we usually run into friends there. Today started out very rainy but the weather cleared up just in time.

The kids chose different outfits today- the Wee Boy was a pirate (cobbled together from things we had around the house), and the Girl was Kiki from the movie Kiki’s  Delivery Service. I made the dress and cat (Jiji) for her four years ago, but they’re still serviceable! I wore my Dalek outfit again.

It was super sunny and bright after the rain!
This is exactly why I don’t mind spending the time to make our costumes; they still get so much love ❤️ even years later. 

Three down, one to go! 

Halloween parts 1 and 2

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Yesterday was our first Halloween event, a carnival at the Girl’s school. I dressed in a school uniform, which went over really well with kids and adults alike. There were many double-takes, and many of the smaller kids who I hadn’t met yet thought I was one of the big kids. 😂


I only managed one goofy selfie. 

Today was the Halloween party at the Wee Boy’s school, where my Dalek costume made its debut.


The Wee Boy was the Fourth Doctor from Dr Who, and the Girl is Rey from The Force Awakens.  Most people thought I was a ladybug, but a handful of parents recognized Tom Baker and a Dalek. 



I plan to do a post soon about how I put my costume together- with ideas I would have found useful. 

Two events down, two to go!

Halloween!

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Finally, Halloween is here! The kids and I wore our Star Wars outfits, of course.  

this was taken yesterday, but we looked exactly like this today, but didn’t take a pic together!


Today we attended a very excellent Halloween party hosted by an elementary school classmate and family. There was BRAIN jello, which was extremely popular with the kids.  
 And adorable (delicious) spider cupcakes!  
And broomsticks!

 Most of the moms dressed up, which I loved, of course.

  
How amazing is this makeup?!

 
The kids looked great and had so much fun.

  
The Wee Boy met many Vaders!

 We went trick or treating on Belvedere Street, which becomes pedestrian-only and most of the houses put on a great show!

This house always has a (movie) theme and puts dancers in costume in the windows.  This year’s theme was Hotel Trannsylvania, and they made a paper mache dracula head- amazing!

   
I met two other Han Solos, and one was another female Han! I loved that the husband was Leia and the baby girl was Luke. 

too dark for a good photo!


Hope you had a fun Hallowern, too!!

 

Phew!

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We had three events today, which is a lot for our family on a Sunday.  

For this and that reason, I only have one photo for the day:

 

fun with friends in Japantown!

  
And one for the post-bedtime luxury hour:

 
This is my latest hat for the Larkin Street Youth Services. Inching closer to 15 hats in 2015… And stash busting to boot!

Halloween event #1

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One of the fun things about having kids is the number of Halloween-related events, well,  assuming you like Halloween and costumes as much as I do! Today was our first event of many, and we were excited to debut our new, or in Leia’s case, slightly improved, duds.

I got carried away with adding more and more details- I was actually sewing things onto my outfit in the car to and from the Wee Girl’s soccer game this afternoon. 
 

an important detail

  

The Boy’s costume is all DIY/regular clothes except for the mask and light saber, which I bought.

little vader

  

who’s scruffy-looking?

  

The Wee Girl’s outfit is from 2 years ago, but she insisted on being Leia again. But this time around I bought her some new boots.

  
I’m so pleased with how this turned out! I thrifted/up cycled/made the entire outfit, and was working on details up to an hour before our event.   
I came up with more details for the belt this morning. Hot glue gun to the rescue!

 

We met an Ewok at the party!
  
Darth Leia on the way home.

We have a Star Wars event tomorrow, so we’re excited to wear our outfits again and to see what getups others come up with!

Halloween sneak peek 3

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Thanks to some sage advice from a reader of this blog, I revisited the pleather I was working on the other night. I had given up on the sewing machine in favor of the hot glue gun, but the result was mediocre at best.  I undid a lot of the work and went back with needle and thread.

  
Of course this was the way to go! It took several hours, and I wouldn’t have been able to finish if the Wee Boy hadn’t taken a fluke nap (big fluke! He fell asleep in my arms!).  At the risk of giving away too much information (I haven’t told you my costume, right? But if you know me even a tiny bit, I bet you’ve guessed!), here’s my result:

  
I think I’ll add just a few more details, but I’m very happy with it! It fits well and it’s even comfortable–I wore it all through dinner (hmmm, did I just prove what a geek I am??), and it didn’t shift or break, so I think I have a winner! Yeah!

Halloween sneak peak

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It’s no secret that I like costumes, making costumes, and any reason to wear costumes! This year, both kids have decided on costumes from the same theme, so I decided to join in and dress up as a character I’ve been wanting to cosplay for some time. I bet  you can guess our theme/characters, even though these pics only represent 2/3 of us. 

   
 
For myself and the Wee Boy, this is about what I have so far (my outfit is actually nearly done, but not attractive to photograph in pieces). I’ve been scouting Goodwill stores for the pieces, since a) don’t want it to cost too much, and b) want them to last, since we will be using these outfits for more than just Halloween! 

Handspun, swatching, blocking, and Halloween!

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Good news, my swatches for my NaKniSweMo cardigan look good.  The lace one is the one that really concerned me, but it looks to be the right size!  Yay!

Swatches!

Swatches!

I have four freshly blocked blanket squares, and this skein of handspun is almost out!

Blocking squares.

Blocking squares.

Luckily this one is ready to step in.

Wonderland Dyeworks

Wonderland Dyeworks

We attended some Halloween festivities today, and I whipped up a Totoro outfit so I wouldn’t be left out of the costume-y fun!  I already had the hat and soot sprites, I just made the tummy out of leftover white fleece and gray felt I had around.  Easy!

Impromptu Totoro costume!

Impromptu Totoro costume!

And I couldn’t BELIEVE that I found someone dressed up as Cat Bus!!!!!!!

NEKOBASU!!!!

NEKOBASU!!!!

The Wee Boy found Woody and Mr. Potato Head, and I thought his head would explode from joy.

The Wee Boy geeks out.

The Wee Boy geeks out.

I think I can officially declare Halloween as my favorite holiday!!!

Halloween, part 5

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This should be my last Halloween costume post until… Halloween (aside from pumpkin patches and various Halloween parties, etc!!!).  Today I was able to finish both kids’ costumes!

I had to hem the Wee Girl’s Alice in Wonderland dress:

Hemmed!

Hemmed!

Naturally, she wanted to put it on right away after school, which of course was super flattering to me.

Is the Cheshire Cat up this tree???

Is the Cheshire Cat up this tree???

Then I made cuffs for the Wee Boy’s Jessie shirt, and a long yarn braid to attach to the hat.  I roughly used Lasso the Moon’s tutorial on yarn braid-making: http://lassothemoon.typepad.com/lasso_the_moon/2012/10/toy-story-jessie-costume-tutorial.html  I attached the braid directly to the hat, however, since there were stitches to attach it to.

Braid and cuffs, done!

Braid and cuffs, done!

He loves them!!

He loves them!!

The two kids insisted on wearing the costumes out to the bagel shop and park, and who could blame them??  I’m very happy that they like them, and the fact that I spent so much time and effort on them makes me really enjoy them wearing them often and everywhere!  Halloween or not, costumes are awesome!  I have to come to terms with the fact that these costumes will have some wear and tear by the time we go trick-or-treating, but at the same time, it will make all my effort so worth it!

Snacking while staying in character-- tougher than it sounds.

Snacking while staying in character– tougher than it sounds.

Beach day! And Halloween, part 4.

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Well, the San Francisco Bay Area has been having something of a heat wave!  It doesn’t feel like our normal Indian Summer, not with these 80+ degree temperatures!  So the kids and I headed out of the city today to Stinson Beach.  It turned out to be a very excellent choice.  It got up to about 90 degrees, I think.  Nor-Cal water is frigid even in super hot temps, but it felt great anyway.  We pretty much got soaked up to our necks.

For the first time since I had kids, I took a book to the beach! I actually got to read a few poems in between fetching water, chasing waves, and digging holes.

For the first time since I had kids, I took a book to the beach! I actually got to read a few poems in between fetching water, chasing waves, and digging holes.

Taking a break from the water with watercolors!

I also took along art supplies for the first time since having kids! It ended up being a good call!

I also took along art supplies for the first time since having kids! It ended up being a good call!

The nice thing about staying for a super long time is that we were all ready to go at the same time.  No fussing!

We stayed for about 5 hours, which I'm sure is our longest stay at a beach!

We stayed for about 5 hours, which I’m sure is our longest stay at a beach!

We made a quick stop at JoAnn’s on the way home for the last few bits and pieces for Halloween costumes, and while the kids passed out watching Monsters, Inc., I finished the zipper and apron for the Wee Girl’s dress.  This was my first time putting a zipper into a garment, and it went ok.  There was a tiny part where it looks like the fabric didn’t quite catch, but I sewed in an extra line on each side of the zipper (topstitching? edge stitching?), so I think it’s safe.

Zipper!

Zipper!

I veered from the apron instructions because 1) I didn’t understand them and 2) the Wee Girl and I thought that the apron should be attached to the dress, for security purposes.

Apron!

Apron!

Now I just need the Girl to try it on and decide on the right length!  Then we’ll be ready for pumpkin patch photo ops, Halloween parties and parades, trick-or-treating….

THIS close!

THIS close!

I hope your Saturday was as excellent as mine!