Three Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf Fairytale Quilt

Two little piggies just hanging out in the straw house.

My darling niece is expecting her first baby in March.  We had a shower for her on Saturday, and I made the baby this goofy blanket.  Each of the houses is a pocket. The big bad wolf and the 3 little pigs can go in and out.

The quilt was made entirely of fabric scraps I had on hand, except for the largish piece of fleece I used for the backing.  The project was a quicky... If I had more time it would have been a little less primitive, but it is cute nonetheless.  Now I am inspired to make more interactive story quilts.

The not so big or bad wolf is house-sitting the stick house.  I don't think he's terribly hungry, although he is gritting his teeth something horrible!

The smart piggie made his house out of bricks.  Doesn't he look smug?

The finished quilt thrown over the back of the sofa

A Few More Costumes

I came across some pix from costumes that I didn't post before...

The bumblebee suit-  initially made for my darling nephew, who was moonlighting as a pollen collector (really)!  the costume has since had a lot of use for school events and Halloween parties.  I have no idea where it is now!

The fox suit was made because I found orange fake fur at the fabric store on sale for practically free.  it went on to live in Spokane and go to lots of arena football games.  The fox is the mascot for one of the teams.  The BoPeep outfit was also made just because I was trying to use up some fabric.  That is my long-suffering dog wearing the sheep suit.  He was adorable, but felt more than a little sheepish (haha) wearing the costume.

 

This is the Tattoo on the arm of my son's Sock Monkey costume.  He is about 6 and a half feet tall, and with the head on, closer to 7 feet tall.  It is a rather disturbing sight to see.  He was inspired by this Kia commercial to have me make the costume:

Monte and Mo, the cutest mascots ever.

For Halloween this year! my little nephew wanted to be "Monte" the University of Montana's grizzly bear mascot.  He wanted his little sister to dress the part of little "Mo", the mascot's small companion. The costumes turned out really cute, and the fake fur I found was super soft, I didn't feel like I had to line the suits at all.  Little sister wore her costume to one of the Grizzly football games, and was a big hit with the crowd.

 

The inspiration:

My uniform : McCalls Dress Pattern 6074

In the library, it gets extremely warm for 4 reasons:

1.  it's elevated by 3 feet above the ground floor

2. 30 computers and 370 little patrons put out some serious BTUs

3.  It's got amazing huge skylights

4.  The librarian is menopausal

Anyway, I wear the same nightgown-maternity-like dresses every day, all year long for its comfort factor.  The pattern I use is extremely easy as well. I have one in maroon, black, grey, blue, and several prints.  One of the best parts of teaching little kids is that they DON'T CARE what I wear. Here I am, looking considerable sturdier than the sketches on the pattern envelope:

Once Upon A Mattress - black

I am still busy crafting costumes for the upcoming play in Spokane.  This is actually avoidance behavior for me, as there are about 10 things that I really NEED to get done, but it's way more fun to sew.  I spent a whole $7 on this one, buying ribbon and the chain at the bodice front.  So far, I've made 4 gowns, all with cast-off prom dresses and bits and pieces I had stashed away.  I love making something from nothing. It appeals to my tight- wad nature.  I'm a little worried that black may be to somber for a musical comedy, but I didn't want to waste the dress.  Now, I only have one prom dress left to remodel.  It' s purple... Stay tuned!

Once Upon A Mattress Costumes

Well, the play hasn't been cast yet, but the idea of making a bunch of "princess dresses" was too much to resist.  I had several old prom dresses that I refashioned for the event.  They should fit most girls, since they all have lacing to adjust the sizing. 

      

T-shirt Skirts

Have a few old Tshirts with interesting images on the front or back? You can easily make them into groovy skirts.  I've been making tons.  Once the pattern is made, you can knock one of these out in less than an hour. You will need 2 tee shirts.  Nice to have but not essential: a serger, rotary cutter, cutting mat.

This is my attempt at a tutorial...

Make yourself a pattern out of a folded piece of newspaper or something else (I like to use cheap plastic tablecloths because you can see through them). The dimensions for this pattern will give you a skirt sized small-ish, good for hips up to about 38 inches.  The length is about 20 inches, give or take.

Unfold the paper, and lay your pattern out flat on a large Tshirt. If your Tshirt is too small,  you will have to sew extra on the sides.... But it's all good.

After you've cut out these 2 main pieces (front & back of your skirt), take another t shirt and cut according to the diagram below.... You will see that all my strips are different colors, it's because I cut up a lot of different shits, so I have lots of random strips.  When sewing, go right along the edge... No more than 1/2 inch seam allowance is provided!

Lara's Crazy Skirt

Lara found a blog that she loves,  Cotton & curls

The blog features lots of refashioned items of attire, which appeals to her sensibilities.  We are planning on trying out more of the ideas found there.  

For this project, we actually started with a new piece of fabric, as Lara really wanted stripes.  Unfortunately, we couldn't find any striped fabric that she liked, and ended up with this crazy print.  I like it!

When we first put it together, we had a yellow zipper, but I thought navy would give it more punch.

Both Lara & I are thinking this would also be cute with a vintage zipper, one that has brass teeth and an interesting toggle, perhaps.  The project only takes 1 yard of fabric, if you can tolerate an asymmetrical seam down the back.

Two Dollies

This sweet girl WOULD NOT smile for me, but she would let me take a picture to show her dress with the matching dolly outfit I made for her. Lots of BLING, and the blue matches her pretty eyes.

Skeleton Poodle Skirt

My good friend's daughter decided that she wanted a new poodle skirt for the spring sock hop, and that she wanted a Zombie Poodle, or Skeleton Poodle. I am wondering if this is an example of costume irony, and isn't it funny that a little girl would want such a thing? I love it!

This photo shows detail from the skirt, a little matching pocketbook I made to go with her outfit, and the crinoline I made for underneath. The crinoline actually took more time than anything... All those gathers!

Heidi Costume

I got to make a darling Tyrollean style dress for a little girl's Christmas gift this year. I do love a good excuse to use lots of trim!
I was able to make the entire thing with just stuff I already had. The black calico is older than I am (part of my Mother's stash). The trim is all from my extensive "karma collection" meaning that I inherited it from some friend's deceased relative who was as bad a packrat as I am.
Dolly got a Heidi dress too!

Vintage Zipper repair kit...

One of my darling coworkers needed the zipper slider on her favorite jacket replaced. I happened to have this funky old kit that I inherited from a deceased tailor. I went ahead and used it on the jacket, and it works like a charm. I love the slogans on the packaging and the promises to repair galoshes, rubbers, and girdles with failed zippers.

Conrad thought it was just terrible that I used the thing, he thought I ought to keep it as a curiosity, but I have so MUCH crap, I just can't hold onto stuff if I have a chance to get rid of it. I guess I'm just not as sentimental as he is.

A good day for baking bread

Today's rainy weather gave me an opportunity to bake a little bread.  Montana is so funny in the summer, with 90 degree weather one day, followed by rain, hail, and the furnace clicking on the next.  Conrad and I have become addicted to our homemade bread, and store-bought simply won't do any more. You know it's simple if two lazy folks like us do it.  I use the "Artisan Bread in 5" recipe, but modify the instructions a bit to save time.  I just put a silicone sheet on a cookie sheet, pull out a wad of dough, form the loaf, score the top, let rise for about 15-20 min.  Then I throw it in a hot (450) oven for 40 min.with a pie tin half full of water underneath.  I don't fool around with my pizza stone or cornmeal, because it makes a mess in the oven. Here's the recipe, in case you haven't tried it yet...

In a gallon ice cream bucket, stir up 3 cups water, 1.5 Tablespoons of yeast, 1.5 Tablespoons of kosher salt, and 6.5 cups of flour. 

Cleopatra

So, one of my little buddies needed a Cleopatra costume for her 

biography wax museum project. 

 I made her just the simplest little tunic, sash, and headdress.  

Isn't she so cute?  

Here she is, posing with her asps!

Undersea Jacket

 One of my colleagues has a son graduating from a local school this summer, and they have a "under the sea" theme for their commencement celebration.  He wanted a jacket to wear for the event.   I had a lot of fun decorating this one for him.  

To make the background scene, I sponged various shades of green paint on a sprig of juniper bush and pressed it against the fabric with newspaper.  To make the "coral", I used a sprig of lambs-ear with fuchsia and white paint.  The fish are actually cut from fabric that was designed to look like peacock feathers, with pieces added on to make fins.

  

This was a really fun, fast project!

Front view

Back view

March Hare

March Hare

Here is my friend Richard, graciously modeling another costume for Alice In Wonderland. I wanted him to look like he has been rolling around in someone's garden, so I distressed the jacket with a little spray paint, and gave him a carrot boutonnière, as well as one tied to his ear with a little raffia. His tail and cheek puffs are made from fuzzy "homespun" yarn.  I dyed the fur unevenly, to give him a somewhat scorched and frazzled look.

 

 

mad hatter

 My darling neighbor boy agreed to model all my costumes so I could get a few photos prior to shipping them all off.  I told him I would make him some cookies in exchange.  The Mad Hatter turned out pretty well, althought I should have thought to have him put on some mismatched socks and some funky shoes.  I bought the wig commercially, and it was a disappointment.  I should have had the confidence to make my own.

 

frog footman

Here is my fabulous froggy footman for Alice in Wonderland.   I like him quite a lot, but if I were to start over again, I would have given him an articulated jaw.  Perhaps he doesn't have any lines in the play, I don't know for sure.  The photo at the lower right is my inspiration.

Cheshire Cat

This is my slightly scary Cheshire Cat.  She has light up eyes and teeth!  I had to dye the fur gray, and it turned out more blue than I had intended.  Then I added turquoise and black stripes, as well as bleaching some areas for contrast.  The jaw is fully articulated, so the mouth moves when the actor speaks.  The claws are actually fake fingernails from the beauty supply shop... Flexible, shiny, study and cheap!

Hooka-smoking Caterpillar

I'm working on a few costumes for Alice In Wonderland.  This is my rather large caterpillar suit.  He will be sitting on a toadstool, so the actors' legs won't show.  The arms move in unison, thanks to the fishing line.  I sort of wanted to put shoes on all his feet, bit I didn't want to spend the money.  Wouldn't he look great in hightop sneakers, though?  I have sent him off to spokane, so now it's too late!

Mandy's wedding dress

My friend Mandy asked me to make her wedding dress. She designed it herself, with lots of pleats and bling... I had to make up the pattern as I went along, based on a sketch.  It ended up looking beautiful on her.  It fit pretty well, considering that I couldn't do any fittings (she lives on the other side of the continent).

Serious bling!



Lots of pleats!



Slightly distorted photo-  she's tall and lean

caterpillar costume

This is a caterpillar costume I made for children's play at school.  I love the way the arms all move together, thanks to fishing line. It's actually a child's size 10, but one of my adult colleagues couldn't resist trying it on, thus the 3/4 length sleeve effect.
I used some magnificent striped fleece, with a children's jacket pattern, cut extra-long.  The eyeballs are holographic stretch lycra. It looked great on stage!