Pumpkins and Pirates

As I mentioned before, I love sewing Halloween costumes! I have made myself some wicked costumes in the past and now I have turned my attention to creating costumes for Ethan. Here are some of Ethan's costumes over the years:

Lobster Costume purchased from Winners

Frog Costume also purchased from Winners. At this point I realized there are no good quality/cool costumes for boys.

Pirate Costume and Pumpkins. First Costume I made for Ethan.

Canadian Peace Keeper Costume. He wanted to be an army guy, I'm a pacifist...this was the compromise.

This year Ethan decided he wants to be a pirate again. I haven't settled on a pattern yet...but I am leaning towards using this Burda pattern.

Autumn

Illustration By Nan Lawson

This time of year is always bittersweet for me. I love that the nights are getting cooler. I love that soon I will be picking apples and pumpkins from Davison Orchard. I love the fact that I can start planning/sewing Ethan's halloween costume. Nevertheless, I will miss the warm, lazy days of summer.

But out with the old and in with the new...

Earlier in the summer I picked up a fall wall hanging kit from Cottage Rose Quilt Shop in Cranbrook. The pattern is very country and not really my style but for under $40 I was sold! The pattern also let me try out my applique skills (the pumpkin and stem were easy but the beak on the bird was murder). For those of you looking to try applique I suggest using Appli-Glue...it saved my butt.

Road Trip Treasure

This summer I visited the Last Stitch Quilt Shop in Kaslo. While rummaging through the shop I spotted the most amazing quilt kit. The pattern was incredibly easy to sew (I added a 3" border). I LOVE Jessica Levitt's fabric.

Eat, Pray, Sew

Ever since I first saw Christy Turlington on the cover of Vogue (October 2002) I have wanted to learn yoga. However, being a very awkward and uncoordinated person I was convinced I could never muster the grace these yoga poses required. 8 years later I finally got up the nerve to attend a drop in yoga class, while I wasn't graceful I did manage to do most of the basic poses and best of all...I loved every minute of it! I left the class completely relaxed and content.

Later that day I contemplated the fact that I may have actually found a form of exercise I actually ENJOY. To celebrate I made myself a fancy shmancy yoga bag. I found the pattern on Amy Butler's website (it was free!). For the exterior of the bag I used a pint paisley print fabric. The interior is a burlap print cotton. I changed the pattern in a couple small ways: I didn't put pockets on the exterior and I added a drawstring.