Apparently I made a passing reference to buying a new sewing machine, promised a story, and then never wrote about it again. Whoops.
So, yeah, I bought a sewing machine. A really nice one. It was used! And fifty percent off! But, ya know, fifty percent off of expensive is still freaking expensive. Note to self: You know how they say not to make big decisions and/or purchases when you’re going through stressful situations? There is totally a reason for that.
Basically, what happened is this: I’ve had a Janome Travel Mate since I was in college. It wasn’t the world’s fanciest sewing machine, but it got the job done. Mostly. I had it serviced periodically and all that jazz, but one day it just plain stopped working. It wasn’t worth getting fixed, so I was trying to figure out what I should do. My MIL offered me hers, but it turns out that sitting in a closet for 15 years was not exactly the best thing for it. It was completely seized up, the needle wouldn’t budge a millimeter. I brought it to a local sewing store to see if they could fix it. It turns out they couldn’t…
And then my sister went and broke herself in a bicycle accident.
I didn’t know how to process the news about my sister, so I decided that it would be a great idea to get in my car, drive to the aforementioned sewing store, and pick up my MIL’s busted sewing machine. Just keep moving, right? I got to the store, told the owner that I was probably going to buy a new machine at some point, and she mentioned that she had a used machine for sale at a very nice price. Long story short, I let my emotions get the best of me, handed over my credit card, and then had to explain to Kristian that I had just spent about two week’s salary on a sewing machine.
Seriously, whoops.
What does this all have to do with Halloween?
Well, now I just had to sew Lilian’s costume.
(That’s Sulley from Monster’s Inc, btw, if you’re not a Pixar fan.)
Lilian tried it on once when I had it partially sewed, declared it to be “too hot,” and now she doesn’t seem to want to put it on. I figured we’d be able to bribe her with the promise of candy, but now I’m not so sure. I suspect she might end up trick or treating with just the hood on. I am trying to make myself ok with this.
Honestly, it was a lot of fun to sew it. Plus, it’s a little on the big side, she’s a little on the small side, and there is a good chance that she could wear it again next year. I was happy to have an occasion and a deadline with which to motivate myself to start and finish a craft project. It’s been a stressful couple of weeks around here, so it was nice to retreat to my craft room and immerse myself in blue fuzz.
In case any sewing nerds are curious, the pattern is McCall’s M6628 Furry Monster. It’s discontinued, but I bought it off of eBay for like seven bucks. The faux fur is called luxury shag in turquoise, and the purple bits are all just your basic felt. I didn’t have to make any real adjustments to the pattern. I left a few things off (like rick-rack around the horns), and I didn’t make the hands or feet. But mostly I just kept it simple. The purple dots are a spray-on fabric paint.
(I almost forgot to spray them, but Kristian reminded me at the last minute.)
(Thanks, buddy!)
It’s so much fun to have a kid who’s getting old enough to participate in holidays and get all excited about them! Kristian had a work thing last night, so Lilian and I had some time to hang out, just the two of us. When I picked her up at daycare, I asked her if she wanted to help me make cookies, and she said “yesssss!” And then turned and sprinted for the door! She powered through dinner, got down out of her seat, walked over to the oven and said “make cookies? make cookies?”
(I guess you could say she was pretty eager.)
(She didn’t even ask to eat a cookie, and I didn’t offer. I think she just really likes helping us cook.)
If you let her, I think she’d attempt to make the entire recipe herself. As it is, it takes a lot of redirecting to have her feel like she was an integral part of the baking process, and still end up with something edible. She’s pretty good at letting me hold her hand while we measure stuff out, and then she can dump a quarter cup or a teaspoon into the bowl and have most of it actually end up where it’s supposed to. She also unwrapped the butter sticks. And she’s a total champ with a mixing spoon.
But her favorite part? Putting M&Ms on top of each cookie.
I did a little bit of rearranging. Because I am slightly OCD and it’s just plain wrong to have unequal amounts of each color on a cookie. Wrong, I tell you, wrong. Luckily, she’s a good sport about it. She’s also either a sugar ninja, or she didn’t actually try to eat the M&Ms.
Isn’t that just the cutest little outfit, BTW? My mom bought it for her.
We’re taking her trick or treating tonight. I’ve been psyching her up for it, with reminders that she needs to say “trick or treat!” and promises of candy. It will be her first time trick or treating, so I’m pretty excited myself!
(Fingers crossed that she actually wears her costume).