Halloween Costumes and Changing Gears

At 4:00 Monday afternoon, I finally finished the Halloween sewing!

 
I made Elizabeth's princess dress from Simplicity 2569, size 1, and it fit reasonably well after I cut off 4 inches at the hem.  Apparently the girl is the width of a 1, but the height of a 1/2, but I sort of already knew that!  I didn't put on the crazy layers of tulle, figuring that she would hate me enough for putting her in a long skirt that was hard to crawl in.  I learned that I hate costume satin, and that I need A LOT more practice inserting zippers (really just the topstitching - it worked just fine, it was just ugly).

I also made Christopher's Lego Ninja costume after his favorite Ninjago ninja, Jay.  Because, really, how many blue ninja costumes have you seen lately?  It was made from Butterick 4222, a pajama pattern that I've made a bunch of times.  I used the shirt back to draft a crossover front and put ribbon to tie it shut.  This costume was easier to construct, but it took forever, owing to the fact that he kept reminding me of more parts he just had to have.  I made a shirt and pants, then had to make a black belt, then had to make a sword-holder strap (with gold "lightning guy" buckle), and then he just had to have a blue ninja mask to go with it.  But, it was all finished in time and he was the happiest ninja on the block.  For those of you wondering, Patrick was SuperWhy from PBS, courtesy of the internet and a $5 off coupon.  I wasn't about to figure out how to do that book on the front.

Now to change gears and figure out what to do next.  I always seem to have trouble switching to the next project, maybe because I have too many ideas and not enough time.  I think this week I'm going to work on getting the house cleaned up, getting the sewing area cleaned up, and planning/ordering for Christmas sewing.  I'm hoping for pajamas for all, a bishop dress for Elizabeth, and ties or something to coordinate for the boys.

Halloween is fun for the kids, but I'm getting excited about Advent and Christmas.  I can't wait to get out the Jesse Tree I made last year and start our (liturgical) new year - there's just such a hopeful feeling about Advent.