Fall and Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween! Well, a day after the fact, but I hope you all had a great one. It has been a whirlwind of a couple days returning on Tuesday from International Quilt Market in Houston, TX and then all of the Halloween festivities we had yesterday. Luckily my flight was only delayed an hour and a half due to high winds in Chicago from the big storm back east. I would have been beyond sad if I missed my babies all dressed up on Halloween.

The Quilt Market Recap post will be coming soon, but I thought I would share some pictures of my little cuties. Boy did I miss these kiddos when I was away for five days. I had a great time spending some one-on-one time with my mom, but it always feels good to be home.

I decided I could not miss this opportunity to dress Mr. Caspian Finn up as Charlie Brown this year. I love that bald head of his. Even though he is 14 months now, it still makes him look like such a little baby.

I thought I could get away with buying a store-bought yellow t-shirt and adding a zig-zag, but I could not find one in his size anywhere. There were lots of yellow shirts, but they all had prints and writing on them. I ended up finding one in the big boys section, so I just re-constructed the shirt and cut it down to size. The zig-zag is made from felt which was nice because there was no need to finish the edges.

This little guy is always on the move and climbing on everything! I’m starting to see a real difference between my boy and the two girls. He is going to keep me very busy.

Next up is our very own ‘Dora the Explorer’. Matilda had her mind set on this costume for about six months. Last year she knew exactly what she wanted to be (a Ballerina Princess), so I should have guessed that this year would be no different.  I made her some orange fleece capris and we layered tons of things under her pink t-shirt. It was in the 30’s on Halloween…..brrrrrrrr. She also wore tights under the capris.

I had every good intention of making Matilda’s Dora backpack, but that did not happen. Every fabric I showed Matilda, she said was wrong (and you all know I have a lot of fabric) and she was telling me all sorts of things the backpack must have on it. I was running out of time before I left for quilt market, so when I found the one in the picture online for $11.00, I thought we would just go with that and make my life a little easier. Plus, that way I knew it would be just right.

This little lady had a ball trick-or-treating. Last year, when she was two, she got the concept, but this year she is three and she loved every minute of it!

And finally, we have Miss Savannah, our black cat. Again, this was another costume that she had settled on months ago. She loves to be something scary for Halloween with a little bit of a twist……you might remember her ‘Princess Witch‘ costume from last year.  I had a lot of fun making this scary cat a little more on the girly side. It’s hard to tell from all the pictures, but she had a black petti-skirt and I made a sash out of a sequined black fabric. The sash went around the waist and tied in a bow in the back right above the cat tail that I added to the skirt.

I made a collar from the same sequined black fabric (that I found at a thrift store for 50 cents) by making a gathered ruffle and binding it with black bias tape. The hooded sweatshirt has a ruffle that runs up both sides and around the hood. I knew it would be chilly on Halloween so I always try to think ahead to how we can layer underneath so we don’t end up covering the kids costumes with big coats.

She wore a black knit hat and a headband with sparkly black cat ears finished with a satin bow on top.

Another event that has become an annual tradition is something out this way called the ‘Autumn Drive’. It takes place mid-October and is out in the country about 40 minutes from our house. Local farms open their doors and there are fall activities, crafts, food, pottery and lots and lots of pumpkins. This year my husband wanted to buy the largest pumpkin around and I think he might have succeeded………..