When Big Kids knock at your door for Hallowe'en - treat them just like little kids.

My 11 year old is taller than me.  He has been planning and re-planning his costume for MONTHS.  He gets braces on Nov 6 (carefully arranged to follow Hallowe'en).  On the 31st we are taking him out of school early in the day so he can catch the train to his Dad's and get there in time to go Trick or Treating.  This is the event of the season for him.

 I have mentioned once or twice to him that this is probably his last year for going door to door. He'll be too big next year.  Then I read this brilliant article by Marion Franck and I changed my mind.

See, the kids from the nieghbourhood come by after school sometimes and (shhh don't tell anyone) play dress-up in the basement with all of our old costumes. Boys like creative play too, people.

It freaked me out when he wanted, at the age of 8, to be ghoulish for Hallow'een, but I let him do it. Kids need Hallowe'en costumes to take control of that they are fearful of - and to assume the qualities of those they admire.

What the Hell - I'll let him take charge of his imagination and be whoever he wants, and if it means, letting him trick or treat for a few more years, great.

Ave gets it all - today a Belle dress for a two year old's birthday.

A rare standing still moment - the satin back crepe moved like a dream!

The button holes were pretty once I got the tension right.

It was the perfect dress for a busy little girl.

More Paying with PUL - A Raincoat for Ave!

Mitering the corner with bobbypins instead of pins - Love the pretty Flannel Lining!

Playing with PUL - A Babyville Boutique Project: Modify my favourite bib pattern

This is the finished project:

This is where I started:

This is my favorite bib shape.  It's from Kooshies / Kushies

Kushies' Website

Sadly, my baby is outgrowing my favorite bib.  We go through a dozen (or more) bibs a day with my little spitter, and I need more belly and spit retention (a.k.a. a pocket) on the bib.

DS#2 has a wicked cold right now, so forgive any unwiped elements:

I love how the bib covers the shoulders!  It is PUL backed, and has a terrycloth front (for excellent absorbancy). It has two snaps (I'm not a fan of tie-backs, but I get they are more economical - when I replicate this I am going to spring for snaps).

I have big plans to make a raincoat for my beautiful 18mos niece this week - but this is my first time working with PUL so I want to play with the product first - and so (sew) - a BIB!  Here's how it went:

Fabric: Babyville Boutique  Dinos "RawR"

1. This is a sketch of the existing bib - since I plan to lengthen the bib I left the bottom untrimmed:
   
   
2. Here is the extension piece overlayed.  The extension will also be the template for the pocket so it is a separate piece.
   

   
3. I cut out the bib using both pieces (as one).  I found the PUL easy to cut with the rotary blade.
4. On the fold, I cut the pocket front using the extension pattern as a new piece. (The candle was a handy pattern weight).
   
5. Here's the pocket piece folded in half.
    
   
   
   
   
6. Next I ironed the pocket piece - PUL sides together.  I read that this would bond the flap as one.
   I set the iron to the low Cotton setting.
   
   
   
   I turned off the Steam.
   
   
   
   
   I pressed by blocking sections (not moving the iron back and forth).
   
   
   
   It bonded perfectly!  And baby slept right through.
   
   
   
   

   nb: fold is like a knife!
   
   

   
   
   
7. Next, I connected the pieces and basted the pocket on.  here are the particulars:
   
   70 or 80 (10/12) ballpoint needle
   
   
   Polyester thread
   
   
   Thread and bobbin same
   
   
8. I used the Fold Over Elastic (FOE) from Babyville Boutique:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. I zig-zagged the FOE around the edge:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. I lapped the ends.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The extended zigzag worked well on the corner:
11. I applied a snap matching the pattern marking - I only needed the larger size from the pattern.
    
    
    
    I used the Babyville Boutique snap tool and snaps (the snaps are plastic and size 20, 60 sets per kit) 
    
    
    Using the awl enclosed with the tool set, I pierced the bib strap in the appropriate spot on each side 
    
    
     The tool works by compressing the pieces together, male side and female side are done separately
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. The bib is complete:
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

I LOVE the bib - I have washed it several times using the machine, I have hung it to dry each time, rather than put it through  the dryer, and it doesn't show any wear.  It dries overnight easily.
1 load had hook and eye tape (a.k.a.: Velcro) in the mix and the FOE is fuzzy where the hook and eye tape adhered, so I caution against mixing the FOE and hook and eye tape.

Baby Blues and Routine

So to be perfectly clear:  I am calling this Baby Blues instead of Post Partum Depression (PPD) for a reason.  I never went to a Dr to address my mood, didn't speak to a nurse.  I just drove around town crying and cocooning in my house.  I buried myself in projects and made serious use of my baby swing and remembered how to sleep with my baby.  If it weren't for my wonderful partner (DH) I would have been shipwrecked.

I am no stranger to the blues. 11 years ago I dropped in on them when I subjected myself to a two hour rotation of breast pumping for 4 months, and climbed out after I was delivered to my Father's cottage in Nova Scotia for the late Spring and Summer.  I had similar dips over the decade as I traversed the mountain range that was my life.

When my second marriage dissolved I ended up with a wonderful physician who specialized as a Life Coach doing a talk therapy approach to mood management. Through my conversations with Peter I garnered the following list of tasks to follow:

1. get your heart rate up for 20 minutes every day
2. Hang out with non-work friends once a week
3. Eat fish 3 times a week
4. Sleep
5. Pick one issue at a time and address a small part of it

So - up and at it at a decent hour - try to get in the shower right after my DH, and get that baby on a routine!

My girlfriends and I met at a local comedy club for dinner and a show, and my BFF came up from Altanta and spent a week with me getting her head wrapped around my life, and picked up the baby's cold.

I attended the Landmark Forum in September 2013 and it has been an invaluable addition to my life (in its subtractions and reductions)  and it has given me the tools I needed to deal with the #5s (above).  

Routine is huge.  Creating is huge.  Recognizing and expressing gratitude for the love I feel is essential.