chalk this year's last minute costume up to a lucky trip to the local goodwill and a healthy supply of craft materials up in the attic. how is it we've known since the summer that margaret wished to dress as a pirate for halloween and here i am the night before wondering if there's time to fire up the sewing machine? so it goes... i think i waited so long to help her with this costume because it just seemed so easy this year. she can transform into a pirate (or if not a pirate ensemble, it is the baby fairy get-up) all by herself with such ease (and insist on wearing it out on errands). i guess since this goes on so much that i've not given the official halloween costume much thought. (unlike last year's banana creation which embarrassingly enough had several preliminary sketches, mini-paper-three-dimensional models and had the whole family occupied for weeks.) as it stands right now her pirate threads are pretty fun, thrifted and pretty much finally all together - and almost with nothing home-sewn from me... i suppose i couldn't let that be... this afternoon i decided to make a last-minute hand sewn felt and fabric hook (ok, for some reason i've been holding on to some silver spandex fabric since college - i was not sad at all to use it today and weed it out of my fabric box). anyway, i think it feels a bit more like halloween now that there's a little something, even if it is just for embellishment's sake, that was stitched up for the occasion. now i'm just thinking about functionality and safety a bit - "should i take in that adult sized puffy-sleeved shirt or let it be?" and "will it be warm enough?"... but those are just little mama details at this point - as far as she is concerned tomorrow is all about people thinking she's a real pirate and she's all ready... big thrift store puffy shirt or not.
