Cowabunga!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action!

 Have you ever realized that you really had no idea what was going on when you were kid?

I learned way more google-ing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles than I ever actually knew the from the first time I watched them.  Was I the only one that didn't know that Raphael was the 'bad/angry/rebellious' one?

It was kind of like watching Grease for the first time again as an adult.

Totally did not get what was going on there either.

In any case, I don't think B knows that either; he just likes the red one.

The Details:

Pattern: McCall's 6417

Fabric: kelly green and tea green Kona cotton, 

khaki twill scraps, red cotton flannel scraps, and dark green sateen scraps, all from stash

Notions: 14" zipper, 3/4" elastic for waistband, cardboard circle and quilt batting scraps for shell

Notes: 

On this version, I put the entire side fronts together and inserted the zipper flat, rather than wait and follow the instructions as written.  Those belly shell panels overlap the waist seam, so there really wasn't a way to do that as written.  Inserting the elastic after the fact really wasn't hard, so I think I would go this route again should I need another zippered jumpsuit anytime soon.  (?)  

The shell IS currently attached with safety pins, and I know that's not very classy, but for practical purposes, we really need a removable shell, especially for Ninja Turtles who ride in carseats.  Honestly, I struggle with getting puffy coats buckled in there, let alone an additional endoskeleton.   I did try to take the cheater route with stick on velcro, but that didn't really work for very long, and a ninja turtle really can't be spending every 10 minutes reattaching his shell.  Cuts down on crime fighting, you know.

We're ready to fight crime and take candy, too.

So, our pumpkin is carved, our costumes are ready, and all systems are go for a night of spooky haunts and all manners of tricks and treats.

Happy Halloween!

Fernando Alonso

So, Fernando Alonso is kind of a big deal in our house.  

A) He's a racecar driver, B) he drives a Ferrari, and c) uh, we like Ferraris.  

Naturally.

So when E outgrew last year's Tony Kanaan costume, and he told me he wanted to be Fernando Alonso this year for Halloween, what's a mom to do other than make that happen?  Should I mention here that his first grade teacher and I had a whole discussion about his plans to be a Formula 1 race car driver when he grows up?  I blame his father.

Earlier this summer at a Rolex race with Dad.

I will pose for exactly one picture, and that's it, Mom. I mean it.

Every driver needs to acknowledge their sponsors.

 Fine, you can take a picture of the back.  But then I'm going in.

The Details:

Pattern: McCall's 6417

Fabric: Red Kona Cotton for suit; leftover white cotton scraps for sleeve stripes and sponsor patches

Notions: 18" zipper from stash, 3/4" wide elastic, iron-on transfer paper

Notes:

First of all, McCall's has this pattern listed as 'easy'.  How do they choose difficulty levels? The cape included in the pattern was probably easy, but this pattern envelope includes a hat, 4 different variations of a zippered jump-suit, a vest, and boot covers. While I didn't find this hard, I definitely wouldn't give it to a beginner, which I find odd, because wouldn't beginner sewers (sewists?) think a costume could be easy?  The way the directions instruct you to put this together, you're putting the zipper in LAST, after sewing everything else together...not easy.  For my second version, I put the front zipper in flat, which was much easier and looked much nicer.

Second, on the sponsor patches, I just googled Fernando's sponsors, and copied and pasted the logos into Microsoft Paint.  I know that's not particularly savvy, but I needed something easy that would invert the picture horizontally.  The writing needs to be mirrored so it will transfer correctly when its ironed on.  I then then ironed it onto scraps, which were then appliqued onto the flat pattern pieces.

  

Waiting for our hot chocolate after the parade.

Finally, heartbreak city: we wore our costumes already to E's school's Haunt the Halls, and again to our town parade on Saturday morning.  After enjoying hot chocolate, I threw everything in the washing machine.  FORESHADOWING ALERT:

The red on the sponsor patches bled.

.

.

.

(whispered expletives deleted)

  

photo source: mingle.kansascity.com

So, although I considered myself finished, I spent last night picking off the worst of the patches, re-printed them on my remaining transfer paper, and reattached new patches in the same spot.  Let me say, it was much easier done when all the pieces were flat.

But he's worth it.  

And with that, I'm done.