So we took a trip to my in-laws this weekend and my SIL asked me to help her make her Halloween costume for this year. She had envisioned a witch, but more of a wizard-y kind of witch and not the green, icky kind. Here's her drawing:



We started with a dress that she wore to her other brother's wedding this summer:



Then we added a tutu for height of the skirt.
We used the tutorial from Flickr [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ambrosialove/522118984/in/photostream/].
Here's the tutu:



Then we added a skirt made from this lightweight sheer material. Its a flat piece that has two hook/eye closures to hold it up.





Next, we made a cumber bun [sp?] kind of thing to wrap around. The material is more heavyweight, but beautiful. 






And all together:





She's wearing it to school on Tuesday and then again for Wednesday night. Once she wears it, she'll send me pics and I'll add action shots!


This was fun for me because I got to do a lot of firsts:
- First time using interfacing [in the cumber bun].
- First time using velcro [to hold together the cumber bun].
- First time making a tutu.
- First time using most of these fabrics.
 


[Also posted in the challenge entries: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=204598.0]

My MIL transplanted some of her herbs for me to put on my balcony this year. But I'm not sure what to do with them come cold/winter. Will they recover if I leave them outside? Should I bring them inside? How do I take care of them?
If you could pass on some advice, that's be amazing.

The herbs are... thyme, parsley, basil, chives, and rosemary.

My friend's birthday was yesterday and I was trying to figure out what to give her. So I bought her scrapbooking stuff, but I wanted to make her something too, so I made her this scarf.





And a close up:



Its all hdc.
I used Sean Sheep's wooloomooloo in Blue Teal. I found it in Wal-Mart in Canada. Its this wonderful blue color that has these gorgeous shades that remind me of water.

Friends of ours [hubby's old roommate] are getting married tomorrow. So I decided to crochet them an afghan. After many frustrating attempts at finding a pattern that I liked, I ended up using a stitch pattern from Happy Hooker [she uses it for a sweater, I just repeated it over and over again]... when I can find the book, I'll let you know which sweater it was.

This was made using a 6.0mm hook and using Bernat Harmony.

This is the closest to the actual color.


A close up of the stitch.


A general idea of the size.


The bride and groom will get it in this basket, with cellophane, ribbon and a card.

I found this beautiful cross necklace in a Goodwill in Florida and had to have it. And then it was even better when the lady knocked it down $5. 

Anyway. Its dirty. Dirty as if it hasn't been out of the box in about 20 years. The chain is dirty, but mainly the cross itself and I'm looking for the best way to clean it. I don't know whether to take it to a jeweler, but the craftster in me says that there is probably a way that I can do it at home.

Here are some pictures of it so you can get an idea of what it looks like and the dirtiness of it.

 

I saw this challenge and wanted to see if I could figure out a way to crochet a tiara. I took a headband that I don't wear often and fished around for a material that would be stiff enough... and found my hemp. So I sat with Regis and Kelly this morning and this is what I came up with. 




[Why this is blurry, I have no clue.]


Close up







The main issue is that you can kinda see the white thread I used for the beads. And then the top part doesn't stay up very well. I guess my hemp wasn't as stiff as I thought it would be. And now I know that we're out of spray starch. 

...
the club that has sewed through their finger, that is.
Right through the middle of my fingernail. I think the bone stopped it from going through. So I'm in pain. Ow.

I'm off to take Tylonel and lay on the couch with the remote.




Oh.
And the worst part...
I was seriously less than a minute away from finishing what I was making.
But now it looks like it won't be done for awhile.
The machine and I aren't on speaking terms.

so we're having a pot luck tonight, but one of our friends is allergic to all things egg AND sugar [and even more, she used to be able to eat all things egg and sugar so she knows what's she's missing].

i decided i'd bring dessert, but i thought i'd try to come up with something she can eat too or make her a little personal dessert. but i'm having trouble finding recipes. i could just make her a fruit platter, but i wanted something more.

if its past tonight when you post, that's fine. i plan on being friends with her for awhile. 

[i'm not sure if this is where this belongs. if its supposed to be on the felting board, let me know. i figured its a reconstruction too so its allowed here.]

this was my first try at felting a sweater. i kept seeing them here and tthinking they were gorgeous. sooo off to value village i went to find some fun, big sweaters.

this is the one i took home:
[don't mind the 'i just got out of the shower' hair]


this is what it looked like out of the dryer:
[don't mind the 'i don't know how to pose for the timer on my camera' face]


and this is what it looks like now! 
[don't mind the camera that doesn't know how to focus]



i'm going to put buttons on it... but i don't have any in my stash that i'm terribly fond of, especially because i need 4 and all the ones i have are twos.

are there any other knitters and/or crocheters in the st catharines/niagara falls area?

i'd like to meet up with some other people who love either as much as i do and hang out or something. maybe start a little weekly/monthly get together in the area.

either post here or pm me if you're interested.