Nerdy Suburban Mom

Reuven’s traditionally favorite blankie is getting a bit worn; plus, it was store-bought (albeit a gift). So, I made him a brand new blankie for his return to daycare.

It looks more complicated than it is. I just took a piece of fleece and added satin blanket binding to the edge; but the patchwork styling of the patterned fleece makes it look more interesting and more handmade.

Either way, he sure liked it.

We carved two jack-o-lanterns. The lumpy reddish one had very thick flesh, so we also made a tasty pumpkin pie!

I’m shamelessly proud of the job I did on both these home-made costumes.

Lillian got enough candy to last another whole year, at least. Wow!

This year, I asked Lillian what her brother should be for Halloween. She thought for a moment, then declared, “A pickle!”

So I made him a pickle. Green fleece, green buttons, and a bit of batting stuffed in the back to round out the pickle shape. Everybody loved it, and only a few people thought he was a peapod.

Plus, they both won the costume contest — Witch got first place, Pickle got second. I was totally stoked.

Lillian wants her little brother to be a pickle for Halloween. This is definitely not available off-the-shelf… but here’s the plan.

Fleece hats are warm, and easy to make.  Cute fleece hats aren’t much harder.

My next attempt will be a polar bear (same but in white fleece) with a little nose and two eyes…

Running a little late this year, we carved our jack-o-lantern on October 30. Lillian requested a combination of happy and scary (so it got two pointy fangs), and she also chose the mismatched eye shapes. Very cute overall!

For trick-or-treating, Lillian reused her witch costume from last year, and we added a new accessory: Black Cat familiar!

Total sewing time for the cat costume was maybe 8-12 hours. I think he outgrew it while wearing it, it was definitely not something to grow into! But I designed it from scratch (using existing clothes as a basis), so I’m pretty proud of it overall. There were little black mittens (paws) that went along with it, but he lost one while we were out so he’s not wearing them in the pictures.