HALLOWEEN DRESS FOR A BABY

  Halloween brightens up this mellow, darkening time of the year just perfectly. Lovely warm summer is long gone, and there is still quite a bit until Christmas. So I like to take advantage of Halloween, and make it an event.

  This dress I made for my (now seven-month-old) baby girl to celebrate Halloween in:

Made of cotton jersey, this dress is both soft and stretchy. The skirt has a princess-like front to make crawling easier, so that the hem will not get stuck under her knees.

Being true to my style, I kept the back quite simple. Halloween offers so many themes and ideas, that it was more difficult to rule them out than take some few in.

The bow is stretchy, so it allows the little belly to move freely. Originally I wanted the ribbon to be see-through and black, but one has to go by what is available. I painted the pumpkin straight onto the fabric with a small brush and some fabric paint.

This little critter crawls on the front of left shoulder and...

... it has a friend just behind the shoulder seam.

  Halloween starts Samhain, so we have reason for a double celebration! Happy beginning of winter!

FURTHER PROLONGING THE LIFE OF RECYCLED JEANS

  These pants I made early this year for my son (eight years old), of my husband´s old jeans. They have been the boy´s favorite pair ever since, and now they tore on the bum. I was ready to toss them out, but he insisted I fix them up.

I didn´t want to do a boring barely-to-be-seen patching up. I used a piece of fabric I had saved which has a letter print.

  Now that little fellow runs around with a letter stuck on his butt... Fun and cute. Fooling around and not taking life so seriously can be therapeutic!

MABON DECORATION

  It has rained a lot lately, but now I managed to photograph the decorations in my yard on a clear(er) day.

The entrance to our house.

The orange "roses" are in reality rolled up maple leaves. I folded a leaf  in half and then rolled it around the stem. Then I added three to four more leaves around the first one, and tied the bottom with a thin wire. The roses keep well outside, but eventually turn more or less brown.

The peppers are real, the squashes fake. I have had the squashes for years, and I dig them up loyally every Mabon to beautify our yard.

Cyclamen is not traditionally part of my decor, but one has to go by what is available. I often get my seasonal plants at a local flea market, and they don´t carry a wide selection. I try to keep my driving to a minimum, and don´t want to travel too far for something like this. Besides, I do think this arrangement is very suitable for autumn anyway.

This year I bought colorful candles to enliven the darkening evenings. I dare not burn candles in the porches or anywhere too close to our house (I´ve had two people I know burn to death in a fire started by a candle in the house!). But hanging from a tree by the driveway is a safe place, and lets people going past enjoy their bright light also.

These are actually simply candles in colorful jars, to which I have twisted thin wire to make hangers.

  Decorating the entrance to our yard and house is fun. Whenever I come and go, I can always see these little mood-setters, and am in the right (happy and uplifted) set of mind. What a nifty way to sneak good mood and appreciation of the season into our lives.

MABON FASHION - HOME COLLECTION

   Home is the best place in the world. A good home is essential for true well-being and happiness. At home we should  be able to be exactly who we are, all masks removed.

  Many of us like a pretty home. A pretty home also includes it´s inhabitants, and therefore I try to have time to make pretty clothes to wear at home. Dressing to the occasion is a good thumb rule, and therefore I think at home it is a good idea to wear something different than at work.

  Here is my home dress for Mabon:

This is probably the boldest and strongest print I have ever worn. I have actually had this fabric in my closet for a few years by now, and it finally came the time to take it in use now. Tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, salad greens... all the crops we collect at Mabon. Just perfect! I decided to trim the edges of the dress with medium brown band to tone it down a bit, and to bind it to the rest of the outfit.

Side profile is important. Often clothes look hideous when seen from this angle, but this little dress works well. I like to wear leggings at home, because they are so practical when I hop in and out of the house all day long. Outside in the grass and sand, pant legs would get all messy and wet, but leggings stay dry and neat. I like to keep life simple and easy when I can.

Surprisingly this dress has only a strap around my neck, instead of the usual accross the back. (This one works better for breastfeeding.) The earrings I made myself too. They are simply two fake tiny little apples from a craft store, hung on an earring base. Maybe a little childish, but I think it is fun. And they go well with the theme.

Life is not only dancing on roses, it is also fun and play!  =)

  So what makes this dress a home-dress, not a work-dress? First of all, it is way too short. I would never go to work in anything this short, even in our modern days when leggings are (still) a hit. It simply is too daring for me. Second, the print doesn´t belong in the city. Period. Dressing to the occasion is important, and if done wrong, can cause some uncomfortable embarrasment.

  This dress is, by the way, made with the same pattern as I made my summer cabin dress. 
 A good example on how one pattern can be turned into very different looks. Handy!

NATURE´S BEAUTY

  Sunny days are beautiful in every season. Here is what I caught on a walk the other day:

  As a child I hated autumn, because it made me sad to see the nature die. But now that I´m wiser older, I know the world is only preparing for a winter sleep around me. And I have taken it as an excuse to do so myself! Now it is time to start calming down after an energetic summer. Start giving myself more rest as the nights darken. Not too bad...  =)

MABON FASHION - OLIVER TWIST

  Time to go a little boyish!

There is just something about Mabon that makes me crave for this look. At any other time of year it wouldn´t feel right, but now I´m all for Oliver Twist.

This shirt I made about three years ago. It is the same old bat-sleeved pattern I use for everything. The suspenders I made and added this fall. They are fake, made of cotton fabric and are sewn on the shirt. Earlier I experienced with real ones, but they just wouldn´t stay up and were wobbling over my (normally so small) boobs. It just didn´t feel comfortable and was very unpractical. I don´t want to fix my clothes during the day, I want to focus on life instead. They are there for me, not me for them! The pants I also made now, and they are all against the rules of Trinny and Susannah´s.(I love their work, but this is where I dare step away from the path they have showed.) Normally I make my pants full-length, sweeping the floor. I´ve had the pattern for these pants over ten years, and for some reason have not used it for a long time. I´m glad I did now!

I love these El Naturalista shoes I bought some years ago. Comfort is the key, and I can walk and move around in these shoes all day, not even noticing them. This whole outfit is very comfortable and oh so easy-to-wear!

Makeup is kept neutral, yet visible. I still want to look like a girl, only to play with the boyish look. I used only shades of brown all over. Minimalism in jewellery is also in place here, where a little goes a long way. These simple earrings bring just enough girlyness.

  Varying my looks throughout the year is a lot of fun and keeps life more interesting. Often my colleagues come to say hi to me just to see what I´m wearing that day. I have received compliments on my clothing even from some ministers of state, of whom I occasionally meet at work (but by no means am I a hot shot myself). It feels good to spread good mood and a touch of happiness around! Quoting Lóreal: "we´re worth it"!

MABON FASHION - THE KILT

  Here it finally is, a kilt outfit for me!

This is a basic skirt, not pleated like a real kilt, because I want to avoid the impression of wearing a costume. If there weren´t for the minihat and boots, this outfit wouldn´t resemble a kilt at all. Streamlining traditional looks and clothing is my thing. I make them wearable to the everyday life. I don´t need to reinvent, just make it my own.

Keeping it all simple leaves room for me, the one wearing the outfit. Appearance should never steal the show, rather push forward and stage the person. This outfit looks interesting further away, but when in speaking distance, it is rather plain after all. There aren´t too many details to grab one´s attention.

Balancing between masculine and feminine can be fun sometimes. Mabon is clearly the most masculine time of year for me. This outfit represents the manly side of me. These chains give a touch of masculinity, transforming a feminine garment into something quite the opposite.

Speaking of details, this little beret is quite essential to identify the whole look as a kilt outfit. I made it out of a leftover piece of the skirt fabric by cutting out a circle, gathering it at the outer edge, tuck in some filling, and made a simple pompom on top. Then I just attatched it to a hairband and voilá! No other accessories are needed. And since I want to keep it slightly mascline, no jewellery is allowed here. The makeup is all in nude tones, brown and beige. The idea is to look pretty without looking too made up. This is where femininity lies in this look, as well as showing off your waistline (no matter the size, men just don´t have it to begin with).

  Now I can cruise the world in a matching outfit with my kids! Hail kilts!

P.S. A word about the turtleneck shirt. I got it from my grandma, used, in the early nineties. She didn´t need it anymore. I have used this shirt every winter since, and it is still in excellent condition! No lint, fuzz, holes, torn seams, nothing. My grandma hasn´t bought new clothes since the early eighties, so I reckon this baby is at least from the late seventies.

"LUMBER JACK"- SHIRT FOR BOYS

  This shirt I made as a birthday present to my son. (He turned eight, what a big boy!)

This fabric is the same one I used to make the kilt  for my baby girl. Eight-year-olds can be very selective of what they wear, so I had to scratch my head more than once when trying to figure out what to make for my boy. My kids both (I´m still learning to think in plural, although I´ve had two kids for 6 months already) wore these clothes for the birthday party, and were so stylish sitting next to each other! My boy, just like me, also likes traditional, old fashioned clothes, so I ended up making this Lumber Jack- inspired long-sleeved t-shirt. But with a modern, easy-to-wear twist.

Usually I don´t bother much with details, but this shirt cried for a pocket. It is also handy for slipping in his mobile phone.

This shirt is all in one piece. All of the sleeve lengths are sewn together, so it is easy and practical to wear. I added this piece of the plaid fabric to the very end of the sleeves to give the shirt a little more character. The neck edge I trimmed with the white fabric for the same reason, and to make it look a bit more modern.

  Needless to say, this shirt became an instant favorite. And it warms my heart to see him wear it. It feels like he is wearing my love.

  Once again, happy birthday dear!