What was I thinking?

It's not in any baby books and no well-meaning distant relative suggested it, so why on earth did I think that giving birth would make me crafty?  And more importantly, why didn't anyone set me straight??

Back before Charlie was born (when I thought he was a girl), I had these wonderful daydreams of myself sewing all sorts of adorable little dresses for my baby girl -- for the luau, the 4th of July, etc, etc.  In my mind they were perfectly sewn and just absolutely precious.

Well, then Charlie came along, and fully aware of just how wrong it is to put a child in homemade jeans, I realized that I would likely only be sewing costumes and dress-up items for him.  But still, they would be adorable and creative and perfect...

A little bit of background -- I haven't sewn since college!  And other than doubling over and stitching towels for my dad's carwash in KC, I've only sewn 3 things in my life: a pillow for pink-baby, a quilt for my brother, and a dress for myself.  All came out usable, but none was anywhere near perfect.

Nevertheless,  a few months ago I decided to design and sew Charlie's first Halloween costume.   After all, what could be more adorable than dressing up my beloved baby boy as my beloved puppy? 

I had it all figured out.  My mom had sent me her old sewing machine last year during my earlier delusions.  Over 6 weeks ago I bought the fabric, thread, scissors, pattern, cutting board, etc to give myself plenty of time.  I even commissioned an extremely talented friend to knit an adorable little hat to complete the costume, which she whipped out in no time and sent weeks ago.   I thought about the costume, planned it, decided how I would alter the pattern to allow for Otis' coloring, thought about it some more...and all of a sudden it was 3 weeks to Halloween!

So, two weeks ago I cut out the pattern pieces (all but the altered ones -- these required more thought).  Then after even more procrastination, Saturday was the day.  Everything was going my way: Jason was home due to high winds, Charlie took 2 naps over 2 hours each... and I sewed.  Below is a partial list of the questions that came up throughout the day:

1 - What is interfacing?  Will it matter if I don't use it?
2 - (Jason) Do you want me to bring up a table?  Wouldn't it be easier than sewing on the box and pushing the pedal with your knee?
3 - Hmmm... I wonder if I should have paid attention to the "Grain" markings on the pattern?
4 - How do I put this thing in reverse?
5 - (Jason) Maybe I shouldn't have opened the window? (As pattern pieces started flying out the door and down the stairs)
6 - If I just pull the top piece while I'm sewing, the seems should meet, don't you think?
7 - Where did that pin go?
8 - How did this huge spot get on the front?
9 - It won't matter if I machine sew this part that they say to hand stitch, will it?
10 - You're kidding right?  It can't really be 4:20?!?  I bet I can finish this collar, shower and nurse Charlie before 5:15, don't you think?
11 - What direction does Otis' tail bend?
12 - Do you think I can just stuff this with cotton balls?
13 - What if I just sew up the legs, so we don't have to put so many snaps on?
14 - Is it even possible to sew right side to right side with both pieces inside out and match the dots while pulling the bobbin string on the basting to adjust the gathers on the leg hole to fit in the foot?
15 - Why didn't you tell me this was a crazy idea???
16 - Would a male seamstress be a seamster?

Unsurprisingly, we never figured out the answer to many of the questions above -- and some were downright unanswerable, but fortunately, the most important question of the day had an easy answer:

Was it worth almost $100 and 12+ hours to make Charlie an Otis costume for his first Halloween?
Absolutely!

I'll post pictures later this week -- Jason is in charge of the snaps because they require a hammer.

Other fall fun:

Charlie, Kate & Finley enjoying the season...