One of Two (or Three)

This is one of the dresses I'm making for my niece, Emmy, for her 3rd birthday. I hope she likes it. And I hope it fits. If it's a little too short, she can always wear shorts or leggings underneath, I guess.

I'm on the hunt for some cute penguin fabric (Em changed her mind from having a puppy party to a penguino party and my sister put in a request for a penguin dress, which I'm happy to make).

There And Back Again

Highlights from Wizard World Chicago:

Friday:
1. Frank and I got a day to just be with each other and not be on-duty Dad and Mom.

2. I discovered a new book, Mouse Guards, written and drawn by David Petersen. I love it! It's a little like Brian Jacques' Redwall (only this book's drawn and the main characters are mice not rats) or as the official site tells it, "The mice struggle to live safely and prosper among all of the world’s harsh conditions and predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed." Dave was at the con and signed my hardcover copy and drew a cute little mouse guard in it. He's a nice guy who draws a great all-ages comic. He's also an independent artist, so that's another reason to check out his work. I'm sure you could purchase Mouse Guards at G-Mart in Champaign.

3. I also got lucky and found one of two missing volumes to my Cerebus collection. Yay!

4. While Frank was rifling through some long boxes, I got to eavesdrop on the following conversation between a trio of fanboys (my guess is that 2 were about 15 or 16 and were friends and the other kid was a Little Brother of about 13).

Teen 1: "Dude! I just found issue 6! Issue 6!!!!!!!" (Issue 6 of what I don't know but it was incredibly exciting for this kid).
Little Bro (with an air of dejection): "There is entirely too much Avengers for any one person to possibly have."
Teen 2: "Dude! I just got the Iron Sheik's autograph! It only cost me $20."
Little Bro (sighing): "If I had a hundred dollars I could buy this entire box of G.I. Joes."

5. Both Andy Runton and Alex Robinson were at the con and signing their books. We bought their new books, which they both signed and added a little sketch. Honestly, if you aren't aware of Owly or haven't read Box Office Poison (or any of Alex Robinson's stuff) get to G-Mart, or your local comic book shop, pronto. You'll thank me later.

Saturday:

Flynn said her favorite part of the convention was having her picture taken with "Woman Woman Girl" (what Flynn calls Wonder Woman). The girl dressed as Woman Woman Girl was so nice and addressed Flynn as Supergirl. She gave Flynn a hug and my little girl was just beside herself, which you can't really tell from the photo, but she was very, very excited.

Evan's on the left, posing with a Clone Trooper from the 501st, a Star Wars fan club. They had a fun "droid hunt" going on that day that ended in a raffle. One of our numbers was called and we walked out of there with quite a bit of swag (a Darth Vader stein, a 501st t-shirt, and a bunch of other stuff). Evan's favorite parts of his day at the con: "Seeing G [one of his best friends, who happened to be there with his family] and the toys." Evan likes his comic books, but he's really a Star Wars toys aficionado. Of course, we bought a few things.

Flynn with Pooh, her favorite dog in the world. Pooh is also the only dog in the galaxy Evan likes. Pooh belongs to my dear, dear friend Tim and his wife Teresa who were kind enough to invite us to their home in Oak Park for dinner. Pooh's a sweet dog who tolerates a lot of love from Flynn. My daughter follows Pooh everywhere checking to see if Pooh had enough to eat and drink, sitting with her on the porch, hugging her, petting her, talking to her using baby talk, asking Teresa if Pooh could have more treats. Pooh soaked it up like a sponge.

Evan also tried to wheedle Tim's Star Wars toys into his possession.

A good meal, great conversation, happy children. That's what it's all about. Thanks, T & T!

Sunday we did not attend the convention. Instead, we went to a birthday party for a family friend's little boy. The party was about an hour, north and west, away from my mother-in-law's home. At least Flynn slept on the way there (several days of very late nights/relatively early mornings takes its toll on all involved). The party started at 3. Our intention was to stay until 4 or 4:30 then head home. We had a good time catching up with family friends we don't see very often.

We left after 6.

Which put us home well after 10 p.m. With both kids wide awake.

Today was spent unpacking (clothes, comics, toys) and getting a start on the laundry. We're keeping it low-key today and hitting the hay early.

At least I am.

So Long, Stink Town

In a few short hours from now, my family and I will be en route to Chicago and the big comic book festival therein known as Wizard World or The Con. We won't actually be in the city, but in one of the northern suburbs conveniently located near my mother-in-law's home.

The Con is something we attend every year. We plan our vacations around it and we have a routine: Friday the kids stay with their Oma while Frank and I traipse off to go through long boxes and people watch, Saturday the kids come with us (this year they are dressing up - Evan as a Star Wars Clone Trooper and Flynn as Supergirl) and we usually meet up with my good friend Tim and go to lunch. This year we'll head out to Tim and his wife's home in Oak Park after we're done with the convention to gab and grill out. Sunday we usually don't attend the convention and this year we'll be going to a birthday party then heading home.

A busy weekend for sure.

In years past, when it was just Frank and I, it seemed that I was in the minority (it was rare to see just a "regular" girl there - someone not dressed up in Sad Girl goth gear or some skimpy Japanese School Girl/Sailor Moon get-up). Now there are tons of families mixed in with the Goths and "alternative" teens, who are fun to watch. As comic fans have aged and had families, the convention has grown to accommodate us yet still caters to the teenagers the industry believes are its core demographic. Its a nice mix.

And plenty of people in costume. I'm sure we'll see tons of Star Wars people and the Trekkies come out as well (any excuse to dress up as a Klingon, I suppose). Superheroes are a given (some of the costumes are really well done, some not so much).

I'm anxious to see what artists will be there. Alex Robinson, one of my favorites, has a new book out so I'm hoping he'll be there. And the kids are desperate to meet Andy Runton, creator of the superb Owly books (we all adore this comic).

Well, time to pack up the van and head out. Wish us happy hunting for the comics missing from Frank's collection and I'll tell you all about it Monday.

Have a great weekend, I know I will.

Sushi Dress!

I know, I know. I said my next sewing project was going to be dino pj's for the kids, but I got inspired and skipped the jammies for now.

I've been in love with this Robert Kauffman fabric, titled "chopsticks please", for a long, long time. I used some in a quilt a couple of years ago and had leftover yardage stashed away.

Until now.

I used some of what I had left to make a dress for Flynn from a Simplicity "Project Runway" pattern. I cut a size 3, which fits her just right.

I paired the sushi fabric with a coral-colored quilting cotton I had lying around (also stashed away - yes, I am a fabric hoarder). The coral picks up the pink in the shrimp and fish in the sushi pieces. I think the two fabrics complement each other well.

Here's the end result:

This is a shot of just the dress. You can see the details of the fabric and embellishments (like the placket with the buttons that Flynn picked out on the front and the pockets). Let me tell you, sewing ric-rac is a right pain in the tuchus. I think somebody should invent no-sew, heat-bonded ric-rac.

Not too shabby.

Up next: birthday dresses for my niece.

Kids In The Hall's Dr. Seuss Bible Sketch

Oh, those silly boys from the Great White North. I love The Kids In The Hall and this sketch is hilarious.

String Theory

Harper's Bazaar magazine never fails to educate me in the ways of high fashion and the latest issue is no slouch as evidenced by the following photographs.

Um, excuse me, but it seems you have a thread loose here. And here. And here.

Does this make me look fat? Fat, no. You look more like a shaggy dalmatian. Or a hairy cow.

Apparently, these two looks will be all the rage this Fall. I mean, really, is there any woman who would walk down any street in these clothes? It seems more like unwearable art - made just for its own sake (or the photo shoot). All I can say is this look ain't gonna fly in Fly Over Country.

BFF

My son has a posse of 4 other boys that he considers his "best friends". They formed a strong and lasting bond during kindergarten while discovering a mutual love of all things Star Wars, Lego, robots and dinosaurs.

Then he found out two of his friends are moving away; one to Wisconsin, the other to Boston. One of the boys leaves in two weeks, the other in 3. It's been a difficult time for Evan, at once filled with sadness at not seeing his friends, disappointment that they're going away, and excitement that his friends get to explore new places. We've made pacts with his friends' families to keep in touch via email and/or visits, which has eased the pain a little. When he was told that his friend was moving to Boston he remarked, "Well, I'm just going with him." He said he'd stow away in a box or a suitcase.

A few weeks ago, Evan approached me and said, "I want to have a Best Friends party before my friends move away." I thought it was a fantastic idea and set the wheels in motion. We sent out e-vites to his buddies and, thankfully, everybody could come. One of Evan's friends plays baseball and dropped by between games, which meant a lot to my son.

The boys arrived around the designated time of 3 p.m. They were brandishing light sabers within 3 minutes of walking over the threshold of my home. Then, after putting on their swim trunks, they headed outside for a water gun fight which lasted for about an hour. They had a ball soaking each other and making up rules and teams for their Aqua Battles. While they were playing, I took a picture of the boys and gave each one a framed print to take home.

Wet and a little cold, they came inside and dove into building an Ewok village out of Lego. It was pretty neat to watch them as they cooperated and shared ideas on their project. And another good thing is they played with Flynn and did not exclude her. They also drew pictures that I, in turn, made into t-shirt iron-ons so they'd have another keepsake of the day.

Pizza was cooked and devoured, as were chocolate chip cookies and "Sith Sodas" (a strawberry flavored soda and raspberry sherbet float).

The boys left at 7, exhausted and happy to have had a nice long time in the company of their best buds.

Just as Evan planned it.