Trick or treat

We went trick or treating last night with friends. Here are my two scary pirates. Okay, maybe not so scary.

Trick or treating was great. We went with friends and all of the kids had fun. No one was cranky or tired this year. All of them got a lot of candy.

D has been a pirate for three years now. I changed his costume with a few added pieces. E was a pirate king (queen according to D). D thought it was great that he got a mustache and some eye make-up. E was thrilled with wearing make-up for the first time. They were both not so happy when it was time to scrub it off.

D did get a new pirate hat. He wanted the front to have the pirate symbol from the Pirates That Don't Do Anything movie. He also got to carry the wooden sword this year. I made that last year, but felt it might be too dangerous for him to carry it. This year, he knew not to swing it around anyone. hahaha! I made him a bag for his candy that looks like a treasure map. There's a boat on one side with a trail that goes to an "X" on the other side with jewels.

E got a pirate crown that sort of matches the one from the movie. A lot of hot glue was used to hold that together. I also made her a bag to match her outfit. I haven't sewn in a long time and it was fun! I do need to make a new bag for my new camera.

It was cool and the kids had to wear a few layers underneath their costume. No one complained of the cold. It helped that they ran from house to house.

I keep meaning to blog more, but get distracted. I bought a new camera. My old Canon Pro1 started acting up on our train trip. I looked around and it wasn't worth it to get it fixed. I tried out a Canon sx10 IS and didn't like it. It didn't feel sturdy and it was much bigger than the Pro1. If I wanted a big camera, I might as well get a dslr. And that's what I got. I ended up with the Canon rebel XSI/450D. So far, I'm pretty happy with it. I've been learning a lot more about what settings are appropriate for certain light conditions. I've also had to mess with a lot of other settings to get the pictures how I like them. I'm still using the basic lens that comes in the kit, but time will tell what other lenses I'll want. ;-)

In knitting, I just finished my Fiore de Melanzana stole. I need to photograph it, but was too busy with Halloween costumes. I'm trying to finish up other projects that have been sitting around. I started a pair of modified Monkey socks for E a long time ago. I realized that I need to finish them soon before she out grows them. I also have a shawl and a scarf already on the needles. I'm not sure if I'll work on those or start thinking about gift knitting. I probably should start the gift knitting, but I need to make a list first.

To end this, here are a few more Halloween pictures...

When a fairy chases a pirate...

The pirate may look happy, but he isn't very happy when caught. Maybe it's because pirates shouldn't be caught by fairies? Maybe it's because he wasn't happy getting hit by the magic wand? Maybe it was because he's barefoot and stepped on many acorns while running? What did this pirate do? He dropped his leather belt and sword (maybe they were slowing him down) and kept running.

This year D wanted to be a pirate again. I was very cool with that idea because I loved his costume last year. He makes for a very cute pirate and loves to go around saying "arrrrrrr matey." I did add the foam sword and the leather belt across his chest. Everything else is the same as last year. There are "boots" that go over his shoes, but he didn't want to wear those for the pictures.

The hat is actually from a pattern for toddler hats. I used the basic hat pattern, but made the brim a lot larger. Then I tacked it up in three spots. The shirt, vest, and pants are from various sewing patterns. I bought them on sale for .99 and picked the pieces that I thought went together. The "hair" is just a piece of fabric with yarn sewed to the inside. Two strands of the hair have beads on them, very similar to the movie pirate.

E wanted to be a princess. Then she wanted to be a good witch. Whatever it was, she wanted to it to be pretty and in a girly color. I suggested a fairy since she's been into the Barbie movies lately. She has been a fairy before, but I was unhappy with the way the wings turned out that year. This year, I wanted to see if I could make better wings. So, we started with the wings and went from there.

For the wings, I used various tutorials over on craftster. I decided not to sew a dress. Instead, I went with a skirt that you can see with the Monica pattern at Knitty. The instructions for the very easy skirt are at the Barefoot Knits. The top was store bought and then I added some stones to it to match the wings. The crown was recycled from another old costume. It's actually a plain comb-like headband that you can find in the crafts section. On the headband section, I tied on some tulle that was cut from the ends of the skirt. To the comb section, I weaved in some beaded wire and formed the crown.

The lighting in these pictures changes so much. These were all taken on the same day and all around the same time.

In knitting news, I'm working away at clue 5 on the Secret of Chrysopolis shawl. I have 12 rows left of that clue. I'll work on the Secret of the Stole next. I have been sewing too! My poor sewing machine has been neglected this year. I made myself a new bag. I like it, but it's a bit bulky. I'm thinking of making it again, but using different fabrics.