The Singing Costumer

     I first watched Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas as an adult. It's so charming and sweet. I was inspired in 2019 by Sally's signature patchwork look. It's more of a Disneybound rather than a cosplay. A full cosplay will be coming someday, but for today, I present my Sally-inspired sweater. I decided to make a sweater to coordinate with my future costume. Most years in Oklahoma, October 31 is cool enough to at least require a light sweater. And I can't wear a mundane, everyday coat or sweater with my costumes. Oh no.      I bought 4 sweaters at the thrift store. They were carefully chosen to have different textures in the knitting, and also to match a specific color palette of muted traditional “fall” colors. From the beginning, I knew I wanted a pumpkin orange, a mustard yellow, and a green. Funny enough, those are all also my least favorite colors. But the more I thought about this project, the more I convinced myself that no other colors would...

Presenting my “Frozen Raspberry Gauntlets of Power”. I don't name my projects every time, but it just happened in this instance. For whatever reason, these fingerless mitts decided that this is the name by which they shall be known. And there was nothing I could do about it. I have no idea where I got this yarn. The color is difficult to describe. It is a beautiful mauve/maroon/burgundy/purple. It has this secondary white yarn twisted into it, giving it almost a halo effect. It reminded me of frozen raspberries (hence the name). It is itchy, sadly, but not unbearably so. Also, I knit it a bit too small for my hands. I believe this was my first knitting project, so there were bound to be issues. But overall, the tension is fairly even, tight, and neat. And I adore the color so much. It's so fun and colorful, yet still sophisticated. I just wish I had more, so I could have made a matching hat or something. It was incredibly simple to knit. A 2X rib knit stitch ...

To slightly paraphrase Miranda Priestly from the classic film The Devil Wears Prada, “Faux fur? For winter? How groundbreaking.” But nothing beats fur for warmth and beauty. There is a reason it's a classic every year. This gorgeous purple fur was a gift from a friend. She was clearing out her fabric stash and invited me to take some pieces. I was very excited to find this particular piece. It is an incredibly thick and soft faux fur in a deep, rich shade of purple. Purple is my favorite color, so it had to come home with me. It wasn't a very big piece, so I knew it needed to become something very special. I found this New Look “Fun with Fur” pattern on Etsy and loved it. I loved the collar and cuff set and also the scarf, but I didn't have enough to make both. I went back and forth for several days, weighing my options. Finally, I decided that a scarf would be more practical, and I would be more likely to actually wear a scarf rather then a collar and cuf...

I am slowly but surely making myself a cold-weather Disney Parks wardrobe. That is, items that are just a bit too character-focused or too “young” for me to wear all the time here at home, but are entirely appropriate at the Parks. For everyday wear, I tend to pick Disney tee-shirts that are more subtle. Things that “whisper” Disney rather then “shout” Disney, if you get what I mean. I've blogged about my XL sweatshirt-to-accessories project here. Also, a fleece Elsa cape is almost complete (which I might pair with this set? But it might be too much Frozen for one outfit.) Then, I bought a white fluffy Mickey Mouse jacket from Target last year. I think that should be enough. Maybe a long sleeve tee-shirt or two. Everyone thinks about Southern California and Florida being hot or at least warm all the time, but that's not quite true. There are some cooler days here and there. On my very first trip to California by myself, I got cold waiting for the fireworks. It was in...

Are you, dear reader, in the mood for some winter accessories? Or, like me, are you already anxious for spring to arrive? The only good thing about winter is the cute accessories, I always say. I have a big canvas basket full of scarves, gloves, mittens, and hats. I have a black and also a purple peacoat. Plus my dramatic leopard print fleece cape, which I have previously discussed. Simply put, I don't like to be boring with my accessorizing. It is my only source of cheer and happiness when preparing for a cold winter's day. Ok, enough with the dramatics. On with the subject of today's blog. I knit this up several years ago. This is what the pattern calls a “Bow-Tie Necklet”. It is a scarf, but not in a traditional long rectangle shape. One end is pulled through a loop on the opposite side, forming a sort of bow tie. I have seen several examples in mid century photos of similar knit scarves that seem to have been made the same way. Of course, I forgot to save them/...

Thrift stores are a wealth of treasures, waiting to be found. True, you have to dig deep sometimes, but these gems do exist. Take for example, this wonderful Walt Disney World sweatshirt. The bold, gorgeous blue! The adorable embroidery of Minnie Mouse! And in brand new condition, too! Love it. I would've worn it proudly, but it was an XL. Which I am not. It never was worn and eventually, I just put it away. It sadly languished in my fabric stash for way too long. Recently, I was reorganizing my fabric stash and I really wanted to do a quick project to get my creative juices flowing. And then I recalled seeing free patterns for fleece warm winter accessories on recent favorite patterns websites; Patterns for Pirates and Made for Mermaids. The two are sister companies, both literally and figuratively :-) One sister owns one, and another owns the other. I love it. I made a neck warmer. https://www.madeformermaids.com/product/neckwarmer/ Some sweet littl...