@$%*&!!!!!!!! or Reflections on Making Pajama Pants

Creating art can be a very therapeutic experience. There have been studies done about how art can dramatically improve a person's mental state; art therapy has been shown to help many individuals work through traumatic experiences and help them recover emotionally. According to the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center website, art can also reduce a patient's physical pain:

Research has proven that art making has a positive impact on pain management, depression, anxiety, and stress reduction. For centuries, art has served as a healing tool, fostering self-awareness and coping skills.

I have definitely experienced this myself over the years, albeit in a much, MUCH less dire situation. I recall one instance in particular when I was 25. I had all four impacted wisdom teeth taken out at once. Though not nearly as painful as what most art therapy patients would be experiencing (and not even in the same universe of pain when it comes to what cancer patients undergo), I was very uncomfortable and found it difficult to escape from the throbbing in my head. For whatever reason, I decided that this would be the perfect time to take on a large drawing. I chose to sketch a picture of Michelangelo's The Dying Slave out of an old art book I had.  Why did I choose this particular subject matter? In my own tortured state I must have been drawn to this figure, although I can't remember why this sculpture called out to me.

The drawing experience was pretty amazing. I definitely entered "the zone." You know, when you become so absorbed in an activity that hours pass by without you knowing, or you cease to experience anything outside of the activity that has you enthralled--even pain? It's very powerful. It was a life-changing realization for me. We all have to experience physical or emotional pain or suffering somewhere in our lives; I was excited that I had "discovered" one more tool that would enable me to persevere through it.  And my parents got a great piece of artwork to hang in their front hall to boot.

According to researchers you can experience "the zone" through any activity that completely absorbs/ engulfs you, like working on cars, fishing, maybe fantasy football? Needless to say, I've definitely gotten into "the zone" through craft-making too.

So after that nice intro (yeah, that was just the intro.--are you even still reading?) let me tell you that THIS WAS NOT ONE OF THOSE TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the name of all that is holy: making these pajama pants was most definitely not one of those times. If you are biting your tongue, sweating, and cursing profanely during a crafting experience you will most definitely not enter "the zone." Sewing these simple little pants caused me so much strife it was the complete antithesis to the zen-like experience mentioned above.

I saw this easy-looking tutorial about 6 months ago online and really wanted to make Little C. these pants. I even bought the elastic I would need from Jo-Ann's way back then because I figured I would make them right away. As usual, life got hectic and the pj pants didn't happen, but the idea of them would pop into my head at random times, always keeping the possibility of them on my radar. I finally broke down and decided to make them when I got a winter L.L. Bean catalogue and saw these cute pj ensembles:

 They have a lot of other cute designs, too, however these are Women's. They don't make this exact type for kids. Regardless, they got my creative juices flowing, and I was finally motivated to make Little C. his pj pants. And I even had an idea for a little matching moose shirt to go along with it.

I must have known somewhere in my subconscious that sewing these pants would be a struggle. Maybe that's why they kept getting shoved to the back burner, and also why I decided I would practice making them using a pair of my husband's pj bottoms first.  I wasn't ready to commit to buying a fabric if I knew it was highly likely that I would mess it up.

Upon going through my husband's closet, I had uncovered a pair of plaid pajama bottoms that he had never worn because they were too short. Instead of sending them off to Goodwill, I thought I'd try to recycle them into lounger pants for the Little Man.

So long story short (and man, this is getting to be a long story...) I totally screwed up the pattern: I was using black thread on a dark fabric= total blindness; I wound up using a chopstick to stab the freakin' elastic into the waistband (don't ask); and I made the crotch so short that when I put it on Little C. his whole diaper was hanging out and he looked ridiculous. My husband said he looked like Britney Spears with his diaper-clad hips sticking out of the pants. The poor little guy even fell down because he couldn't walk freely in the constricting things. So off they went, out came my seam-ripper, and with more cursing I was finally able to fix the @#$%&*# pants. Done.  

I had planned on appliqueing the moose with the extra plaid fabric, but by this point the thought of using the sewing machine for anything else related to this project made me feel homicidal. So I went back to my reliable and easy fabric stencil technique and called it a day. (The moose is a sketch from some online clip art)

I still plan on making more of these pants, though. But I'll probably have to follow it up with art therapy to handle the stress.

Girls Night: October

What's more festive than fabric stenciled Halloween shirts?

Well, ok,  probably lots of things, but it was pretty festive at the past Girls Night with stenciled spider webs,

pumpkins,

 candy corn,

skeletons,

and googly eyes scattered about



After the usual conversation and hors d'oeuvre gobbling we retired to the kitchen to drink some blood

And cast some craft spells. Oh, but mostly to eat this monkey bread:

Who doesn't like monkey?

About the craft: It was easy and practical; the kids can wear their shirts this week to school etc. About a month ago I drew out some designs on manila folders and then used a razor blade to cut them out. I had some ideas for a Frankenstein head, black cat, haunted house, and scarecrow, but I ran out of time and there were plenty of choices for the girls to choose from in the end anyway.

I wish I had done a better job selecting fabric paint colors. Ahem, yellow would have come in handy for the candy corn stencil. I recall Little C. being antsy in the craft store when buying them. Or it could have just been that I didn't think of it. Nah, I'll just blame Little C.

P. turned that little spot at the bottom of her spider web into a spider. I don't have a picture though. This "mistake" actually turned out really cute. 

I know I ate way too much (time to get back on the perpetual diet) and some people may have drunk too much (not saying any names here!) but it was a fun craft night. It's P.'s turn to host next, but instead of crafts she will be having a dinner party where we all pretend to be mature adults. I'm going to recommend that we unveil our individual, long-term craft project ideas then. I already picked out what I'll be working on. It will be a nice monotonous and easy project to work on once the Christmas knitting sweatshop closes at my house.

Vintage V

I'm a huge fan of vintage sports logos/ mascots. I like the artistic renditions of the various mascot animals and objects; they seem more detailed and grittier than modern versions (which tend to be flat and streamlined). And I like the vintage designs, of course, for the nostalgic feelings they evoke. Certain well-known designs take me right back to when I was a little kid in pig tails, chewing Hubba Bubba bubble gum, and running around V's sport stadium in my keds.

I'm lucky enough to still have copies of these images on a couple old vintage tees from the early 80s. And I really mean lucky, because I have searched ebay and the internet for other AUTHENTIC vintage logos to no avail. (Lots of sellers claim to sell "Vintage" tees when in fact they are really just ringer tees, with faded writing, and the modern mascot/ logo on them).

So what's a crafter to do when she wants a certain item and can't find it anywhere? That's right, she makes it herself.

I took the wildcat image from this vintage tee and turned it into a stencil. I drew out the image on a manila folder, used a razor blade to cut it out, and then used my handy marine blue fabric paint and a cheap sponge brush to stencil the image on a shirt for Little C.

This was a very delicate operation; unlike the turtle stencil, this has a lot of detail which increases the screw-up quotient considerably. 

I started drawing up this image a couple months ago. Like with my crochet hook roll, I started to think that I would never actually finish this project. Like everyone else, I seem to have no time to do anything. I'm finally learning that I can actually accomplish things, I just won't be able to do it all at once. Maybe I can apply this perspective to cleaning my basement? I'm never going to get a whole weekend to devote to it, but maybe I can start chipping away at it minutes at a time.

This was much more fun than cleaning my scary basement, though, and Little C. looked like a real fan when he wore it to V's first football game last week.

Toddler Mutant Stenciled Turtles

Remember back when you were a little kid and everything seemed larger than life? Maybe your house or school seemed huge to you or maybe your older brother seemed like a giant hovering over you?

Events always seemed larger than life too. I have certain memories burned into my brain that are actually pretty mundane, but as a child they seemed so big and important.

About a month ago my nephew "discovered" a large turtle in his grandmother's backyard at the shore. Her house is between the ocean and the bay. Though not exactly a far distance in either direction, it would be quite a long journey for a turtle to make. How did the turtle find itself in her yard? How long did it take to get to her house? How did it manage to avoid being hit by a car in this busy summer season? This out of the ordinary experience was exciting to me as an adult, I can only imagine how magical it would seem to a child.

Since I had already made a turtle stencil, I decided it was only fitting that my nephew have a shirt of his own to commemorate this event. These photos are of Little C's romper. I didn't take a picture of my nephew's, but it looks exactly the same in t-shirt form.

I used plain fabric paint from the craft store (in marine blue--how fitting!) and one of those 15 cent throw- away sponge brushes. Here's a tip: use a straight, up and down motion when stenciling.

I find myself checking my mother-in-law's yard whenever we visit, hoping to see that turtle, or another turtle. If I was my nephew, I would feel convinced that grandma's yard always contained turtles. These events are so big in our imagination because they're not likely to happen again. And that's what makes them so memorable.