and this is why you should keep pleather in your attic

So the other day I asked my boys what they wanted to be for Halloween. My oldest decided a Jedi and my second decided he'd like to be an ewok. We realized we could actually get some good mileage out of an old elaborate monkey costume (for the ewok body) by simply removing the some elements and adding others.

Mom to do list:
make jedi tunic and robes
sew a wicket the ewok orange hood
alter monkey costume

Thursday night, I decided there is no time like the present, may as well get this halloween costume sewing party started. I used my notebook during the town building meeting for the new high school that night to calculate fabric yardages and make mental patterns. This while weighing out the architects A,B, C, and D plans (D is the only really good plan at a tidy 68 million).

So friday morning, after the preschool drop off we made our way to Jo-Anns.To add to the day I had my oldest tagging along because he had been sick the night before.

Here is where I stop to say a few words about bathrooms and Jo-Ann's - while no mom likes to take her kids ot the fabric store, many moms must. And in fact the reason I am patronizing the store is because of my child and my maternal love (in the form of homemade halloween costume), and when my child urgently needs a bathroom, I am told they don't have one- well actually they have 2 but they don't work- I sort of hoped he'd get sick or someone's potty-training child would have a problem right there on the floor to show them what an unwise thing this no bathroom thing was. No I am not vengeful- simply a realist and believe in the necessity of bathrooms (I don't think thats too much to ask in our modern world) and well if you can't provide a bathroom at least give me a some woods --I an dig my own latrine...

But I digress, we headed home and had 1 1/2 hrs remaining of preschool time. During this time I managed to craft the ewok hood, cut the jedi robes and tunic. We then drove back to preschool to reclaim son #2. Drove home and while #3 was catching 20 winks int he car I completed the entire jedi robe and tunic. At this point my son asked where the boots were he wore he previous year. I thought they were in my closet but alas they must have made the cut in a recent goodwill sort and were gone. Panic began to setin - no self respecting Jedi would be found wearing sketchers with his robes. Well have no fear-smart mama and her attic full o'supplies is here. I pulled down the attic ladder, climbed up and returned in 30 seconds descended with black pleather. So yes without a pattern or previous experience, I manage to craft knee high faux boot shoe covers and have them all sewn in under 5 minutes before my baby woke up from his nap.

The jedi costume looks exceptional if I do say so myself. So good that he wanted to wear it around and had to be a fashion show for the neighbor and the Ewok, well all I can say is in perusing pictures on the internet- it's the best ewok going. I even managed to find leather string and long cream colored beads (left over from a neckalce #1 son made during a tipi visit with native american dan at school 2 years ago. Which I disassembled and recreated to be that hood embellishment worn by wicket the ewok.

If they were giving medals that day for minorly important mothering tasks, I totally would have been in that middle spot on the podium. I am sure there was divine intervention in the accomplishment of homemade costumes in sewn in 2 hours or less. Too often the decision to make your child's halloween costumes often changes your title from mom to sucker... but this year I get to keep my mom title. That's "super costume sew-er mom" to you, boys.

1. costumes made 2. attic with pleather 3. when the stars align and you get stuff done!!