my first project

 here they are, these first pictures show how i pinned them, i did not get any pictures before the cutting, that was the easy part the directions called for a square the length of your wearer times 2. then you fold it twice and mark your arcs using math ( i used Wes for that part) and then it was just 3 cuts. Red for the vampire Bean...

 Purple for my Haley witch!! pinning took a couple of hours for both as this is all new to me. the collar was really hard because i needed to pin the edges inside the bias tape along with the string, without catching the string on the edge.

 this was a silken material, which is a bitch to sew because it frays so much!! why didn't anyone tell me!! the edges just come apart after you cut it!!

 here is the ribbon i used. it was stiff and i had a real hard time getting it to fold on the trim, i am glad i got the thicker ribbon it gave me room to work with.

 here i botched the first cape edge. we spent about an hour undoing the stitch as the other side was clean and this one was not. then i forgot to buy purple thread so you can see the clash in this one.

 this shows how much better this side turned out

 here is my beautiful bottom seem on the first cape... nice even lines, hey never sewn before and this was on a curve!!

 see what i mean about it falling apart!! nice needle work huh

 but on the outside this is what it looks like so clean and nice. the kids are  so excited

 learned my lesson on the second cape and rolled up the bottom edges by hand while i was sewing.

 they are still quite uneven but no fray, i like the clean look

 i had red thread and this one looks so much more professional. really proud of this one.

here they both are on the bed, i didn't even catch on the string to tie so next step was adding some glow in the dark beads so they won't get pulled through the collar.

 my finished vampire cape and my finished witches cape. my first time, i am not a needle virgin anymore.

 so what do you think? on to my Christmas stockings!!! hooray!!!

in other news i need a meeting. i am planning my Christmas shopping, i know, i haven't done any yet!! yikes!! shopping is like a drug for me so i need a meeting before i go shopping. i am pretty careful though i have 20 plus people to get gifts for and a budget. i am good at sticking to my budget.

my lovely ex-con nephew came over this morning because he needed a shower. this young man and the future of America is now a felon. i got the call from my sister this morning if they could come over so he could shower. ENABLERS!!!! her husband did not want him at their house. and i don't blame him. i asked my sister are you going to be here? she said yes so i said yes. then i found out along with my sister that since he got out last Friday he spent the weekend high, and with old peccadillo's. i just wanted him out of my house. he had my nieces phone the whole time he was here and when it rang he kept answering it like it was his!!! the little shit needs to go back to jail as far as i am concerned. i know i am a mean auntie but i am also a recovering addict and i know a using addict when i see one and i don't want them in my house near my children period. when he left my house i felt like i needed a shower!! yuck.

don't get me wrong, it was so good to see him when he got here and i was glad to give him a huge hug, but then he opened his mouth. he was demanding of his mother, telling her to get his clothes and where were his socks and where was this, that and the other. he held on to his sisters phone the whole time he was here like it was his. that boy just spent 15 months in jail and the last 4 months in solitaire in hutch prison for hitting a cop and he has zero humility. the whole world is to blame for his problems and everyone owes him. he is exactly like my little brother was a few years ago. for my brother who still has trouble with life, at least now he is taking responsibility for his part in it, it took both my parents dying for him to stop being such a demanding asshole!! he really was self centered and with the crazy home we grew up in i completely understand it. and that means i also understand what is going on with my nephew, and i don't want him over here casing the joint!! ok, ok i will get off my judgemental high horse now. it really sucks that this is the path he is choosing today. i have, do, and will pray for that child, may God knock some sense into him before he gets himself killed!!

i mean ok one more thing, this kid is now a convicted felon. a FELON. why, well let me tell you why, when he turned 17 two years ago he decided to buy some pot. dumb ass. he walked around with it in his hand. like it was LEGAL!!! cops busted him, he had enough on him that they charged him with intent to sell and no tax stamp. felony charges. these were dropped to a mis-demeanor on the grounds that he be on probation and follow some simple rules, like oh i don't know hmm... get a job, have a curfew, don't get high and fail a UA, those of you that are parents of addicts know the drill. well seargant goober decides to hang out with a tough crowd, and goes to a thug house/ crack house where there is a shooting and everybody runs like roaches when the lights come on. the cops come and pick him up because he was a witness to this crime. which was right around the corner from my sisters house. so he is in jail and the cops are asking him who did what and he ain't talking. mean while at my sisters house she is getting threats on her sons life for being a snitch, which he doesn't snitch, tells them nothing. meanwhile he is working under the table at a titty bar till 3 in the morning, the cops are trying to figure out this other crime and know he knows, you know. so they plan a sting and go to my sisters house a few minutes before his curfew to see if he is home. he is not and they bust him at a titty bar for breaking curfew. meanwhile my sister is screaming foul because her baby was only trying to earn a living. yeah, i know. so he is violated and they put him in a half-way house where he gets ANOTHER CHANCE. then he is supposed to look for a job, instead they find out he is spending his days getting booty calls. so they go to talk to him about breaking the rules yet again and what does seargant goober do?!? he hits his probation officer!! STUPID!! so he goes directly to jail. then when they are deciding to give him another chance at not being a felon and just finishing out his time since the first offense did happen when he was a minor, what does he do to help himself now, why he gets into a fight with a prison gaurd!! so he spent the last 4 months of what should have been jail time in the hole!! complete solitaire confinement in a 10x6 room 23 hours a day with one hour a day walking the dog run!!

and what has he learned out of all this??hmm that it is all someone elses fault!! ok so if you can't tell, i need a meeting and thank you for reading my rant today. hope you like my capes, i love um!!!

and i am sooooo grateful that i am me today and my life is not full of chaos, even though sometimes it does knock on my door. i don't have to answer it next time.