Super Hero Capes

This week, I made two superhero-style capes using a fantastic and generous tutorial by Puking Pastilles. She sells fun, safe, classic costuming gear for girls and boys in her Etsy shop too! One cape is for my youngest nephew, and one is for my son.

The pattern and instructions on Puking Pastille's blog are far superior to the pattern I purchased from a well-known pattern company. (I'm ripping seams out of that one to re-use the fabric somehow.)Add the sword and the candy-collecting bag (with reflective stripes) that I made him, and we're ready for Friday night!Stay tuned for Halloween pictures! My son has envisioned the following scenario: he will be a knight with a cape, armor, and a sword. My husband will dress like a dragon for the knight to slay, and I have been told that I will be a princess to rescue. Obviously, our son is at the age where gender roles are concrete, and Daddy is a rival. Before parenthood, we believed gender roles were taught. It's quite an awakening to see how inherent many ideas are.

Present for History in the Making

Warning: although it's not professionally prudent to talk politics, I am succumbing to that temptation.

Today, my three and a half year old son and went to see Barak Obama. It was an hour's drive to get to the metro station, a 30 minute ride to the Arch grounds, and a brisk-paced 15 minute walk to the end of the line. Pictured above is the spot where we started our hour wait. You can make out one leg of the arch in the distance, and you can see the line double back to the park. It took just over an hour to make it onto the arch grounds from this point in line.

I found it fitting that the line passed the President Casino!
Here is a jubilant bunch of whooping and waving folks---we got to see the motorcade, and the waving silhouettes inside the vehicles and buses. From the line to the actual rally, I was impressed by the mood of the crowd. We were a harmoniously integrated bunch, high on the possibilities for our future.
From where we stood, we could see only the throng ahead of us. When I stood on tiptoe and held my camera up, this was the view. Some AP photos capture the multitude better. I have never been a part of something so big.
What a great day to change the world! Though respectfully quiet, the vibe at the rally matched the fervor usually reserved for concerts or sporting events.
Above is another attempt at a crowd shot from where we stood, as near as possible to the Jefferson Expansion Memorial while still on the Arch grounds.
Thank goodness for a zoom lens! And quality sound systems. By the time Obama's speech began, my son had wearied of the experience.
I didn't want my little adventurer to ruin anyone's experience, so we lingered at the perimeter of the park for a bit before walking around downtown. Fortunately, I could still hear our great leader when we were blocks away. (I bought the Obama pendant on Etsy last winter!)

New Listings

Wristlet zipper pouches in various prints.I've been trying to photograph items I made over the summer. Even when I take the photos outdoors, as I did with these, the color balance is a challenge.

I expect to list two before the weekend, and then add one per day until they're all listed.

An Entertaining Blog

Another great blog to check out is Fail Blog. It's worth a good chuckle or two.

Just go look! :)

Lost and Found

"Found Cameras and Orphan Pictures" is a blog I check as religiously as Post Secret.

Pictures and heirlooms are the two possessions people most commonly fear losing, and Found Cameras helps re-unite people with lost memory cards, cameras, and photos. It's heartwarming to read the success stories, and astonishing to discover how often such meaningful objects are lost.

Check out the site. You'll enjoy it.

It's petty, but...

I try to live with a minimal footprint.
I dye my hair.
I have a LOT of gray for my age.

I'm waffling between:
1. getting my hair stripped and saving myself the expense, time, and environmental guilt of dye.

and
2. continuing to dye with a natural product (I've heard coffee grounds work...) until my roots have grown out (probably three years).

Advice? Opinions? Comment, or answer the poll on the side bar.