Me as Peter Pan :)

When I was little, I was enamored with Peter Pan.  I often pretended that I flew away to the Neverland and had all sorts of adventures. I even drew giant X's on the dirt driveway and scribbled "Land Here" so that if Peter ever flew overhead, he'd come and find me. When I was five years old, I wanted to be Peter Pan for Halloween. My mom said, "But you're a girl!" I didn't care. I didn't want to be Wendy. I had to be Peter Pan. *grin*

So my wonderful mother made these adorable costumes for me and my brother for Trick-or-Treating. (My brother insisted on wearing the eyepatch, even though everyone knows that the only thing Captain Hook lost was his hand.)

Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures. They're many years old now, and I had to scan them in.  

Here's another one. Notice my cardboard sword. That's the one part of the costume that my mom let me make. (You really have to use your imagination.) My brother loved holding his candy bucket with the hook. For some reason, people kept asking me if I was Robin Hood. Now how would they think that? I didn't have a bow and arrows! *huff*

Ah, yes. Even years after that Halloween, I would put on the costume and jump on the couch to imagine I was flying. I eventually wore the costume to pieces and had to make a new one. I took an oversized green t-shirt and sewed bits of fabric to it for leaves. Sadly, I couldn't find any pictures of me in my "Martha Pan" outfit. But I did find this:

It's Tiger Lily! I made the headband and one of the drums as part of our homeschooling, and I became certain that I was meant to be an Indian princess. Good times... 

Second to the right, and then straight on till morning!

Exploring Sherwood...

At last... my medieval costume entry for Maid Marian's Wardrobe! The rain stopped for a few hours today, so out I went into the forest. Pictures or bust!

I made the cloak, but purchased the dress from an african booth at our state fair's international bazaar. :) The blouse is from Kohl's.

My lovely mother took the pictures for me (it's rather hard to take one's own picture), and then she returned my camera so I could take pictures of my sister, Hepzibah. <--- Check out her blog, too!

Sewing for the Imagination

For me, sewing is not a passion or a main interest, but I like to sew things that I can't easily buy. The very act of sewing is not what I love so much as the finished product I get when I'm done.  So I sew things like Beanie Baby clothes, medieval cloaks, and leafy curtains for my room. I sew things to help awaken the imagination.

My first true sewing project was an Elven-esque cloak.  I spent $1 per yard on some amazing blue fabric that had a wonderfully whispery sound about it. I loved the finished product, but I soon realized how impractical it was.  I made it one size too large, so it swallowed me up every time I put it on, and the bottom hem dragged about three or four inches on the ground. The brilliant blue color is very pretty, but just a bit too eye-catching for me (for example, how could an elf disappear in the forest while wearing such flashy clothes?).

So I made up my mind to sew a new cloak, one that was more practical, less conspicuous, and would fit me better. I wanted a green cloak, but the fabric store didn't have the right kind of fabric in that color, so I ended up with brown, which was my second choice anyway.

I worked on it occasionally, but I didn't have a reason to work hard at it until I found out my family was going to the Renaissance Festival. Then I worked on it constantly!  I finished just a few minutes before we pulled into the parking lot of the festival.

I enjoyed wearing it at the festival. I could almost imagine what it might have been like to live in that time.   I was surrounded by other people dressed much like myself, so I didn't feel like such a geek. I am fascinated by many aspects of the Medieval and Renaissance eras, mostly things like archery, swordsmanship, horsemanship, clothing, and legends and stories from that time. (But not much of the food. Yuck. Who would want to eat roast boar? Not I!)  I had a lot of fun wandering from shop to shop, hefting swords, learning how a waterwheel mill pounded rags into a pulp used for paper-making, watching a ridiculously choreographed joust (ugh), listening to the singing of a musical troupe or the lilting melodies of a skillful harpist, and just letting my imagination wander back in time.

I'm very happy with the finished cloak. I put some gold braid around some edges, and a silver clasp in the front to finish it off. Here are some pictures:

And finally, here I am wearing it at the Renaissance Festival!