Nemo and Bruce the Shark Costumes

I might be prejudiced but Nemo and Bruce are the cutest characters ever! Fish are friends, not food! No shark bait here. I made the Nemo costume adapting instructions from here.

 

On freezer paper I drafted a pattern from a size 2 shirt. Draft a front and a back adding enough length to have the costume cover the top of the legs - about the length of a short dress.  Draw a line 1/2 inch away for the seam allowance. Put the pattern pieces on orange fleece. Make sure that the stretch of the fabric is running width-wise and not length-wise. The front piece is cut on the fold as there is no seam there.

 

Next I sketched out an oval with a square bottom. This will be Nemo's face. I measured the front of the costume up and down and across to get an idea of how big to draw the face. Cut out.

 Out of white felt cut two eyes. Then cut 2 smaller orange felt eyes and 2 even smaller black felt eyes. Draw a mouth with a black Sharpie. I glued the eyes on using fleece glue. Center the face on the front section of the costume and stitch around 1/4 inch from the edges of the face on 3 sides. Leave the bottom open.

Cut 1 inch bias strips out of white fleece  and 1/2 inch bias strips out of black fleece. Not sure how to cut bias strips? Look here. The fleece glue I used is June Taylor. This glue works great for sticking fleece together, however, it is not sewable. I tried to reinforce some of the strips by sewing...trust me, not a good idea!

Make your fleece strips the desired length by placing two strips at right angles right sides together and then stitch diagonally across. When you open the strips you will have a continuous piece.

Glue your white and black bias strips around the face. From this picture you can see that I placed stuffing into the bottom (that is why you leave it open), however, I would recommend not stuffing the face until you have sewn the front and back together and put the binding on the neck and armholes. If you stuff it now, it makes too bulky to finish the rest of the sewing.

Draw a pattern for your side fins and tail fin. At the time that I made the costume, I did not know that Nemo actually has a smaller fin on one side. If you want to be more accurate, cut one pattern for one side fin and the tail fin larger and one side fin smaller. The fin I drew is 6 1/4 inches long and 5 and 3/4 inches wide at the top and 2 1/2 inches wide at the bottom.

Sew the fins right sides together with a 1/2 inch seam. Leave the bottom open. Turn right sides out and stuff. Then sew 3 lines of stitching vertically.

Using the black bias fleece measure around the widest part of each fin and cut a strip with the ends overlapping about 1/2 inch. Sew the ends together, then slip over the end of the fin and sew the bias in each of 3 lines of stitching you previously made. This secures the strip enough. You could also glue it on with the fleece glue.

Sew the two back pieces together at the center back with the back fin placed appropriately.  Have the raw edge of the fin even with the raw edge of the seam so it is sewn correctly. Stitch the zipper length using a long, basting stitch length then switch to the regular length to complete the seam. Sew in the zipper. After removing the basting stitches for the zipper, glue the white and black bias fleece into place along each of the sides. Stitch the top seams together using 1/2 inch seam allowance. Then stitch the side seams with the side fins placed about waist high. Make sure the fins are the same height on both sides.

Cut 1 inch bias strips from the orange fleece. Place a bias strip around the neck folding it in half to cover the raw edge. Stitch close to the edge. Do the same with the armhole.

Now is the time to add the stuffing to the face section. Make it as poofy as you desire.

Cut a 2 inch bias strip of orange fleece, fold it and sew it around the bottom leaving a 2 - 3 inch opening in the back. Cut 1/4 inch elastic to desired length and thread it through the bottom with a safety pin. Securely stitch ends of elastic together. Then stitch the opening shut.

 

Cut a pattern with two peaks for the top fin. I tried to make the fin not look like a rooster's comb but it kind of, sort of does. I think it works. Stitch the two fin pieces together leaving the bottom open, stuff and put in the center seam of the hood. I used Butterick pattern 6695 for the hood pattern but added bias tape around the face opening and ran some elastic through to give the hood a gathered appearance around the face.

Too cute!

Bruce the Shark costume is made using Butterick pattern 6695 for the body. I used a zipper in front instead of following the pattern and using a velcro closure in the back.

Taking the hood pattern I drafted a pattern and extended the top. I made a lining out of fleece and made the seams 1/8 inch bigger so the lining is smaller than the hood. Since the pattern called for 5/8 inch seams that meant the lining was sewn with 1 inch seams. I trimmed the seams. Before sewing the hood and lining together I added batting to that top extension. See how it stands a little higher and fuller? I also added eyes to each side of the hood. Then I cut red and white shark teeth strips out of felt. Those were placed inside with the flat edges even with the raw edges of the hood and lining and sewn in when the lining and hood were sewn together. The red felt teeth wouldn't lay flat so I put that handy dandy fleece glue to use again and glued the teeth down.

Since the costume was going to be worn to school I didn't sew the dorsal and tail fins to the costume. They would make sitting kind of hard and uncomfortable. I made them separately so they can be pinned on for trick-or-treating.

Following this tutorial I made pattern pieces for the dorsal fin and tail and then cut the pieces out of plastic canvas.

Then I cut two pieces of each fin out of the fleece.

Sew the fins together leaving the bottom open and clip the curves.

Turn right side out and insert the plastic screen fins. It was a little tricky getting the screen inside the fleece for the tail fin but it did work.

Add batting to each fin.

Hand sew the openings closed using the ladder stitch.

One year ago:  Tigger and Piglet
Two years ago:  Ewok

Tomato and Tomatillo Salsa

Is there anything better than fresh produce right out of the garden? Probably not...until that produce starts to overrun your kitchen filling every available bit of counter space. What's a person to do? Make salsa of course!

You can tweak the salsa for whatever level of "hotness" you desire. Mix up the peppers from mild to very hot.

 

This salsa is yummy mixed into Mexican dishes or enjoyed with tortilla chips. It is much more flavorful than the salsas that are in the stores. Plus my produce is grown without herbicides or insecticides and it is freshly picked from the garden.

Is your mouth watering yet?

To make salsa you will need a hot water bath canner and jar lifters. Also a large non-aluminum pot is needed for cooking the salsa. Regular salt can be used in place of canning salt.

Tomato and Tomatillo Salsa

 makes approximately 6 pints

 3 qts. of tomatoes and tomatillos chopped
 2 C. variety of peppers and chilies chopped
 1 medium yellow onion
 3 large cloves garlic minced
 1 C. lime juice
 1 T. canning pickling salt
 black pepper to taste
 1 T. oregano leaves chopped
 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
 2 T. cilantro chopped

Wash pint jars in hot soapy water and rinse. Place on baking sheet in 200 degree oven. Place lids and rings in a saucepan of simmering water. Fill hot water bath and bring water to a boil. The water needs to cover jars by 1 to 2 inches.

Add all ingredients into a large pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and ladle into hot pint jars. Wipe rim of jars clean. Dry lids and place on jars. Dry and screw rings on tightly, but do not over tighten. Process pints for appropriate time depending on altitude. Start timing when the water has started boiling again after placing the jars in the hot water bath.

15 minutes 0 to 1,000 ft.
20 minutes 1,001 to 6,000 ft.
25 minutes above 6,000 ft.

Turn off heat and remove cover to hot water bath. Allow jars to sit 5 minutes. Remove jars from hot water bath and place on folded towels. Allow to cool until jars seal. A popping sound will be heard as the jar seals. Verify that jars have sealed by pushing center of lid with finger. If there is any movement in the lid, then the jar has not sealed. Place any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use within 1 to 2 weeks. Sealed jars can be stored and used within a year.

printable recipe

Dubois, WY and Sinks Canyon State Park

We drove miles and miles across barren WY territory to get to Dubois, a cute little town. And it is pronounced "dooboyz". Our mission was to catch fish in the Wind River. When we got there the river was at record level highs and fishing was tough. We did manage to catch fish but not a lot. The guys at the fly shop in town told us about the petroglyphs and suggested we check them out. So we did. They are not specifically marked so you have to hike around and look at a lot of rocks to find them.

I don't know how many there are. Some of them are hard to make out so you have to really look.

Here is a little more information on these fascinating archaeological remnants. The most remarkable thing is that none of these ancient drawings have been defaced. Why do people have to do that anyway? Hopefully they will remain this way for many more generations to find and wonder about the people who drew them.

A pretty view of Trail Lake. We went on up the road to fish Torrey Creek...absolutely rotten luck there and I guess that is how it is. Either you have fantastic fishing or nothing...zip, nada, zero! Be prepared to bushwack to get to the stream. (Note to self---get a machete!)

All along the Wind River are these gorgeous rock bluffs. Amazing!

On our drive back we stopped in Lander and headed to Sinks Canyon State Park. Wyoming is just amazing. It is a state that for its vast nothingness (and believe me when I say I have seen a lot of that) has some amazing geological phenomenas. One of them is the Sinks. This river is the Popo Agie. It is pronounced nothing like it is spelled. Say "paposhue" will fast and you might come close.

The river flows to this rock mountain.

And it just disappears.

Then on the other side of the rock mountain it pops back up. Scientists don't know what happens to the river while it is going through the rock mountain or the route it takes, but they do know that it takes 2 hours for it to reappear. How do they know this? They put dye into the upstream end and waited for it to come back out at the rise. Those are fish down there.

Humongous fish. And no you can't fish there! But they sure are cool. Wild Wyoming has some fascinating places to explore.

Stuffed Doll

I recently made this little doll for my little granddaughter's birthday. She is made out of felt and cotton and stuffed with fiberfill. Her face is embroidered and appliqued. Not only is this little dolly super cute, but she is soft and can be drug around and played with, squeezed and hugged and nothing will break.

I used these directions. A word of warning...there is a fair bit of hand sewing involved. The directions are fairly easy to follow, but do make sure to read through them first. I tacked on the shoes so they wouldn't fall off and get lost.

When you cut out the arms and legs, draw around the pattern onto your fabric and then sew along the drawn lines. Cut around the lines 1/4 inch from your stitching. Make sure you leave the top open so you can stuff and turn!

It would be easy to turn this pattern into a boy doll...hey boys need dolls too!

This is what the back looks like just in case you were wondering.

Flannel and Minky Blanket

This blanket is so soft and cuddly I kinda want to make a larger size for myself. Soft flannel  surrounded and backed by luxurious minky...who wouldn't want a blanket like that?

 This little guy really likes his new blankie. He also agrees that it is super soft and cuddly.

I used this tutorial to make the blanket. The tutorial includes great tips for working with minky which isn't the easiest fabric with which to sew. I would recommend pre-washing your fabrics so there aren't any surprises when you wash the blanket later. The flannel piece is cut smaller and the larger minky backing is brought forward on all four sides to frame the flannel. Measuring your fabrics precisely is important to avoid puckers when sewing the two fabrics together so take your time and make sure your fabric is laid out straight on a hard surface. Even though it seems like the corners won't work, they do come together if you follow the directions.

If you wanted to make an easier version of this blanket, cut the two fabrics the same size. Put the right sides together and stitch 1/2 inch around the edges leaving an opening of 6 to 8 inches. Turn fabrics right side out and press out the seams. Slip stitch the opening closed and stitch around the blanket 2 inches from the edge. You won't have the minky border framing the flannel with this option, but what little person is going to care about that!

And as a added bonus the blanket can always be used for some fun peek-boo-games!

Boy Shorts and Suspenders

This little guy's birthday called for some stylin shorts and suspenders. The party had a picnic theme so the shorts and suspenders fit right in. The shorts are a cotton madras fabric and the suspenders are made from fold over elastic. Quick and simple.

I used this tutorial for making the shorts. The directions are straight forward and simple.

And for the suspenders these directions sewed up in a jiffy. The fold over elastic makes them comfortable and easily adaptable for fit. And now the elastic comes in a wide variety of colors and prints.

The directions say to stitch a diamond shape to secure the two straps together. I didn't do that. This little guy lives away from me and I couldn't size them on him. By not sewing the straps together and leaving them separate, they can be adjusted for fit...plus they can grow with him.