Why Now?

In true Rae Ann fashion, I put off the construction of Q's Halloween costume until the last possible moment. His school Halloween party was today and they got to wear their costumes to school. He is going as the flying monkey to Z's Wicked Witch of the West (her choice, not mine. The irony is free of charge.) I had turned the design over and over in my head, so I was confident that it would come together quickly and easily.

That was my first mistake.

It all went pretty well until I got to the head. If you recall (I didn't), the monkeys from The Wizard of Oz were blue and sported a kind of funky mohawk. I was determined to replicate this with the faux fur I was using to trick out Q's light blue sweat suit. It took a lot of time and came out looking somewhat like a tumor. Awesome.

By this time, it is past midnight and I just need to wrap things up. So I decided to chuck the hat and vest for the moment and concentrate on finishing the monkey part of the costume. He could just wear his wings by themselves. I did some pretty awesome soft sculpture ears and was left with just the tail. I pin it up and am zipping in the last seam when my bobbin ran out. Rats!

How inconvenient, I think to myself, as I mechanically remove the bobbin and set it up for winding. I was literally six inches away from my stopping point. I tap the pedal with my foot. Nothing. I tap a little harder. Still nothing. I move stuff around and flip switches, but even though I have disengaged the needle, the bobbin winder isn't winding. Arg!

Normally this wouldn't be a problem. I have a million bobbins. The problem is that I haven't unpacked them yet and have no idea where they are. Panic! The short term solution was safety pins. I pinned up the last six inches and pinned the tail to the costume. But I still have a LOT of sewing to do to wrap up both his and Z's costumes (hers needed hemming). Defeated, I trudge off to bed around 2:00 a.m.

Once I have the kids deposited at school, I start calling sewing machine repair places. We have two in Wester. The first one I called said he could fix it, but it wouldn't be ready until late tomorrow afternoon. The next one said that their repair department had a one week turnaround. More panic! Luckily, the gal at the second shop sensed my desperation and told me to come on in and wind my bobbins on their demo machines. Whee! Problem solved! Guess who will be getting my repair business?

All's well that ends well. I got Q off to school in his monkey costume. It turned out a little more roller-disco-king than I was anticipating, but was still pretty cute. (Pictures to follow once I get the vest and hat completed.) He looooooooves it. I got Z's dress hemmed so that she could wear her costume to Q's party. Whew!

Somehow I didn't feel up to sewing after we got home from the party. Guess I'll have to get on it tomorrow... And so the cycle of procrastination starts again. I never learn.