Running out of time

Let's be honest. I have several creative bones in my body. I can't blame this procrastination on the lack of right brain abilities.

The thing is, you see. . .well. . .oh all right. I'm scared.

I've sewn before - quilts, pillows, various household sort of things. Even a place mat or two and maybe a table runner. Yet I've never sewn a thing that didn't come with a pattern or at least a book of instructions.

But now it's nearly Halloween and I'm pretty much screwed.

It was about a month and half ago. Logan was sitting on the floor with a brown padded envelope tossed aside near him. It had the long-sleeve t-shirt he had picked otu as a gift for Meg's birthday. Tucked neatly inside the envelope, as all good "mail order" marketers know to do, was a new catalog of yet more things we could buy. Logan was flipping through it with a crayon in his hand - a crayon to circle his great big wish list.

He got to the Halloween costumes.

"I have an idea!" he said quite excitedly. "For Halloween this year I can be Diego and Megan can be Dora [the Explorer]!"

"Oh, wow. Yeah. That'd be fun," I said quite convincingly - honestly happy this meant he was giving up whatever not such fun for Mommy idea he had just prior to this one.

"See, we can buy our costumes here!" he said, still in that giddy 4-year old way of his.

"Ahh, yeah, see, I'm not going to spend that much on your oufits for Halloween," I said, eye balling the prices. "What if we make them ourselves."

I wasn't thinking really. I mean really, how hard could this be? The boy has navy blue shorts and a light blue shirt already. I simply had to pick up the bright orange shorts and hot-pink t-shirt off a clearnance rack for Meg's outfit. I even solved the hair problem with brown temporary hair color. We already had a 'real' purple Dora Backpack. I even managed to locate the matching orange Rescue Pack for my little Diego.

But that damn vest.

How in the world am I going to make that vest?

I keep hoping I can cheat and find something close enough in a store. I went to the sporting goods store around the corner and looked for a child's hunting vest. (And people, if you're wondering, they did indeed have one. The blind-you-it's-so-bright orange and camoflague, however, is so very *not* our favorite Animal Rescuer Diego.)

The fabric, if you must know, is sitting in a bag in my room. A yard of cheap muslin. Waiting for me to be brave. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

And "Diego's" school Halloween party is Friday. "Please come in costume" they say.

Awww, crap.