Arrr, Me Hearties!

Hello from conference!

Well, no, not really - I'm writing this an hour before my epic train journey from the dank North West, lugging all those suns and cakes with me, and this will appear as if by magic whilst I'm supping coffee with my fellow blue-shirts.

Have you met Jessie Cat before? Here she is:


Jess is our mascot, friend and teaching aide for Sing & Sign, of course. Every teacher has one and we have lots of fun playing peek-a-boo. She's a firm favourite with everyone, from tiny babies to tumbling toddlers. This year we were all asked to bring Jessie Cat with us to conference, and to dress her up - if we had time. I think I first started to think about it on Talk Like A Pirate Day, so obviously a quick bandana, eyepatch and cardboard cutlass would be an easy costume if I didn't get finished with all the orders and swaps until the last minute. I thought I might even have some Jolly Roger fabric left over from last year's Out & About Books. Easy peasy and no drama attached.

Last Tuesday I sat down to finish the last Mr Sun and put Pirates Of The Carribean on for some inspiration. Little ideas kept popping into my head "...you know, I think I have some deep red fabric like that...I wonder if you can make a long wig in the same way you do for NeedleNoodles' Creepy Cute amigurumi...I have some coins like that from belly dancing projects...hmmm." You know the way it goes, sometimes - you get a dash of inspiration and realise you have absolutely everything you need in your stash (hooray for stash!). And miracle of miracles, all went smoothly (even the bit involving the sewing machine). Captain Jessie Sparrow was born, and here she is.

Mugshot



Full length shot

She has a black yarn wig complete with beads, coins and ribbons; yarn beard with beads; bandana; brown waistcoat; leather baldric made from an old belt; sash and a sword made from a wire and foil-wrapped knitting needle. Pretty neat, huh? I'm so pleased with it - it's really close to the film and came together so beautifully. I'm fully aware I've gone quite a bit overboard with this, but hey. I can't let a challenge like that go by!