Boys in Blue

For almost a year, we've had a family reunion on the calendar. Four days, at a lodge high in the Rocky Mountains, and nearly 40 people between kids and adults. We had a lot of activities planned to keep the kids busy, and lots of "visitin" time for the adults. But, one of the activities we had planned for everyone was a giant family photo session booked with a team of professional photographers. It was decided that the different major family groups would stick to a chosen color for our clothes. Our family chose a light turquoise. We found button-up dress shirts in the right color for the adult guys, and matching beautiful silk/wool scarves for the ladies. 

.As you can see from the picture pulled from the online listing to the left, (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078NZYCMW/), the scarves were really more like thin shawls. This meant us ladies had a lot of leeway in how we styled them. 

The only problem was the little boys. It was proving difficult to find shirts for them in the right color. So I suggested we could make vests out of an additional shawl

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I ended up using two different vest patterns, as one of the boys was solidly in toddler range, and one was still in infant sizes. The scarf/shawl fabric turned out to be a little fiddly to work with. Once cut, I only had to to glance at it, and it would fray. This also meant there was NO ROOM for error, as trying to rip out a seam also destroyed the fabric. I kept reminding myself that these vests only had to last for the 45 minutes or so that the photo shoot would take. 

Why put decorative pocket welts on an infant-sized vest? For the cuteness, of course!

The design and fit differences between infant and toddler are apparent. But so glad they're both done in time!

Mission accomplished! The vests did their job. and we managed to get a decent picture.

Bonus! I took this looking out of the living room window of the lodge at the last of the sunset. And don't worry - those are reflections of light fixtures, not UFOs!