This weekend we're going to the Northwest World Reggae Festival outside of Portland, Oregon with my sister-in-law and her family. I've decided that our nephew, A, needs some festival- wear. I made a couple pairs of pants from bandanas for E last summer. These are the BEST toddler pants for summertime. They're lightweight, loose, comfortable, and keep them covered from the sun. They are the Flat Pants from Domestic Sphere under the free patterns link (scroll down to the bottom). There is also another helpful tutorial on them in her June, 2002 archives(scroll down, again). They're made with only rectangles so they are super easy. I made a similar pair without the center panel from a Martha Stewart Kids magazine pattern for R. Here is E watching a clown show in his brown and green pair, and R being "blue-green allergy".

These pictures are from Reggae on the River in Northern California last August. It was 110 degrees. We were camped literally tent stake to tent stake with 20,000 people on a rocky river bed where we had to haul our things in about a mile from the car, with a 4 year old in tow and a 1 year old in a backpack. We spent alot of time filling water bottles, misting ouselves with spray bottles, and making trips to the portapotties. E had just finished weaning about 2 weeks before that, so he was waking up hungry and screaming at 4 a.m. right around the time when other people around us had just gone to bed. They had all kinds of activities and entertainment for kids, but it just wasn't enough. If you met anybody else with kids, you'd never find them again amongst all the people. I said I'd never go back, not with kids, anyways. Not until they're older, anyways. We must have been crazy.
So crazy, that we're doing it all over again this year(!), but on a smaller scale and at a closer location. This time there will be a family only camping spot, which was the one BIG thing I was wishing for at Reggae on the River last year.
We weren't going to go. C didn't want to take the time off work, or spend the money on it, but one day I said to him "Come November when it's dark and cold and snowy, will you regret not going to this?" The next day, he ordered tickets.
At least we're experienced this year. And the boys will have their cousin along, too.
I'll be missing out on the 3rd annual local fiberfest in my very own hometown. It's really small scale, but fun, with some great vendors. Last year I taught a Natural Dyeing workshop. It was so much work to prepare for it! I'm glad to not be teaching anything this year, but it would have been nice to be able to attend it.
Here are E's other flat pants (this is last year, too, but they still fit him with the cuffs turned down) and the new ones I made for A yesterday. I'm in avoidance mode. Despite the fact that I should be packing and preparing food, I went huckleberry picking today with a friend and our collective 6 children, I'd like to go pick raspberries at another friend's house this evening, and I'm trying to sew a skirt before we go.

The new pair for nephew, A, is made from 2 bandanas that I bought for 69 cents each last weekend at the Amish store, some leftover bandana fabric for the bottom cuffs, a linen/cotton blend for the center panel, and a pocket from a thrifted dress shirt.