Pick 'n' Stitch

New Blog Site!

2010-12-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've moved! Come follow me to: http://picknstitch.com

New Blog Site!

2010-11-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

I've moved! Come find me at www.picknstitch.com.
Thanks for following me there,
amy

I've Been Bad

2010-11-22T19:56:00.002-07:00

My sister comes to town and what do we do? We go shopping, of course! There's a new "green" yarn and fabric store that recently opened called Wooden Spools. It collects overages and unused stashes from stores and individuals and offers them for sale. There's a nice selection of mostly natural fiber yarn in the front of the store. The back half of the store is dedicated to quilting cottons, anything from fat quarters to entire bolts. They also have a long arm quilting machine set up and their website says they offer custom quilting services. Nice idea. Great prices! Could. not. resist. buying. something.

I found a book of knitting projects by Lucinda Guy with Rowan yarns. Every project is irresistibly adorable and I fell in love with the stuffed animals. As luck would have it, there was a nice colorful supply of Cascade cotton yarns at the shop for an unbelievable price, so I of course had to bring home an entire basket of them to knit up a bevy of imaginative creatures. Florian Fox is first on the list...

Another Tunic

2010-11-17T16:49:00.001-07:00

Just a quick pic today. Another tunic I made up using my basic t-shirt pattern. A double inset in the v-neck was a little interesting to figure out. Knits are so fun and quick. This was about 2 hours of stitching, most of which was spent on the neckline. But it took no time to cut out- just fold over the rounded neck pattern to create the v-neck, and fold and cut the stripe in the middle. I love cozy tunics and fast projects!

I played around with different shapes around the neckline, and here's what I came up with. The dark thin line is just a narrow strip of knit, cut crosswise, then folded in half and basted around the neck, right sides together.

The grey knit collar is cut in the shape of a long skinny football, then folded in half. I folded the collar again so the points matched up. I measured the circumference of the neckline, divided that in half, then used that measurement to measure from the fold in the neckline (that will be the center back) towards the points and pinned where the measurement ended. I sewed a sharply angled seam at the pin to become the center front line, pinned it around the neckline edge and stitched all the layers together. A v-collar! It sounds more complicated than it is. Try it.

Thankgiving Menu Planning

2010-11-16T16:53:00.002-07:00

See those woods behind the bean field? Wild turkeys live there. This is my parents' farm. In July. It doesn't look like this now. Now it's cold and often windy. The beans have dried and long been harvested. The trees are mostly bare save for a few leaves vibrating in the breeze. The ground crunches with fallen nuts and dry leaves. But the turkeys are still there. They're settling in to wait out the winter. Safe. Yep, safe even this time of year. When Dad was still alive, he'd tell me about his turkey sightings whenever they'd venture out of the woods to forage. Sometimes on foggy days, they'd strut, Mick Jagger style, up to the lawn around the farmhouse looking for tasty morsels. He liked to count them and talk about them as if they were pets. Tom Turkey and his brood. I miss those conversations. The turkeys are still there, still elusive like quiet ghosts; they are there to remind me of Dad. Thanksgiving will cause them no harm. Safeway is just up the road.

I have 20 coming to Thanksgiving this year. The menu is planned, very midwest traditional, including Grandma's raisin stuffing and big bowls of jello. Today I pulled out napkins and tablecloths to wash and iron. This weekend my daughter and I will scour the weeds at some open space nearby in search of table decorations. I'm hoping for Martha-Stewart-worthy nature, but will probably wind up with, well, weeds. No matter. It's my table and I'm going to call it beautiful. So there.

Scalloped Edge Treatment

2010-11-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here’s a super simple edge treatment using the blind hem stitch on your machine. It works best on light drapey fabrics. Be sure to experiment on a scrap of fabric first to get your settings right.

I used this treatment on a strip of cloth to trim a neckline, but you could also use is as an edge finish directly on a neckline or front edge. Just remember it’s rather fragile, so don’t use it on a edge that’s going to be tugged and pulled on.

I started with a bias strip 1.25” wide. I didn’t need that much finished width, but that width gave my fingers enough fabric to hold on to it while ironing. Cutting on the bias helps reduce fraying.

Fold the fabric toward the wrong side 1/8” and press. For this polyester peachskin fabric, the effect worked best if I only turned the fabric to the wrong side once. With more sheer fabrics, it might work to turn the fabric twice so there’s no raw edge exposed, even though the edge gets encased in the zig-zag stitching. Experiment.

A blind hem stitch looks like this.

My upper thread tension wheel.

Set your machine for a blind hem stitch and increase your thread tension as high as it will go. Consult your manual if needed. Increasing the thread tension causes the top thread to pull in the fabric when it zig-zags out to the fabric edge, creating the scallop.

Align the folded edge of the fabric under the pressure foot, right side up, so the zig-zag stitch moves just beyond the fabric edge. Adjust the stitch length and width until you like the look. I used .5 mm length and 4 mm width. Go slow, and use your fingers to guide the fabric.

Here's the trim applied to the neck edge.

Here's the back side of the finished trim.
Notice the raw edge encased by the stitching.

Runway Inspiration

2010-11-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

I don’t watch television much, but after reading some blog posts about Project Runway, I watched an episode online, and I was hooked! It’s now my Friday guilty pleasure to watch it when I’m supposed to be doing real work. A few weeks ago, the challenge was to design looks that fit into Heidi Klum’s (the show hostess) new active clothing line. I was inspired by the color blocked designs of Andy and Mondo, and decided to create a simple color blocked tunic for myself.

It was a great way to use up some of my overflowing stash. I had an odd shaped piece of heavy grey knit that came off a remnant table, and some polyester peachskin that I bought because I fell in love with the dusty plum color, even though I don’t usually wear slinky synthetics. Combining the two fabrics was perfect- nice color, comfy stretch. Although it’s not runway ready, it is shopping-errand-day worthy!

To add a little texture, I created some scalloped trim from a bias strip of the plum fabric and stitched it to the neckline. (Ignore the tomato colored t-shirt; it's the standard uniform of my dressform Stella.) Soon I’ll write a small tutorial on how to make your own trim.

Lotta's Garden Tote

2010-06-25T14:07:00.000-06:00

Let me end the week with one of my latest projects: a Garden Tote from Lotta Jansdotter's book Simple Sewing.

The tote went together very easily. Lotta's instructions were very clear, yet concise so I wasn't bogged down in a lot of words. I love her simple graphic style.

It was a present for my nephew and his wife who just moved into a new house with a yard filled with literally hundreds of botanical specimens of all types. For instance, the front yard contains no grass, but has instead strawberry plants for ground cover. It's an amazing yard, and I hope my little tote can help them in some small way to manage the gardens! Enjoy your weekend!

Experimental Monday: Biscuits

2010-06-22T21:01:00.001-06:00

I've always wanted to make really good biscuits. Most of the time, I'm in a time crunch and just do the Bisquick thing, but they always turn out crumbly and they're not my family's favorite. I want to make a biscuit that people remember-- in a good way.

Hence my recent fascination with Alton Brown's book, I'm Just Here for More Food.

In that geeky, science-y way that only Alton Brown can pull off, a whole section of the book is dedicated to learning about the biscuit method. Then he gives us his favorite recipe, a recipe that is four pages long. Very detailed. Just what I need. Here's what I thought of my first try at his recipe:

Alton warns that his recipe produces a very soft gooey dough, and he's right. My dough was soft enough to run right through my fingers, and although I could cut a circle with my biscuit cutter, there was no way it was going to lift off the wax paper without a fight and several contortions. In the end, instead of trying to first cut circles, I just heaped a mound of dough on the baking sheet and smooshed it into a circle using wax paper on top so my fingers wouldn't get glued to the stuff.

Despite all the gloppiness, the biscuits turned out great! Warm, buttery, soft, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Just tiny crumbs. They were gone in a flash. It was an involved process which made me think they need to be the main course and not just a side dish, but I'm willing to try it again. They were that good. Next time, I think I might try adding just a touch more flour, and a little more adjusting for high altitude, since I live at 5000 feet. Other than that, I think I can finally get rave reviews at dinnertime. So worth it!

Mud Bath

2010-04-08T15:40:00.000-06:00

I think the clouds over my house decided to do their spring cleaning two days ago because, well, it rained mud. Icky brown, sticky, runny mud, all over my car that was parked in the street. It rained for no more than 5 minutes this morning. My car did not look like that last night. Really. The evening news said the mud rain was caused by some dirty upper air turbulence something-or-other, but I like my story better. At least somebody is doing spring cleaning...

Inside the house it's like slogging through mud as well. Now that I'm back to work (my day job is designing and managing print publications) projects and requests are coming at me faster than I can keep track of them. I feel like I can't get done with one simple project before three emails and two phone calls have distracted me into six different directions. It's like those dreams where you're trying to run but your legs won't move and you don't go anywhere. There now, I have used two analogies in one paragraph. Stunning.

Sorry for my long absence from this blog. I was suddenly hit with some unexpected health issues that kept my body and mind focused elsewhere. They're not over yet, but I'm recovering well, and back at the sewing machine, thank you. Updates on projects soon. Promise.

Top Ten Favorites of 2009

2010-01-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

TrueUp.net, a blog I love to follow, is asking readers to give them a list of favorite fabrics and designers of 2009. Here's my Top 10 noteworthy entries:

• Favorite Quilting Weight Cotton Collection: Amy Butler "Midwest Modern II." I think the majority of the accessories I've sewn for myself this past year have had some of her fabric in them.

• Favorite Home Decor Weight Fabric: Jessica Jones "Modern Flora." Beautiful prints that are easy to work with.

• Favorite Juvenile Print: Michael Miller "Orange Mono Bot." I came across a small remnant of it somewhere and I want more. I don't even have kids to sew for at the moment, but never mind that...

• Favorite Color Trend: I can't believe I'm saying this, but ORANGE. I grew up in the 60's and 70's and hated orange then (along with avocado green), but these sherbet oranges I see now are adorable.

• Favorite New Fabric I Worked With in 2009: My favorite fabric is actually an ancient fiber: silk. In all these years, I had never worked with it till this past year. Now I don't know why I waited so long. It was a dream to sew and the projects turned out beautiful. I used China silk, raw silk, silk kimono fabric, it was all good. Try some, really!

• Favorite Handprinted Fabric: Lotta Jansdotter. When I grow up, I want to be her. I love her aesthetic.

• Favorite Solid/Nonprinted: What else- Kona Cotton. I discovered Robert Kaufman makes a Color Card for their Kona Cotton line, so I invested in one. I love being able to match up prints I've picked up here and there with solid colors on the card, then ordering the solids online, since I can't find many of them locally.

• Favorite Overall Designer: Denyse Schmidt. I'm not much of a quilter, but if I were, I'd want to be like Denyse. I'd love to "get in her head" and experience her creative process while working out a project. Amazing.

• Favorite Local Fabric Store: Denver Fabrics. No, this has no relation to the DenverFabrics.com online store. This is local only, no website. I like Denver Fabrics because I'm never sure what I'm going to find there. About half of their fabrics are ordered from manufacturers, but the other half come from various sources- end bolts from the garment district, left over fabric from design houses, imports, you never know. On my last trip there I discovered some rolls of silk kimono fabric, a bolt of cashmere wool that was as fluffy and soft as a cloud (think snuggly cardigan), and a tiny houndstooth check wool in soft pink and grey that came from a New York design house. I love the thrill.

• Wildcard Category: I love it when I find product packaging that I can sew with. This past year, Purina started making its dog food bags out of a plastic coated mesh material that's very easy to sew. It would be great if others followed suit, like the big bags of flour and sugar at Costco. Then there's the big bags of rice packaged in burlap. Those are great too. Here's to more reusable packaging in 2010.

To see all the Favorite Lists on True Up, click here. To read about the Favorite Fabrics event, and even participate by January 15, click here.

Santa Trauma

2009-12-23T10:41:00.002-07:00

Christmas 1995

As I'm busy finishing up Christmas presents (I'm down to the wire, I know), I thought I'd let you know about a contest. Paula Prass, designer extraordinaire, is hosting a giveaway on her blog open to anyone who sends her a funny photo of kids NOT having fun while getting their picture taken with Santa. Check it out, the photos are sure to make you laugh, and while you're there, vote for your favorite. Here's my submission:

I can remember things from when I was really young. Like going to see Santa. He lived in an A-frame shack that was put up in the town square next to the fountain. With my dad carrying me, we opened the door, stepped in, got within three feet of the big jolly guy, and I started screaming and climbing up and over my dad's shoulders and on top of his head. I know I was really young because he still had hair then. Come to think of it, I could be the reason he went bald... Anyway, I was apparently headed for the rafters and was going to swing my way outta there like a monkey. There are no pictures of me with Santa. Go figure. What does it mean that I'm now 50 years old and still traumatized by the event? Worse, what does it mean that I endangered my own children's mental health by putting them on Santa's lap for a photo shoot? Therapy? Yea, I'm thinking about it.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Dear Blog,

2009-12-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Really, I haven't forgotten you. I know I owe you a huge post filled with pretty pics of all I've been up to lately, but right now I'm in the rush of Christmas presents to finish making. There's linen to stitch up, yarn to crochet, packages to wrap, cookies to bake, it's all so busy. But it makes me happy! Here's a photo of the view I enjoyed during my recent quilt retreat with my friends. Maybe it'll help you ponder great thoughts on your own while I finish up my to-do list. I promise to get back to you. Promise.
Love, Amy

Tiny Goodness

2009-11-24T16:26:00.001-07:00

I had a hankerin' to try my hand at making a bag with a metal purse frame. Above is my first effort. I dug around online and found some tiny frames on the cheap at eBay. They're so tiny that a credit card won't fit in one, but I made the bag long enough to accommodate a tube of chapstick and some rolled up dollar bills. It now resides on my keychain. To create a pattern, I used the instructions I found on the U-Handbag blog here. The glue I used to attach the fabric to the frame was Craft by Goop (I bought mine in the craft dept. of Walmart). It did the job, the fabric stuck tight, but it was a little stiff and hard to distribute evenly in the metal frame channel. U-Handbag suggests using Gutermann fabric glue, but I can't seem to find any. If anyone knows of a source, share your info!

Denyse Schmidt Quilts Book Review

2009-11-24T14:05:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been digging into the book Denyse Schmidt Quilts, and loving it. When I bought it, I read it cover to cover. Actually, I bought it right after I had seen the movie "Julie and Julia" and I wondered if I should make every project in Denyse's book the way Julie in the movie made every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook. The reality of how much time that would take eventually dawned on me, so I abandoned that idea, but I have made a couple projects from the book.

At first, I expected the book to give me some insight into Denyse's creative process and explain how to improvise patchwork projects the way she does, but it's actually a book of projects with pattern pieces that when sewn together, look like you've improvised a free-form patchwork piece. Being such a newbie to quilts and patchwork, this method is probably a good thing for me. It's like someone holding my hand while I get use to the construction methods. Her ideas are cute, modern and very doable.

Her scarf pattern uses a foundation piecing method. The strips of wool and silk are successfully sewn to a muslin foundation fabric until you have the right dimensions, then square it up and stitch it a soft wool lining. It was quick and I love the look. Our weather has turned cold the last few days, so it was done just in time to be put to use!

I made this fun apron for a housewarming present for my niece. She loves vintage things and all the fabrics I used came from a pile of old fabrics I bought at a garage sale last summer. It's a very easy pattern with a wonky log cabin block pocket. I'd love to make an entire log cabin quilt some day. But in the meantime, these small projects are fast and satisfying. The pom pom fringe is a fun sassy addition. I also whipped up a couple pot holders to match using my own design. The thing I like about these is the pocket on one side. With my hand inside the pocket, I feel like a have more control when grabbing something out of the oven.

Thank You, Detail!

2009-11-24T12:27:00.001-07:00

I actually won a giveaway! A. at her Detail blog sent me this wonderful cloth basket filled with scrap fabrics. Lovely little pieces that I'll soon be showing off in a project I'm working on now. Isn't the ribbon detail on the top of the basket clever? I love it. Thanks, A.!

Trying to Catch Up

2009-11-24T12:20:00.002-07:00

Wow. Blogging has been left in the dust while I've been trying to catch up on some "chore" projects around here. Pretty straightforward stuff. Here's a rundown:

I finally finished a shower curtain for my hall bath, using Flights of Fancy fabric by Paula Prass. On the wall, I covered four art canvas frames with a coordinating Flights of Fancy print. Simple, quick, done!

My college age son moved out in September, but it took me till October to clean out his room. Yeah, it was THAT bad. Really. Anywho, the room is now a study room for whoever needs it. This antique chair belonged to my dad, and although I wanted to use it, I also wanted to protect the wood seat and the leather back. I covered it in a paisley print that matched the wall color, and also made very simple matching valances with the leftover fabric.

Now that I'm a little more caught up, it's time to think about Christmas presents...

Inspiration Overload

2009-11-06T18:14:00.003-07:00

I found this book on Amazon Marketplace recently and had to scoop it up. A copy of this same book was on our bookshelf when I was growing up. Actually, it wasn't on our bookshelf, it was always in somebody's hands, either mine or one of my sister's. A sister now has that copy, with a missing back cover and loose spine, but it's still readable and well loved. Every page of that book is like an old friend, comfortable and familiar.

That book, along with a couple of Pack-O-Fun magazines, were all we had for crafty inspiration. But it was enough. I believe I've made, attempted to make, or dreamed about making every single project in this book. See the stocking pattern above? My mom used that pattern when she made my stocking, which still hangs on my mantel every year, along with the stockings I made for my husband and kids. There's a rag doll pattern in the book that my older sister made for me. It's the first doll I remember having, and the doll I hand stitched clothes for when I was a preschooler. That book taught me how to knit, how to carve soap, how to sew, how to create.

Contrast those sweet memories with today. I have a bookshelf full of crafty books, a basket full of sewing magazines, an endless list of blogs I love to visit, and just about any idea I want to explore is only a Google search away. I'll never accomplish a fraction of the projects that swim around in my head from all this inspiration. Everywhere you can hear talk of the "information overload" age we live in. Sometimes I think we can also be burdened with "inspiration overload" as well.

Don't get me wrong. I love having books at my fingertips and being inspired by all those creative ladies that let us glimpse into their lives through their blogs. I love the resurgence of creativity and sewing I've seen developing in our country. It's just that sometimes I find I need to take a creative step backwards, simplify my thinking process, and remember to enjoy the simple things in front of me. Enjoy putting needle to fabric for the sheer pleasure of it, enjoy the sound of knitting needles clacking together in a rhythmic pattern, enjoy a completed project being put to good use. Sometimes I need to stop trying to be a more inspired, creative, unique craftsperson, and simply find joy in the person I am right now.

So, to all of you, have a relaxed, simply enjoyable weekend!

Why I Love Colorado

2009-11-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Thursday: Lots of snow.
Friday: Digging out.
Saturday, Sunday: Bright sunshine, warm weather, no jacket required (just avoid puddles of melted snow). You gotta love how Colorado does its thing, then gets over it and moves on.
Monday: Back to business as usual.

I'd like to have a gallery of beautiful finished projects here that I accomplished during the snow storm, but it was more like a must-get-mundane-chores-off-my-list kind of snow storm. Things like:

1. Finish cleaning out my son's bedroom. He moved out in September. There will be no "before" photos of that room. Way too embarrassing. I could take a photo of the big black garbage bags of stuff I hauled out of there, but where's the fun in that? There will be a few photos later of that room as I complete some very minimal decorating projects in there to turn it into a quiet study room.

2. Baked apple dumplings with my daughter. Whole peeled apples wrapped in pie crust pastry and baked. Yea, I should have taken a photo of those beauties with their leaf cutout tops, but when they came out of the oven, all I could think was must. eat. NOW. We're making those again.

3. Mended more rips in my jeans. Four more rips to be exact. I have an awful time finding jeans that fit, so I hang on to the pairs I have till there is just nothing left of them. And no, I'm not photographing the behind of my jeans. We're not going there. Ever.

4. Worked on a shower curtain out of Paula Prass fabric. Photo as soon as I get curtain rings to hang them up.

5. Started some Quiet Room projects. More on that later. Nothing too exciting, though.

6. Watched movies, ate popcorn, drank hot chocolate with marshmallows, read the new Stitch magazine (l-o-v-e i-t), slept in late.

Now it's back to reality. Wish me luck.

Snow Day #3: The Big Meltdown

2009-10-30T15:00:00.000-06:00

The sun is back! Hope you all get to stitch this weekend!

Snow Day #2

2009-10-29T15:00:00.001-06:00

It started snowing here on Tuesday night and hasn't stopped yet. We have 19" so far. This is my daughter's second snow day in a row and she's like a little kid, building snow forts in the backyard. Me? I'm dreaming of getting back down to the sewing room to finish some projects, so I'll make this quick and just show off a couple pictures from my back yard.

The above is the view out my back door. For some reason when I peeked outside this morning, it made me smile to see that row of little bright pots braving the cold and sheltering themselves under the bench while the rest of the landscape had turned white. I like being happy!

Have a warm day, everyone!

Scrappy Belt

2009-10-23T11:50:00.002-06:00

Sew Mama Sew is hosting a Scrap Buster Contest this month. They have had lots of great ideas submitted, please head over and check it out. I wanted to come up with an idea that would use up small, not-necessarily-quilting fabrics, so here's my tutorial to make a simple patchwork style belt out of any kind of fabrics you have on hand. Here's a link to my Scrapbuster Belt. It's my first tutorial, so please email me with any comments, suggestions, corrections. I'd appreciate it! Thanks!

Fabric Giveaway

2009-10-21T16:55:00.000-06:00

Hey, mosey on over to the True Up blog for a great giveaway of a half-yard bundle pack of Liyohara fabric. Beautiful prints! And if you haven't visited True Up before, you'll enjoy getting lots of fabric news and tons of inspiration. Check it out!

Baking

2009-10-10T19:35:00.000-06:00

Oatmeal muffins with dried cherries and dark chocolate chunks.

We've had our first snow of the season! The cooler weather makes me crave time in the kitchen to bake. I don't know why that is, but what I do know is I'm going to have a hard time fitting into my jeans tomorrow.

Chilly

2009-10-08T14:00:00.000-06:00

My nose is cold.

My front yard is carpeted in yellow.

My back yard is sporting more than the usual red.

I turned my sprinklers off for the year.

I have a cup of hot chocolate on my desk.

I'm going to a football game this weekend.

I'm enjoying the moments of the season.

Seasonal Changes

2009-10-05T09:04:00.000-06:00

Last week my daughter and I created our own little retreat in the mountains. As we arrived at our condo, the weather changed, snow fell to dust the peaks, and the air took on that special autumn crispness. By the way, no, the mountain's not on fire, it's just a Colorado sunset.

We watched movies, shopped, sewed, hiked, and slept late. It was wonderful.

Back home, the changing of the seasons makes we want to get in the kitchen again. I think it's the chance to cook up things I haven't cooked in awhile. To me, fall is the time to bake, make soup, and cuddle in with all those comfort foods. In honor of fall, I made up some mixes this weekend that help me with the baking and cuddling. For info. on where the recipes came from, see this post. From left to right, hot chocolate mix, oatmeal mix, cookie mix, granola, and biscuit mix.

From my spot at the computer, I can see the maple tree out my back door is turning red today. I think I'll go walk the dog now and get some more autumn inspiration. Enjoy your week, everyone!

Men's Dress Shirt Re-Do

2009-09-28T11:19:00.000-06:00

Here's my first attempt at re-fashioning a men's dress shirt. There's so many examples on the web that inspired me, that I had to try it. In the end, I like it, but it did take me a little longer to do than I had hoped. That's probably because it wasn't that much bigger than my normal size, so I had to sew in some triangular pieces of fabric under the armholes to make the armholes small enough. Then I re-shaped the top of the cut off sleeves to give a more feminine gathered cap, cut straight across the bottom for the hem, and added bias tape inside to give me an elastic empire waist. If you try an elastic waist, make sure you add it directly in line with a button, so the elastic doesn't pull a gap in the front button band. I was quite pleased with myself for figuring this out BEFORE I had to rip and re-stitch! Sometimes I amaze myself.

And in the true spirit of recycling, I made the leftover cut-off sleeve parts into dog toys. I stuffed them with orphaned socks and stitched up the ends. Although they weren't pretty enough to take a photo of, my puppy didn't seem to mind that. She's busy chewing one of them right now.

On My URGENT To-Do List

2009-09-28T09:20:00.000-06:00

I ask you: who would NOT want this on their to-do list? Find the recipe, along with tons (referring to the number of ideas, not the weight you would gain by trying them all...) of other tempting ideas at Bakerella's incredible blog:

http://www.bakerella.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-pie…-oh-my/

Burger Weekend

2009-09-27T21:14:00.000-06:00

It probably started because I watched Bobby Flay make burgers on the Food Network. That, and the fact I have 25 pounds of hamburger waiting expectantly in my freezer. It was on sale. A really good sale. So Saturday I made bacon cheddar hickory smoked burgers topped with coleslaw. Sunday I made Italian burgers topped with mozzarella, spinach, and caramelized onions. They were grab-your-napkins good!

A Love/Hate Relationship

2009-09-25T16:53:00.000-06:00

I have this special relationship with my iron. I love it when I use it in sewing construction. I love opening up a fresh seam and pressing it flat, and shaping a dart into a nice rounded curve. I'm a master at getting the iron point to fold over the tiniest strip of fabric into a narrow hem. Then when the project is done, I lovingly give it one more final pressing.

But once I am done, I send the item off to live a life of it's own, like a bunny mother sending her children into the wide, wide world, never to return. I'll try hard to never use the iron on them again. I hate maintenance ironing. I'm not a fan of any laundry task, and least of all ironing. I have a closet full of wrinkly clothes to prove it! Why is it that it's fun when I'm creating, and evil drudgery when I need to simply get the clothes back into wearable condition? Oh iron, iron, why art thou so fickle?

Mixing It Up

2009-09-19T19:07:00.000-06:00

I haven't been able to get down to my sewing machine lately due to one child packing to move out, another child's cross country schedule, and my day job getting busier, but I did have enough time last night to make up a batch of homemade biscuit mix while dinner was cooking. The recipe comes from my very worn copy of Make-a-Mix Cookery by Karine Eliason, Nevada Harward and Madeline Westover. I've had this book since my college days, and I'm sure it's the only cookbook I own that I can say I've made almost every recipe in the book. Honest. It satisfies my "make it myself" mentality, I guess. After making the mix, I was inspired to use it to put together some peach cobbler. Ya gotta love peaches while they're in season.

September Peaches

2009-09-10T10:00:00.001-06:00

Peach pie filling ready to be tucked away in the freezer. Somewhere in the deep depths of winter it will be brought out to remind me of the fresh taste of September. Yum.

Fall is Coming

2009-09-08T09:14:00.001-06:00

While taking a walk this weekend, I witnessed one of those late summer storm clouds gathering in the evening dusk. It's a reminder that Autumn can't be far behind.

My Week

2009-09-05T11:00:00.001-06:00

Here's a small run down of a week that went by way too quickly, as they all do!

My daughter studying for a test went from earnest contemplation to...

this, to...

this.

Sophie being, well, Sophie.

Cookies I baked for a Cross Country team dinner. The snickerdoodle recipe came from my old copy of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, and the chocolate chip cookie recipe is a family hand-me-down. I love the connection I feel to family as I'm following an old recipe- memories, touches, even smells come back to me to give me that warm and fuzzy feeling! Have a great labor day weekend, everyone!

Red Sun, New Days

2009-09-02T14:17:00.001-06:00

The last couple of mornings we've had a bright red sun to greet us in the morning. This was taken more than an hour after I first saw it (I didn't have my camera till then), but it was a bold, bright red ball as it came over the horizon. I'm told the color is due to the California fires. Strikingly impressive sight, yet it humbled me to think of the massiveness of the fires that caused their effects to be seen here.

The red sun started a conversation with my daughter this morning as we headed to school. We first remembered the Hayman fire in our home state of Colorado several years ago. She remembers trying to skateboard around the neighborhood with her older brother, but the smoke was so thick it looked like fog and burned her throat after being outside for awhile. She was eight at the time. Then farther back in history is the eruption of Mount St. Helens. That's before her time, of course, but I described for her the raining ash and smokey skies that we saw here. It was an interesting conversation, talking about nature and its far reaching effects. In a way, nature connects us, doesn't it?

She Likes Me

2009-08-31T21:14:00.000-06:00

I had a smile on my face today because I had my first-ever comment on my blog! To celebrate, I stitched up these potholders as a thank you gift to the wonderful gal. Enjoy, Deb!

PS- The patchwork pattern is from what I remember seeing in a library copy of Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. I'm going off of memory, mind you, so any wonky inaccuracy is all mine!

Book Bag Done - Check!

2009-08-30T22:34:00.000-06:00

I finished up my daughter's book bag today. The pear applique is also a pocket- the right size to throw a couple pencils in. I put a large zipper pocket on the back side, but I left the inside pocket-less and chose to add a separate zippered pouch instead. I figured when the bag is full of books, it'd be hard to get to inside pockets, but the pouch could be yanked out and carried to class (she leaves the bag in her locker).

Note to self- don't try to iron fusible fleece to corduroy. It makes a bubbly wrinkled mess. Not attractive. Heavy, craft-type interfacing works fine.

I also finished putting all my garage sale booty through the wash. I stopped counting how many loads it was...

Garage Sale Booty

2009-08-28T18:22:00.000-06:00

It's Friday, my husband is out of town backpacking, so I goofed off today. I only went to one garage sale, though. Twice. Yea, I came home with an armload of textiles, went down to my sewing studio (everyone else in the family calls it a laundry room) and as I started working, I kept thinking of the booty I had left behind in that man's driveway.

SOOOOOO, off I went to retrieve more of the treasure. Boy, was he happy to see me coming! In the end, I relieved him of a huge bolt of unbleached muslin, a laundry basket full of vintage calicos, antique and vintage hankies and scarves, including a silk Vera scarf with a hand rolled hem (score!!), wool sweaters that are already in the washer felting, hand embroidered linen tablecloths and napkins, men's dress shirts to recon, and this really cool 70's piece of fabric designed by a guy named Max Rawicz. I googled him and found out he designed bedspreads in the 70's. I love the big flowers. Didn't get any work done, but what a sweet day!

Bookin' It

2009-08-26T18:00:00.000-06:00

In between putting the hours into some of my other jobs, I'm working on a book bag for H. Her old one has seen better days. The zipper is broken and seams are ripping. The other day H. weighed her bag of books that she drug home from school. It weighed 28 pounds, so no wonder her current bag is tired! She chose some scrap fabrics, and I've been trying to narrow down the design. I want it very practical, of course, but a little bit fun too. Don't you think everything should be that way? So far I only have the pear applique done. More photos as I have more time...

Organize, Move On...

2009-08-23T14:59:00.000-06:00

So, I decided to solve my organization problem with the " what-do-I-have-on-hand-that-will-work?" solution. I simply categorized the items into pocket folders. Simple. Done. It may not be worthy of a magazine spread, but it's hidden in a drawer, and frees me up to work on more exciting stuff. Like the book bag I'm currently designing for my teenage daughter. Show and tell soon.

The Good, the Bad, and the Messy

2009-08-21T14:54:00.001-06:00

The Good: I'm finally getting around to cleaning this up.

The Bad: It's taken years to get around to it.

The Messy: All my zippers, elastics, buttons, and misc. trims all dumped together in one drawer.

The organizational solution: I'm not sure yet, I'm still thinking about what the best containers would be to fit all this stuff neatly, yet keep it all in the drawer. Buy 'em, make 'em, or sew 'em?

Aloha and Welcome Back (to me)

2009-08-19T19:31:00.000-06:00

Oh, my goodness! I really must get the hang of this blog thing. Anyhoo, we just returned from a vacation to Hawaii. A big deal vacation for us! Lovely, soothing, nothing to think about except what beach to go to. Ahhh...

But, of course, I couldn't just go there without cranking out a few accessories to making traveling easier. Here's the scoop:

Now that you have to pay extra to check baggage, I (aka cheapskate) only use carry-on. The last time I was on an airplane, I actually took a tape measure with me and measured the space under the seats. I wanted to see just how big of a bag I could wedge under there. Turns out it's a pretty good sized cubby! I know that different airplanes will have varying space, so I made this a few inches smaller than my measurements, just to be on the safe side. It's 16" X 14" X 7".

It's made with a combination of green duck canvas, blue Kona cotton, and a remnant of Amy Butler fabric I had in my stash. I had a lot of fun designing it as I stitched. There's outside pockets all the way around withvelcro tab or magnet closures ( I was experimenting), plus a zipper pocket for extra security. In the back there are straps to hold the bag to the handle of my rolling suitcase, and D-rings on the sides to attach a shoulder strap.

I sandwiched fusible fleece in between the outside fabric and the lining to give it shape, but I still wanted it soft enough to be squished under the seat any which way. There's inside pockets as well, of course. It worked out great on the planes. I'll try to give more details on it's construction in another post.

I also bought a new small camera for the trip. I've been an SLR girl since high school, but I wanted something small and more portable. Of course, it needed a little cozy to keep it safe.

Again, I made the pattern up as I went along, using scraps of linen, calico, felt and such. There's a little pocket inside for spare batteries and memory cards. I got comments from nice strangers when it was hanging around my neck.

BTW, the camera is a Canon G10, and I love it. I can shoot raw images with a small camera- very sweet!

Last, while we were in Hawaii, I went to a nearby WalMart to buy (yet more) sunscreen. On a whim, I asked an employee if they had a fabric department. Well, not only did they stock fabric, but they had two long aisles of hawaiian prints! I would have loved to grab some of every bolt, but in the end, I settled for three simple prints. I'm not sure what I'll make with them, but come on, who can resist a little of the tropics? (Canine model is Sophie, in a rare moment of dignified calm.)

Too Stinkin' Pretty To Be Inside

2009-06-08T13:55:00.000-06:00

What perfect weather we're having! My sage bush is blooming, things are green from the extra rain we've been having. I'm loving it.

I had 16 family members over for a BBQ Friday night, and not a picture to show for it. I was too busy serving food and enjoying myself, but that's how it should be, right? Family is probably the most important thing to me on this earth. Blessings to everyone - go enjoy your family!

Spring is for Puppies

2009-05-12T10:49:00.000-06:00

Sophie at 18 weeks and 11 pounds.

Springtime and puppies go together, and we've got a cute new puppy in our house to prove it. Sophie arrived in March on her 8 week old birthday, and has been spending lots of time in our backyard watching the plants spring up out of the ground the same time she's been springing up and out! It's amazing how fast she grows!

She's a puggle, half beagle and half pug. Sweet, energetic (read that "digs holes even though she's not supposed to") and loves to have her belly scratched. Welcome to the family, Sophie!

Sophie at 8 weeks and 4 pounds.

Spring

2009-05-06T11:47:00.001-06:00

Spring - I love the sound of that word! Spring has been coming late to Colorado this year, but signs of it are popping up despite the late snows we've been having. Case in point, the wreath hanging on my back porch. It's now housing a feathery bird nest at the top of it. Can't wait to hear a few peeps come wafting down from it as I work on the herb garden nearby. Here's to spring!

The Biggest Thing I've Ever Sewn

2009-05-05T09:53:00.001-06:00

I've been graced with a large, covered back porch, but it was seriously in need of some color to give it life. All the rugs I've seen over the years were either too expensive or too blah, so the porch remained plain vanilla.

Then it hit me as I was eyeing some outdoor canvas I found on sale: Make a Rug. The top layer is two widths of outdoor canvas, the bottom layer is a heavy cotton canvas I had in my stash. It was too bulky to sew with my machine on a counter or table, so down to the floor I went. A few hours and a small backache later... ta da!

Decisions, Decisions

2009-05-01T08:43:00.000-06:00

I couldn't decide which project to start next, I wanted something to wear for spring. So I laid out all my choices on the cutting table and stared at them for awhile. Maybe this pattern in this fabric, maybe I could use this fabric to create this... then I put it all away and got out some scraps to make a tote bag. My brain can be so scattered...

Thinking of Mom

2009-04-30T08:27:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I picked up the latest copy of Sew Simple magazine. This issue they've included a contest to design a Barbie outfit "inspired by your favorite fashion icon." This morning, while taxiing my daughter to school and my husband to the train, I was thinking of who I would consider my favorite fashion icon. Then it hit me. My mom.

I grew up in rural, Southern Illinois, and spent most of my young childhood being my mother's shadow. I didn't know much about Twiggy, or Jacqueline Kennedy, but I yearned to be grown up enough to wear a simple shift dress like my mom's. Maybe even one made out of green patterned double knit polyester. And I thought we were high society when my mom hosted a Sara Coventry jewelry party. When Mom had her friends over for an afternoon of card playing, I'd peek through the doorway as often as I dared to take in the spectacle of colorful dresses and the beautiful glint of costume jewels. But Mom was always the prettiest.

Now Mom sits every day quietly in her chair at the nursing home. She can no longer dress herself, and even her memories have escaped into a part of her mind she can no longer reach because of the brutality of Alzheimer's. I sit next to her, and relive her memories for her, telling her of all the fun things she did with her family. Then I shed a few tears for her. It's been hard to watch her recognition of life slip away like water over rocks, but it makes me smile to think of some of the rote memories that stayed with her the longest. Along with the Lord's Prayer, there was a familiar saying from childhood that would come drifting back over her lips. As I get up to leave her to the dreamy world she now occupies, I kiss her gently on the forehead and whisper, "See you later, alligator," and she struggles to whisper back, "After while, crocodile."

Heather Ross Yard-Sale Wrap Skirt

2009-04-26T14:30:00.000-06:00

When I picked up a copy of Heather Ross's book Weekend Sewing, I was thrilled to see all the fresh and simple projects. She has them neatly categorized into projects for around the house, for travel, for dressing women and for dressing kids. Patterns are included with the book, and they're meant to be easy projects that will teach beginning sewers new skills. (Maybe when/if it stops snowing in Colorado, I can get a better picture of this skirt!)

I've got several of her projects on my to-do list, but I started off with the Yard-Sale Wrap Skirt in a simple calico cotton. I thought it would make a good beginning project for my sewing students because fitting is minimal, it teaches some nice finishing techniques, and sewing it is quick and fun. Heather's instructions are simple, but brief, so I'd like to detail here the directions I will use to teach my students. Another note, a few mistakes have been noted in this first edition of Weekend Sewing, including the sizing of this skirt. For a complete list of corrections, click here.

I'm using 5/8" seam allowances with this pattern.

First is fitting the pattern to the person. Because this is a pretty full skirt, you usually won't have to worry about the hip measurement, but you do need an accurate waist measurement. In the list of corrections to the book that are posted on Heather's website, she suggests adding skirt panels if you have a larger waist than the pattern allows for. Instead, I'd like to adjust the pattern piece to fit and just use the six skirt panels she calls for in the original directions. This method will use less fabric yardage. To determine how much to adjust the skirt panel, divide your waist measurement by four (because four panels should make it all the way around your waist, with the last two panels used as overlap), add 1.25" to that measurement to account for seam allowances, then compare that measurement to the measurement of the top edge of the skirt panel pattern piece. The difference between the two, we'll call Measurement A. If you need the pattern piece to be larger, cut the pattern piece in half lengthwise and spread the two pieces by the same amount as measurement A. Fill in the gap with tissue paper and tape. If you need the pattern piece smaller, cut and overlap the pattern piece by the amount of measurement A. Then lengthen or shorten each waistband piece by Measurement A. Hold the pattern piece up to your waist to judge the length, then shorten or lengthen according to your preference.

Next is laying out and cutting the pattern. Here's a rough sketch of my cutting layout. I'm using 44" fabric that is NOT a one-way design, which would require more fabric. This took 3.25 yards. If you want to lengthen the skirt, add three times the amount you're lengthening by to the yardage.

Let the fun begin! It's time to start sewing. Stitch the skirt panel side seams together with french seams using the instructions in the book, as well as finishing the final side edges with a narrow hem.

Also, join the waistband and ties together, turn the bottom of the waistband 3/8" to the wrong side and press, and sew the waistband and facing together, all as is instructed in steps 4 and 5 of the book. If you get confused as to which piece is the front of the waistband and which is the waistband facing (the part that will sit next to your skin) hold the piece up to your waist, right side away from you, bottom edge down. If the longer tie is to your left, you're holding up the waistband. The other piece will be the facing.

When I stitched the waistband to its facing, I stitched not only to the end of each tie as she suggests in the book, but I also stitched around the end of the tie and about 6" back the other way, flattening the pressed over edge as I went. I thought it was then easier to turn the end and get a nice point.

Next, stitch the bottom edge of the waistband facing to the waist edge of the skirt, wrong sides of each piece facing up.

Turn, press, pin the bottom folded edge of the waistband in place (the edge will sit about 1/8" below the waist seam to hide it), and edge stitch all around the waistband edges. Experiment with your presser feet to find one that will give you a nice even edge stitch. I use my blind hem foot.

Now all that's left is to finish the hem with a rolled edge! If you have a rolled edge presser foot, or want to try one, Threads magazine website has a great 3-part post on using this special foot here.

If you want to hand stitch a rolled hem, here's my favorite way to get a smooth, easy finish. I'll demonstrate the technique using contrasting thread on a scrap of fabric, but you'd of course use matching thread.

First, trim the bottom edge if needed so you have a nice, even line. Then choose a presser foot that will help you make a consistent stitch 1/8" away from the edge.

Press the fabric to the wrong side, so that the line of stitching is just showing on the wrong side. Putting in that line of stitching really helps keep the folded amount of fabric even, which is important. A rolled hem can easily look wonky if the folded amounts aren't consistent.

Bring your threaded needle up through the fold of the fabric.

Then pick up just one or two threads of the fabric about 1/8" beyond the raw edge of the hem, right below where your thread is coming through the fold.

Go back to the fabric fold and stitch through just the fold of the fabric about 1/8".

Continue stitching back and forth from the fabric fold to picking up fabric threads a few times.

Then start to tighten the thread so the hem rolls up and hides the raw edge, keeping just the last few stitches loose so it's easier to see where to stitch next. Keep going!

Please let me know if you found this tutorial helpful!

Pantry Privacy

2009-02-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

At the bottom of my basement steps are some shelves I use as a panty to store extra food stuffs. It's rather unsightly and I wanted a quick, cheap way to hide it. Adding wooden doors would block part of the hallway and be too much work for me. So, I took the opportunity to experiment with using a painter's drop cloth. I bought a 6' by 9' cloth for $10 at Lowes, where I also picked up a package of cafe curtain clips, some picture hanging wire, and a couple chair brace brackets (to hang the curtain from the ceiling). Two hours later, I was done! I love quick projects!

I love using drop cloths for home projects. They're a great way to get lots of heavy cotton fabric cheap, but there are a few things to keep in mind:

1. The size they list on the package is approximate. Mine was probably 6' by 9' before the seams and hems were sewn, but were a few inches shorter when I measured them.

2. Don't think you're getting a single large sheet of fabric. My cloth had a seam running the 9' length, but they can put a seam

anywhere they want - it's just a drop cloth, after all! If I want yardage that I'm going to cut and re-shape, I buy the 4' by 15' size. Every package I've bought of that has been a single sheet of 48" wide fabric. After washing, it's been about 47" wide by 13 feet long.

3. Beware of ironing the cloth before you wash it. There could be some really gunky sizing on the fabric that comes off on your iron. This is the voice of experience speaking here. Luckily, it washed

right off the iron after it cooled, but still....

4. Of course, the hems around the edges won't necessarily be straight. You may have to cut and re-hem. I did on the top and bottom of my curtain, but the sides were straight enough for me as is.

A Plethora of Pillows

2009-02-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

OK, there's not really enough pillows to call it a plethora, but I like the word, can you blame me? Now that our old couch and chairs have been reupholstered, I was motivated to accessorize them with some funky pillows the kids could cuddle up with during movie watching and wii playing.

The triangular and the ball-shaped pillows came from the book Simple Sewing with a French Twist by Celine Dupuy. The triangular one is especially easy, made from two squares of fabric,

and is quite nice to lean against. The large patterned round one gets used a lot as an ottoman. It has piping around the top and bottom edges and measures 24" in diameter by 12" tall.

The square ones on the couch are filled with down inserts, and the floor pillows are stuffed with polyester fiberfill and shredded foam. The shredded foam is, of course, a mess to use, so work with it outside on a calm day to maintain your sanity! But the end result is really comfortable.

Knitting for Our School Auction

2009-02-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

I belong to a needlework ministry at our church, Wrapped in Prayer, and we recently filled a gift basket with hand knits and other cozy items as an entry in our church's school auction. In my spare time, I knit up a hat using this pattern called Foliage from Knitty.com, created by Emilee Mooney. Of course, as so often happens to me, I gave it away before I took a photo! The best I could do was a get a shot of the whole basket, and a closeup of the hat through the cellophane gift wrapping. You'll just have to go to the link to see the pattern. It was a great pattern to work with - very clear instructions and easy to do. I love knitting hats - one skein of yarn, low committment, done!

Santa Sack Gift Bags

2008-12-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

As I was tidying up after Christmas, I realized I should pass along our family's idea for eco-friendly, reusable gift bags. A few years ago, my then-10-year-old daughter and I quickly stitched up some simple cloth sacks for our family to reuse every year. My favorite part about these is they don't require any accessorizing with tissue paper! You know what I mean. You grab a paper gift bag out of your stash, but then you don't have tissue paper that matches, or the tissue paper is embarrassingly crumpled. My Santa Sacks get tied shut at the top, so the contents are neatly hidden inside. If you want the shape of the contents to be better disguised, crumple some newspaper around the item when you tuck it in the sack. Another bonus: the sacks take up very little space in your gift wrap stash.

We made three sizes of sacks. These were all sized to be cut from 44/45" wide fabric with no waste. I didn't prewash the fabric because I wanted the crisp sizing to stay in, and they don't need to be washed. After I finished the bags, I stitched the middle of a 26" piece of grosgrain ribbon into a side seam, about 3" down from the top edge. On some of the plainer bags, I used a decorative machine stitching for the top edge hem.

Small- finished size is 10" by 16". Cut 4 rectangles, each 11" by 33" across the width of the fabric. Fold and stitch the two side seams, then hem the top edge.

Medium- finished size is 14" by 21.5". Cut 1 rectangle across the width of the fabric, 44" by 15". Fold, sew up the side seams, then hem the top edge.

Large- finished size is 21.5" by 28". Cut 1 rectangle across the width of the fabric, 44" by 29". Fold crosswise and stitch the bottom seam and side seam. Hem the top edge.

Project Du Jour

2008-12-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

I love it when I can use something from my stash. Take these cute flannel prints, for instance. My 19-year-old, rather tall son needed new pajama pants. Store-bought pajama pants would be way too short. "But wait!" says I, "I can whip up some pants for you in no time!" After getting a promise from him that he'd wear pants with such childish cartoon figures on them, I set to work. In a few hours (slightly longer than my pronounced "no time" but still shorter than a trip to five stores looking for PJ's and being disappointed) I had two pairs ready for lounging. He still promises to wear them, although he refused to model them for the camera....

New Year (almost), New Projects

2008-12-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

Why do I get so obsessed when there's a new project in my head? I couldn't even sleep well last night, because I kept waking up and thinking about starting a blog. Now I've spent the better part of my Saturday setting up this new blog. We'll see where it takes me.

I'm hoping this new year means an end to major house projects. I can't believe I'm saying it, but yes, I'm sick of remodeling! Tiling three bathrooms, new vanity and sink in one, re-painting kitchen cabinets, tiling kitchen counters, laying new floor in the basement, and all

the stripping, painting, and electrical work that goes along with it.... I've had it. As an example, we fished TV cable and ethernet wire through the walls from the attic to the basement, a job that we THOUGHT would take a few hours. THREE DAYS later, we finally brush off our dusty clothes and put the tools away. My husband and I have pledged to not start any new projects.

We'll see how long that pledge lasts.