Hickety Pickety

Back to School

August 30, 2011 in Sewing | 2 comments

One in Kindergarten, one in preschool. ”Growing like weeds” is becoming so much more than a cliché these days. Where does the time really go?

This is the first year that they will be staying the full school day, which means they will both be eating their lunches at school. The school requires the kids to pack a little placemat along with their lunches so it was a great opportunity for me to do a little making.

I’ve been holding onto a stack of Dream On (Urban Chiks for Moda) charm squares for quite some time now, admiring it, but having no idea what to do with it. It’s a pretty collection of vintage sheet inspired fabric, but it’s really not something I would ordinarily use for myself. So, I chopped it up into little 2.5” squares, color coordinated them, and made patchwork lunch mats for the kiddos…complete with ric-rac trim.

After completing the first top square-by-square, I thought I’d give chain piecing a go (following this tutorial) and it definitely helped my efficiency!

Happy to report that the girls love their new mats and are really enjoying being back at school. I was almost afraid that perhaps we had had too much fun over the summer and they wouldn’t want to go back! No worries there, thankfully. School is so much better than hanging out Mom everyday! I’ll try not to take it too personally. ;)

Warning…proud mom moment coming…

Here they are on their first day:

They are such good sisters and are I’m loving every moment of watching them grow. I’m so grateful for all of the quiet (and not so quiet) moments that we share throughout the day and I couldn’t be more pleased with the fine young people they are turning out to be.

sniff…

How to Boil an Egg

August 24, 2011 in Food | 2 comments

Boiling eggs is one of those seemingly simple cooking tasks that has caused me much stress over the years. Do you put the eggs in and then boil the water, or get the water boiling before adding the eggs? Do you keep the water at a rolling boil? How long do you keep them in the water? For every search I’ve done to answer my questions, I’ve found a different answer.

I’m slowly getting used to the idea that I can use my phone for more than just talking, so it actually occurred to me the other day that perhaps there’s an egg timer application for the iPhone that might help in this area. I had no idea what a revelation I would end up having! I ended up buying “The Perfect Egg Timer” which has definitely lived up to it’s name so far. The instructions were error proof.

After selecting the size of your egg, the starting temperature of the egg, and how hard or soft you want the yolk, you place your egg in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Once the water starts bubbling, you start the timer on the app and it tells you when your egg is ready!

I’ve got it down well enough now that I don’t even need the app anymore, but it was surely a helpful tool for me to use while figuring the whole egg-boiling-thing out!

I know most of you probably have no problem boiling your eggs and have been boiling perfect eggs for years, but if there’s anybody out there with serious egg-boiling problems then this post will have been worth it. Anybody?

Red, White, and Blueberries

July 4, 2011 in Food | 1 comment

We’ve been casually making our way through the summer break and it’s hard to believe we’re celebrating Independence Day already. We usually spend the morning of the 4th watching a local parade led by the town fire department, but our little one has been down with a cold for about a week, so we’re laying low for the day. As I type this I can hear fireworks being set off by our neighbors. Even without partaking in the celebration we still get to experience it!

I’ve been dieing to bake up a batch of red velvet cupcakes, so I figured the 4th of July would be the perfect occasion. After all, we’ll just be shuffling around all day, so what better way to bring a little of the festivities to us! The recipes for the cupcakes and the cream cheese icing came from Pinch My Salt. Previously, the only red velvet cake I had ever eaten was from a box, and these definitely taste different…in a good way. One of the ingredients for the cupcakes was cake flour, which I couldn’t find. However…Joy the Baker happens to offer instructions on how to make one’s own cake flour, so all was not lost!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Independence Day celebration!

Lessons in Quilt-Making

May 23, 2011 in Quilts | 6 comments

A while back I started making a quilt for my cousin who was expecting her first baby in May. I absolutely loved this quilt and used it as inspiration for my cousin’s. In the beginning, everything went as smoothly as I could have hoped…I loved the mix of fabrics I had chosen and I had each little 4.5” square sewn together into one lovely quilt top. Problems ensued, however, nearly every step thereafter. For example, half way through quilting it, I was disappointed with the amount of puckering, so I picked out all of the stitching and re-pinned. Quilted again….more puckering. It was only after Suz commented on my post that I considered picking up a walking foot. Thank you so much, Suz, for that wonderful suggestion! I have no idea why I waited so long. So, I happily quilted it for the third time with much greater success and was pleased as punch with the results. I finished the quilt the day before my cousin’s baby shower and washed it that night. DISASTER! I pulled the quilt out of the wash only to discover that the beautiful blue plaid backing and binding fabric had bled alllllll over the creamy neutrals that made the quilt so sweet to begin with. After several more washes I deemed the quilt a failure and resigned to make her another one.

At least with this attempt I had the walking foot from the beginning. If you do straight line quilt without one I would really like to encourage you to try one out. Such a difference!

I had to retire my blue plaid backing and binding fabric and find a replacement, which was disappointing. It had so many lovely shades of blue and complemented the quilt beautifully….Sigh…

Are you a prewasher? I know there are some who always do and some who never do. I’m in the middle, and it usually just depends on how much time I have and what I’m using the fabric for. With clothes I usually try to prewash to account for any shrinking. I’m thinking now it’s probably worth the extra time just to go ahead and zig-zag those edges and toss it in the wash.

I am happy to say that quilt and baby are now together in their new home. May they spend many happy moments together over the years to come.

KCWC 2011 Wrap-Up

May 22, 2011 in Sewing | No comments

I had hoped to finish up last week’s flurry of sewing with a sweet photo of my little ones wearing their mommy-made outfits. Unfortunately, my kids don’t take those kind of pictures, but rather strike a sort of “princess-warrior” pose whenever I hold the camera up to them. actionshot1

I mentioned the details of the outfit on the left already. On the right we have an Oliver + S ruffle halter and a pair of red gingham shorts inspired by the Oliver + S Puppet Show pattern (now discontinued). Since the actual pattern is no longer available, I did my best to copy it by using a pair of existing shorts as a guide, then pulling them in some on the side and finishing the edge with a bias trim (I omitted the pockets due to time constraints). You can see the effect a little more closely below.

charlottetopshorts

The fit was perfect and the shorts are so cute on!

I have no idea what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. I tell them, “just stand there and smile” and this is what I get.

So that does it for me with the kids sewing for a little while. I never did get to the nightgowns I was hoping to make, but I do have the fabric so perhaps I’ll find the time for them in the coming weeks. Things are going to be busy for the next couple of weeks as the end of the school year and the end of their dance season approaches. The days will be filled with recitals and picnics and various other “end-of-year” productions.

I always look forward to summer as a time for relaxation and just a general slowing down of the pace of life. This year we’re really keeping things simple with no camps and no trips. Just a laid back summer where we get to enjoy all the goodness of time. Sounds great doesn’t it? What are your plans for the summer?

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