Trying Something New

Partly due to having three dresses fail (more on that, later) and partly to realizing I'm making fabulous clothes I have nowhere to go in, I've decided to try quilting. Or, rather, try quilting again.

When I first got my machine, I made a simple quilted table runner. It didn't turn out too badly, but I wasn't realy happy with the process and can still see all th mistakes in the end project. Last year, I had the brilliant idea to make patchwork placemats from somme of my scrap fabric. However, I didn't really secure the batting, so it bunches up when they're washed (which, I could probably fix easily). It's also the project where I learned how valuable it is to have A)a sharp rotary cutter blade and 2) a security handle for the ruler. Because, otherwise, you end up seriously slicing a finger rolling the cutter back and forth because it won't cut. And, if you're me, you have a bad reaction to the tetanus shot the doctor gives you.

Where was I?

So, a little while ago, I picked up my Denyse Schmidt book and flipped through the pages to see if anytthing tickled my fancy. I loved the Just a Bunch of Squares pattern. It's fun and funky, and even better, the way the blocks are framed and cut, you can make them more or less off kilter, intentionally or not.

I'm armed with fabric, fresh rotary cutter blades and health insurance, should anything need to be sewn back on. By a professional.

Homemade Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer

It's a nice little marketing trick, offering seasonal products. St. Patrick's Day shakes, frozen lemonade (any RI people figure out how to ship out Del's lemonade?), Cadbury Creme Eggs.

I've taken to hoarding International Delight's Chocolate Mint Truffle creamer during the Christmas season and it's a sad day when I use up the last bottle. Coffee Mate has started to offer their version year round, but it doesn't taste as good to me. I thought about a bunch of different ways to make my own, but none was really appealing. Until I found Peppermint Stevia at a local health food store.

Stevia is a natural, no-calorie sweetener. It comes in powder and liquid form and now some genius has created flavored Stevia. I found Vanilla, Lemon, Almond and Chocolate varieties at the store. A whole world of possibilities!

To make my own creamer, I put 3/4 dropper Stevia, some half and half and chocolate syrup in my mug, then stir and add coffee. It's awesome because it's totally customizable and, if you use milk instead, probably more healthy than the original product.

I might have to go out and get the other varieties and see what other concotions I can make.

A Frakkin' Awesome Skirt

I really like skirts more than shorts (and am very excited that skorts are more cute and fashionable now than 20 years ago). Skirts that I can wear while running errands and chasing after the girls are my new obsession.

Enter the Wong-Singh-Jones Kyoto Skirt from Hot Patterns. It's cute, fun and practical. And, if you watch the You Tube videos from Trudy, very versatile and changeable.

I made it first in a lightweight denim, but it wasn't drapey enough, especially in the godet in the back. It puffed out at the hips where the interfacing for the piping was, and no woman wants to look like she has puffy hips. Also, I did the top stitching in a matching, rather than coordinating, thread, so it got lost in the fabric.

I tried again with a back cotton sateen and, here I cheated, used gray quilt bias binding for the trim, instead of making my own. I used a gray thread for the topstitchingand leftover gray fabric for the pocket flap lining.

The back godet/yoke/sides are made first and as I was doing the topstitching and attaching the trim, the whole effect really reminded me of Battlestar Galactica.




I know the picture isn't great, but don't you get a Galactica vibe, too? Hence, I call it my Frakkin' Awesome Skirt. I highly recommend making one or at least Netflixing the series.

Paris Dresses

I love Paris. I've been there twice and can't wait until the girls are old enough and we can take a trip there together. So I was very excited when a friend gave me a dress that had all sorts of whimsical drawings of Paris life on it for the Bean. She loved it. Wore it constantly, especially with her pink cowboy boots. I called it her "Paris, Texas" look.

When she started growing out of it, I wanted to make her a replacement, and I figured I'd make one for the Belly, too. For a brief moment, I thought about making me a matching skirt, but then I realized that would be too twee and I'm not that person.

I found some great fabric with a stylized map of Paris on it at Fabric.com. I already had a simple dress pattern from Butterick, so I was good to go.

My friend S and I decided that the dress by itself "needed" something, so I added 3 hot pink buttons and hot pink grosgrain ribbon trim on the bottom to anchor it. I'm very pleased with the dresses. So much, I'm thinking about making "France-y Pants" lounging pants for me out of the fabric. (I've actually made a few pairs of lounge pants with Paris-theme fabric. More about those later, probably.) But I promise I won't wear them outside of the house when the girls are wearing their dresses.

Cheap Therapy

I didn't get a lot of sleep last night ( will the teething end?), so I have been wicked grumpy today. One thing that helped was swimming laps in the pool while the girls played at the drop-in daycare. And while I was doing the backstroke, I decided that I really needed to bake something. I didn't need to bake something to fill a sweet craving, but I needed the act of baking to make me feel better.

It's been this way for years now. In addition to haircuts, pedicures, buble baths and new lipstick, baking has become a form of cheap therapy. Well, not so cheap with rising food costs, but probably still less expensive than a co-pay and prescription.

I sew because I like to make new clothes for myself or challenge my skills with a more advanced pattern. I make things for the girls because I like to see their faces light up. Yes, I bake because the finished product makes other people happy, but there's something else there.

As I've said before, my mom was a huge baker. I have pictures of a grade-school birthday party whe she made Raggedy Ann and Andy pan cakes (fully hand decorated) for me and a boy in my class who had a birthday the day after mine. Every year, after Thanksgiving, my aunt and I would go to my mom's house for "CookieFest", where we made a holiday's worth of cookies. So, there's definitely a nostalgia aspect to baking, but I think it's much more than that.

I like the mix of senses, tastes, textures, flavors. I like taking basic ingredients, like butter, eggs, flour, sugar, and making something new when I combine different amounts of them. I love the way my house smells when there's something in the oven. I love the tangible end results.

I guess, in the end, it doesn't really matter why I do it, as long as it continues to make me happy. And the Boy happy. And the girls happy. And my friends and family happy. Because part of baking is putting yourself into what you make and being comfortable enough to share.


As a side note, my theraputic baking today was a Braided Fruit-Filled bread from King Arthur. I used sour cherry preserves instead of lemon curd. It's amazing to eat and smell and look at.

I am (not) a rocket scientist

If I were, I would have figured out long ago that cutting on a flat surface instead of a bumpy one, like the carpet in our spare room, makes cutting easier, more precise, and cleaner. Especially for knit fabrics, which I love to use.

Recently, I got the Dritz Superboard Cutting Board and it has changed my life. I don't have a table big enough to cut out patterns, so I have been using the carpet-covered floor in one of our spare rooms. Which has a nice space to spread out, but I catch my pins in the carpet loops and fabric tends to bunch up, which makes for incorrect cutting.

This simple piece of cardboard is foldable and portable, so I can put it back in the closet when I'm done. And if I ever get to the point where I want to draft my own patterns, it has all sorts of helpful markings. And if I succesfully make my own patterns, I really will be a rocket scientist.