Still sewing: kcwc

I had a crazy busy day yesterday (did I mention I do sewing lessons with two of my girls and two of my friend's girls on Tuesdays?), but I got a bit of sewing in today.  I got the collar stand on the dress for Alona.  I am not adding the top of the collar (the part that folds down over the stand), just the stand.  Kinda like a mandarin collar, but not really.  I also finished off the raw edges at the shoulder and side seams with a zigzag stitch.  I know, I have a serger but I didn't use it.  Why? Because I only have white and black thread for it and I just didn't think it would look that great.  Not that anyone else is going to see the inside, but still.  I am just being picky.  The collar stand turned out to be easier than anticipated.  I am excited to try a full collar when I make some shirts for Drew (hopefully soon, since he has almost no clothing).
Happy sewing!

Oh, and I forgot to tell you!  I signed up for a sewing class at PatternReview.com - it's online, but it is awesome.  It is a couture hand stitch class.  I never really learned how to hand sew, just made it up a I went along, so I am pretty excited about it.

Sewing: kcwc

I know the challenge is over.  I started out so well.  I got my 1+ (emphasis on the +) hour of sewing in on the first few days.  Then life got ridiculously busy crazy.  I didn't get any sewing in for days!  I am not giving up, though.  Better late than never.  Right?

Tonight I have been working on Alona's dress.   I have most of the top put together, just need to finish the collar stand.  I am hoping to get in a little more tomorrow night.  If life keeps going at this pace I will be lucky to get any sewing in!  For now I'll just take it one hour (per day) at a time.

Cream Of Wheat

When I was a kid, we didn't eat Cream Of Wheat around my house.  I had it a few times at friends' houses, and to be completely honest, I thought it was completely disgusting.

Then I went to college.  I was student teaching in a Pre-K program, and was asked to sit at one of the meal tables for breakfast with about six 4-5 year olds.  When you sit at the table with them, you eat with them, modeling appropriate table manners, conversation, and how to try new things.  That day, I had to eat "Hot Cereal" or Cream Of Wheat, and I knew already that I didn't like it, but my job was to model that we can taste something each time it's put in front of us, and after tasting, if we don't like it we don't have to eat it.  So, I had to try it.  Bummer.

To my surprise, it was the most delicious breakfast cereal I'd ever had.  So, while going about my clean-up duties, and returning the dishes to the kitchen to be washed after breakfast, I had the opportunity to ask the school's cook what she put in the Cream Of Wheat to make it so delicious.

While she wouldn't give me the actual recipe she used, she did say that she put vanilla and almond extract in the cereal to give it more flavor.  So, I went home and started experimenting.  After much trial and error, I've been making this recipe for about 5 years now.  I just had some for breakfast  this morning, and after some curiosity about what exactly wheat farina is, I found that my ingredients in cooking Cream Of Wheat may not be known to the entire world, so I wanted to share them with you.

*This recipe is for 1 serving

Start by following the recipe on the box, but instead of using water, use milk, and don't add the salt.  While the milk is heating, add about 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract and about 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. (I just "eyeball" it) Also add about a palmful of brown sugar.  Whisk all this "stuff" together, then follow the directions on the side of the box to complete the recipe.

Not too difficult, right?  It's actually really easy and it'll make your breakfast taste a million times better.  Also, I add fresh, canned, or frozen (thawed) fruit to the cereal after serving it up into each individual bowl, and my girls love it.  I hope you love it too.

Cutting: kcwc day 2

Tonight I started cutting the pattern pieces for the clothing I am sewing for the Kids Clothing Week Challenge.  I cut out all but the ribbing pieces of Drew's outfit.  I cut out the pieces for Alona's dress.  Ashley's dress- I didn't even get to that.

How long does it take to cut out your patterns? 

Well, there are about 9 or 10 pieces (two each) you have to cut for this stinking dress!  Ugh.  I'm thinking there is no way I can finish two of these in one hour a day this week.  I've already put in several hours just cutting tonight!  Oh well.  It is a busy week, so fitting in more than an hour a day is difficult- unless I stay up all night.  That just doesn't work for a mom of 4 in her 30's.  I think its matching the stripes in the fabric that is taking the longest.  What was I thinking?

The blue stripe is for Alona, the pink stripe for Ashley.  The white with little red fire engines is for Drew. 

Oh, and cutting on the floor makes me the messiest when it comes to sewing!

Tracing: kcwc day 1

For the challenge,  I traced a pattern for the very first time yesterday.  Ottobre patterns come on large sheets, pattern pieces printed in various colors on top of each other.  You have to trace them.  So I did.  On the floor.  I wish I had my house in Oregon.  The one with the bar I specifically had made for cutting fabric and patterns.  It certainly causes a lot less back pain.
So I traced and cut the pattern for Drew's pajamas.  I am excited to finally be sewing an Ottobre pattern.  I've only had them for almost 2 years now!  Of course, I thought I had enough ribbing for the cuffs and edges, but not so!  Guess we know where I'm headed tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the tracing took more than an hour.  It was the end of the night so that is all I got done yesterday.

Home Food Preservation, Part 2

So, I love applesauce.  Not the kind you get out of the TreeTop container (that's baby food), but the kind you'd want with pork chops or ribs.  You know, chunky, with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Um, yum! 

I hinted in my last post about sharing a recipe with you for my homemade applesauce.  This recipe can be hot water bath canned, or you can eat it fresh off the stove top.  My favorite way to do this is to make a double recipe (I'll give you the single recipe) and can it, and just save some for dinner that night, because once you've smelled it, you can't possibly not have some.  Here's the recipe:
4 medium Red Delicious apples
4 medium Granny Smith apples
1 cup (8oz.) apple juice or cider
A few good shakes ground cinnamon
2-3 palmfuls Brown Sugar
2 shakes Ground Ginger
1-2 shakes ground Nutmeg

Peel and core apples and cut into bite sized chunks.  Combine everything in a large pot.  Cook over medium high heat until apples are soft enough to mash with a fork or potato masher. 

If you're going to can them, you may want to add a little extra juice, then fill jars and follow canning instructions for applesauce.  I use the instructions in my Ball Blue Book (which came with my water bath canner.)

If you're going to eat them fresh, allow the applesauce to simmer until the sauce thickens a bit, then serve hot.

*This recipe will make about 2-3 pints of applesauce.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do.  It's easy and always a family pleaser in my house.  So, here's the deal.  I need to preserve enough applesauce for my family to last through the year.  For us, that's a minimum of 52 pints, but if I do 52 quarts, we can have applesauce with more than one meal each week.  Which means I need a ton of apples.

And, as a few of my friends know, I love to share.  I have a tendency to give away bottles of homemade applesauce on occasion, which means, I will need to hoard my applesauce or make more than enough for my family.  So, as soon as I can start canning in my kitchen in my new home, I'll be heading out to the farm stand to purchase boxes of apples, hopefully at a discounted price, because frankly, I like to know where my food comes from and I like to support local people and farms (okay, and mostly, because I'm cheap and it's cheaper to do this than go to the grocery store.)

If you're interested in canning, this is one of the easiest things to start with.  I started canning my own applesauce 2 years ago, while we were still living in Wyoming.  My mom bought me a complete canning kit thing from walmart.com and had it shipped to me so I could start preserving my own food.  Thanks mom, I love it!

If you live near me, I know that over at Bi-Mart they're having a big sale on all the supplies you'll need for preserving your own food and they're also having a sale at Wilco.  If you don't live around the Eugene/Springfield area, check your local farm and ranch supplier, or if you have to, check walmart.com or another large internet retailer.

Good Luck!

Final decision.

I finally made a decision for KCWC.  I am making pajamas for Drew using the Ottobre 1/2009 pattern for 5 and 10.  You can see what I am talking about here.   I am also making a dress from McCall's 6156 for Alona and Ashley.  I will be doing veiw C with the collar of E and F.  I am sewing with fabric from my stash.  I don't think I will need thread, as I already have so much in a large variety of colors and I have plenty of elastic on hand.  Buttons may be the only thing I need to purchase, but I might just have some stashed away that will work.  Wouldn't that be great? 
Ok, so now that I have that all figured out, I just need to get off this chair (and the computer) and get to work.  After dinner.  After the fabric is done drying.  Yes, I prewash my fabric.

PS  I will post a picture of the fabrics tomorrow.

Kids Clothes Week Challenge begins...

Today the challenge begins.  I have looked through my patterns, but guess what?  I still have no idea what to sew!!!!   I do have a few thoughts.  Alona really wants a dress she can wear to school.  Ashley could use some skirts to wear to school- maybe some shorts built in.  Drew needs clothes.  Anything. Everything.  Desperately.
So that is where I am today. 
Now I am off to figure it all out and get started!

Home Food Preservation

Recently, I got some crazy hairbrained idea to purchase 88 pounds of pears directly from the grower.  Sounds really crazy right.  Well, it was, but it was also one of the greatest things I've done for my family, and here's why.

It sounds like purchasing all those pears wouldn't really matter to my family, but it has more to do with the way I feed my family.  I purchased 88 pounds of pears strictly for the purpose of canning them at home, so we could have them to eat all winter, instead of purchasing the canned ones from the store.  It turns out that with the help of my mom and my oldest daughter, we managed to bottle 47 jars of pears.  That's a lot.

You see, for those of you out there that are like me, I don't like to give my kids a whole bunch of extra sugar, but when you run out of fresh fruit and your next shopping day isn't for another 3 or 4 days and the budget is tight, it's nice to be able to pull a can of fruit out of the pantry to balance out your meal.  But, along with a can of fruit from the store comes things that are not so great, like high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives and extra sodium (sodium, can you believe it?) and since I didn't make it myself, I don't even know what else.

So this year, I decided pears would be a good jumping off point.  I didn't want to load myself up too much my first year, but I'm thinking about preserving apples (homemade spiced chunky applesauce anyone?) and pears, and maybe doing some vegetables next year and possibly also some jam, now that I know how to do this kind of stuff and all.

I don't have some secret special recipe (except to say that I will share my applesauce recipe at a later date), but I did use the instructions in my Ball Blue Book (which came with my water bath canner btw).  It has all sorts of recipes for canning and freezing all sorts of different kinds of produce.  Oh, but be careful with the syrup for fruit.  You can cut the sugar in the light syrup down by at least half, if not more, and be just fine.  If you don't, you might find your syrup way too sugary.

I'm telling you, everyone should try this if they've got the time.  I am left with a sense of pride in myself for putting up my own fruit, the way all our ancestors used to do, and I'm feeling more self-sufficient as well.  Thirdly, I know my family will eat some seriously yummy canned fruit this winter (way better than the stuff from the store). 

My pears...yum-O!

I also know that bottling my own fruit is helping to protect the environment.  I can reuse my glass jars and my metal rings each year, and the only thing I need to purchase again are the seals (which are recyclable) and the fruit, of course.  But, think of all the packaging material I've saved, and the cost of trucking the fruit, cans and lables to the factory, and then trucking the fruit in the cans with the labels on them from the factory to my local store.  In the long run, self-suffiency is Eco-Friendly, health smart, and economically more sustainable for my family.

Oh, and one more thing.  The best store I've found around here for all the supplies I needed this first year was Wilco.  They have a huge display this time of year for all your canning and freezing needs.  I would imagine that most larger farm and ranch suppliers would carry similar products this time of year, due to the fact that many farmers and ranchers do this kind of stuff too, so if you don't have a Wilco near you, check out your nearest Farm and Ranch supply store, or head to the internet for your supplies.

Good luck!

Why???

Why must I find these things?  Now I want them!  Ugh.

These fabric organizers are ridiculous! (in the most awesome way)  Now that I have found them I feel that I cannot live without them.  Problem is, they really aren't cheap.  I mean, if I only needed 6 of them I would be all over it.  Needing 75 (more like 100+ but who is counting fabric) I just don't think I can convince Jeff that they are necessary.  Man, if you check out their gallery, you can see how beautiful a fabric stash can really be!  There is a before and after and I just wish mine looked that nice.  One day, one day...

A Challenge

I am doing this challenge.  It is my very first one, but I think it is just what I need to get back to sewing regularly (and get stuff done).

forgotten?

You might think I have forgotten about you (the readers, that is).  I have not.  Life has been busy.  Summer, heat, stuck inside, no husband around for 20 days straight, a wedding, a funeral, another wedding, a week with friends, holidays, school starting...  

Life is now returning to some semblance of normalcy.  I have a tutorial in the works.  I promise- I have not forgotten.