Sunday, April 28, 2013

Silky Print Dress

Here is my beautiful dress I have been working on for 14 months. It is a stunning print on and I am looking forward to finishing the side zipper. I just finished ripping it out again and am about to add some fabric to the seam so that my zipper has more fabric to attach to. It wasn't too small, but rather the zipper was unstable with the raveling fabric. I also need to hem the bottom and place buttons. One day this week I hope to be completed and will post a picture wearing it! I might need to rethink our evening snack plans!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Twirly Skirt Time

I have been busy making some quick skirts for Sweet Sis. The narrow one is from Simplicity 2576, which is meant to be a teaching pattern for you girls to learn to sew. Very Simple. The second skirt is from The King's Daughters Ruffled Skirt Pattern, also simple but a tad more time due to gathering. The first from cut out to finished product was under 45 min. The second one was an hour and 15 minutes.  I rarely do it all at once but can get it done in a day or evening. I plan on a denim ruffle for her next skirt. I have two Mommy dresses to finish first. One has been in the works for nearly 2 years. I am having trouble with the bodice side seam zipper, but I have worked out a solution in theory, so I just need to do it! I would rather do the quick gratifying projects then dig in and fix a problem.  That sounds like a seamstress' sermon! By for now from the pin cushion pulpit, Country Needles

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Granola Time!

Every few weeks, I make a large batch of granola for the family. I think they would eat it everyday! I like to try different recipes, but this one is my old faithful. It is a cost effective non-oil recipe. I enjoy the full maple syrup varieties, but it is expensive to use pure maple syrup. No oil is healthier and lower calories. Try it and tell me what you think! One word of caution: use a strong blender or soften dates ahead of time by boiling in water for 10 minutes (making sure to drain water before adding to recipe).
Maple Nut Granola
By Neva Brackett's "7 Secrets" Cookbook
Combine in blender:
1 C water
1/2 C honey
1 T molasses
1 T vanilla
1 tsp maple flavoring
1 tsp salt
2 C pitted dates
1 C nuts (walnut, Brazil nut, peanut, or almonds)
Combine in bowl:
13 C old-fashioned oats
1-2 C quick oats, as needed
1/2 C shredded unsweetened coconut
1-2 C sliced almonds or other nuts
1 C raw hulled pumpkin seeds (we prefer green)
Add wet mixture. Thoroughly mix, adding extra quick oats if too wet, and spread onto two large cookie sheets. Place in oven overnight at 175F.

I will post a picture of finished product in the morning!
Well Kind Heart loves the granola! He is finishing his morning devotion CD, thus the ear buds!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Sewing & Running!

I always have a sewing project in progress and most of the time multiple projects! Today I finished a dress for Sweet Sis from a new pattern I purchased called Lizzy by Bonnie Blue Designs.  I purchased the fabric from SewBaby and it is a very good quality cotton. I am learning how important quality fabric is in the lay and appearance of one's garment. The standard Joann's Fabric does not cut it for all garments!  I added significant length to the pattern but think I could have shortened it by 2 inches. The dress is about one size too big, which is the correct size to sew. Next month she will be growing into it!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Baking Bread and Making Memories

This afternoon, Sweet Sis and I baked some bread while the boys were busy doing car "stuff".  I love spending time with my only daughter! She is such a sweetie and a delight. She loves to do anything that I am doing! The boys were not quite as good of a shadow as her, to me anyway, and I guess that is the way God designed it.  Here are some pictures of our time together.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Sweet Wedding Anniversary

Another year has passed, and Professor and I enjoyed our 13th Wedding Anniversary.  We spent a few weeks trying to plan the perfect night out for our anniversary.  We live where there are many options to do something romantic, adventurous, spectacular, cheap, expensive, exhilarating or relaxing.  It proved to be too many options!  We were so overwhelmed and deflated after each plan ended up not working out for various reasons.  So, I finally suggested we get a hotel room for the night in an area a few hours away, close to some nice nature preserves.  The children would enjoy a change and an adventure and we would like to just relax. So we booked a room with three rooms and two bathrooms, with a kitchen.  I planned an easy but nice dinner to be cooked in our suite and after a nice night and morning, a trip to an Audubon Wildlife Preserve.  We were expecting lots of people to join in on a guided-tour.  We were the only people!  We had a magnificent tour by the curator of the last 17 years.  He was incredibly knowledgeable and a fantastic teacher.  We learned about the habitat, indigenous plants and wildlife, and capped it off with a bird-watching experience.  We all had a great time!  We then enjoyed a nice veggie burger dinner out and then headed home.  It was a fun time.

 We were taught the difference between feline and canine tracks.  We saw both tracks in their specimen tracking area.  So in this particular preserve, they have active coyote and mountain lions, plus some smaller bobcats.

 This plant was used by early settlers and natives for its soap lathering quality.  Can you see the guide's soapy hand?

 Sweet Sis actually found the acorn nut (on the oak shrub) that the guide was looking for!  It surprised him!


 A wild cucumber.  The dried up wild cucumber is shown below.





Surf's Up!

Our boys recently started their own business "Two Brothers' Dog Day Care". They are reaping the fruits of their labor now, as they recently made their first purchases - wetsuits and one boogie board (after tithing, offering, and savings allocations). I encouraged them to buy their suits too big, as I know at 9 and 7, they will be shooting up this summer, especially my oldest. So, enjoy the pictures of them! I was bundled up on the shore watching! Along with Sweet Sis. She just played in the sand.

Too much going on!

Have you ever had so much going on it nearly paralizes you? Well that would be my last month. We had three birthdays, an anniversary, a near trip across the country that was cancelled at the last minute, and our usual tons of doctor appointments, homeschool, and several trips doing some great outdoor fun. I have really wanted to keep up my blog, and sure, it has been a month since my last post. I apologize to my faithful few that have tried to stick with me. And then I ask, after I post, have you seen my post? And everybody is like a deer in the headlights - my fault, as I am not consistent yet. I tend to post for a few weeks every few days and then go through a dry spell. I digress. I am going to post from most recent to back to the beginning of March. I do have much to share, so I will do my best. Recently I have been busy getting back to sewing. Our little girl, Sweet Sis, has been growing so fast. Seriously. She had her well-child check up, which she LOVED getting all the great positive attention from our sweet Dr. W, and she is now 95% for height and 83% for weight. Hard for me to believe in weight as she is our smallest child, but I guess she is our only girl! How differently they are built! Back to sewing. So, I have been doing a little bit every few days. And I mean little. I just finished up a dress for her last night but I cut it out nearly 3 weeks ago. Some days I only get one seam done, etc. I am ok with that, but I do like to finish projects in one sitting! I also stitched up a great little "bubble" for my friend, who is expecting her 3rd boy in a week. I did some shadow embroidery on the collar, frogs, and it turned out very cute. The bubble has snaps underneath and buttons up the back. I have a dress cut out for myself and would like to tackle that within the next month. It is a nice linen blend dress for spring, and a new design. It is actually a very easy pattern as it is one of Simplicity's See and Sew, which are for beginners. I like the design as it is longer and modest in the front. I am lining up an apron project in my head. As soon as I finish the pinafore for the dress I just made for Sweet Sis (I am embroidering a small bear with a pink tutu on the front), I am making each of the children an apron. Each apron will be an animal; the pattern conveniently has 4 different animals, good for me! Here are some pictures to keep you entertained as I drone on: I am often asked how I find the time to sew. For me, it is my only time to myself. My only time. I spend my late evenings doing a bit of stitching or cutting. Usually nothing more than an hour, and more likely for just a half an hour, after the kids are in bed. My dear husband, Professor, is desperately working to finish his PhD. He is up late every night. I cannot be up as late, but I do enjoy sitting with him while he is working. We don't talk too much as I can't distract him, but he enjoys being close. So sitting and stitching is my time to keep him company and get something done. Some people watch tv. Some people read, which I do after I stitch, while in bed. Some people shop. I sew. I find it very satisfying and fulfilling - and productive. I get something very useful and practical after I am done. I rarely sew for pleasure - meaning, something to just make for myself. It is almost always for a purpose - a gift, a piece of needed clothing, mending. I have some projects in mind for the future (if I ever get to it!), like a toaster cover. I am really wanting to start piecing that quilt that my MIL and I are supposed to be doing together. Let's just say we committed to starting in August of 2012. Well, neither of us were ready then! I hope we will be ready this summer, though!