Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Raspberry Yummies







4 cases of raspberries + 2 little helpers = lots of raspberry jam to fill my freezer for one more year.


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Summer Skirts

I was inspired by my friend and fellow etsy seller Candy to make my daughters a couple of adorable Easter skirts a few months back. And since I just can’t seem to be bothered with patterns these days I figured these were a good project that would actually get done. Well, I’ve since made 7 more and ruffled skirts 014with the addition of my new ruffler foot (which I swear looks like something invented during the industrial revolution) I can make these in about 45 minutes now. I will never ever gather anything with two rows of basting stitches again. (Or with the zig-zag over the dental floss trick.) Never because I’d rather have a root canal. ruffled skirts 001
Here’s my formula to make these skirts without a pattern. As if you even need the formula.
Three layered skirt: Measure your daughter’s waist and multiply by 2.  My girls have the same waist of 21”. So I cut a strip of fabric 42”. (If you are brave enough to make a skirt without a pattern I assume you can figure out how long to make each layer.) For the middle layer multiply the width of the first layer (42”) by 1.5”. So that’s how wide the second layer is cut, 63”. For the third layer multiply 63”x1.5. You get the picture. (For the skirt on the bottom left I used my pinking blade so I could leave the raw edges showing. Loved it!)
 ruffled skirts 009ruffled skirts 003
  For the two layer skirt I think it turns out better to double the width of the first layer for the one ruffle. So again, for a 21” waist cut your first layer 42” wide and the second layer 82” wide.  I’m thinking I need to make myself one out of an irish handkerchief-weight linen or gauze-y cotton.  Hallie would rather wear a skirt anyday so I think I’ll make her a couple more. Nothing is better than summer. Nothing.

Sunday, June 07, 2009

The Dallas Burger

DSC_0045To fuel my obsession with all things cooking, I decided to subscribe to Booby Flay_074497.tifthe new food network magazine. I bought the premier issue last fall, loved it, so signed on for 3 yrs. Only $30 bucks for the three years, not bad I say. Don’t I just look obsessed (or posessed?) reading the magazine? Why subscribe to a magazine when I can get the recipes for free at foodtv.com? Well, I love to pack around my magazines/cookbooks when grocery shopping. So when the June/July issue arrived with a giganto burger on the front cover I quickly turned to the burger article and saw this recipe for the Dallas Burger. Yea, a burger smothered in cole slaw and BBQ sauce! I’ve made it twice and will so make it again. The kids even love it. Miracle. I did use ground turkey both times though….and good old Bull’s Eye BBQ sauce because I was fresh out of ancho chile powder. Next time I’ll make it just like Bobby says. I’m sure I’ll love it even more made with yummy fatty beef. And from now on I’ll be adding grated onion to my coleslaw. Magic! So fire up your grill and give it a go. Can’t wait to try the rest of the burger recipes in the article.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Camp Sew Fun

Banner patterns available at meringuedesigns cheaper than on etsy. DSC_0014

The kids have been out of school just about a week now, but so far so good.  IDSC_0020 must admit I was a bit anxious as the school year came to an end. After all, the kids fight like cats and dogs on the weekend so who is to say that the other five days of the week would yield a different result? Most days I believe that my kids would sell each other for a nickel—with or without a coat of many colors. So what’s a mom to do? Structure is the answer my friends.
I decided that every Tuesday this summer would be Camp Sew Fun in our house. So for this week’s projects the kids wanted  to make banners for their rooms. Imagine that, their mom makes and sells banners to everyone else on the planet, and yet my own kids don’t even have one. So I put one of my sewing machines on the lowest possible speed (lest Camp Sew Fun result in a trip to the E.R. for removal of a sewing machine needle) and let the kids sew their own banners. They picked their own fabrics, traced the letters, cut them out, and pieced them together. My oldest son had the hardest time cutting out his letters and my youngest daughter excelled at cutting hers.  Go figure. Now I just need to figure out what we can sew the rest of the summer.
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