S'More Brownies

Anyone hungry this morning? I made these S'More Brownies for the team dinner last night. So good! But they are messy to cut and my daughter complained that I didn't brown the marshmallows enough. Oh well!! Anyhoo... here is the recipe:

1 box brownies, prepared as directed on box (feel free to make them from scratch if you're an overachiever)
1 can chocolate frosting (see above note)
Approx. six graham crackers, coarsely chopped
10 oz bag mini marshmallows

Cool brownies. Spread with frosting. Sprinkle graham cracker pieces on top and press down into icing. Cover with one layer mini marshmallows. Broil for 30-40 seconds, watching carefully. DO NOT STEP AWAY!!

I tried using a wet knife and a knife sprayed with Pam but they still stuck to the knife.

Sewing 101

A former co-worker of mine recently got married and I gave her a sewing machine for a shower gift. I also promised to teach her to sew. Based on some tips I read on Dawn's blog, The Secret Pocket, I suggested my friend's first project should be a nightshirt made from flannel. Easy pattern, McCalls 2476, with some good practice components - straight seams, curved seams, facings, trim application, etc. - and flannel is easy to work with. And as Dawn points out, it's an item that will only be worn in the privacy of your own home so if it doesn't turn out perfect, the creator doesn't have to feel self-conscious that others will see.

It took us three sessions (and three bottles of wine!) but my friend finished. As you can see, it's too big even for a night shirt but she is giving it to her mom. It was a lot of fun for both of us and hopefully, a new sewer was created! Which of course means more demand for fabric and therefore, more fabric suppliers. Keep it growing!!

Purple Malabrigo.... Bliss!

A month or so ago, I was lucky enough to visit a wonderful yarn store in Tampa called Knit and Knibble. If you're in the area, stop in! My friend and I were assisted by a very helpful young man named Dale who had knit himself a wonderful cardigan from self striping sock yarn. I really didn't need any yarn but I spotted a pair of mittens in the store and a lovely selection of scrumptious Malabrigo. I purchased my favorite color and had one mitten knit before I got back home. I knit the second on two or three bus rides to work. I used an Ann Norling pattern which was designed to be knit flat but hooey to that - I knit it on two circs. I had some yarn leftover but wasn't sure if I could eke out a hat so I decided on a headband. No real pattern. I just tried a couple combinations until it looked like what I wanted. My neighbor and I have resumed walking in the mornings and the mittens and headbands have been perfect for the 35 degree temperatures we've had this week. I'm going to try to make her a set for a Christmas gift. (Those lines that appear to be wrinkles around my eyes are an optical illusion most likely caused by brisk walking at 5:30 am. Yeah... that's gotta be it.)

Blanket in a Bag.... Revisited

Tomorrow night is our turn to host the team dinner for the cheerleading squad. I'm sure it's a lot easier (and cheaper!) to feed twelve teenage girls when compared to team dinners for the actual football and basketball teams for which they cheer! We're serving fettucine alfredo, spaghetti with meatballs, salad, garlic parmesan breadsticks and S'more brownies for dessert. I have to admit that I purchased the sauces and breadsticks from GFS (love this supplier - great quality!) so the meal will be very quick to throw together.

Easy Peasy, right? But no.... instead of keeping it simple, the squad started a tradition that the hosting family gives each girl a little "something." Last year, I made key chains. Cute... relatively quick and inexpensive. The girls liked them.

But this year, the "trinkets" have become more elaborate. One family gave each girl a pair of sweat pants embroidered with the team name, logo and each girl's name. Another family had the MOST ADORABLE ceramic bobble head dolls made for each girl (painted in matching uniforms, same hair and eye color as each girl, etc.) Now, I'm a crafty gal... I oughta be able to come up with something, right?

So after pondering awhile, my daughter and I came up with an idea. Remember the baby blanket I made my niece? Remember, too, that I recently purchased the embroidery machine? Well, voila! Personalized fleece blankets that fold into a pillow for the girls.

When I originally heard about these blankets, I think they were called "Magic Blankets". I actually taught a class to make a quilted version of this blanket/pillow at our local rec center years ago. I also heard them called Blanket in a Bag. Well, tonight while I was googling to see if I could find a diagram with folding instructions (that's always the hardest part!), I found out they are also called "Quillows" (quilt + pillow). I like that name! More pictures of the process:

This really is a simple project that is quite cute. I think I will make my other niece and nephew one for Christmas. They are great blankets to keep in the car.

If you want to make one, I used one yard (60" wide) for the blanket and the pocket was cut from contrasting fleece and measures 12" x 20". I prefer straps but my daughter nixed that feature.

Nice Matters

I do have projects to blog about but I haven't taken the time in the evenings to take the pictures, post the pictures, etc. Maybe tonight while I'm watching the Dancing with the Stars finale [Note to Marie: Yeah, we get it. You're almost 50. You've whipped yourself into shape. You're doing a great job for someone of our age (well, she IS actually a bit older than me... ahem). But you need to learn how to accept criticism.]

So I digress.... I recently received a very sweet note from Cathy, who has a blog full of awesome knitting projects and INCREDIBLE photography, telling me she nominated me for a "Nice Matters Award," which is awarded to:

“Those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration.
Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. ”

How cool is that?!!! I haven't felt all that nice or positive over these last few weeks so it was especially sweet that Cathy took the time to make me feel good - no wonder she is also a recipient of this award!!

I am supposed to identify seven other bloggers who should receive this award. Holy Mackerel.... Only seven???? I have met so many nice bloggers it will be hard to narrow it down.

Ok.... here goes....

Allison
Autum
Debbie
Gaylen
Janice
Marcia
Nancy
Tonya
OH!!! I can't forget my sewing twin (we always end up sewing the same things without planning it!)
Lori
(So I can't countl... sue me!)

All of you gals are very special to me for lots of different reasons but the reason I've nominated all of you for this award is because each of you have always been so darn nice to me and I really appreciate it. Especially lately! Cathy, I would nominate you, too, if I could!

BTW, along the same line, Sheri over at Loopy Ewe is encouraging random acts of kindness. (Her example reminds me of the commercial in which the woman at the dry cleaner drive-thru window pays for some shirts for the HOT guy behind her. Ok, not exactly altruistic motives for that one as she also included her phone number, but still....) Spread the NICE!!

Thanksgiving Blessings

My life has been so busy lately with work and family commitments that I haven't had time for any of the fluff stuff - knitting, sewing, reading, blogging. But I realize today that instead of whining about it, I should be thankful that I not only HAVE a job that keeps me so busy but one that I enjoy. And I am blessed with three wonderful kids that I love more than anything in this world. They are truly my inspiration.

Today (and the next four days), I have a houseful. My parents and my brother and his family are visiting us. And as we adjust to musical beds and bumping into each other in the kitchen, I am grateful to have us all together. Much of the food prep has been done but there is still a lot to do. We just finished up a casual breakfast - bagels & cream cheese, homemade orange cranberry scones & blueberry scones, bacon and eggs - and now it's on to creating the feast:

Ambrosia Salad
Turkey
Stuffing (bread, not cornbread - we're Yankees!)
Mashed Taters
Cranberry Sauce out of the can
Cranberry Orange Chutney
Green Bean casserole
Roasted Root Vegetables in Madeira wine sauce
Corn Souffle
Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Caramel Pie
Snickerdoodles
S'more Brownies

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Fictional Books About Sewing

Since time on airplanes has kept me away from sewing recently, I at least was able to read books related to sewing.

Add me to the list of those sewers who enjoyed reading The Collection by Gioia Diliberto. Never good at describing books, I'll defer to Amazon's description:

Following the death of her fiancé and family, fictitious 22-year-old seamstress Isabelle Varlet leaves her provincial town in 1919 and takes a low-level job working for Gabrielle Coco Chanel, joining a gaggle of young women sewing until their fingers bleed to serve Mademoiselle in preparation for the upcoming fall collection. Dresses are depicted in magnificent detail; fellow couturiers Madeleine Vionnet and Jean Patou are vibrant and alive, and Diliberto even incorporates period fashion journalism.

I also recently read another book with a sewing / seamstress angle, Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani (Loved, loved, loved her Big Stone Gap trilogy.) Per Amazon:

Poignant and feeling, it looks back on the experiences of the beautiful daughter of an Italian-American family in Greenwich Village in the early '50s. Kit Zanetti, a young playwright in present-day New York, accepts an invitation to the apartment of "Aunt Lu," as she is known in their building. Aunt Lu on first glance is an eccentric lady in her 70s who trails around in a fur. Once Kit can be bothered to listen, however, she finds out that Aunt Lu was once the most beautiful girl in Greenwich Village, Lucia Sartori, an intelligent and ambitious seamstress in the custom department at B. Altman's, who's determined not to let the traditions of her loving family lock her into the patterns of the past. When her impending marriage to childhood sweetheart Dante threatens just that, she refuses him, startling her beloved family. Then, fatefully, she meets the dapper John Talbot, who seems the man of her dreams, even draping her in full-length mink, and she ignores the signs that he is trouble and plans marriage. Jilted on her wedding day, Lucia finds out that he is a con man.

I enjoyed both of these books very much.

LaToya

Finally finished up one of my summer projects - just in time for the first freeze predicted for tonight! Oh well, it will be nice for next summer.

Pattern: Berrocco LaToya
Yarn: CottonEase, pineapple, 2 skeins (approximately 400 yards total)
Size: extra small
Needles: size 5 & 7

It was a pretty easy and quick pattern. I knit 75% of it while on vacation in July and then put it aside for 3 months. I think there were some errors in the pattern. The pattern calls for you to knit the back as if the side panels are knit side out whereas the front is knit as if the side panels are purl side out. I opted for purl side out. There was another error but I can't remember what it was. I shortened the straps by about an inch and kitchenered them together rather than bind off and knit together.

I started another project over the weekend while visiting my friend in Orlando. We visited a yarn shop in Tampa that I HIGHLY recommend. It is called Knit 'n Knibble and they had a very nice, very organized selection of yarns and patterns. There were many shop samples and the sales person, Dale, was very helpful! Although I certainly don't need any more yarn, I did pick up supplies for another little project that I'll post about later this week.

Lots of airplane time lately so I'm getting some knitting projects taken care of but all this time on the road is cramping my sewing progress. By Wednesday, I will have visited six Florida cities in 8 days.

My new toy!

I recently purchased an embroidery machine. Very basic as far as embroidery machines go. It's the Brother HE-120. I bought mine on ebay but I think HSN was the original retailer for them. Wal-Mart sells the similar Disney version, SE-270D.

I hate figuring out how things work so the machine sat in the box for a few weeks while I willed the knowledge to come to me. I finally accepted that I would actually have to read the manual so I took advantage of some free time that popped up last night after a canceled appointment and sat down with my new machine and the manual. I tried to watch Dancing with the Stars (Holy Toledo, Marie!!) at the same time so I wasn't terribly efficient but I did get my first sample design - my initials - embroidered! I need to make 12 monogrammed fleece blankets before the end of November.

Penny Power

Remember this?

Since end of March, it's been the receptacle for loose change from my car and wallet and off the kids' bedroom floors (hey, if it's not important enough to keep it off the floor, it's mine!) Well, the container was about 3/4 full and getting kind of heavy so I took it to my local grocery store where they have a Coinstar machine. Turns out there was $80.57 in it. Not bad for money I never would have missed. If you cash out, the surcharge is almost 9% but if you take a gift certificate from selected vendors, you get the full amount. So I took an Amazon certificate for $80.57 and ended up getting a bonus $10 gift certificate. Cool Beans!

New Look 6723 - Just in time!

All I had left was the hem and zipper so now my dress is complete, just in time for the dinner this Thursday. I will wear it with the patent leather strappy shoes, the patent leather purse and hopefully, rhinestone dangly earrings (gave my shopping-loving daughter the assignment today - "find me some inexpensive rhinestone dangly earrings before Thursday morning.")

The details:
New Look 6723, view B
Fabric - dull satin from Hancock's
Notions - invisible zipper, rhinestone belt buckle, hook & eye

Easy enough dress to construct. True to size and nothing tricky found in the pattern. I was going for the Audrey Hepburn look. Not happy with the crease line in the hem - happens all the time when I use the blind hem on my sewing maching. Can anyone tell me how to avoid that? I will press it out but it's annoying.

Ignore the hair - it's my lazy Sunday look!

Party Saturday

I gave the cable purse to my friend at the football tailgate party last night (BEAUTIFUL night for a tailgate and football game!) but forgot to take her picture with the purse. Unfortunately, I promised to make similar bags for two other friends. Photo of all cheer moms below. Yes, I am the only one with a drink in my hand.... do you have a point?

Photo at right shows Lucy apron being modeled at the Texas Hold 'Em party. My friend Lynne was a big winner so I think everyone should wear a vintage style apron to play cards!!

Ethel Apron

Dontcha think Lucy and Ethel would have loved matching aprons?! Although I should be doing about ten other things, I woke up and kept thinking about the other view that I had cut out so I headed to the sewing room and made view E of McCalls 3979. It will also be a friend gift. This one was a little easier to put together than the last one but I'm not sure if it is because there are less curved edges on this design or because I am now in a groove with applying bias tape. Either way, this is an adorable style. I recently found Heather Bailey's Freshcut line of fabric at a local store and you can bet I'll be creating this apron in her fabric.

Lucy Apron

Why do I call it that? Because I can just picture Lucy Ricardo wearing it, although in more sedate fabrics). I made this apron for another friend who also has an October birthday. She loves to cook so I'll package it with these adorable notecards:


The pattern is McCalls 3979 - vintage aprons (View D).


The fabric is some quilter's cotton from JoAnn's. This is not a pattern for beginners. All that seam binding was a pain in the patootey to apply! But I do like how it turned out and I have View E cut out in the same fabric for yet another friend's birthday gift!

Cable Knit Purse - Take 3

I made the Knitpicks Cable purse* for myself last winter and received lots of compliments on it. Then my daughter wanted one so I made one for her, too. One of my friends really wanted one so I told her I'd make her one, too. She makes jewelry and offered to make me a bracelet. Yeah, you guessed it... she gave me the bracelet ages ago and NADA in return for her.

Her birthday is tomorrow so I decided I would finally bite the bullet. She wanted a black one. I forgot that cables look better in lighter yarn or else I would have talked her out of it. I just used some Wool-Ease I had in my stash. Oh well, I hope she likes it. I am giving it with the red ribbon on it but in case she thinks it's too gaudy that way, I'm also including the white ribbon for a more neutral look.

I forgot how fast this is to knit. Probably took 3 hours (and I am a SLOW knitter!). For this one, I started with the bottom panel, picked up stitches around the bottom and then knit the whole thing in the round.

* It was a free pattern but it's gone from their site. I have the pattern in pdf form so if you want a copy, email me and I'll send it to you.

Muslin Tulip Skirt - yay or nay?

10/16/07 - Thanks for all your comments! Between the comments here on my blog and at Pattern Review, it looks like this skirt is a go although I will heed the advice to make it a bit fitter at the sides and definitely, will wear a fitted, streamlined top. I'm thinking turtleneck - just like in the pattern picture!

I love the look of the tulip skirt in McCalls 5473 but have heard a lot of people say, "Oh, I could never wear that style." But I'm not sure why people who don't like it, don't like it. I decided to make a muslin to see if I can, "wear that style."

I think it turned out kinda cute but maybe I'm missing something. I made View C some scrap thin twill that had not been pre-washed so I think it's a little stiffer than the skirt should be. If I end up making this for real, I'll be sure to pick a drapier fabric.

So I ask... "Can I (should I) wear this style?" My feelings won't be hurt if the answer is no. But if you say yes and I find out later I look silly, I'll have to hunt you down! LOL!

Finally - She cooks!

I have to admit that although I love to cook, dinners at my house have been .... well.... a bit sporadic lately. Could it be because I'm spending too much time in my sewing room? [No comment, my M&M loving friend!]

I realized today that I perhaps need to spend a little more time in the kitchen when one of the kids called and rather than asking me, "What's for dinner?" asked, "Will there be dinner?" LOL. Now, in my own defense.... these are able bodied people that could very easily whip up dinner from the abundance of groceries that are always in the freezer/fridge/pantry while I'm working but that's not exactly the game plan I've laid out over the years. So, on this first cool day of the season (LOVE IT!), I whipped up an old family favorite - pure comfort food. Added bonus is that it's quick and easy if you use some head-starts from the grocery store.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

• 2 cups cooked chicken (I buy a rotisserie chicken almost every week at the grocery store; so many things you can do with it)
• 1 10 oz box frozen chopped broccoli, cooked in microwave for 4-5 minutes. (I subbed a box of broccoli with cheese sauce that I found in the freezer)
• 1 small can chopped mushrooms, drained
• 1/2 - 1 cup shredded cheese (I used some low fat velveeta that I cut in small cubes)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (use the low fat/low sodium one)
• 1/2 soup can milk
• 3 cups cooked rice
• black pepper and garlic powder to taste

Mix together all ingredients in large bowl and pour into greased casserole pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Vogue 2980 revisited

I made another version of Vogue 2980; this time a long sleeve version. The fabric is a very stretchy, slippery, embossed knit from my stash, purchased a couple years ago from JoAnn's.

Every time I see this top reviewed on PR I LOVE it. It really is a fun style. I added a bit to the seam allowance as the first one came out very snug and I'm still a little nervous that this one is too tight for a gal of my age! I think I'm going to buy this pattern again and make the next one in the next larger size or maybe even two sizes up.

I think this could make a very sexy LBD (if lengthened, of course!) but only for a young, very fit body. I'm about 3 kids too late for that look. LOL!

NL 6429

After spending so long on the coat, I wanted a quicky project. Voila! A knit dress that I'll wear on a business trip this week. I cut it out last night and finished it up this morning. This is the second time I've made this pattern and I really love the style. I'm not sure that I love the sleeve length on this version, however. It hits about 2" above the wrist. Next time, I will shorten or lengthen so it's either full length or 3/4 length. But not changing this one.

The particulars:

NL6429, View B
Fabric: Floral Medallion poly knit in black/white from Gorgeous Fabrics. I don't think it's available any longer.

V8346

I feel like I've been talking about this coat forever but I'm finally done. As I've mentioned before, this is a "muslin" for a knee-length version I'm going to do in pink wool.

The "dummy" buttons look crooked in the picture but they didn't in the mirror. I'm going to have to check on that. I didn't notice the color was sticking up either but my photographer was not very cooperative so I'm stuck with this photo.

The particulars:

V8346, View A
Fabric: loose woven acrylic from JoAnn ($4 / yard); underlined with flannel to make it warmer; lined with a poly blend in black.