Moving!

~I guess you could not pick a worst time for me personally to try and move than the first of December. Not only is non stop craft cram time but it is also birthday month. But when you must move, you must... and we are. I might be a little bit gone but I will be pining for a you.

One yard wonders book winner

The winner is Molly Dee!! thanks everyone your comments

Sew mama Sew has Ideas for your Holly daze

~It is time to start making our gifts( or past time). I was happy and surprised (a little) to notice that the local news station had a segment this morning on making your own gifts. I guess it takes most of the country being broke for the mainstream media to embrace the idea of doing something sweet and thoughtful for the gift giving season. Well of course the craft community thrives from the holidays. The tutorials just start bursting out. Luckily we have Sew Mama Sew to help us, with their 3rd annual Handmade Holidays

Sew Mama Sew is helping us all out with kaboodles of holiday gift ideas and the links to go with'em!
And it is full of beautiful crafty inspiration....Today they even included a belle and burger tutorial! So get busy, busy, busy... and have fun fun fun

"One Yard Wonders" book review and give-away

~How many times have you been at that little quilting store in some little tucked away town and picked up just a yard of fabric because," you had to have it ...you had never seen it anywhere... and may not ever see it again!!" (gasp)? You may be able to predict from that dramatic re-enactment most of my stash is in increments of one yard.


...Especially because I have so many vintage table cloths and what not. They are always just a yard or maybe a little more. So my peepers are always peeled for projects that can showcase a small amount of "to die for fabric". Needless to say, when recently I got the chance to check out a new book called One yard Wonders, 101 sewing projects, I was pretty intrigued.

~What I found in, One Yard Wonders, was a sewing book that is jammed packed with clever projects that all call for only one yard of fabric( I love this idea) This is a treasury of fun, modern and innovative patterns given to us by Rebecca Yaker owner of Hazel & Melvin's Room and Patricia Hoskins the co founder crafty planet . In a recent interview for better homes and garden's, Team DIY network site
Patricia Hoskins answers the question that I was wondering my self, "How did you come up with 101 sewing projects?"
"One-Yard Wonders is a collaboration not just between Rebecca Yaker, my co-author, and me, but about 70 contributors as well. 101 is a lot of projects! We mostly solicited contributors through blogs, craft forums like Craftster, word-of-mouth, and Crafty Planet newsletters. "


~One Yard Wonders is not just a great book of projects, it also has an invaluable chapter on sewing fundamentals. This section gives you all the basics; from what to stock in what they call your "sewing pantry", to directions for making your own bias tape, and tips on making and using patterns. Plus the diagrams are clear and concise, helping make this a terrific reference book for sewing novices.



~The projects, however cover a wide range of difficulty( making it a great addition to the experienced seamstress's book collection). This book would make a great gift for sure, but the real beauty of this book is it is perfect to make gifts from.

~Other things that make this book THE sewing Book to get for this years gift making/giving season:
*It is spiral bound
*All patterns are included
*It is beautifully photographed with inspirational fabrics and notions.
*Has a wonderful section on the contributors which can function as an online directory for more inspiration

~There really are so many great projects in this book a few of my faves are sprinkled here throughout this review. Believe me it was hard to choose.

~And Now for the big give ~aways.... There are two give -aways that I want to share with you, that involve this book. One is a must enter fabric give-away called Yard of the month sweepstakes that you can enter here by February 28, 2010.(GO LOOK AT THIS IT IS AN AWESOME GIVE-AWAY).
The second give away will be a copy ofthe book One Yard Wonders on this blog next Wednesday Nov 18Th . All you need to do is leave a comment on this post. I will generate a random winner on Nov 18Th . The comments will close at midnight central time on Tuesday Nov17Th. If you want to enter, Please make sure to leave an email address in your comment. Thanks and good luck!!!

The little black shift; A Cynthia Rowley pattern Mash-Up

~I recently needed a bridesmaids dress. The the only requirements were it be above the knee and all black.
So I decided I would try to make my own but only if I could do it from stash fabric. I had stocked up on patterns from Cynthia Rowley for simplicity during a recent sale, so I decided to try a few them out.

...I ended up combining these two simplicity patterns:
Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 2593
...and Cynthia Rowley Simplicity2586


~I really loved the rolled top piece on the shirt from Simplicity 2593 ( it is super simple to make this roll and might be easily adapted to a number of designs)
... and I like the idea of a belted shift for this dress. I noticed that the tops of both patterns were the same basic construction so I lifted the roll from 2593 and added it to the the shift of Simplicity 2586.

~I decide to add the ruffle along the bottom from the long sleeved belted version
~I also finished my sleeves with FOE because when I made a practice shirt I thought the sleeves, finished as the pattern called for, were too constricting.

~I decided to change the belt design completely. I designed a belt using scraps
...and then four snaps as closure
...with decorative mix matched vintage buttons on top.
I was very pleased with the finished dress...I thought it was perfect for the occasion and easy to wear.

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread recipe revisited!!!

This is a repost from the spring of our favoritepumpkin zucchini bread recipe. I usually make a couple of small loves and some muffins(burger loves his muffins)...and of course in the fall we all have access to fresh pumpkins and fresh pumpkin makes the best pumpkin bread!
~Muffins and breads are burger's favorite and pumpkin tops the list . So I make them year round. I like the zucchini added because that is the only way he eats it so far. I started using this pumpkin zucchini bread recipe almost 3 years ago. While making some bread early this week I realized, I had done gone and changed the recipe... quite a bit; So I am gonna share my version.
~I think my adaptation makes an extra moist(from extra pumpkin) bread that is a little lighter in texture and color thanks to the white lily. I actually stumbled on the white lily thing by accident . I was 1/2 a cup shy of regular flour while making some pumpkin bread and subbed in 1/2 a cup of white lily. I liked the result so I used it in all my muffin/ bread recipes. This time I decided to sub a full cup and liked the result even more. Of course this is optional if you do not have white lily just use regular flour and don't worry about adjusting the baking powder/soda . You will just have a denser bread which maybe what you like anyway! I always use fresh pumpkin if it is available but plain can pumpkin works in a pinch(and last week target had bunch of can pumpkin on clearance). I know some of my fellow bloggy ladies freeze large amounts of pumpkin so they probably have frozen pumpkin on hand.

~Ingredients

* 3 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 white cup sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar packed
* 1 can of pumpkin or 1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen pumpkin
* 1 cup butter or margarine, melted
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 2cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white lily
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1 cup shredded zucchini
* 1 cup chopped pecans(optional)

~DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts. The original recipes says to Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.
2. I make six muffins minus the nuts (burger and daddy love muffins and not nuts in bread so much). I then mix and match the rest according to what pans I have on hand... maybe some mini loaves if I am planning on giving them away. I always make one big one and freeze it for later. The boys just work around those nuts. I use a tooth pick to check the done-ness since the different pans have different cooking times. A clean tooth pick is always my best done-ness indicator.

The "Its So easy its Scary!!!"....Tote Tutorial

~Trick or Treat! We have been pretend trick or treating all week long. This is the first year that Burger seems more excited about trick or treating than he does scared of it. So I decided to make him a treat tote since I had this kooky Frankenstein family fabric that he was digging.( we are knee deep in Halloween library books 'round here and burger is loving all the characters that he is discovering)
...I found the owl fabric tucked away in my scrap stash and there you go everything we needed.
~It was such a super quick and easy project,( I did it all in less than one hour) so I thought I would make another to share as a tutorial. This one I made as a fall tote for myself with longer straps.
...I used a pretty vintage table cloth adorned with some of my favorite fall veggies for my outer shell. This is a great project to show case some pretty scraps like this table cloth( that may have some extra wear on them).
...There are few places on my shell that may fray after use but since there are several layers involved here I don't have to worry about it. I can just be just be thrilled this table cloth has a new life as my latest fall accessory.

materials
thread
sewing machine
marking tool( either chalk or marker)
scissors
iron
ruler
Fabric
fusible interface

Directions

1.cut and iron all your fabric
you will need 6 rectangles of fabric measuring 11"x14" for the bag body they can match , coordinate, or all be different. For my bags I Cut my fabric as follows...
2pieces for your outside
2 pieces for your inside liner
2 pieces of fabric for interface for the bag I used some old whitish sheet here,you could use anything that will not show through any of your outer fabrics or you could use real interface.
2 fabric rectangles (measuring 14"x4" for the treat tote or 22"x4" for the fall tote) with fusible interface attached
3. Make your straps
Iron the folded straps in half . Then iron 1/4 to 1/2 " form outside edge on each side of the fold. Press entire strap and pin if so desired.Top stitch 1/4 " in from edge down the entire length of strap.
4. Sew outside shell. With right sides together stitch sides and bottom of bag with 5/8 " seam allowance turn and press
5 Sew liner with interface. Layer the fabric as follows: interface, liner fabric right side up, liner fabric right side down, interface. Sew around the sides and bottom of bag liner with 5/8 " seam allowance and press.
6.Mark where your straps will be. Measure on the shell and liner 1 1/2 " in from each side and mark.
7. Assembly. put outside shell inside the liner right sides together line your straps up with your marks and pin strap to the layers in between the liner and shell. Take care to make sure the straps are not twisted and stowing the them inside the bag.
8. Sew inside to outside.You will leave about a 3" opening so start near the side so you will make sure all the straps are attached. ...for this seam I like to give a big seam allowance like a whole inch just to make sure I catch all my fabric.
9. Turn carefully and make sure all your corners sharp. Press
10. Press and stitch the bag opening. These are the times when a good hot pressing iron is a seamstress's best friend. Take your time to get the top of the bag very neat especially the opening then top stitch 1/4" from the edge making sure to catch the opening. ( I start just before my opening that way I know exactly where it is.)

Yippee!!! Happy Halloween