Tree Pants

Planning on participating in my first Sew Along!  Or I guess I hope to be, depends on what the actual project details are and they are up next week.  Sew, Mama, Sew! is having a sew along for several home holiday projects in October, the idea being to get the home projects done before you start in on the holiday gift making.  The "Tree Pants" project is for a cute and simple tree skirt quilt with bright stars floating in a solid background.  Mentally debating what color combos I want to go with, traditional?, bright and cheery colors?  Here's hoping my Christmas tree will get to trade in the table cloth this year for an actual tree skirt!

A Little Autumn Sunshine

I love the autumn, it may just be my favorite season. Apple picking, refreshing cool days and turning leaves are high on the list of life's little joys for me.  What I don't like is leaving behind the bright and cheery colors of spring and summer, especially on my little one.  So I made this sunny top to bridge the summer weather into the fall.  It's great layered with a tee underneath, and looks just as good on it's own for the warm days or with a long sleeve underneath as the days get cooler.  The pattern is based loosely on an existing pattern for a dress. I shortened the bodice pieces and added ruffled "skirt" to be the length I wanted for the top.  Easy!  The best part, she loves this top and actually took off her shirt the other day and asked to exchange it for this one, yea!

Posing sweetly

Jumping?

Perfect for exploring

Simple joys in NY

A few small pleasures of late summer in upstate NY...

The best way to eat a fresh picked tomato grown by your grandpa

Riding on a garage sale gem

Drinking from the hose with a little help from your cousin



Digging in the sunshire after 4 days of rain

Everyone asks my uncle to pass this little guy down to them whenever he brings it out

Poppy for my little pea

Erin needed a new winter hat and I am loving Turquoise lately so made her a little Poppy hat from a free Ravelry pattern.  Cascade Fixation again, I love that stretchy soft yarn made into little things for little ones.

She seemed excited!

Baby C Peek

A new baby is arriving soon for a good friend and I made a few things to help welcome him into this world.  The little hat is my favorite newborn hat.  It's stretchy and will stay on a new little head and keep that tiny body warm.  It's made from Cascade Fixation and the pattern is a simple beanie with a top knot from my local yarn store. 

A blanket with ties for the stroller

A nursing pillow cover that isn't pink from his big sister

The star pattern on the nursing pillow cover was quite serendipitous since my friend asked me to make a crib skirt and some sheets in a "space" theme for her son's new room.  We found some adorable fabrics and I have been working away on his nursery decor.  I am just in love with how it is turning out and can't wait to share the finished goods!

A peek at the fabrics... those adorable rocket ships are from In The Beginning's Rocket Scientist line.  

Goodbye Brother, Hello Brother

Just under a year ago I bought my first electronic sewing machine.  I found a nice deal on a entry level Brother model from Costco.  All the basic utility stitches I could need, nifty buttonholes and a slew of feet were included.   My previous machine was a White Zigzig model, a beautiful turquoise green and white in a cabinet that had seen better days.  It was dependable for mediocre results, probably would have been great after a servicing but since that cost 3x what I paid for the machine I could never bring myself to haul it in.  The new machine was a nice upgrade for me, and was at the right price point at the time, just under a couple hundred.  I was just getting back into sewing and wasn't sure how much time I'd end up spending on it, especially considering that I had a 1 year old and my sewing is pretty much relegated to naptime.

After finishing up my first ever full fledged knit project last weekend my sewing machine broke.  I was putting it away, unplugging and lowering the needle to guard against curious toddler fingers and noticed that it was difficult to turn the wheel.  Huh. So I turned it all back on and tried to lower the needle with the electronic button.  Loud and disturbing sounds and stuttering of the needle ensued followed by a flashing error code on the LCD.  A little fruitless troubleshooting and a trip to the repair shop later, I found out it was going to cost nearly as much to get it fixed as it cost. I was duly informed that those entry level models are full of plastic gears that loose teeth like a 6 year old.  Apparently you get what you pay for.  I really loved that machine until it broke.  Thank goodness Costco has a wonderful return policy and I could bring back my machine for a full refund.  I love you Costco, your products are generally great and when they aren't your customer service is.

Goodbye Brother

Hello Brother!

Please excuse that Project Runway logo, not really my thing but boy am I excited to sew on my new baby!  Too bad Erin is awake after a 25 minute car nap, I guess it will wait til tomorrow.  

Pedicure and Blackberries

A couple of weeks back I had my first pedicure in almost 2 years.  It used to be an indulgence every couple of months, but after having my sweet pea it fell to the bottom of the list when choosing what to do with my "free time".  Things like doctor appointments, groceries and haircuts were higher up on the list.  I finally got around to treating myself to the bliss that is a pedicure and flipping through magazines without a toddler demanding that I color or play trucks with her.  I came across an article about Dorie Greenspan bloggers in O magazine and a beautiful picture of a cupcake topped with a yogurt icing and blueberry pie filling.  The picture was so simple and alluring, a golden cupcake topped with pure white icing with a deep blue-black dollop of blueberry pie filling on top.  It's cited as an adaptation of a Dorie Greenspan recipe.  With a little guilt I tore recipe the page out and slipped it into my purse; sorry future readers of that magazine, you will miss out on the last column!

That recipe has been laying on my counter since then, begging to be made, but with all that canning just didn't happen.  Until today when I got a pint of big beautiful blackberries from our CSA, they were just begging to replace that pie filling and sit atop those cupcakes.  The recipe is simple too, no mixer required.  The only step that was a bit strange was folding in a half cup of canola oil at the end, which didn't really work and I had to just flat out mix it with a whisk to get it to incorporate.  I am suspicious that the original recipe called for butter and for some reason (does Oprah ban butter in her magazine?) it was switched to canola oil.  The results were good, not great, but very pretty!

I'd like to try the original version of  her french yogurt cake to compare.  The flavors in the cake were great: fresh from the lemon zest and the ground almonds added a nice nutty flavor.  The texture was a bit dense (no mixer?).  The icing made from greek yogurt, lemon zest, vanilla and gelatin was pretty but also had a less than perfect texture.  I expected a smooth but firm icing, and it was a bit grainy from the gelatin, but that my be my fault.  I bloomed the gelatin in cold water, my package didn't have directions and I think I should have used warm water.  It was grainy going into the cold yogurt and didn't get any smoother with mixing.

Overall I like this recipe and will try it again, but I think I will beat the sugar/yogurt/eggs to get some lightness in them and then fold in the flour and oil next time, or try melted butter instead of oil.