Vogue Skirt Slowdown & Swiss Steak

I have managed to work a little on my skirt today.  I sewed up the side seams and got the interfacing on the waistband .  Then I sewed the waistband on wrong-so sad! I had to rip it all out and my head was killing me from wearing a crazy headband all day, so I haven't sewn it back on.  I did help my hubby with the shed a little today as well.  He cut some tin siding to fit the back of the greenhouse and I cleaned and caulked and painted it.  Still have some painting to go, but atleast the back is covered now.  It just takes a long time to do projects of any sort around our house.
Made easy swiss steak for dinner tonight.  I took 4 pieces of cubed steak (beaten thin with mallet between wax paper if thick) and placed them in a greased 8 X 11 pan. I mixed a packet of dry onion mushroom soup mix with some of our canned tomatoes.  Added about 2 Tbsp cornstarch, salt and pepper. I just shook it all together to mix.  Poured over meat and covered with foil. Baked at 350 for 1 hour and then at 375 for 15-20 minutes longer.  Served over egg noodles.  Pretty good-Very easy!

Thread Bare

I almost laughed yesterday when I had to buy thread. I have this enormous amount stashed and yet not enough of the color I was using on my Vogue skirt. I inherited a small trash bag full of thread when I bought my serger-(yay for me). I ran the bobbin and the white spool started showing. Oh well, problem fixed with a little trip to Hancock. I was only able to get the darts sewn in the front and sew up the front center seam, but it is progress. Now I have plenty of thread if I decide to tackle the scary jacket part of this pattern (my sweet friend Michelle has graciously offered to help me with this daunting project). We will see how the skirt with snaps goes first. This pattern has a side zip or snap option. I am going with the snaps mainly because I have never done them. I am in this "teach yourself something new" mode of life right now. Might as well go with it while it lasts! Probably won't get too far today due to the fact that my son has much school and an art class this afternoon. The high school art class is working on reproducing this Guernica panel. They each received a square grid with a section for them to draw. My son got the big foot area in the lower right corner. We have such amazing teachers in our Tapestry group!!!! School for my 7th grader beckons as well. It is all so interesting to me, although there is so much to study. Reading about Hoover's administration right now and I don't guess I ever realized that 1-he was a Quaker and 2-how important and wealthy a business man he was. He didn't get such a great rap as president, but he had an incredible career before and after. So much history-so little time to read it all. Have a blessed day and learn something new!

First Etsy Purchase-Domestic Diva

I am one of those people who likes to do hands on shopping for fabric. I like to feel it and lay it out and look at it, but I ran across a super cute panel by Emily Taylor on a blog this morning. The line is called Domestic Diva. I found a reasonable Etsy shop and bought 3 panels in different colors and two 1/2 yard pieces. I don't have pics of the panels or the stripe, but I think this apron strings fabric is so cute. I have some Christmas gift ideas whirling in my head. I can't wait to get it and start on the projects!

Bessie Art does Vintage Coasters

This little lady has the cutest blog and posts such uplifting comments. She is a good seamstress and a keeper of goats-that are adorable by the way. I read a post she did not too long ago on remaking some vintage coasters she bought at a barn sale. They are amazing and would make very good Christmas gifts for family or friends. I will be on the lookout for some of these. For now though, I thought I would give you the link to her tutorial. http://bessieart.blogspot.com/2010/10/coasters-tutorial-because-i-am-obsessed.html

Vogue Pattern Progress

Well I haven't done as much as I wanted to today.  Mainly because my serger was ill.  Actually it is probably operator error.  I threaded and rethreaded that crazy machine today and it just kept getting tangled.  I finally fixed it and managed to serge all my skirt pieces.  Now they are ready to be put together.  My goal would be to have the skirt put together by the weekend.  We shall see.  Life has a tendency to throw you curve balls.  I am going through the Psalms with my kids in the morning and we are on Psalm 119.  It is really amazing how many times God has to remind us about following His (laws, precepts, statutes, commands, commandments, testimonies, Word, etc).  We are such a fallen people.  My serger problem was a good lesson today.  We are so easily entangled by sin.  I tend to give up way too easily and lean towards frustration or despair, but I kept at it today. I kept rereading my manual and starting from scratch each time and it finally worked!  He is reminding me to keep my eyes on His Word and that His mercies are new every morning-Amen! He gives us the strength we need to perform the deeds He has for us. It always works better when we trust Him and we don't give up.  Life lesson for the day and I am glad I listened to it.

Cable Scarf Complete

Finished this last night and it looks lovely wrapped around my dummy.  I had it wrapped around me last night as I was working and it is quite warm.  I will hopefully work on a multiple cable project next or I might try to tackle an easy sock pattern I found.  Not sure.  I am cutting out my skirt pieces today in hopes of getting somewhere on that project this week.  Happy crafting-whatever your craft might be!

Crafty cable scarf almost done

Although I have made very little head way on my 1944 skirt (have pattern pieces cut out), I have almost completed my cable scarf.  I will probably add another 10-12 inches so that it is nice and long.  I want to be able to wrap it around.  I will definitely try another cable pattern.  It isn't so bad once you get going, but you have to keep track.  No more mindless knitting! I wrapped it around my dummy to get an idea for length and man does it look hideous with that dress.  Speaking of which, I wore it to church today with a distressed jean jacket and got many compliments.  Didn't think to get any pictures. My camera is so bad right now-(sniff,sniff,cry,cry).
I did sign up on Ravelry and it looks so knit. It is like knitters and crocheters having their own little world-woohoo!

Have to get to small group soon-we are doing the "Heaven" study by Randy Alcorn right now.  Pretty interesting. Have a great Sunday!

Pork chops and apples

More comfort food! I have been using this recipe for years and it is still great everytime we eat it. Apples are just a "go to" item for pork. They compliment each other. I use boneless porkchops for this, but bone in would work as well.

4-6 boneless chops

1 small onion

2 large baking apples

4 tbsp butter

salt & pepper

Spray a 13 X 9 pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 325. Peel apples and slice thin. Slice onion thin. Place half of the apples and onions in dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay pork chops on top. Cover with the rest of the apples and onions. Place butter evenly across top. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. I serve this with mashed potatoes and peas, but anything would work.

*The picture shows it prior to baking. Sorry we ate it too fast to have an after shot-oops!

Grosgrain-Embellish month

Here is something interesting. Grosgrain is going to spend an entire month embellishing a sweater a day. She plans to include tutorials when she can. Just think...you can buy a thrift store sweater and turn it into something cute everyday! I plan to keep an eye on this and now you cna too! Visit grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com

New Skirt-Old Skirt Vogue 2885

Did you ever read "Old Hat, New Hat" by Dr. Suess? That is what this title made me think of. Going through all of the new hats in the store and discovering in the end that his old hat was perfect. It is almost that way with vinatge patterns. While there is a lot to be said for the comfortable, easy-fitting garments of today, there is nothing quite so flattering as a slim line 40's skirt. Vogue must have realized that. Most of the pattern companies have multiple RETRO patterns for sale now. I love getting these rather expensive patterns when they are $0.89 or $0.99. What a steal! I don't know that I am brave enough to try the lined jacket yet, but I am going to attempt this fabulous skirt. I found two nice large remnant pieces (that were normally pretty expensive) for $2.99 a yard. It is a beautiful teal, turquoise and cream. I won't feel so bad if the project doesn't go so well, but I would hate to ruin this lovely material. I plan to cut the pieces out today and hopefully get started on it this week.

Cable Scarf Progress

Well the jumbo cable scarf is about 20 inches long so far. I have had a few mistakes, but have been able to correct them. I do like the look of the scarf. It is only 20 stitches wide, so it isn't a monstrous piece to work with. I am finally getting the hang of the pattern and I can do it without having to constantly refer to the written pattern. The biggest thing is keeping up with where I am on my row counter. I usually don't have tons of time all at once to sit and knit, so this little device is pretty handy. I am looking forward to wearing this once it is done. Our weather is starting to dip some and it makes me look forward to fires and snow and wearing my scarves.

Simplicity 7807 from 1968-Finished

I thought I would atleast post a pic with my dress on the dummy. I haven't worn it yet. It has been a little warm and I think I like it best with a little black cashmere cardigan I have. It ties in the front and seems to help break up the busyness of this dress. I love the fabric, but it is a little loud! My kids said it looked better with the sweater. I learned several new things with this project. I had never sewn a pieced front, I had never sewn in sleeves (always raglan type sleeves before), and I had never done a neck piece like this one either. I hemmed the dress to knee length and I think it will look nice with shoes or boots for Fall. I like it pretty well. I will try to remember to take pics the first time I wear it.

New Skirt

I found this great, almost Art Deco fabric when I took my serger class over the summer.  I originally thought I would make a dress, but decided on a long skirt instead.  It is that stretchy, slinky material I love. It doesn't wrinkle and it is so comfortable. I wore it to church on Sunday and I really like it. I used the serger to do the whole thing! I wore it with my new Aerosole strappy,low heel Mary Janes-which I also love!

Cable Catastrophe

Well my lovely pink cable scarf project is no more. I somehow got lost in my stitching pattern and just couldn't seem to fix it. In frustration, it once again became a ball of yarn. I will attempt it again, but for now I am working on a jumbo cable scarf. I found a pattern 20 stitches wide that used 8 strands of yarn together, but I am using one strand of very chunky yarn. It seems to be working so far. Last night I ended up making a boo boo while watching a movie and I stopped in hopes that I can fix it this weekend and it won't suffer the same fate as the pink one. We shall see???

Sorry for the strange coloring (the scarf is a lovely deep, rich burgundy wool mix) in the pics, my camera is suffering from an incurable illness I think. So sad-I love this camera. My flash no longer works and its batteries are being held in by rubberbands-(sniff,sniff) I will have to lay it to rest soon.

Simplicity 7807 from 1968-New Project Progress

I have been able to get a little sewing in this week and I am hoping to finish this dress this weekend. I love the bold print! The dress is going together pretty easily, so hopefully I won't run into any weird snags. My zippers are getting much cleaner and neater. They don't terrify me quite so much anymore. I will post some more pictures when I finish it.

On another note, I am attending a bridal shower tomorrow and I will be posting a great recipe for some applesauce cupcakes with cream cheese frosting tomorrow. These are amazingly good and just seem to taste like fall.

New Greenhouse

When we started living on our non-working farm several years ago, we immediately began gardening when spring hit. I grew all of our garden plants in our house, which can give your house a very distinct odor! My husband drew up plans for an outdoor building that year for extra storage space and attached to it-a greenhouse. It didn't get much attention for the last 2 years, but just recently we have been putting the finishing touches on it. We don't have it all figured out yet, but it will be nice to have a warm, sunny place to put fledgling plants in the spring. It will have a nice countertop against the shed wall and stair step shelving in the front. We have to learn how to maintain temps in it and hopefully not freeze or burn everything we are trying to grow. It is pretty neat. It is homemade and that is just the way I like it! We have a lot of sweat equity invested in this little addition.

Simplicity 7807 from 1968-New Project

Just thought I would post my new pattern project.  Since my oldest was home this weekend recovering from some dental work, I actually stayed home and started a new project (short sleeve version).  I have already done some sewing and it is pinned to my dummy.  I will post the fabric and pattern pic for now.  Will put up new pics of the dress tomorrow.