Tie One On Apron Challenge-Peppermint Candy

Amy Karol's (Angry Chicken) Tie One On apron challenge this month was to sew an apron that was inspired by peppermint candy. I really enjoyed that theme because it is kinda open ended. I didn't want an apron that screamed Christmas because I wanted to wear it whenever.

I found the fabric at Hobby Lobby for 50% off because the red and white polka dot was in their holiday section and the black paisley was in their fall fabrics section. Personally I thought both fabrics were pretty neutral as far as seasons go, but I wasn't going to argue with 50% off.

I have been wanting to try this pattern for a while. It is in the book A is for Apron which I absolutely love. The only problem is that the book does not come with full sized patterns which is a pet peeve of mine. However the designs are so lovely that I overlooked that slight problem this time. If nothing else, the book is filled with great eye candy and inspiration galore.

The instructions for the pattern were terribly unclear to me so I just did the best I could with what I thought and studiously examining the pictures. It is lined on top so that there are no raw edges to serge or finish which I thought was marvelous as I despise threading my serger and Pumpkin inevitably un-threads it for me between projects. She is just so stinkin' helpful sometimes ☺

I gotta tell you that this apron would make a fabulous gift for someone who is expecting a baby and is so tired of all the maternity clothes they have. It would brighten up their wardrobe now and be useful later.

Don't forget about the giveaway going on! There is a button in my top right sidebar that will take you to the post where you can win the great hand embroidered bag.

What???? Another Giveaway???

Comments are now Closed!!! ☺


Actually, YES! ☺

Sew Mama Sew is organizing Giveaway Day which will be posted on their blog Dec. 2. If you want to participate or if you want to find a list of other blogs who are joining in check out their blog on Dec 2. Hopefully there will be a ton of giveaways. . . I plan on spending a lot of time registering for other giveaways and checking out other people's blogs. How fun!

So, what am I giving away you ask????

Well, I'm giving away a hand embroidered (by yours truly) corduroy Phoebe bag made from the free tutorial by Rebeka Lambert at Artsy Craftsy Babe. Fantastic pattern and a hoot to make! Loved it.

The interior has one rather roomy pocket and it is lined with a cheery red and orange polka dot print. It will make you smile every time you see it.

It is approximately 15 inches wide by 11.5 inches tall. It would make a lovely gift for a loved one or feel free to keep it for yourself.

How to win:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me something you always carry in your bag and will not leave home without. ( I carry a little tape measure ☺)

2. Follow my blog and leave a separate comment telling me that you are following. Of course if you are already a follower just leave a separate comment telling me that.

VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure that I have a way of contacting you if you are the winner. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner.

You can register for the giveaway through Dec 6. I will pick the winner using a random number generator Dec 7. I'm happy to ship internationally so feel free to enter even if you don't live in the United States.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm popping in to wish everyone a lovely Thanksgiving Day! I probably won't be in this space until next week so that I have time to spend with family and hopefully get a lot of shopping done. ☺

However, don't forget to stop by next week as I will be having another giveaway with the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, December 2-6. If you want to participate in the Giveaway Day you can click on the button in my right sidebar to go to their site for more details.

I have Conquered!!!!

Actually a lot of my problem was sheer not-stopping-to-think-it-through stupidity.

Orginally, I wanted to make Pumpkin's coat out of the Michael Miller corduroy that is black with huge white polka dots. Pumpkin could totally pull it off in a I Love Lucy sort of way. My little two year old is a chameleon of style. Anything looks good. Anything. She sure didn't get that from me by the way. But anyhoo, the Michael Miller cords were almost $12 a yard-gulp . . .

Corduroy, as you no doubt know already, has a direction or nap to it. If you brush your hand one direction the pile of the fabric stand up and if you brush your hand in the other direction it is smooth. I cut out the original coat with no thought about the direction I was placing the pattern pieces.

See what I mean??? I just rushed into it with no thought except to try and save as much of the fabric as I could so I could make something else out of it. When will I ever learn to stop and think???

Oh, that reminds me of another pitfall to sewing with corduroy. You can't just plop your iron on top and iron away because that will ruin the pile. Hold the iron just barely above and steam it instead. I almost forgot about that too, but remembered just in the nick of time.

I also didn't follow the directions (another bad trait of mine) which made the coat a wee bit more complicated. I admit that I rarely make the pattern exactly like they tell me too-but often have other ideas that I think are better. With this pattern, I changed the pockets, added a ruffle to the sleeves, and lined it with fleece because I wanted it to be warm and cozy.

I have no idea if I lined it correctly or not. I sewed the outer coat at 4/8ths inch and the lining at 5/8ths inch to allow for the extra bulkiness of the fleece. It seemed to work so I was very relieved about that. I was also worried about the bulkiness at the collar area because with a layer of fleece, a layer of corduroy, interfacing, facing, and two layers of more corduroy for the collar it had the potential for disaster. I wouldn't try that with a wimpy machine! I have a vintage Bernina Nova 900 so it got through okay. (Although I was holding my breath the whole time!) After trimming the seam allowances and making sure I steamed it good, I think I managed to get it to not look bulky.

One Christmas present down, oh so many more to go. . .

What are you busy working on? Do you have any projects that gave you a huge headache while working on them and an even bigger sense of satisfaction when you conquered them?

Yeah, she's cute, but . . .

boy howdy can she be trouble! One day, Little Pumpkin didn't take a very good nap so after I got her up she was caught red handed (or should I say "orange fingered") in the kitchen eating my pumpkin pie.

I came on to the scene with all the kids and hubby trying to scold her, and I tried so hard not to laugh.




At least tried not to laugh while she could see me.



We have discovered one of the mysteries of life. Who was the first person to think of putting whipped cream on top of a already delicious pie??? Clearly, it was a frazzled mother whose pie had just been ruined. Resourceful. That's what mother's have got to be.


P.S. I know I've been blogging too much about pie. That's because I've been eating waaaay too much of it. If you see a crazy woman rolling her way through Black Friday sales next week, feel free to stop and say Hi to me. After next week, I'll have to try and break my pie addiction. I might need a support group.

Rest

Come unto me,
all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Matt. 11 :28

Sometimes we are just so tired and weary that we think we can't handle even one more thing. I have been there a few times just this week. But one of God's promises is that He will give rest. Rest! What a wonderful gift God created when he rested on the Seventh Day of Creation. He didn't need the rest because He is all Powerful, but He rested as a gift to us knowing that we would need it.

Pampering Beki hosts Fingerprint Friday every week. Join in!

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

I went to a potluck dinner this past weekend at our church. There are a lot of amazing cooks in our church so potlucks are always yummy. My hubby grabbed the last piece of a fantastic looking pie so of course I had to take a bite (or several, but whose counting. Besides you know it doesn't have any calories if the pie isn't actually on your plate right???? Right.) It tasted like pumpkin heaven, I tell you, heaven.

So while I'm normally a fairly shy and reserved person, an incredible pumpkin pie causes me to do things I probably wouldn't normally be brave enough to do. I tracked down the cook who brought it and begged for the recipe. She so kindly sent it to me so I get to share it with you. Wasn't that super nice of her????

Whisk 2 packages instant vanilla pudding with 1 cup of milk, 1 cup pumpkin, and cinnamon and nutmeg.



Have a graham cracker crust all ready to go. I made a homemade one and my pyrex pie plate got pretty full. If you purchase a pre-made crust all the filling might not fit. Plus homemade graham cracker crusts are the best-I'm just sayin.



Pour caramel into the bottom of the crust and sprinkle with pecans (oh baby!)



Add some whipped cream or cool whip to the pumpkin pudding mixture to lighten it up a bit.



Pour the pumpkin mixture into your crust and garnish with more whipped cream, caramel, and pecans. (Disclaimer: I never claimed this was a healthy pie, just yummy)



And there you have it, a pie that you can take to your relatives house to make everyone rave and it doesn't take much time at all. So would you like the recipe???? Okay, and because I like all of you so much I just happen to have it all ready to share.



Right click on the recipe and scroll down to save image as. Hopefully it will work. Let me know if you have trouble downloading the recipe.

And we have a Winner. . .

According to Random.Org Laura Sagor is the

Winner!!!

Congratulations Laura !

My VERY first Giveaway!!!

Giveaway is closed. Thanks to all who participated!

This is the time of year when we remind ourselves to give thanks for all of our many blessings. Of course, we should be thankful all year, but it is good to have a special time set aside to specifically count our blessings.

This has been the most difficult year we have ever faced in the twelve years we have been married. We lost our wee little unborn twins through miscarriage in March and my husband lost his job in May. And yet (aren't those beautiful words???) God has been so faithful to us. Supplying our needs and some of our wants. Comforting us in our sorrow. I'm so thankful for the family I have and for the little ones I so look forward to meeting in heaven.

I made this banner, using a pattern from Meringue Designs on Etsy. It is a great pattern. Yes, it is something that you could figure out how to make without a pattern, but its also kind of nice to have it all worked out so you can just sew which is the best part anyhow.

So would you like to win???? There are several ways you can enter the drawing.

1. Leave a comment telling me something you are thankful for.

2. Follow my blog and leave a separate comment telling me that you are following (Already a follower??? just put that in the comment)

3. If you want to twitter or mention the giveaway on your blog you can receive an entry for anything like that just leave another comment.

I love how it folds up and stores in a nice small little bundle☺


Please make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win! I will pick the winner using a random number generator. This giveaway will close Wednesday morning when I wake up so I have time to contact the winner and get it in the mail in time for Thanksgiving day!

Ginger Snaps

I recently baked our favorite ginger snap cookie and thought I would share the recipe.

This recipe comes from a Lutheran church (my grandma's church actually) cookbook in northern Minnesota. Let me tell you, the ladies there know how to cook and anytime you visit a home they will insist that you stay for a "little lunch" where they lay out sandwiches, jello, and cookies and send you home completely stuffed and not hungry for supper.

But of course you HAVE to eat supper so you do anyway dontcha know.☺

I hope you enjoy them!


GINGER SNAPS

1 1/2 c. shortening (I use butter instead)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c molasses
4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt

Cream shortening (or butter) and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add molasses and dry ingredients. Roll into 1 inch balls (I used a cookie scoop and didn't roll them and they were fine), roll in sugar and place on baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 350°, approximately 10 minutes. These burn if left a little too long.

Field Trip

We went to the Farm show for a home school field trip today. We had a lot of fun. I grew up on a farm and never appreciated it.

Until now.

I was NOT a good farmer's daughter. Just ask my father about the time he sent me out to chisel (which is some sort of plow I think. See???? I don't even know what farm implements are called!!!!) a field. I didn't mess up the field on purpose, truly I didn't but . . . well . . .enough of that story. Moving right along.

This is Tuesday (that really is her name-I'm not trying to mess you up on what day it is today☺), a lovely Llama introduced to us at the farm show and we enjoyed meeting her tremendously.

Little Pumpkin loved her and her eyes sparkled with joy when she got to pet her and felt how luxuriously soft she was.

Tuesday's owner explained that llama's are very sensitive creatures and are often used to help autistic children. Isn't that interesting???

There were lots of flags around today in honor of Veteran's Day.

Lots of good stuff to eat.

including the best mustard around. YUMMY!!!

There was a horseman show at 11:30. It was interesting because so much of what he said actually applied to raising children.

He said that a horse that is green broke isn't really completely broke. A friend of his was bragging about how good a horse that he had recently broke was doing and this trainer reminded him that because he was green broke that he should still expect the horse to still try to get his own way. A couple days later, the friend told him that he was right. He had gotten bucked off the horse that he thought had been trained so well.

He could have been talking about my children. Just the time I think they know what I expect and are obedient . . .

guess whose child starts crying in Walmart. Yep, one of my little sweeties whose mission in life seems to be to keep me as humble as they can.☺

We even got to go out for lunch at my hubby favorite fast food place.

Today there was. . .

Learning and trying (or better yet getting mommy to help)

Joy (and sometimes tears)

Crafting (of course☺)

Dancing

Thinking

and a whole lot of lovin'

I hope you enjoyed your day also☺

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I used to work in a little restaurant here in my small Kansas town when I was sixteen. My grandma worked in the kitchen, and my twin sister and I worked as waitresses. Good times.

They made THE BEST biscuits and gravy I have ever eaten in my entire life. Last year when my grandma moved to the nursing home, we found a copy of the recipes used in the restaurant among her stuff, but guess what recipe was missing. . .

I have searched and searched for a really good biscuit recipe and this is the best I have found so far. Great with gravy, yummy with apple butter, perfect with honey.

I like to bake them on a really cheap, ugly, aluminum pan. The kind you would think I should throw out. (I do put a piece of parchment paper on it) It makes the bottom of the biscuit really crispy. I tried my Pampered Chef stoneware but it must absorb the butter or something so the bottom of my biscuits didn't get as crispy and yummy.


Biscuits

3 cups flour
2 T. sugar
4- 1/2 tsps. baking powder
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cold butter
1 egg
1 c. milk

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Combine egg and milk; stir into the crumb mixture just until moistened. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 10-12 times. Roll out to 1 inch thickness; cut with a 2-1/2 in. biscuit cutter. (I'm really fancy and use a drinking glass☺) Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 1 dozen biscuits.

A Happy Package Came to My Door

A couple of weeks ago, Bless our Nest was having a giveaway. The giveaway was for a Pampering Beki necklace so I of course entered, but there were a ton of comments. A lot of people apparently have excellent taste☺ I never for one moment actually thought I would win. But guess what!!!!

I did!!!!

Yesterday afternoon, I received this adorable package HAND-DELIVERED by the amazing designer herself! I have so enjoyed reading her blog, and it was fun to find out that she is just as personable and full of life as she seems to be in her blog.

Shannon, thanks so much for sponsoring this amazing giveaway and Beki, thanks for the beautiful necklace. It was so fun to meet you.

Lego Airplane ✈

My oldest wanted to show you his latest Lego creation (and he took his own pictures too). So he is guest blogging today ☺:

Look! An Airplane! This is a P 38 LIGHTNING made from legos.

Cool isn't it? See the two tails behind it LOL!

How does he know what LOL is??? Oh dear. . .

Hot Scott

Have you seen Hot Scott patterns yet??? My boys always ask why I sew for the girls and not for them, but I've never seen really great and doable patterns for boys until now. So exciting. I ordered the pattern in the picture here, and it is on its way to my house! YAY!

Hello November

Yesterday, we were invited to an impromptu hot dog roast at my parent's house. It was a beautiful day, surprisingly warm actually. The perfect night for an outdoor party.

The moon wasn't quite full, but still really pretty. Pictures just don't do it justice at all.

After eating, my Dad took us all on a hay ride. It was sooooo much fun and the kid's just absolutely loved it.

It got chilly while we were on the hay ride, so when we returned we were ready to be warmed by the fire while sipping more hot chocolate and eating s'mores.

It's amazing how big a 9 year old boy's mouth can get isn't it??? Of course S'mores were involved so its completely understandable.

Yum!

The perfect ending to October. Hello November!!! I'm so glad you're here.