Girl it Up

At my MOPS group, we do a yearly Baby Boutique. It's so much fun, everybody brings stuff they don't use anymore and we divide it into $1 and $5 items. Most of the $1 stuff is 3 items for a dollar like clothes or toys. $5 items are big things like strollers, high chairs, jumpers, etc. We do it during a MOPS meeting and each table gets 5 minutes to shop. So, it's pretty fair. The first table obviously gets first pick, but they only have 5 minutes. Well, I was in the room helping with running it and one of the moms that has infant twin girls was debating this shopping cart cover.

I told her, it's cute and could go girl or boy. She wanted it to look more girly. I said, "That would be easy, just get some ribbon and sew it on." She didn't quite know if it would be that easy, so, she asked if I could do that part...

This is what she brought me.

And this is what I did...

Not so boring anymore. I like the way it turned out. I hope she does too! Of course I had to add a little pouch. What shopping cart cover is complete without a pouch for toys and pacifiers?

Kristen

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Summer Dress

Yea! I manage to do some sewing yesterday. It was nice! Sunday night was my first night of real sleep since the Poison Oak thing started. Last night I was back to no sleep. I thought I could do it with out benadryl but. I was wrong! I ended up taking it along with a scalding shower at 2 am. Now, onto sewing.

Remember this?

Well, I had a lot of extra fabric to do something with. I thought a little smocked dress would be cute for the little sister of the boy who goes in that baby carrier. Here is what I cut for my dress.

I didn't have much fabric to make the skirt very twirly, but this worked. I cut the top and bottom separate because I wanted to do the slashing thing I told you about before. Basically, I took this, sewed the top right sides together, the skirt right sides together, then the top and bottom together. I finished all the hems and seams nicely, added straps and did the smocking last.

Here is what it turned out like. It's a bit big for L, but I did it to the measurements to her little girl that is older and taller.

I made the back with button holes and the straps long enough to be crisscrossed. Hopefully I can get a picture of her little girl wearing the dress so you can see it all filled out.

I was good to be sewing again!

Kristen

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A Little Down Time

I'm just writing to let you all know, I'm still here. I didn't abandon my blog. We went on a hike in Black Star Canyon last Sunday.

And... I got a little poison oak. Well, not a little. Here is the side of my left knee.

I know, it's quite gross. But this is after 7 days and it is SO much better! This is the good side of my right calf. It's actually healing.

So, this week I have not forgotten about you my wonderful readers and I have not forgotten about sewing or knitting. I have just been so miserable that I can't really enjoy anything. I have basically been staying home in my underwear and a tank top because clothes make me more uncomfortable. The only relief I get is when I am in a shower turned as hot as it will go with the water spraying directly on my rashes. Yes, rashes! It's on my legs, arms and shoulder. You can even see a break in the rash where my tank top protected the skin.

Here is a little lesson I learned, if hiking in an area with poison oak, wear pants and long sleeves. When you get home immediately dump everything including shoes in the washer and take a cold shower incase you did get any oil on you, it won't absorb more by the hot water opening your pores.

If you have the rash, the extreme hot release the histamines in your skin, that's why it is such relief. The relief lasts for about 2 hours.

Ok, after all that ick, I have to post a cute picture of my kids before Easter Service Friday night. This is much more pleasant then the rash pictures.

I do have a dress I need to make. I think I might actually be up to it tomorrow. I really would like to get it done before Tuesday so I can give it to the friend that I made the carrier cover for. Now, I just have to decide on what style I want the dress to be.

Kristen

Hummus

We love hummus around here and it's so darn expensive for how fast we go through it. I thought making my own would be just as good and a little cheeper.

I sure was right!

Here is what I needed for the original recipe + a cucumber. I didn't like the cucumber hummus so I omitted it and added more garlic.

Recipe:

1/3 c tahini sause

1 can garbanzo beans

1 T olive oil

1/2 c lemon juice

4 cloves garlic

1 t garlic powder

I blended it all together and it needed a little something more, so I added Franks Red Hot sause, red pepper and a tad garlic salt and paprika. Much better!

Here is the final recipe. I don't really measure when I cook so amounts are guestimated.

Hummus:

1/3 c tahini sause

1 can garbanzo beans

1 T olive oil

1/2 c lemon juice

4 cloves garlic

1 t garlic powder

1 t Franks Red Hot

1/4 t red pepper

sprinkling of garlic salt

sprinkling of paprika

For some reason my kids are pretending to swim in the house today. It's actually cold out today. C is trying the hummus with a white carrot from the garden.

L already ate up her hummus and is now having a "Daddy Shake."

It must be good!

How could I resist putting this picture up of L waiting for me to make the hummus.

Since I showed you the "Daddy Shake" that we have almost daily, I'll give you another recipe...

Daddy Shake

1 banana

4 oz oat milk

hand full rolled oats

spoon full of peanut butter

3-4 ice cubes

Variation: add a scoop of choc, honey or agave. My kids like it with or without the other stuff. I usually add honey though.

I hope you like it as much as we do! Oh, but I won't drink the shake. Peanut butter and banana is just wrong!

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The Garden is Planted

I am SO excited! I have been waiting and waiting for the huge plant sale at the arboretum. Finally, this weekend it was here.

Here is what my planter boxes have looked like since we got a huge truck full of soil that we had to shovel into the boxes.

At least I have some other stuff growing in the garden all year.

We just planted this a few months ago. I actually planted 3, but this is the only one that really took off. The other two are small.

Lots of onions and some garlic.

I got to the arboretum by about 10:30 and it was already a good 85 degrees. That's ok, I just wanted all my organic veggie plants. Once we got in I went straight to the organic booth.

All in all, I ended up with 48 plants for about $56. I know it doesn't look like 51 plants, but some of those like the pole beans have 4 or 5 in one container. They are pretty easy to split.

Here is my first planter box, remember the peppers? Well, I got one more and added some basil and garlic to the box. The garlic didn't transplant well so it doesn't look so pretty. I also added one more pepper. A yellow one.

You can click on that picture to see the 5 bush beans in one little container. :-) That is so exciting.

In this box, I have 12 corn, 8 pole beans and 4 cucumbers.

Here I have, 1 crimson watermelon, 5 bush beans, 1 muskmelon, 1 zuccini, 2 butternut squash, 1 squash with a hard green outer shell and the rest I don't know because Mr. C planted them and didn't keep the tags. So, it will be a surprise. But there are 16 plants in all. So fun! I will have to show pictures in a month so you can see the growth. I just learned that the butternut and other squashes with the hard outer skin will keep all winter long. I hope I get a ton.

Here are 5 tomatoes, 3 celery (transplanted), 2 peanut plants and 1 egg plant. I am totally excited about the peanut plants. They will be very fun!

Last, I have these 2 cucumbers that Mr. C is trying. It's a new self watering space saver thing. So far, so good.

Can't wait to see it grow and eat it up!

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Beco Baby Carrier Cover

Yea! A tutorial. I love doing tutorials because I always loved finding them. They have helped me grow as a sewer. So, today I have a new baby carrier cover, this one is for a Beco, but I've done them for an Ergo also. The Beco is a bit easier to cover. This cover was needed for a friend that has a little boy, but a girly carrier. She bought fabric she liked and gave me the carrier and cover to turn cutesy boy.

Before:

After:

First, I traced the shape onto my lovely newspaper pattern paper. I added a 1/2 inch for inseam and 1/2 inch for wiggle room. Then I added an extra inch at the bottom, 1/2 inch for the hem and the 1/2 inch wiggle room. I didn't want it too tight when the baby is in the carrier.

Next, I cut out my fabric. Fold it over to cut 2 at the same time.

On the fabric I had to make marks for where the straps and buckles need to fit through. I just put them on the fabric and used a sharpie on the wrong side. When you make a mark for the buckle to fit through, make sure you do it wide enough for the buckle and not just the strap. I made that mistake once. It was very annoying.

After, all that I zig zagged all the way around both pieces of fabric. Then sewed it right sides together all the way around EXCEPT in-between my little strap marks. Mark that with double pins as a reminder. I figure this is basic sewing - sewing a straight line all the way around the edge - you don't need a pic. Oh, leave the bottom open. :-)

Ok, back to pictures...

After I sewed it inside out, I ironed the seams open. Then I did a very tight zig zag at the top and bottom of the opening to give it strength. You put your machine on a .5 or 1 stitch width and sew at the top and bottom of the opeing. It looks a little like a button hole.

This step is a little tricky, sew the seams open, it gives a nice top stitch to the outside and holds the seams nicely in place. The tricky part was when I got to the top corners, it was hard to stitch around that. Still, I did it, I did have a few little areas I had to unstitch and re-do., but I got through it.

Once that is done, you are ready to do the hem, fold it under and sew. I did a double stitch to match the side seams.

Now, you are done! Fit it on your carrier and wear your baby cutely.

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