Stash busting cushion

So, I found a chair on the curb. 

It needed some love. And a cushion. I didn't know how, nor want to attempt recaning it, so I just hot glued the dangling loose pieces of cane. 

My goal was to buy nothing and to use up some of my supply stash. I traced a cushion shape on some old wrapping paper and transferred the pattern to some stretch denim I had. 

I sewed parallel seams across the two panels to connect them and then stuffed the channels with fabric scraps - lots of them.

The edges were finished with a foldover bias tape edge made of the blue denim. It's actually pretty comfortable!

Reversible Bag

Back on track! I've fallen behind schedule, but that's ok. It wasn't really a commitment.

Here is the reversible bag I made:

I used this Reversible Bag Tutorial from Novita of VeryPurplePerson, which was drawn to my attention by a friend's pin from Sew Fine Fabric.

I like my pocket:

Both blogs mentioned using 1/2 yard of each fabric, but I found that wasn't quite enough. The width of my fabric (I used designs by Ellen Luckett Baker for Kokka, which I believe is 43") wasn't quite long enough for the full strap length on the pattern. The purse is certainly still usable, but I would have preferred the longer straps.

Dinosaur Applique

My nephew turned 6 this week. How did that happen?? I will always remember the call that woke me up to announce his arrival in the world.

He happens to be an expert on dinosaurs, and a big fan of the color yellow, so this is what I made him for his birthday.

I was worried that he might be concerned about the lack of scientific accuracy--this is a guy who can sketch the evolutionary tree of all such prehistoric creatures--but I hear he was pleased. He even noted that it was sewn, rather than silkscreened. He appreciates the craftiness!

I bought the organic shirt from American Apparel and used my stash for the applique. I thought the polka dot scrap had dinosaur written all over it.

My Summer Un-Challenge

I don't like the commitment part of all the sewing challenges I see on my favorite blogs. I suppose I fear the commitment part. Or I dread recognizing that I have failed in my commitment....

So this is not a challenge. Or a commitment. More like a nebulous optimistic concept.

I would like to reach the end of the summer feeling proud that I have sewn one project each week. Can you see me visualizing success?

This is my first project. I used cotton knit from my stash to make a pair of soft shorts for H. This modification of the Oliver & S Sandbox Pants has become her favorite pattern.

Stash busting

I'm on a mission to declutter.  So here's a stab at turning my big box of fabric scraps into something useful. From this:

To this:

It's twine. Not sure what I'll use it for but I now know I can escape from a second story window with a bed sheet. And several hours warning. 

Pajama day

Plan:  

Execution: 

T-shirt with flannel appliqué and reverse appliqué of soccer ball fabric. Embroidery floss detail. 

Why lazy people don't make good bakers

I offered to bake something for a school function. Usually, I'd make banana bread, but I've been wanting to make a smitten kitchen recipe I read about - grapefruit olive oil cake. I just happened to have both ingredients in the title. Nice. 

I even read the recipe in advance and noticed that it called for buttermilk. Something I definitely don't have on hand. I thought about buying it. And also knew I could make soured milk with milk and vinegar as a substitute. I wasn't 100% sure it would work for a cake since I'd only previously used it for salad dressing, but figured I could give it a shot. 

So, when it came down to it, laziness won and I did not stop on the way home. 

Now I knew we had eggs because F had brought some home from my parents. Turns out he had brought home eggs. Plural. 2. And one had already been eaten. 

I needed two and when I said I was heading out to the store, he offered to borrow some from the neighbors. 

So now I was set. I set about making zest. Which is an awful job. It started ok, but about 3/4 of the way through, this grater stopped working. Literally stopped working. The peel became impervious to sharp things and the whole grapefruit turned to mush. 

So I turned to a new tool. And a new fruit. Some huge random citrusy thing I found in the crisper. Pomelo?  I suppose it worked, but it sure took a lot of knuckle scraping effort. 

I now really want the microplane tool my mom has. 

Turns out I had overlooked the "turbinado sugar" that the recipe called for. A quick google search suggested that brown sugar would work. I even used up four sugar in the raw packets I found. Things are good so far. 

Next step is flour. A staple. Except we are nearly out. Because I have forbidden F from buying bulk pantry items and made him return the 25 lb sack he had bought from Costco. I need 1.5 cups. We have what appears to be 1.35 cups. There is no google substitute for flour. Good enough. 

I just avoid accidentally using 1t of baking soda and 1/4t of baking powder when the recipe calls for the reverse and am in the home stretch. 

I go to preheat the oven. And see this. 

F's cast iron obsession. There are 8. They are heavy. There is no counter space at all. I decide to use downstairs oven. 

I look for loaf pan. Realize I gave it away. Decide 3 mini loafs will work instead. Go to grease and flour said loaf pans. I am out of flour. Google it. Conflicting advice suggests powdered sugar, oatmeal(!) and boxed cake mix as substitutes. I decide to just use olive oil spray. 

Now previous recipes have led me to believe 3 mini loafs are the same volume as 1 regular loaf pan. Not in this case. I have enough batter for 2. 

I start washing dishes. We are out of dish soap. I use hand soap. 

It is getting dark in kitchen. Because our ceiling light fixture is out. Bulb works. Light doesn't. 

I head downstairs. Luckily, I remember that mini loaves take less time to bake. This recipe calls for 45min to 1 hour of baking time. I check at 25 min. Cakes are done. 

They look beautiful. We'll see how they taste...