Wow, it’s been so long since I blogged that the interface of WordPress has changed.

When did that happen?

Well it’s been since August that I shared anything.  Oopps!  Sometimes life gets a little too busy and I drop the ball.  Here is a little montage of what has been going on.  It goes from Party Dress to Christmas.

A party dress for playing!

But that is just the beginning-  I have been sewing (and cooking!?!) up a storm these last few months.  Some of the other sewing includes but is not limited to:

A party dress for playing 2011!

embroidering gifts… until the machine broke!

Again working the machine in the Christmas spirit

Etsy holiday gifts 2011

Etsy Holiday Gifts 2011

New skirt for my etsy shop.

The only cooking that I managed to photograph.

I have also been marinating on some ideas for a line of clothing and/or soft furnishing 100% re-purposed for the thrift store.  I have found some AMAZING textiles at some of my favorite “digs” here in Seattle like the Dearborn Goodwill or its sister store the Goodwill Outlet (if you are a Germ-a-phobe this place is not for you).  I guess I just don’t know if people would be as excited about reclaimed leather/ linen/ cotton as I am.

And I have been cooking, here are some recipes I have used over the last couple of months:

• Italian Focaccia This was so awesome there were no leftovers!
• Black Bean Burger I liked this recipe but I want to find something closer to beef (yeah, I know longshot!)
• Grilled Pears and sausage– So good I wished I doubled the recipe.
• Crunchy Crackers– A little to crunchy- my jaw hurt:(
• Artichoke Dip–  This is like crack so watch out (consider yourself warned and just double the recipe!)

There are other things that I heard about so created my own version like the fennel and sausage Quiche:

The only cooking that I managed to photograph.

We have also been doing a fair amount of juicing over the last month and we also might commit to a juice fast for the New Year… although I really don’t know if we can do that… I mean I am a meat and potatoes girl.  I know it will be good to clear out the system but it is going to be kind of torturous.  My husband suggested it at the beginning of this month and I logically pushed it back noting that Christmas would be hard and that the New Year is great for gimmicks like that.

Also I did finish the bridesmaid dresses I talked about rolling out but I don’t have photography of any of it yet and the wedding dress is in mock-up form so I did not completely drop the ball on that idea.  It’s a slow build!

Hey look… 3 more free apron patterns.

Seems like when it rains… it pours free patterns:

–Nancy’s Sewing Basket (safe haven/ evil addiction employer) also put out a simple apron pattern they call the Manhattan Apron.  Here are PDF one  and PDF two.

-While I was surfing I found that Selvedge Magazine put out a cute little free PDF called Tie Your Own Apron Strings to promote the book Learn to Sew by Alison Reid

-Cool blogger Still Dottie  has a free how to for a Smock Apron with awesome graphic for pattern.

Free Apron pattern… because I LUV SUMMER.

Ice Tea Anyone?

Materials:

½ —–yard of a base fabric (I used an Indian cotton voile).

¾  —–yard of a coordinating fabric (I used a Jay McCarroll printed cotton).

2 ¼ —–yards of ribbon (I used two grosgrain ribbons layered and stitch with a machine   embroidery stitch).

-Wash all fabric to clean and shrink.  All seams are ½”

-Cut from coordinating print:

1 Pocket- pattern PDF

1 Waistband- 6”x 22”

1 Bottom Band- 6”x 45”

2 Ties- 31” x 2 ½”

-Finish sides (selvedges) of base fabric and stitch two rows of basting (long machine stitches) at 3/8” and ½” from top.

-Stitch right side of bottom band to wrong side of base fabric (If using a directional print-it should be sew here upside-down). Press seam toward bottom band.  Fold bottom in half, right sides together, fold seam allowance back towards wrong side and stitch sides of bottom band.  Flip right sides out, press and top stitch long seam catching all raw edges in bottom band “sandwich”.  Center ribbon on bottom band and stitch both edges.

-Stitch darts in pocket and press.  Finish top edge.  Fold top of pocket at notch with right sides together. Stitch sides. Flip flap (he-he) right sides out.  Sew basting stitches centered at 1 ½” and gather pocket to 6 ½”.  Pin ribbon into place over gathers and stitch both edges.  Press raw edges of pocket to wrong side ½”.

– Position outside pocket corner 4” down from the top and six inches from the side of base (On the right side of the base if you are right handed and left side if you are left handed).  Pin and edge stitch pocket on to base.

big enough for several wood spoons- the cadillac of pockets!

-Fold ties in half right sides together and stitch down long raw edge and one short end.  Use a chop stick to push the right side out.  Make sure corners are carefully picked out.  Press flat.

-Gather top of base to 21”

-Sew right side of waistband to wrong side of the top of the base adjusting gathers evenly to fit within the seam allowance of the waistband.

-Baste ties to right side of waistband 2” up from the base with raw edges of ties lined up with raw side edges of waistband.  Fold waistband in half right sides together, fold seam allowance to wrong side and stitch the side catching the ties.  Flip right sides out, press seam allowance towards the waistband.  Top stitch long seam catching all raw edges in the “sandwich” of the waistband.

-You are now ready to cook!!

AND… this is just the beginning- you could add pockets, change pockets (there are a bazillion pocket shapes if you google images of vintage aprons), quilt the bands, use ribbon for the ties, add lace to the bottom, attach glitter and Christmas bells, add piping to the waistband and pocket, cross-stitch or embroidery, give it a theme for a friend, use ric- rac, appliqué fruits on there, you could bedazzle the crap out of it if you want.

Just like home.

Seattle is starting to look like Tahoe (where I spent my childhood) with its 6-12 inches of snow over the last two days.
In other news- I made nuts instead of going to work today. I made a sweet batch and a savory batch.

Sweet batch:
6 cup raw nut mix (I used three pecan and three almond)
3 egg whites
2 T. water
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. ginger
1 T. all spice
2 t. clove
2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 300. Whisk egg white and water in large bowl, add nuts and mix to coat. In medium bowl mix well sugar and all the spices. Gently stir in to nut mixture. Grease two rimmed cookie sheets (I used spay olive oil).  Divide nuts evenly on the two cookie sheets. Bake for 25 minute stirring every eight to ten minutes. Remove from oven and store in air tight container for up to two weeks.

Savory Batch (kinda from a Martha Stewart Magazine):
3 cups capers (this gets expensive if you cannot buy in bulk)
6 cups assorted raw nuts (I used cashews and almonds)
1 quart canola oil
one medium lemon
2 t. black pepper

Drain and completely dry capers on paper towels patting occasionally (about one hr.) Heat oil in a wok to approx. 350 degrees.  Add capers to oil 1/4 cup at a time and fry until golden brown (approx. three minutes)- just like Martha to fry capers. Retrieve with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Reserve 3 T. oil. Discard oil (or use for salad dressing and other such things). Zest entire lemon (roughly 2T.) and juice entire lemon (3 T).   In a large bowl combined nuts, oil, 2 T lemon juice, and pepper. Divide between two rimmed cookie sheets. Bake for 20- 25 stirring every 8-10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes then add the fryed capers, the zest and the rest of the lemon juice. Toss and store in air tight container.  

Both recipes are D-BOMB!! The savory recipe is a great mix of flavors but I got to eat it with a spoon.  The sweet recipe is what I call a popper- you pop pieces in your mouth until all the sudden its gone.

 

CHEERS!!!