Second time is a charm

I started sewing last night, and I got on a roll.  I ended up finding some time to sew again today, and I pushed through and finished my apron!

I LOVE IT!

I think I just love it because it is something I can actually wear (oh vanity, vanity)!  But now that I finished my apron, I MUST make one for my son.  He will look so cute with it on while we are cookin' up somethin' good!

Ta-Da!  Why do I feel like dancing?

If you are interested in this pattern, it is Simplicity Sewing for Dummies 2824., and if you are interested in reading a more in-depth review of my experience sewing this pattern, then see the right.  

I really enjoyed putting this one together!  I can tell that I am finally starting to understand a lot of the sewing terms and diagrams.  It is making much more sense to me now this time around.  My only trouble with this pattern was the D ring tab construction on the upper left hand corner of the apron.  It took me a while to understand how the instructions were telling me to put it together.  Other than that, it was a piece of cake!

And speaking of cake, since this seems to be a cooking theme, I wanted to include one of our family's favorite recipes.  It is a hot milk sponge cake from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  It is also a low-fat yummy.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Optional Toppings

Cool whip

Strawberries or other fresh fruit

Powdered sugar

Grease a 9x9x2 inch baking pan. Set aside. 

Stir together flour and baking powder. Set aside.  

In a mixing bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer on high speed for 4 minutes or till thick.  Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed for 4-5 minutes or till light and fluffy.

Add the dry mixture and beat on low to medium speed just till combined.

In a small saucepan, heat and stir milk and butter till butter melts.  Add to batter, beating till combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 min. or till toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

Top with your desired toppings and enjoy!  Our favorite topping is Cool Whip and strawberries, but you can also have it plain with a little dusting of powdered sugar!

Stay sew-filled!

I'm no dummy!

The project for this week is actually something that I started on a couple of years ago when I first became interested in sewing.  I remember going to Walmart, browsing through the sewing pattern catalogs in order to choose my first special project.  It was then that I came across the Sewing for Dummies collection made by Simplicity.  I thought to myself "Well, the books are wildly popular for various subjects, so why not a sewing pattern?  I'm no dummy! I can easily sew one of these patterns!"

So I bought this pattern that very day:

Not only did I buy the pattern, but I bought all the fabric and necessary items for this pattern to be sewn.  I was so encouraged by the little man displayed on the left hand corner of the pattern, stating "Stitch up a storm the fun and easy way."  In the end, did I have fun? No.  Was it easy?  No.  Did I stitch up a storm?  Yes, but not in the way I should have.

I am reluctant to pick up this project again, yet I really want to make an apron, because I love to bake with my 3 year old son.  We have a ball in the kitchen, and he is such a big helper!  As you can also see, this pattern has a kid's apron as well.  I'm going to try my hand at finishing an apron for myself first, but I would love to make an apron for my son as well (appropriately boy-themed, and probably in the color blue, his favorite).  Who knows?  He may be a chef one day!

Keep me in your thoughts as the week goes on.  I know that there are no really complicated skills for this projects, it is just understanding the pattern jargon/instructions.  Yes, even with Sewing for Dummies!

Stay sew-filled in every way!

Back in action!

I am back on the scene, and this time I have a finished oven mitt!

I have spent the last couple of days doing things for this project here and there, and I finally stuck it out and finished it!  I don't know how, but to my surprise, it came out looking like an oven mitt!

After looking at my finished project, my husband remarked "Wow!  That's really good!  It looks like an oven mitt you would buy!  My baby is becoming a regular seamstress!"

I must say it felt awesome to hear him say that, yet another part of me wanted to say "hey, wait a minute, you didn't think I could do this well in the first place?"  But no, all kidding aside, it was a nice compliment to receive.

Here are the pics...

These next photos I just had a little fun...

This is the mitt in our kitchen, hanging from the cabinet.

This picture makes me think of comfort food, like mac n'cheese, or mashed potatoes, or a yummy casserole.  If I had a great recipe to give you, I would post it here, but I don't, SORRY.  Either way, I look forward to using my oven mitt to take out lots of my hot dishes.

As far as sewing this went, this was one of those projects that, now that I look back on it, was not hard, only time-consuming because I am still learning.  There was nothing particularly difficult about this project.  I even got the hang of sewing on the binding, though I would like to work on making the start and finish of the binding come together more seamlessly.

For a more in-depth review, see the right.

I haven't decided what the next project will be yet.  I was thinking about an apron.  Hmmm...

Stay sew-filled until we meet again!

Stalled...

Hey everyone!

I hope the start of this week has been great for everyone!

Everything is good on this end, except for the rain outside.  It is a bit dreary today, so I thought I would work on finishing up my oven mitt.  Of course I hadn't anticipated that it would take me a little more time than I usually take.  This is in part due to the fact that I have to make binding for the mitt, and I have never done that before.  I hear that most people do not like making it.  Also, am using my walking foot for the first time!  Now installing it has not been bad at all, and I really like the way my machine sews with it attached.  I just have to stay the course and finish up some odds and ends with this mitt.

In the meantime, I was surfing around the Internet when I discovered a really cool website.  It is the website to Threads magazine.  I am a fan of Threads magazine, and I have recently considered subscribing, so I was checking out what they offered online.  To my surprise, there is a section there that is for beginning sewers, like me!

This section includes online videos that are designed to help the beginner sewer.  I watched most of them last night to make sure I am on track, and I learned a few things here and there.  I can't wait for more videos to come out, so check it out here if you are interested.

I'll be catching up with you all soon!

Stay sew-filled!