I found myself this morning in the Dahli Java (by the Byrne Dairy on Main Street in Canandaigua if you're looking for it) on my way to a tailoring mission. I don't drink coffee, but knowing that Scott does hot chocolate during the cold months of the farm market, I ventured to ask if he did hot chocolate in his shop as well. To my great delight, the answer was yes. However, little did I know what a heavenly treat I was in for.
Not only does he do hot chocolate in his shop, but it's REAL hot chocolate the kind he makes right there, not the stuff you get from a box. It was steaming hot when I got it, so I let it sit in the car for about a half hour while running my errands. When I returned, it had cooled to just the right temperature, so I proceeded to consume what would be the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted! Sure beats the heck out of box cocoa. Next time I'm near there, I'll probably have to go back for more!
As for the tailoring mission, it will be something new. I've replaced countless zippers in my sewing ventures, but this will be the first time I'm replacing just the zipper slider on an otherwise fine zipper track. Doesn't appear as though it will be too difficult though, so I rather look forward to the new adventure.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
The Joys of Winter
I'm sure that most people hate me for saying it, but I love winter! I finally get to relax a bit. The holidays are over, real estate is slow, and it's too cold and snowy for anything much in the line of farming which means I get to clean up all the loose ends on half finished projects. Today I have finally returned to the Clint Eastwood serape.
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| Clint Eastwood in Fist Full of Dollars |
After digging it out a few weeks ago to find the moth eaten yarn fiasco, I'd done basically nothing with it, other than storing it in a slightly more "moth-proof" container. But today, I actually added two inches to the loom.
I was too, shall we say, lazy to be authentic enough to weave the white yarn patterns into it, so I'm kind of cheating by weaving the green part first, then embroidering the white lines on afterward. I love crewel wool embroidery anyway, so it's double the fun.
Thus far I've got the entire first side woven with about half the white lines embroidered. I figured I'd weave the second half before doing anymore embroidery since the weaving is the harder part and I'm always up for getting rid of the harder parts first.
The loom itself is just the old-fashioned kind, four pieces of scrap-wood nailed together, the warp strung on that and a little wooden sardine box cover that I wrap yarn around to use as a shuttle. Hand weaving at its most traditional.
In all, I've got around 6 inches of the second side woven. Only two more feet to go! (I'm gonna be here a while.)
Monday, December 27, 2010
Iron-on transfer paper shirt
One of my cousins is a Charlie Brown nut. I think he has every line in the Christmas and Great Pumpkin specials memorized. So this year for Christmas, we wanted to give him a shirt from one of the Charlie Brown specials, but store-bought shirts can be so generic. We decided to have a bit more fun and customize one with iron-on transfer paper.
Iron-on transfer paper is one of the coolest things they ever invented in the craft department. It's so versatile; it can be used on clothes, bags, quilts; pretty much anything made of some type of fabric. It's easy to use and 100% washable. A little imagination and a half-way decent printer and the possibilities are endless.
First we searched the Internet for screen captures from Merry Christmas Charlie Brown (in particular searching for the "five good reasons" scene). After locating suitable images, we altered them in paint to add the word bubbles, then we printed the two images on a sheet of iron-on transfer paper.
The most important thing to remember with iron-on transfer paper, especially when there are words involved, is that the finished item will have a mirror image of what you see on your computer, so flip the image backwards before printing it onto the paper. (I forgot to print the image backward the first time I used this stuff, but fortunately realized the mistake before I actually ironed it on or my letters would have ended up backward!)
To transfer the image to fabric, place the fabric on a hard surface (not a cushy ironing board) and using dry heat, continuously move the iron around the sheet in circular motions for about one minute total, giving particular attention to the edges. Then you can immediately peel off the paper backing, or if you want a glossy finish, wait until it has cooled before removing the backing.
The transfer area of the fabric usually stiff at first, but after a few washings, it softens up.
Iron-on transfer paper is one of the coolest things they ever invented in the craft department. It's so versatile; it can be used on clothes, bags, quilts; pretty much anything made of some type of fabric. It's easy to use and 100% washable. A little imagination and a half-way decent printer and the possibilities are endless.
First we searched the Internet for screen captures from Merry Christmas Charlie Brown (in particular searching for the "five good reasons" scene). After locating suitable images, we altered them in paint to add the word bubbles, then we printed the two images on a sheet of iron-on transfer paper.
The most important thing to remember with iron-on transfer paper, especially when there are words involved, is that the finished item will have a mirror image of what you see on your computer, so flip the image backwards before printing it onto the paper. (I forgot to print the image backward the first time I used this stuff, but fortunately realized the mistake before I actually ironed it on or my letters would have ended up backward!)
To transfer the image to fabric, place the fabric on a hard surface (not a cushy ironing board) and using dry heat, continuously move the iron around the sheet in circular motions for about one minute total, giving particular attention to the edges. Then you can immediately peel off the paper backing, or if you want a glossy finish, wait until it has cooled before removing the backing.
The transfer area of the fabric usually stiff at first, but after a few washings, it softens up.
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| Close up of images |
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| Full shirt |
Sunday, December 19, 2010
A Christmas Cookie Party
Most everyone who celebrates Christmas also takes part in the simple joy of making Christmas cookies. There is something very satisfactory about rolling out a lump of cookie dough and pressing in cookie cutters of all shapes and sizes. The aroma of the baking cookies fills the kitchen as more cookies are cut and once they’re all baked to that perfect golden hue, the real fun of frosting them arrives. What can make this holiday tradition even more fun, however, is turning the event into a whole cookie-baking party.
Assuming you get along well with your extended family, invite everyone to take part in a fun night of cookie baking and decorating. Make several batches of cookie dough a few days ahead of the party and keep them in the freezer. On the day of the cookie party, pull them out a few hours before the cookie makers arrive. If you don’t have a large table, spread the cookie cutters, rolling pins and frosting containers out on several tables to ensure there is plenty for all. And if someone runs out of something, the cookie supplies can easily be passed back and forth between tables. Waxed paper taped to the tables and sprinkled with a little bit of flour will protect the tables and make a good dough-rolling surface.
Have one person in charge of the oven who can collect the cookie trays filled with cutouts and bake them. It will keep everything flowing smoothly. Also don’t limit your party to just sugar cookies. With so many people, everyone might have different tastes. Ginger snaps make excellent cutouts, especially when smeared with vanilla frosting, and there are many chocolate cookie recipes that lend themselves well to becoming Christmas cookies.
And most important of all, don’t forget to have fun! There are no rules when it comes to cookie making, they can be as traditional or as crazy as you like, and in my family we’ve found that when the cousins get together, the cookies usually end up pretty crazy. This year we created a batman cookie out of an angel whose head ended up with pointed ears in the oven. And out of the last bits of dough, we fashioned the dark mark from Harry Potter, which ended up being frosted with an appropriately eerie shade of green. (Don’t ask us what that had to do with Christmas, because we don’t know, we just know it was fun!)
Assuming you get along well with your extended family, invite everyone to take part in a fun night of cookie baking and decorating. Make several batches of cookie dough a few days ahead of the party and keep them in the freezer. On the day of the cookie party, pull them out a few hours before the cookie makers arrive. If you don’t have a large table, spread the cookie cutters, rolling pins and frosting containers out on several tables to ensure there is plenty for all. And if someone runs out of something, the cookie supplies can easily be passed back and forth between tables. Waxed paper taped to the tables and sprinkled with a little bit of flour will protect the tables and make a good dough-rolling surface.
Have one person in charge of the oven who can collect the cookie trays filled with cutouts and bake them. It will keep everything flowing smoothly. Also don’t limit your party to just sugar cookies. With so many people, everyone might have different tastes. Ginger snaps make excellent cutouts, especially when smeared with vanilla frosting, and there are many chocolate cookie recipes that lend themselves well to becoming Christmas cookies.
And most important of all, don’t forget to have fun! There are no rules when it comes to cookie making, they can be as traditional or as crazy as you like, and in my family we’ve found that when the cousins get together, the cookies usually end up pretty crazy. This year we created a batman cookie out of an angel whose head ended up with pointed ears in the oven. And out of the last bits of dough, we fashioned the dark mark from Harry Potter, which ended up being frosted with an appropriately eerie shade of green. (Don’t ask us what that had to do with Christmas, because we don’t know, we just know it was fun!)
Saturday, December 4, 2010
This is what happens when sheep get angry...
Ok, so sheep are usually cute, cuddly, wooly, adorable little critters, but in all honesty, Ziah (my sheep) isn't one of them. Sure he's cute and adorable, but as far as cuddly, forget it. Like a small child he tends to have a large temper when he doesn't get his way. Last night was such a time.
When it came time to put him in the barn for the evening (which we do to protect him from the coyotes), he decided that he wasn't quite ready to go in. So in one quick movement, he focused all his energy on the door, and banged himself into it as hard as he could, ripping the door right off his barn, latch, hinges and all.
So, here is Ziah's handywork - This is what happens when sheep get angry.
It's going to be a fun day reattaching the door tomorrow. Somehow I don't think superglue is gonna fix it.
When it came time to put him in the barn for the evening (which we do to protect him from the coyotes), he decided that he wasn't quite ready to go in. So in one quick movement, he focused all his energy on the door, and banged himself into it as hard as he could, ripping the door right off his barn, latch, hinges and all.
So, here is Ziah's handywork - This is what happens when sheep get angry.
It's going to be a fun day reattaching the door tomorrow. Somehow I don't think superglue is gonna fix it.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
T-Shirt Dress
I had a bag of extra t-shirts lying around, so I had either the option to cut them up and make a rug for my bedroom floor or try out a dress idea I had. I went with the dress idea, but as often happens, I gave away the finished product before taking a picture, so you'll just have to use your imagination for this one.
Most kids have a T-shirt or two that they don't wear very often. These unused garments can be put to good use in this project. To begin this dress all you need is a simple T-shirt, a piece of material around 2 yards long and one inch wider than the desired height of skirt. Any type of light material such as calico or homespun will do nicely. Choose a well fitting T-shirt, not skin tight, but not too loose and baggy either. (As an alternative for weather changes, a long-sleeved T-shirt or a turtleneck could be used in colder months, and a tank top can be used for hotter summer months.)
The T-shirt makes up the top portion of the dress, all you will have to do is make and attach the skirt. To form the skirt, sew the two ends of the fabric together. Next you will need to make box pleats along one of the edges (don't cut the bias off the top edge, it will keep it from unraveling as you pleat it). Run a set of stitches through the edge of the skirt, about an inch from the top. Each stitch should be about an inch wide, with an inch in between each stitch. This is best done by hand. Next run a second row of stitches exactly like the first row, an inch below the first one. Do not tie off the thread ends on either row.
Pull the ends of the thread on both rows tight, creating gathers in the fabric. Pull them up until the pleated opening is the same width as the bottom of the T-shirt. Turn the skirt inside out. Turn the T-shirt upside down, but leave it right side out. Slip it inside the skirt so that the bottom of the shirt is touching the top of the skirt. Sew the skirt to the shirt.
Turn the entire project right side out. The skirt and T-shirt should now be fully connected forming a complete dress. Hem the bottom of the skirt to finish the garment.
The fabric chosen for the skirt can make this dress fit into any season depending on the pattern. Calicoes can be good for any time of the year. Floral patterns hearken to the warm, sunny days of spring and summer. Brightly colored fall leaves or pumpkin pattern fabrics would make cute autumn or Halloween dresses. And fabrics that include poinsettia flowers or evergreen trees would work well for the winter months and holidays. The possibilities are practically limitless.
Most kids have a T-shirt or two that they don't wear very often. These unused garments can be put to good use in this project. To begin this dress all you need is a simple T-shirt, a piece of material around 2 yards long and one inch wider than the desired height of skirt. Any type of light material such as calico or homespun will do nicely. Choose a well fitting T-shirt, not skin tight, but not too loose and baggy either. (As an alternative for weather changes, a long-sleeved T-shirt or a turtleneck could be used in colder months, and a tank top can be used for hotter summer months.)
The T-shirt makes up the top portion of the dress, all you will have to do is make and attach the skirt. To form the skirt, sew the two ends of the fabric together. Next you will need to make box pleats along one of the edges (don't cut the bias off the top edge, it will keep it from unraveling as you pleat it). Run a set of stitches through the edge of the skirt, about an inch from the top. Each stitch should be about an inch wide, with an inch in between each stitch. This is best done by hand. Next run a second row of stitches exactly like the first row, an inch below the first one. Do not tie off the thread ends on either row.
Pull the ends of the thread on both rows tight, creating gathers in the fabric. Pull them up until the pleated opening is the same width as the bottom of the T-shirt. Turn the skirt inside out. Turn the T-shirt upside down, but leave it right side out. Slip it inside the skirt so that the bottom of the shirt is touching the top of the skirt. Sew the skirt to the shirt.
Turn the entire project right side out. The skirt and T-shirt should now be fully connected forming a complete dress. Hem the bottom of the skirt to finish the garment.
The fabric chosen for the skirt can make this dress fit into any season depending on the pattern. Calicoes can be good for any time of the year. Floral patterns hearken to the warm, sunny days of spring and summer. Brightly colored fall leaves or pumpkin pattern fabrics would make cute autumn or Halloween dresses. And fabrics that include poinsettia flowers or evergreen trees would work well for the winter months and holidays. The possibilities are practically limitless.
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