Sleepyheads

I think this week I will introduce you to some doll friends. These two belong to my mom and are about fifty years old. They're all soft and wiggly and they're very deep sleepers. My mom loves to hold them in the palm of her hand.

One day, I was looking through a book about houseplants, and look why I spied!


Sweet dreams, sleepyheads.

Potatocakes

Mom's potatocakes. Not potato pancakes. Not latkes. Not potato cakes. It's "potatocakes."

I asked her how to make them. She said, "It's so EASY. There's no RECIPE." I asked her to humor me.

So you peel about four Idaho or Russet potatoes. Then you grate them on the smallest side of your grater. You aren't looking for shreds here. You want mush.

Take off any water that accumulates on the top. Just keep skimming. Then "ya throw an egg in." Add a scant half cup of flour, mix it all up, and fry in hot oil. Drain on paper towels. Ha! Who am I kidding? They don't get much time on the towels. I'm too anxious to eat them!

Why didn't I think of that?

Just wanted to share a picture of the wastebasket in my mom's sewing room. My mom is pretty cool.

Zippity Doo Dah

One thing people always want to know is how to put a zipper in a bag. Well, I tend to make deeper bags and rely on gravity to keep everything inside, so I had no idea. I figured it couldn't be that mysterious, though, so I sat down to figure it out this morning.

Someone specifically asked about putting a zipper in this bag, so that's the one I started with.

Okay, first of all, looking at the Craftster pattern, I couldn't figure out why they didn't just draw half of it and cut on a fold. So that's what I did.

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Then I couldn't figure out why their pattern had those notches for the bottom corners. Can't you do the same thing by sewing across the corners to square them off? So I tried it.

That seemed to work out just fine, so no more notches.

I also came up with no good reason why the outer fabric had to be cut in one piece, and I knew my job would be easier if I had two halves to work with, so I cut two sides, two linings, and two handles. Those other two pieces? Those are for the zipper.

If you want your zip to run right along the top of the bag, I guess you could eliminate these little wings, but I thought it would look better with them. If you figure you'll have about a half inch seam on either side. your zipper should be an inch or so shorter than the top opening of your bag. Lucky for me, I had a bunch of zippers to choose from, so I picked the one that looked about right.

Next you are going to sew the little wings onto either side of the zipper. I folded under either end, folded the whole thing in half, butted it up against the zipper and sewed the wings onto either side, using my zipper foot. That's done.

If you haven't guessed by now, I totally winged this. Things could have been done more neatly and more precisely, but all I really wanted to do was figure out the method.

The handles...start with a strip, I made mine three inches wide and fifteen inches long, fold over the long edges, then fold the whole thing in half lengthwise. Sew up the side. Done.

This is where you have to sandwich everything together. First I ironed a little hem into the tops of all the body pieces. Then stack them up starting with the lining fabric at the bottom, wrong side up.

Next is outer fabric, right side up.

Then the handles. You'll want to center then and line them up with the other pair. I eyeballed.



Top off the pile with the zipper piece, wrong side up.

Once all the edges are lined up on top, you sew across the stack, and this is what happens!

Do the same thing on the other side, then line up your side edges and take a seam. Repeat on the other side.

Okay, at this point I thought, "Well, this looks bad. What am I going to do about the ends?" but then I tucked the whole zipper dealy into the bag and tacked it down at the seams. Better.

The tricky parts are done! To close up the bottom, lay out the bag, right side out, and sew across the bottom.

Trim that seam, turn the bag inside out, and sew across the bottom again. This encloses the raw edges. Now the bag will still have raw edges along the side seams. That's the one thing I didn't work out. That's up to the next person! --grin--

Finally, you square up those corners like I showed you earlier. Oooh, lousy picture.

And that's it.

Wool She or Won't She?

I did it! I sewed a wool skirt! And a plaid skirt at that! Ha ha ha. I laugh in the face of wool. Okay, it's a little short, but I can fix that next time.

I guess all your comments fired me up, because the other night I dug out my bin labeled "winter" and pulled out this piece of wool. I don't even remember buying this fabric. Hmm. I wonder what I was planning to make. Anyway, there wasn't a whole lot of it, maybe a yard, but it was 60 inches wide, so I had enough for a basic skirt. I'd just scored New Look 6274 at the thrift shop, so I gave it a try.

A pause for a sizing gripe...According to the pattern envelope, I should have made an 18. I disregarded that and made a 16, because that's the size I use for my favorite a-line skirt (also a New Look pattern). Well, it was too big, and I had to take in about an inch and a half along one side. Glad I didn't make the 18!

I have to admit, I was still wary of sewing on wool. When I called my mom for tips, she just told me I'd have to hand sew the hem, which I was planning to do anyway. Wasn't I surprised when I actually had grey seam binding in my stash!

The package cracked me up. "It's like pretty underwear." What's that mean? That only you will know about the pretty lace on your hem? Ha! I'm showing everyone!

So that's my first from-scratch wool skirt! I'm so proud of myself! Thanks for the pep talks, everyone!

Ideas? Guidelines? Encouragement?

Last night I had a bit of a meltdown. The house is a mess, I feel like I'm being drowned in STUFF, and the slippers I bought my mom for Christmas are too small. Today, while soaking in the tub before work, I realized it doesn't have to be this way. It's just up to me to do something about it. Of course then I had to go to work, and by the time I got home, my ardor had died somewhat! Ha!

No, really, once I was done with work, I took a few minutes to eat something and read some email, and then I buckled down and accomplished some things. I have all my summer clothes packed up now--yay! I found 24 things to send to the thrift shop--yay! I went through my patterns and got rid of things I'll never make--yay! But now I'm confronting this:

Scraps. I hate to just throw them away, but the pile keeps growing, and this cannot go on. Are you a scrap saver? Do they have to be a minimum size? Is there some trick to keeping them organized? Do you have any amazing ideas for using up a whole bunch of them at once? Help me!

Back to work now.

Crossing Blogs

Now that the CSA season is over, cooking posts might be finding their way over to the Darling Petunia blog more often. If you want a taste of the kind of things we make around here, you can check out this recipe for brussels sprouts and parsnips over at my summertime CSA blog. It would make a great side dish at a holiday meal!

Wardrobe Refashion Progress Report

I was afraid this would happen: There hasn't been much refashioning going on here in Petuniaville. I started with Wardrobe Refashion in May and sailed through the summer tweaking tees and sewing cotton skirts. Now that we're having cold weather, I haven't been creating much. Somewhere in my refashioning pile, there are a few skirts that might benefit from some trim or applique. I've also been thinking of trying something from Lotta Prints and reworking a skirt by printing a nifty pattern around the hem. As for sewing from scratch, winter fabrics (wool, corduroy) sort of scare me. And even though I can knit, I've never tackled a sweater and don't particularly want to try!

Never fear: My pledge to Wardrobe Refashion lives on. I have not purchased any new clothing for almost seven months! I'm kind of laughing as I write that, though, because that isn't really a huge accomplishment in my case. Thrift shops are my haunts.

And so, in lieu of fabulous refashions, I bring you my fabulous thrift shop finds.

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I scored all four of these sweaters at the same thrift shop on the same day. Prices have really gone up at this shop, but these were all half price that day, and I don't think I paid more than $3 for any of them. Looks like I hit three out of the four universally flattering colors according to Real Simple magazine. Speaking of colors, you can save yourself a lot of time looking through the racks if you know which colors work for you and then zero in, looking only for those colors.

More advice for thrift shop rookies: Don't pay attention to the sizes. Two of those sweaters are mediums, one is an extra large, and the purple turtleneck is a Chico's size 1 which equates to a small. So which am I? Get used to eyeballing things and then try stuff on. You just never know.

And now my favorite subject: Skirts! The skirt obsession lives on, but let's face it, winter skirts aren't quite as fun as summer skirts. Well, okay, I guess there are some out there, but generally colors are more subdued, there are fewer prints, etc. Not that I don't still love them!

I found this trio over the weekend. Two nice neutrals and, hey, who couldn't use an orange tweed skirt? Oh! I almost forgot to mention the best part! One of the thrifts in my area seems to have a policy of marking anything marked "Dry Clean" really cheap. These skirts? $1.99 each.

So, tell me, what have you found lately?

My View

We're getting a new roof today, and I'm on my way out the door to go to work, so this is just a quickie. I finished an order for three aprons yesterday--one regular sized and two itty bitties. It was so satisfying to sit at the computer today and see them hanging around the room!

Now I have to get out of here before this banging drives me nuts!

Break Out the Turtleneck and Tights

A skirt? Nope.

A Christmas stocking? Nope. (That would be cute, though.)

Swansong was right! It's a jumper! Only it isn't for a baby. It's for a great big three year old named Jayla. Happy Birthday, Jayla!

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The obligatory inside shot for the bias tape junkies.

Any Guesses?

Anyone want to guess what I made today?

For Cadence Elizabeth

I've been wanting to try something new, so when an online friend of mine, Katie, became a new grandma...well, time for a baby dress, right? Oh, this was so much fun to make--everything is so small, it was done in no time! I was originally going to use skull or tattoo fabric or something like that, because Katie's daughter likes things that are different, but then I remembered this fabric. I thought it would be perfect for a grandma who celebrates Yule! While I was digging around trying to find it, I was hoping hoping hoping there would be enough for the dress, because it was just a remnant I dug out from underneath a table at the fabric store.

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Yep! There was plenty. Even enough to center the moon on the back facing!

Just a note about the buttons...I was fretting about them a little. I knew they'd need to be sewn on well, so I specifically chose four-hole buttons, and then I sewed them on in two steps--one set of holes, then the other. So, even if one thread breaks, there will be another to hold the button securely until it can be fixed.

Now I just hope it fits! I did make it a little larger so she can throw a turtleneck or tee underneath. --crossing fingers--

Been Reading

Let me get the most embarrassing book out of the way first...

The House by Danielle Steel: A library patron saw me putting this out and said it was her favorite DS book, so I tried it. Um. Yeah. Predictable I can live with, but repetitive is annoying.

Murphy's Law by Rhys Bown: I'm still reading the other Rhys Bowen series (Evan Evans), but branched off into the Molly Murphy series now. I wasn't sure I'd like it, because it's both a mystery and historical, but I really enjoyed it because the historical stuff wasn't overwhelming.

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The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own by Nina Garcia: In my dreams! It was an interesting read, just way out there. The illustrations by Ruben Toledo are fun!

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken: A memoir about losing a baby and then becoming pregnant again. Not the downer it sounds like! I had a little trouble getting started, but it was a good read.

Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather: Imagine that--I don't only read crap! Interesting thoughts about slavery.

The Beach House by Jane Green: Actually had a lot more substance than I expected. Enjoyed it.

The Floating Circus by Tracie Zimmer: A kids' book about a boy who jumps from an orphan train and joins the circus. Great characters!

Christmas Already?

Ordinarily, I would be ignoring the approach of Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but sometimes you have to strike while the iron's hot. I found all these cuties at the thrift shop today.

First I spotted this happy mushroom man from Germany. I almost dislocated my shoulder reaching for him. I love him.

Then I saw these three. Aren't the flowers in the sleigh funny? I couldn't resist the little girl's pigtails or the way she's perched on the star, even if she is missing a hand. No one will notice that when she's on the tree.

I thought the parenthetical (East) was pretty neat too.

Oh, and look at the bambina all tucked in her bed. She's from Italy.

And finally this guy from Japan. He has a bit of a shoe problem, but I think I can take care of that. That face!

A Close Race

Mom was here today, so it was time to pick a name for the dress form! I read the list of suggested names (with minimal background info about why they were chosen), and she jotted down the ones she liked best. You can see if your choice was in the running.

Petunia and Geri (which she spelled Jerry) were then eliminated as too confusing, because I'm Petunia and Gerry is, well, Geri/Jerry. She finally narrowed it down to Wilma and Miss Pinny.

At this point she wanted me to pick, but I said no way. So finally, after much back and forth...

...the winning name is...

Wilma! So congratulations to Ellen! Ellen, I will need your address, please.

Tigger the Tagger

Julie from Red Hen Studios tagged me the other day. At first I couldn't even figure out what she was talking about! Oh yeah, TAGGING.

So here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven random or weird facts about me. Hmm. I am pretty random and weird sometimes, so this should be no problem.

1. I have been a vegetarian pretty much all my life. I guess I ate some meat-based baby food, but then one day I just stopped. My poor nana was the one feeding me when I decided I was through with meat. You can see how thrilled I was to be near this turkey on Thanksgiving. I'm eyeing it like it might come back to life and throw ME in the oven.

2. When I went away to college, I had no idea I had to go to the bookstore and buy my textbooks. I'm surprised they even let me in.

3. I once went to five Elvis Costello shows in four days.

4. Everything happens to me late. I had the chicken pox when I was 26, and I still had a baby tooth up until last year. I'd still have it, too, but I asked the dentist to pull it. Then I had to get braces at the age of 39!

5. I buy expensive shoes. Of course the bad news is that I have giant feet and a bunion, so they're all flat mary janes.

6. Gerry and I got married by a justice of the peace on a random Tuesday morning. Then we went to Target.

7. My favorite food is french fries. I even take pictures of particularly memorable ones!

Now to tag seven other bloggers. Who should I hit up?

1. Swamp Yankees from Outer Space

2. Geek+Nerd

3. High Fiber Content
4. My Love Is...
5. Nap Knits

6. Kidding Around

7. Green Kitchen

Now I'm sure some of you have already done this, but come on, be a sport, play along! If you didn't currently have a "7 Things" post on your front page, I considered you fair game. We can all share another seven, right?

Ship Shape

I somlemnly swear this is not going to be the blog that etsy ate. It won't become an endless advertisement for aprons. Promise. But this is one I have to share.

I started with a skirt. Spotted this at the thrift shop, thought it was neat, reminded me of my grams. There are girls out there who could wear a skirt like this, ironically, and get away with it. On me, I'm afraid it would look ridiculous. But I bought it anyway. Embroidered sailboats! Piping! Pockets!

Today's project was to turn it into an apron. It took a lot of creative cutting, but I figured how to make almost all of it out of the skirt. Some bright red fabric took care of the bib's facing and the neck ties.

Isn't that snazzy? I am well pleased with it! When I was about half-way done with it, I called my mom to tell her how well it was going. "I haven't run out of bobbin thread, and I didn't sew anything on backwards!" She suggested I might be tempting fate.

Don't forget! The dress form still needs a name! I think my mom is going to do the picking for me, and we will do that on Thursday, the 6th. So get your suggestions in by Thursday morning!