I'm back! And With a Monogrammed Pillow.

Wow!  It has been a long time since I posted!  A new job and some road trips to visit our son in college have dominated my time.  

Not that I haven't been cooking and sewing...I mean a girl has to have some creative time, right? It just came down to cooking and sewing or blogging about cooking and sewing...and you know what choice I made!

The good news:  I have a number of projects lined up to blog about - starting with this monogrammed linen pillow:

Monogrammed linen pillow

 I made this for a special friend's birthday.  She and I have a wonderful friendship based on many shared passions. She is also one of the most thoughtful people I know - one of those people who always know just the right thing to say at the right moment and the right little gift to give to make you feel so special.

I do not have the gift of gift-giving.  But I wanted a really special gift for my friend.  I thought and thought about something to buy her for her birthday, but could not come up with something that was special enough for my dear friend.  Then I remembered a book of monograms that she gave to me years ago.  On the cover is a natural colored linen with a large ornate monogram on it.  Perfect!

I had some nice linen left from a set of embroidered collars I made for some fall dresses for my daughters.  I had a pillow form.  I had a pocket of time to sew.  A birthday gift was born!

Of course, the monogram on the cover of the book was hand embroidery and time factors ruled that out.  I think that the embroidery machine did a good job with the monogram for the time that I had.

A twist on a traditional monogram

The tassels on the corners of the pillow came from some trim from a $5.00 fill bag at a home dec store that we visited during our Stitchin' Charleston Style trip.  

Overall it was a satisfying afternoon of sewing and I was happy to give my friend a gift that came from my hands and heart.  

Beach Sewing

Enjoying the last of summer has kept me from blogging, but, boy did we have  a wonderful time at our favorite beach house!  

Sunset Kayaking at my favorite place in the whole world!

We had two houses and the whole extended family.  The weather was perfect!  We filled our days (and I mean filled our days) with beach going and kayaking and ghost crab chasing and feasting and toasting the sunset each night!  It was sooo hard to come home! 

 Even with all the competing activity, I did manage to get a bit of embroidery done.  I worked on the tea towel from one of my Stitchin' Charleston trips. 

This is the start of Rainbow Row in Charleston

The houses are linen squares that are pin stitched onto the towel.  

The next step was to add the house details.  Here I have started the windows and doors.

A little more done...

Almost done!  Just needs a wash and press

Here I have added all the details:  Wrapped chain stitch palms, crepe myrtles, and even little flower boxes under the windows.  

Laura Jenkins Thompson, the designer and teacher of Stitch' Charleston Style is the most creative person!  Her designs are full of adorable details.

I'm loving it in my coral bathroom!

 Well...I didn't get nearly the sewing done this summer that I wanted to, but at least I got one UFO done!  

Enjoy the last few days of summer!!!

Pattern File Cabinet Re-do

As I have mentioned in this post my mother-in-law and I shared our love of sewing.  She was a talented sewist and worked in several sewing shops teaching lessons and selling Bernina machines.  Over the years she collected many cool sewing gadgets and other items all of which I inherited when she passed away. It has been years now and I am still in the process of discovering all the nifty things she had.

One of the pieces that I inherited was a pattern file cabinet that she snatched up when one of the stores that she taught at remodeled. It was half-painted the requisite "almond" color of the '80's.  The rest was the gold color that you see toward the back of the cabinet:

"Almond" pattern file getting ready for an update.  
That's my handsome and helpful son in the background helping 
with the set up and heavy lifting.

My plan was always to repaint it in a vibrant blue color so that it would really stand out in the sewing room. But the years go by and...you know how that goes!

This week, with the help of my strong and generous son, it got a new look. 

TaDa!  The new "Brilliant Blue" file cabinet!

By the time we finished spray painting, we both got a new look too!  The fine little particles of paint landed on us and we both ended up looking a bit like zombies or some character from Avatar!

Photo from Avatar the movie

I added pretty patterned paper inserts where the pattern numbers would normally go.  A different coordinating paper for each drawer.  

The shiny cabinet and the shiny plastic covering on the handle made it really hard to get a good picture, but I think you get the idea, right?




But there are treasures still to be discovered!

Vintage patterns anyone?

The pattern file was stuffed full of...wait for it...patterns!  There are many absolutely awesome vintage patterns from the late 40's, 50's and 60's - with my Mother-in-Law's handwritten notes about the pattern included!  So cool!

There are a few from the 70's, but a ton of patterns from the 80's.  I have my own collection of Flashdance favs from the 80's so I am not that interested in keeping those. Many of them are new, never been opened in the envelope.  I  remember wearing those styles what seems like not so long ago, but I doubt I could ever sew them now. Is there a market for "vintage" 80's patterns? Should I just donate them?

One of the drawers was packed with vintage trim, ricrac, zippers, belt buckles and on and on.  My daughter and I have been having a blast going through all these goodies.  

Needless-to-say, not much sewing getting done with all this chaos in the sewing room, but so much fun to find all these treasures from Shirley!

I'm still working on the muslin for the stretch lace dress.  Like all my sewing...it is going slowly!  

So...Anyone interested in a batch of 80's patterns?  Let me know.  I would love to have them go to a loving home.  :-)

Happy August!

Pam

Curried Zucchini and Couscous with Turkey Kofta

Those marketers in the supermarkets know me too well.  They put those special edition cooking magazine right at eye level so that I am sooo tempted by the promise of a quick, easy, delicious - and healthy - dinner on the cover of those magazines.  I rarely leave the grocery store without one. 

Last week's impulse buy - The August edition of Eating Well.  

I figure that these purchases are justified if I can get even one good dinner out of it and Eating Well did not disappoint.  

Curried Zucchini Couscous with Turkey Kofta

After I got the chopping done, it all went together quickly and Hubby was able to grill the Kofta kabobs while I finished up with the couscous.

The couscous has a light curry taste and the veggies and almonds give it a creamy crunchy texture that was delicious!  You could definitely serve this dish, warm, at room temp or chilled.  Next time I would add a few  raisins.  

The Turkey Kofta had just the right spiciness (not hot spicy, just flavorful spicy).  My husband proclaimed it better than the beef kofta we get at our local Kebab restaurant - so I declare it a success!  The secret to grilling a meat like ground turkey is to spray the meat with cooking spray and oil the grill so that you don't leave half of your dinner behind on the grill.

I did get in a bit of sewing today too.  I'm working on the muslin for the stretch knit dress.  Glad I did a muslin.  The first attempt was a size too big even though my measurements would have led me to a size larger!  Hopefully the next muslin will be the one.  I am anxious to get sewing on the real fabric, but want to make sure that I have the fit better first.

Curried Zucchini Couscous

Eating Well - August 2013

• 1 Tbsp EVOO
• 2 med. Zucchini diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2/3 cup couscous
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1.  Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add zucchini and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.

2.  Add water, lime juice, curry, cumin, salt and pepper to the pan and bring to a boil.  Stir in couscous.  Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.  

Add the couscous and carrot to the bowl with the zucchini; stir to combine.  Serve topped with almonds. 

Serves 4  Serving size:  1 1/4 cup   WW points: 5

Turkey Kofta with Tahini Sauce

Eating Well - August 2013

• 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup coarse fresh or dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs (I used panko because that's what I had and they worked fine.)
• 5 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 tsp ground cumin, divided
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus 1/8 tsp divided
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

1.  Preheat grill to medium high.

2.  Combine turkey, onion, breadcrumbs, 4 Tbsp cilantro, 1/2 tsp cumin, allspice, 1/2 tsp salt and cayenne in a large bowl; gently knead together.  Do not over mix.  With damp hands, form the mixture into two ovals on each skewer; use about 1/3 cup for each and place about 1 inch apart.

3.  Oil the grill rack and spray the kebabs with cooking spray.  Grill the kebabs until and instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 165 degrees F, about 4 minutes per side.

4.  Combine yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, the remaining 1 Tbsp cilantro, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/8 tsp salt in a small bowl.  Serve the kebabs with the sauce.

***I did not have tahini on hand so I combined some hummus and sesame oil to make 2 Tbsp of a loose/liquidy paste and it tasted great!  It had enough of the sesame flavor that the sauce needed.*** 

Serves 4, 2 kofta and 2 Tbsp sauce,  WW points: 7

 

Tooth Fairy Pillow for a Sweet "Fairy" God-Daughter

I have two of the sweetest God-Daughters ever!  One of them is a tall, lanky, smart, beautiful blonde almost 8th grader who is my crafting/sewing and animal loving buddy.  

My Sweet God-Daughter #1

The other is a fire-cracker, Shirley Temple clone who is 4 years old already! She is the age when she is trying to figure out all the family relationships and has decided that Godmother is just too ordinary for her.  She calls me her Fairy God-mother and I could not be happier to comply!

So...As I was finishing this Tooth Fairy Pillow project from a Stitchin' Charleston Style from a few years ago...I knew just who it needed to go to!

Tooth Fairy pillow - Designed by Laura Jenkins Thompson

I love the little silk ribbon bows at the corners!

It is made of a beautiful silver-blue dupioni silk that Laura had all pleated up and ready in our kit.  I had finished the smocking and just needed to add the beads and finish up the pillow and trim.  

Laura's original design had the beads evenly scattered around the pillow, but I improvised a bit and have the magic dust flowing out of the end of the wand.  Just a little more magical looking, I think.

The back of the pillow includes a pocket just large enough for a small tooth and a dollar or two from the tooth fairy.  The pocket is edged with the tiniest piping ever!  The cording itself was tiny but add the fact that it was covered with a very slippery silk ribbon...I didn't even attempt to sew it on the machine!  

My favorite part...It hangs on the outside of the newly toothless child's door!

My son (3rd child)  will attest that the tooth fairy that came to our house by the time that he was losing teeth was somewhat less than...ahem...graceful.  She just might have been so tired that she kept falling asleep and forgetting the lost tooth.  After days of forgetting, she might have "snuck" in a few times before said son was asleep and said something along the lines of "Close your eyes.  This is all a dream.  You don't see me."  Subtle, right?  

With this pillow, all the magic happens outside the sleeping child's bedroom.  Why didn't I think of that before???? 

Tomorrow...I'm working on the muslin for the stretch lace dress...I hope!!!

Sheer Summer Sweater

You know those times when it is as hot as the surface of the sun and you want to wear as little as possible. We have had a lot of those days lately.  I needed a little something to throw over a tank top that was not going to send my internal thermometer over the top, but would leave me a bit more covered up when appropriate at...say...church.

Just a little something to cover up a bit

I was ordering some fabric from fabric.com for a stretch lace dress that is currently in the muslin-ing stage and I saw this burnout white knit - perfect for the little bit of cover I was looking for.  

I grabbed this pattern (Vogue 1243) at Joanne's and decided to make version B.  When I got it home and read the directions (imagine reading directions! Ha!), I realized that the pattern is lined and had a dire warning:  Not suitable for knits!!!


Never being one for directions, I forged ahead - completely ignoring the directions and just using the pattern shape.  It was fine!











The solid selvage of the fabric became part of the front band.  I reversed the order of sewing for the center back of the neck band, sewing it so the 3-thread serger seam was on the inside.  I then stitched it down with a small zig-zag so it sort of looks like a flat felled seam.


I used a regular serged stitch for the shoulder and side seams and then finished the arm holes and hem with a tiny turned hem and a zig-zag which gave it a sort of scalloped effect.  

You can see the pretty burnout patter in this picture.  

I love this fabric! It is light as air which means it had some of the sewing challenges you would expect with such a light fabric.  It had a tendency to roll and was so light it was actually hard to hold onto as I was sewing.  Even with the challenges, the sweater was completed in just over an hour from cutting to done.  Don't you just love those kinds of projects! And...I have some fabric left for another little somethin, somethin. 












Next up...A silvery stretch knit dress lined with a stretchy turquoise.





I ordered a couple of fitting classes that were on sale at Craftsy (Thank you Sarah Gunn at Goodbye Valentino for posting about these classes!)  I have the muslin cut from some knit I've had in my stash forever and am working through the fit.  I'm not sure if I need to do a Full bust adjustment yet, but the class did help me to be more confident in choosing a pattern size with my crazy measurements and use the multi-sized pattern to my advantage.

I'll post some in-progress pictures if they are fit to be seen!  Wish me luck!

T-shirt Quilt Phase 2

I squeezed in a few minutes to piece the back of the t-shirt quilt for my favorite son (He is also my only son. :-)  Phase 2 complete!

I made an appointment with the long arm quilter.  I can't wait until it is all quilted. Then there is just the binding left to complete. I was hoping this would be done in time for my son' return from his Navy cruise, but unfortunately it won't be. Oh well. He waited two plus years already. I guess he won't mind a couple more weeks...

It's hot here on the east coast. Hope everyone is staying cool and dry!