Week #3

Baby Blanket

Last spring, I made my first baby blanket for Jeff's cousin (the baby shower at the spa). I liked how it turned out, and when I heard that a former coworker was having a baby, I decided to make one for her. This time, I decided to take pictures as I went, and write up a real tutorial.

Warning: this is going to be a long post. All times are approximate, and seem way too long, but things always take longer than they should!

#1: Buy fabric. 1 1/2 yards each of a flannel (yellow print) and a flat cotton (solid purple). Last time, I made the blanket with flannel on both sides, and although it was nicely cushy, I like the contrast of textures better. Don't forget thread.

#2 Cut the main panels of fabric. A rotary cutter and straight edge really help here. I think I cut out 24" by 46", though that seems like an odd size. I tried to make it about crib sized. Time: 15 minutes

#3 Cut 4" squares out of both fabrics. Precise cutting makes a big difference. The first time I made a blanket like this, I cut the squares with scissors, while sitting on the couch. Did you know that a square that isn't square will not fold into a proper triangle? The cutting goes faster if you cut strips, then stack a few strips to cut the squares. Time: 45 minutes

#4 Iron the squares into triangles, wrong sides together, then into triangles again. Time: 45 minutes

#5 Sew the triangles together in a chain, alternating fabrics. Each one should overlap the other by about half. These are called Prairie Points. Time: 30 minutes
#5.1 Get distracted by younger daughter, who wants to make blankets for her dolls and Webkinz. Time: 15 minutes

5.2 Realize that you didn't cut enough fabric squares, and don't have enough Prairie Points to go around the fabric. Cut, iron and attach more. Time: 15 minutes

#6 Sew the chain of Prairie Points to the right side of one of the pieces of fabric. Pin very thoroughly. When you get to the end, the open end of the last point should fit over the closed end of the first one. You'll probably have to fiddle with it to get it to come out perfectly. Time: 30 minutes
#7 Sew the other piece of fabric to the side with the Prairie Points, right sides together. Be sure to leave an opening for turning. Time: 30 minutes

#7.1 Hunt for the batting that you know is somewhere in the house--I mean, you used it for that last blanket, so you know it's around somewhere, right? Time: 5 days

#8 Cut the batting to the same size as the fabric. Attach it, but don't sew all the way around--you still have to leave the opening to turn it right side out. I used a zigzag stitch for this. Trim the extra fabric close to the edges. Time: 30 minutes
NOTE: yeah, you could just layer the fabric, points, other piece of fabric, and batting together and sew it all together in one step. I'm paranoid and wanted to do each layer one at a time, so I could see it more easily.

#9 Turn the blanket right side out. Time: 5 minutes

#10 Now it's time to close up the opening. Turn the raw edges in, press them well, then top stitch about a quarter of an inch from the edge all the way around. Run out of thread 16 inches from the end, because you did everything in separate layers in steps 6, 7, and 8. Curse profusely, go to the store, and buy more thread. Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

#11 Tie ribbon through all thicknesses to keep the batting from shifting. I used an embroidery needle for this, because the eye is very large, which makes it easy to thread the ribbon through. I only did five of these, but that should be plenty. All I used was a simple square knot. Time: 15 minutes
Done! Total time: One Month

Here's the finished product, or at least a corner so the print is easier to see:
I'd love to be able to make money by sewing cute/fun stuff like this, but I think I'll stick to gifts for the time being. I don't know how Katie Fleck does it. It really was fun, and I think if I had all my crap together, I could do one easily in a day, as long as I didn't have anything else going on that day.

Did not see that coming.

The director for senior activities called me back just now. Apparently, they had computer classes for seniors in the past. Until some people started looking at porn, that is. She ended up pulling the Internet off the computers, which ended up causing issues with their phone lines, and she's not willing to put the 'net back on, because kids do use the computers sometimes.

So. That's the end of that avenue. She personally is interested in German, though, so that may open up something else.

That still leaves me with no income until October. Not acceptable. Time to go to Plan B.

I Think I Made It

. . . if only by the skin of my teeth.

A few months ago, I hit on the great idea of offering German classes through our Community Center. I picked up the submission forms, and promptly lost them. I also got very bogged down in trying to pick and choose materials, especially for upper elementary grades. Jeff finally talked me down by reminding me that I don't have to act on every single idea I get immediately. In other words, ditch the upper elementary for right now, and focus on lower elementary and high school classes.

I had kind of dismissed to CC idea, and was just going to do classes here at home, even though it would be a lot more hassle. When I mentioned that at dinner last night, Jeff voiced concern about having a bunch of unknown people in our house.

So I figured I needed to give it my last best shot. I called the CC and asked when the deadline to get new classes in the brochure was. The deadline is tomorrow, so I printed my resume, and hauled myself down there to fill out the forms. It was no big deal, although I'm charging less that I originally anticipated, but as long as I get the minimum # of students, I'll still be making $20/hour, which I can live with. I also discovered that the CC does have a computer lab and projector, so in an hour or so, I'm going to call the senior director and see if she is interested in offering any computer classes. I've been teaching computers to seniors for about four years now, and it's usually gone pretty well.

So although I'm still in limbo, and likely won't start pulling in a regular paycheck again until October, I have considerably more hope that I will get regular work again.

More Jammin'

So when I left off, I had made my first batch of sour cherry jam, and it was awesome.

Having been bitten by the berry bug (yes, I know cherries aren't berries, but I wanted to get some alliteration going on), I decided that blueberries were next on the list.

We went with some friends to a local orchard, and spent an afternoon in the orchards. While we were there, I saw that they not only had a section for "pie cherries," they had a pitting machine. Cherry jam without having to pit them myself? I was so there!!!

Once we got home with our loot, I got to work (yeah, ok . . . it was the next night by the time I got started). I made another batch of cherry jam, which also turned out wonderfully, although the pitting machine had left a few pits.

A few days later, I turned to the blueberries. I had let the kids eat some of them plain, but most of that afternoon's work went into a pot with pectin and sugar. And that jam turned out . . . not so well. It tastes ok, but the texture leaves something to be desired. It's not that it's grainy, like the sugar didn't dissolve. But it isn't smooth, either. In a word, it is disappointing.

I don't know if I'll try blueberry jam again next year, because that was an awful lot to "waste." Not that we can't eat it, but it just isn't as good. If I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered with making jam, but frozen all of them to use in pancakes and ice cream toppings for the rest of the year.

"Mystery" Post, Week 2

Didn't make a lot of progress this week . . .

So cool!

Check out Zazzle to design your own Keds! You can use their templates, or upload your own pictures! Not cheap--$50 for kids, $60 for adults' sizes--but a lot of fun to play with!

"Already I am zee (hic!) pickled."

Another confluence of events happened this week.

• I brought the jar of kosher dill pickles to the table for dinner only to discover that there were two left. It wasn't a big jar, but Jeff hadn't had a chance to have any, and I don't like dill pickles, so my two lovelies must have been inhaling them.
• We got a bunch of smallish cucumbers from our neighbor (hi, Kelsey!).
  
• I saw this blog post.

Well, obviously I'm going to make some pickles! I got some mustard seed from the store, and some dill from a friend who has it growing in her back yard (hi, Meagan!). I cleaned out a good sized Rubbermaid container, cut up the cukes, and followed the directions.

As I said before, I generally don't care for dill pickles. My Grandma's bread and butter pickles are a different story--now that's a recipe I need! But as I was cutting up the dill and garlic, and putting it all together, it all smelled so good! I thought, "Mmmm, I'm going to have to try these!"

The whole thing also reminded me of one of my favorite Bug Bunny cartoons, quoted in the title here. It's on YouTube, and still as much fun to watch now as when I was a kid. And I know I'd love to have the recipe for Louisiana Back Bay Bayou Bunny Bordelais' ala Antoine.

I let them sit for just a day before I decided to see how they were. I was just about to leave for work (hi, Jill!), and I fished one out of the brine and took a bite.

O.M.G.

It was disgusting! Salty and garlicky and nasty! On a chance, I offered the rest to Sarah. "Yummy!" she said, popping it in her mouth as she ran out the door. Since I didn't hear any exclamations of revulsion, I paused. Maybe they aren't terrible. Maybe it's just me. Then the babysitter came over (hi again, Kelsey!) and I told her about them. She took a bite and as her eyes rolled back in her head, she said, "These are amazing! I have more cucumbers; will you make some for me, too?"

So . . . just me, then. I'm glad, but also kind of let down. I was really looking forward to those pickles, but at least I know someone likes them and I don't have to throw away the whole container.

Meant to Be

Last week, I got an email coupon from Borders for 30% off any item over $10, and $5 Bonus Bucks. The Bonus Bucks are good all month, but the coupon expired Saturday. I couldn't decide what to use it for: more German stuff for the kids, homeschool resources for me, or a cookbook. I was leaning toward the cookbook, but didn't get it in time, and the coupon expired.

Sunday, I got another Borders email coupon, this time for 40% off an item over $20; it expired Tuesday. By then, I was really leaning toward the cookbook, even though I usually get most of my recipes off the Internet, and I also like checking cookbooks out of the library, because it is really good--I've already used a couple recipes from it. But finances started to mount when I realized that there were a couple bills I hadn't accounted for, and I dropped $50 for my first month of Weight Watchers. Also, the dryer has stopped working, so that will be a few bucks. So I regretfully let the coupon expire.

Then last night, as I was checking email before bed, I saw that I got a special offer from America's Test Kitchen. The book that I wanted, for 50% off. This coupon lasts until the 15th, and since I'll get paid before then, I'll definitely get the book.

It feels like I'm really supposed to have it, and who am I to argue?

Mystery Post, Week #1

Not a great picture, but it gets the point across. It's going to take quite a while to finish, so I'm planning to post a picture every Monday of my progress. Yes, I know today is Tuesday. I took the picture last night, which works for me, thanks.

Jammin'

Back in 2003, we first picked cherries from our neighbor's tree. That day got me one of my favorite pictures of the girls ever.

I love the expression on Sarah's face, and that the colors really pop. Lauren is just being cute. Sadly, this scanned image doesn't really show the crystal clarity of the prints.

That first year, we took all the cherries and made a pie. And that was one tasty pie. But eight servings later, it was gone. No more delicious cherry goodness. There was much sadness.

Last year, we picked cherries again (if they don't get the net on the tree soon enough, the birds devour the cherries in no time flat). I knew I didn't want to do a pie, but I didn't know what I did want to do with them. So I froze them. Sadly, most of them are still in the freezer. Sure, some of them made fabulous cherry lemonade slushies, and I wanted to do muffins with some, but I never got to them.

This year, I had a plan. I wanted to make jam. So the kids and I went over and picked for a while. It was difficult, getting around under the net, and it was hot. Sadly, I didn't get any classic pictures that will go down in my memory as Top 10, but we did get a fair number of cherries.

After picking, the cherries had to be pitted. And, since I didn't get to them that very same day, or even the next day, they had to be sorted to get rid of the ones that had gone bad. That was absolutely the most tiresome, annoying part of the whole process. I don't have a pitter, so I used a paring knife, and ended up giving my thumb some shallow cuts in the process.

Once that was done, I mashed them up a bit, threw them in a big saucepan, added some pectin, and brought it up to a boil. Then I added the sugar, let it boil again, and ladled it into the (already prepared) jars. Hot water bath was after that. The cooking part of it didn't take that long, and wasn't hard at all, but was really hot from the steam.

The next day, I tried some of the jam. Heaven! It was SO good, I couldn't believe it. Sweet and tart, clear gel with chunks of whole cherries floating in it. I have one of the jars to our neighbor (I'm not even sure if they got any of the cherries themselves).

To be continued tomorrow . . .

Update

Wow; it has been over a month. I really didn't realize it had been so long!

The month blazed by, but I didn't get nearly the stuff done I wanted to. Shrug. There's plenty for me to work toward in August!

I do have some specific things to blog about, so I can promise with certainty that it will not be a month before I blog again!