Hot Pack

Hello!

I have made some stuff in the past 6 months, but I sure haven't taken any photos. Planning to do that now that the rain has stopped (I was all ready to make an arc, too!), but for now, here's my latest. And I will tell you what: this is the first time ever I have just whipped up something I needed, with nothing but scraps from the bin and no plan, and I was rather impressed with myself.

OK, so it's just a rice bag hot pack, but still.

See, Nora has had strep throat and a sinus infection for 2 weeks. Yes, two whole weeks. She got sick the first day of summer vacation, which was 2 weeks ago today. She went through 8 days of one antibiotic, initially improving and then getting much worse, and then got a new antibiotic. Last night, after she cried in pain for over an hour, I called my cousin/neighbor, who knows a few things about sinus infections, and she suggested a hot pack. And since Nora is a petite eight year old, I figured she needed an appropriately-sized hot pack. I think the finished size is 4 1/2 inches wide by 8 1/2 inches long. We microwave it for 90 seconds and she can hold it against her cheeks, her ears, her head, her eyes, etc. All of those things hurt right now. She loves this little thing so much that I had to promise Dana I will make her one, too, once I remember to buy more rice.

In case you can't tell, the white muslin is filled with rice, and the floral and dots flannels are a removable and washable cover with a Velcro closure. I don't know about Velcro in the microwave, so we pull off the cover before heating it up.

Nora needed a little treat last night, and of all the things in she could choose (I would have bought her anything in the entire grocery store at that point), she chose Panda black licorice. Where did this lovely creature come from? Grandpa Don loves this stuff, too.

I'll post some of my winter and spring projects soon. I promise.

Flannel in April

Today we had planned to go geocaching, but instead it was cold and windy. And so we stayed inside to play.

I got out my sewing machine and went to work on a couple of flannel nighties for my little ladies. They picked out their own fabric a couple of weeks ago. It's been sitting, cut out, ever since.

Let's keep in mind that the girls are fresh from the tub, so their hair is wet and possibly unruly.

Nora picked out really plush flannel by Valori Wells. Actually, Dana picked out the same fabric in a different color for her last mama-made nightie. It's pretty sweet fabric.

Dana picked out baby boy flannel. I don't know what to tell you. Nora and I can't figure out what made her fall for this stuff. It's sort of thin, and the pattern screams "baby boy!" But she thinks it is fantastic, and as long as she's happy, I'm happy.

I have fabric cut for 3 more sewing projects. I have yarn for 3 more knitting projects. And 3 of my closest girlfriends are pregnant. I need to finish up my 6 projects so I can get to work on some teeny tiny things.

Baking AND Sewing!

I had plans today, but they never really came to fruition. So I took the opportunity to be extra domestic: I baked AND sewed!

You all know I bake cupcakes a lot, but some holidays get ignored. Like, did I make Christmas cupcakes? I can't even remember. But I bake Valentine cupcakes every year. Even if they're really super early, I bake them. Because, of all of the holidays, Valentine's Day is the one that really begs for gaudy, chocolaty love. And also, it's one of the rare opportunities for me to use my heart platters.

When I resigned from my job, this is exactly what I envisioned: welcoming my daughters home from school with freshly-baked treats. Nora was oh so happy to see these today!

Tomorrow we are going to a baby shower, and even though I bought something off of the gift registry, I really could not see walking in without something handmade to go with it. Because you can dress a baby in anything and she can't argue about it, and trust me-that does not last.

Yesterday, Dana and I went to the fabric store and selected this fabric. I can't even tell you how much I love it. It's the softest flannel ever, and the birdies are sublime. You can't really tell, but the trim and ties are a coordinating floral, which you can see here. They are both Valori Wells, and I had such a hard time picking which specific fabric to use as all of her flannels are adorable.

The kimono top was made from this tutorial, and I found the pattern for the bloomers in my pattern box. I don't know where it's from! Hopefully the new mama will like this set!

Pickles!

Oh, how I had been dreaming of making pickles!

Nora and I got up really early on Saturday and went to the farmer's market in search of pickling cucumbers. I bought 2 pounds, but we ate those all up that same day! Crunch, crunch!

And so on Wednesday, I got up really early and went back, hoping to buy many more. Except that there were none. Fortunately, one of the farmers told me she was planning to harvest on Thursday. So I gave her my phone number.

Today, she called! It totally made my day. I have had a bottle of vinegar and a box of pickling salt sitting on my kitchen counter for over a week.

So this afternoon, we ventured out to the farm to pick up 1/4 bushel of pickling cucumbers. Luckily, the farm was not far from our house.

When we got home, we scrubbed the kitchen sink and then filled it with teeny tiny cucumbers and cold water.

Nora helped me scrub the little buggers with a vegetable brush (she scrubbed one and then asked if she could eat it). Then I cut off all of the blossom ends because I read somewhere that they contain an enzyme that makes pickles get mushy. Which sounds pretty gruesome.

Then, we put 10 pounds of ice into our camping cooler, put the clean cucumbers on top, and poured in some water. The cucumbers swam around in this icy bath for several hours while we walked next door to pick grape leaves, dill and raspberries.

Don't they look so eager to help me? Actually, they did an amazing job. We set up an assembly line, with a bowl each of peeled garlic, grape leaves and dill heads. Each girl put these into five jars, for a total of ten jars, and then filled them up with icy cold cucumbers. (FYI I also read in several places that grape leaves ensure crunchy, crispy pickles.)

While the girls played with Polly Pockets, I boiled the brine and ladeled it into the jars, then put on lids and did a 5-minute process. I also had to call my mom in to rescue me when I ran out of brine and had no more vinegar. She brought a bottle over even though she was busy with other things.

You're supposed to wait 8 weeks to try them, but I am not sure I will make it that long. I really want to go try one now, even though they are still warm, and warm pickles don't sound that great. I'll let you know how long I can contain myself and how they taste.

I am already dreaming of pickle spears and hamburger chips. Though that might have to wait until next year.

Independence Cakes

Happy Independence Day!

Last night, I dreamed that I made cupcakes and arranged them to look like the American flag. Not too hard to make that dream come true! Though I wish I had some fancy cake decors or something to spice them up a bit.

Do you have big plans for the Fourth? My sister is watching the girls while Kevin and I attend my friend's wedding. I am so very excited to see the group of girls I spent every moment with in high school. I haven't seen most of them in years. After the wedding, we're grilling with my sister and her family and then walking down to the lake to watch the fireworks.

I had just a tiny bit of batter left after making 2 dozen cupcakes, so I poured it into two silicon heart cupcake molds that were a gift from my aunt a few years ago. The teeny tiny heart platter might look familiar. I have a larger version of it, too, and they were wedding gifts.

Two happy cupcakes. They were so busy playing dress-up that they didn't even realize I was baking.

I hope you enjoy the festivities today!

Nightie for Nora

On Friday, my dad took Nora and Dana to my nephew Keenan's baseball game. That left me with a couple of hours home alone. I used my time to sew a nightie for Nora.

I love how it turned out!
The fabric is flannel from Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom line. I saw it at Hannah Johnson and knew that Nora would love it. It has her two favorite colors: pink and turquoise.

The pattern is McCall's 5744. I saw a sample of this nightie on display when I bought this fabric and I loved the crossover style. So cute! And talk about customer service: this isn't a pattern she sells-she was just looking to display the sample nightie-so she let me borrow HER pattern!

I cut my own bias tape for the contrast. I know it's a whole lot easier to just buy a package of it, but it looks so sweet with the coordinating fabrics, and plus, do they even make flannel bias tape?

And here's the best part: Nora absolutely loves it! She could not believe I made it without her even knowing. Which completely cracks me up, because my dad dropped the girls off while I was in the middle of this project, and I continued to sew while the kids played. I was three feet away from her, with fabric scraps everywhere, and she never really noticed. Kids are so funny sometimes.

She got a bit wacky for the camera.

I need to go buy this pattern in the smaller size so I can make one for Dana, who has asked very kindly for a nightie, too. Coming right up, friend!