My Christmas Gift

Matt bought me a great birthday, anniversary and Christmas gift this year with my help. All those events fall in December so it works out well. I took it out of the box yesterday and charged the battery. Now I need to start figuring everything out. 

Hamper Refreshed

Sadly this is a project I have been meaning to complete for over 2 years! Yikes, I know. I bought a wicker hamper and it was great other than the original liner fabric. For some reason someone thought it would be good to use pumpkins and squash for laundry??? Strange.

The new fabric is a Japanese natural flecked cotton with screen printed leaves. It feels fresh and calm for the laundry room. I tore apart the old liner to make a template for the new one.

The new and improved hamper which fits perfectly between my washer and dryer.

Home made dog gifts

This year I am attempting to give mostly hand made gifts for Christmas. Our dogs are no exception. With leftover fleece scraps from the dog coats I made for Lilly I created some toys.

 For Barnsley and large boombox with cassette player. I made it lifesize so it will look funny when he carries it around. Matt officially thinks I am crazy now.

 For Lilly it is a tug toy with handle and fringe. I'm sure both of these will be unstuffed shortly after they are received but no worries, they were practically free!

Roller Skating

While visiting in Wisconsin we decided to go roller skating as a family. About 21 of us ended up going. Most of us had not been skating for 15 years or more. Pictures turned out horrible in the dim light but were too fun not to share. No falls for me but Matt had 3 by the time we left as a result of trying to out maneuver the rest of us.

Early Christmas

While we were with family over Thanksgiving we had an early Christmas since we won't make it back in December. This year I made all of my nieces and nephews pajamas. The girls received night gowns and the boys flannel pants and a knit shirt.

Sorry for the poor picture quality. Combination of lighting the camera didn't like and fidgeting kids.

Lilly Outerwear

Our little terrier mix, Lilly, does not appreciate the cold weather very much. We knew we would be in cold snowy weather over Thanksgiving so I made her a couple of coats to help her handle the change from 72 degrees to 14 degrees.

 She is really a good girl about getting fitted for the jackets but doesn't like standing on the table or getting her picture taken. I made up the pattern as I went so we did a lot of testing.

 Here she is showing it off in the winter wonderland in Wisconsin. I think she is really cute but of course I am biased.

 I also made her a teal and brown coat as well.

Caramel Turkeys

My mom and sister decided it would be a good idea to attempt to make stuffed turkey cupcakes from a recipe in a magazine. (sorry I don't even know which one it came out of). While I was staying there over Thanksgiving I became part of the plan.

 These cupcakes take about a zillion ingredients and hours of time to make. Each turkey is made up of 6 caramels!

 Here is how our cupcakes turned out. At the very end of the post is a picture of the picture from the magazine for comparison.

Everyone thought they were really cute but didn't want to commit to trying to eat them. It will be a good story for years to come.

Heirloom Cookies

Growing up my mom always made rolled out molasses gingerbread cookies in the Fall. This recipe has been passed down through my mom's family for generations. This recipe also makes excellent gingerbread men at Christmas time.

                                    I made a few airplanes for my nephew who was visiting.

The RECIPE:

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 cup of vegetable shortening

2 eggs

1 cup of molasses

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp ginger

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup of hot water

4 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Cream the shortening and sugar in mixer on low speed until fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well. Mix in the molasses, cloves and ginger. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add to the mixture mixing well. Gradually add the flour until a stiff dough is formed. Place the dough in the refrigerator for several hours until well chilled. On a well floured surface roll the dough out to 3/8" or 1/4" thickness. Use cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to pan and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 min. or until barely browned. The cookies will get hard if over baked. Cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

5 already?

My eldest niece is turning 5 this month! What do you make for a girl that loves the color pink, cats, and skirts? A cute outfit with kitty fabric of course.

I used a vintage pattern to make a tunic style top out of this great retro looking fabric.

I combined views 1 & 3 to make the top.

 Sorry for the poor picture of the whole outfit. The light was not cooperating with my no frills camera.

 Cute rounded collar with pleat detailing on the bodice.

 Button cuffs

 The skirt is a self made pattern inspired by the Oliver + S pattern that is so cute. I just tried to see if I could make one and I think it turned out great.

You can see the fabric developed heat marks at the seams when I pressed it. This is a light denim fabric so I am not surprised.

sneak peek

This year I have committed to trying to make as many home made Christmas gifts as possible. Mostly excluding the men for obvious reasons.  This week I started cutting into this beautiful stack of kona solids.

 I love the colors and wish I could share the vision. You'll just have to wait until after Christmas

Oh the suspense for the family members reading my blog!

Evil Weeds

Since moving to NM we have discovered the world of sand spurs or grass spurs as some call them. This has to be one of the most evil weeds in existence.

 This is how they sneakily appear in our lawn. They start out looking just like blades of grass before they break forth their spurs.

 If you walk over them when dry they stick in the bottom of your shoes with their barbed thorns. You can walk on the cement and here them crunching under your feet but it does little to break them down.

The worst offense of these little evil doers is when they find their way into the house and get in the rugs or carpet. You will never forget the feeling of stepping on them with bare feet. The poor dogs find their share of them on walks as well. Limping starts and we have to stop and remove the offenders. Recently we hired a man to come spray our yard for them in a desperate attempt to end this torture. For weeks we were pulling them out by hand (with gloves of course).