The Rumors are True

Might as well post a picture of our biggest news this year.

Wintry Tidbits

I've been baking a lot lately. Bread, mostly, but also some cookies, scones and sticky buns here and there. Something about winter (especially snowy days) makes me want to bake bread. When I was in high school, I remember snow days where I made bread. I also have cozy memories of my mom baking bread when I was a kid, so I suppose that's why I have a hankering for it now. Fresh, warm bread from the oven is wonderful.

I don't use a bread machine; I just do it the old-fashioned way. I mix the ingredients by hand (sometimes I use a mixer early on, but usually I just use a wooden spoon) and knead the dough by hand. Sometimes I use a thermometer to make sure the liquid is warm but not too hot, other times I just test it on my wrist. It's perhaps more time-consuming than if I had a bread machine, but I enjoy the process. I'm not making bread daily so it hasn't become tedious.

When Dan was in Swaziland years ago, another ex-pat used some great bread recipes from a cookbook written by Bernard Clayton. After moving to Delaware, and I was home full-time, I requested some new cookbooks for Christmas. Dan made sure to get me this one.

It's full of all kinds of bread recipes from all over the world, and I've been having fun making different ones. Being the lazy blogger that I am (and one without a smart phone), I don't have any pictures of the bread to wow you with. But if you come to my house, or if you baby-sit my kids, you might just get to have some of it.

I've found that my domestic interests go in spurts. For now, any creative juices are being used in the kitchen. For the most part, I haven't spent much time at my sewing machine or with crochet hooks or knitting needles.  My sewing machine is not running the best these days (I think it's on its way out), but more than anything, I just don't have the drive to sew things. I do have two items to finish making for the kids, but I have a feeling it's going to be quite a while until they're done. I recently put away most of the fabric I'd purchased this fall, because seeing all those unused bolts of fabric was beginning to stress me out.  When my body is growing a life, I feel less of a need for a creative outlet in general.

Dirty Aprons

Dan's Grandma Hess had 11 children. At her funeral service some one who used to work on the family farm spoke about his experience working for Jacob and Mary. He mentioned that he could always tell when another family member was on the way, because Mary's apron front began to get dirtier. For some reason, that is the only tidbit I remember from the funeral service.

Can you guess whose apron is getting dirtier in the front these days?

Days 6 & 7

I promise, this is the last One Week One Pattern post! These two pictures basically show you what I wore. We were away for the weekend, where it was much colder than it had been earlier in the week, so my t-shirts didn't quite cut it. I didn't wear one on day 6 (we just hung around the house all day and tried to stay warm), and while I did wear one on day 7, it was under another shirt and sweatshirt all day. Like so:

So that's it! It was fun to participate in an online sewing community activity. I am glad to wear other clothes, but it made me think more about what it would be like to always wear the same uniform, or style of clothing. I'm sure I'd own fewer clothes and be more creative, which is something to think about. I like to say simplicity is a good thing, but I'm not sure I really live it when it comes to clothing. It takes up much more of my thoughts than it probably should. 

OWOP Day 5

This was my pattern version for Day 5. Here also, this picture was taken over the summer, instead of on Thursday, but I pretty much looked the same, minus a scarf that happened to wear with it this time around.

We left for a long weekend vacation mid-day, so as soon as I was finished with my morning at MOPS, I changed into some traveling clothes (jeans and a t-shirt) and didn't get Dan to snap my picture.

This is probably my favorite version of my pattern. It's too heavy of a knit to wear on really humid days, however, so I have to save it for slightly cooler weather. I picked the fabric up at a local thrift store, so I really have no idea what the fiber content is, although I'm pretty sure it's not 100% cotton b/c of the feel of it and how warm it is.

For some reason, I think this dress looks better with the belt on my hips, rather than around my waist. And I think this is one reason I like it more. I'm used to my waistbands landing on my hips, not my waist, so it feels more natural and comfortable. When I wear other dresses with a belt at my waist line, I'm less likely to keep them on longer than the event I wore them for.

OWOP Days 3 & 4

Yesterday, Day 3:

This shirt was made from a thin knit remnant I picked up at JoAnn's. The two pieces don't match up perfectly, because the bottom was smaller, which makes it more fitted than other versions I've made. But I still like it. And I got the shoulder seams lined up nicely, so that's a plus.

Today, Day 4:

Rewearing the dress I wore on day one. This time I wore it with a belt made from cutting about 3 inches from the length of the fabric and trimming to the right length. No stitching of any kind on the belt. I love how knit fabric doesn't fray like woven fabric, and since it rolls over on itself, you can't even tell that the long edges aren't hemmed.

One Week One Pattern: Days 2 & 3

Here's what I wore Sunday, Day #2:

Confession: This picture was not taken yesterday. Dan was working most of the day, so I couldn't have him take a picture, and since I don't have a smart phone or camera that photographs well in the mirror, I figured I'd just use a picture my mom took of me a few weeks ago when I had her photograph me in the dresses I've made this past year. I wore the same belt and similar jewelry, so I figured this works!

When I first made this dress (it's a lightweight knit with some percentage linen fiber content), I sewed the tucks in the top as the pattern suggested. I wore it that way a few times until after I made another knit dress without the tucks. I decided I preferred the tuckless look and so I took this dress apart and remade it sans tucks.

Day #3:

Here's the first shirt I made using Simplicity 2147. I hadn't planned on making a shirt initially, but I had some fabric from a knit skirt I'd made a while ago that I wanted to repurpose. You can see the skirt in the picture below. The fabric was too thin for a skirt (and I'd made the skirt too tight), in my opinion, and I had enough to make a shirt. I basically took the yoga waistband off the skirt and then re-hemmed it. I didn't have enough gray fabric to make the top/sleeve pieces, so I found some very lightweight knit fabric at JoAnn's and figured I'd see how it all turned out. Overall, it's fine, but if you look closely, it's not the most professional-looking. I don't have a serger, so sewing with knits is interesting, I definitely like the shirt more than the skirt, so I'm glad I made the change!