sewing 101 series

Chris at Pickup Some Creativity has been hosting a fantastic series called Sewing 101. Evey day she has had a different blogger post a basic sewing technique or tips to help in all areas of sewing. Today I am posting over there with Basic Applique.

After I sent her my post, I realized there were a few other tips or tricks that I wanted to include, so I will post them here -

• If in doubt, go slow. Slowly but surly helps especially as you go around the curves.


• Leave your needle down in the fabric as you do any turns.


• Be EXTRA careful when cutting away the excess Stabilizer you have on the back of your applique.
  

This is the kitty applique I made the tutorial over at my Sewing 101 post.

It got me in the mood to make another one for a friend who had a baby girl a few months ago. I have white onesies in a basket just waiting for embellishment and it's one of my favorite baby gifts to give. I made this sweet baby a cute elephant out of lime green fabric from Amy Butler's Love collection.

wearing the dress

My husband took a photo of Mallory with his phone after church because she was wearing the dress. She loves it. I love that.

ps - her other leg is behind her leaning on the wall!

peach summer salad

I've gone to post about my new favorite salad several times, but I stop because I don't have a photo of it. I have decided photo or not, I am posting it because it is just too good not to. I am eating it right now and it is just so summery. I found this salad (or the bare bones of it) in Southern Living, but I changed it quite a bit and love it my way. Of course, I never tried it their way, so the original may be just as good.

Peach Summer Salad for Two

1 large ripe peach

1 large tomato

1/4 cup pecans toasted (and I add just a bit of brown sugar)

2 Tbs. red onions in little julienne slices

1/4 cup fresh mozzarella chunks

2 tsp. fresh basil chopped

Dressing:

1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp. chopped garlic

1 Tbs. brown sugar (or less)

1/4 tsp. salt

Pour the dressing on the salad and let it sit. The longer it "marinades" the better it tastes. Enjoy!

the dress that followed your advice

When I posted about my daughter's lackluster love of my homemade clothing for her, many of you gave suggestions to help solve this problem. I took that advice and let her pick out the fabric and the pattern. That was easy - why didn't I think of it before? She chose this cute fabric by Anna Griffin with bunnies. I even gave her a choice of a few dresses and she chose this easy McCall's pattern 5613 (view C). I made her the size 4 because she is a tall 3 year old, but it turned out quite a bit too big. So, I made a casing in the back top seam and added elastic to it which helped a lot. It is still a bit too big, but she can wear it. Before the elastic casing, it was so big that I don't know when it would fit her. She even tried it on and it's so full that she loved spinning around in it. It will look cute with her turquoise leggings. I think I am going to have more of a say a lot more often.

chirstmas in july

Every year I tell myself in the craziness of it all, "I'm going to start so much earlier next year." It's hard to think about holidays (unless you are in Australia!) when it's blazing hot outside. But, you will thank yourself when it freezing and you are NOT running around like a chicken with her head cut off because you were so totally prepared for the holidays. Cindy Lou at Skip To My Lou along with According to Kelly and A Southern Fairytale are hosting a Holiday Bake, Craft, and Sew Along. Each lady will be posting baking, crafting, and sewing ideas that will prepare you for your gift giving for the holidays.

*This Friday, Skip To My Lou, will feature my Eyeglasses Case Tutorial. Check out these blogs each day to see the amazing ideas.

weekend yum

My favorite candy bar is Twix. My husband brings me a 10 pack (the small ones) of Twix instead of flowers for Valentines Day and any other time I need a pick me up. When I saw this recipe at Baker's Royale, I nearly died and went to heaven. I am making these this weekend. Tell me if you do as well.

summer reads

Lately, I have been asking my friends and family to give me some reading advice. Sometimes I just need to feel like I am on vacation while all kids are home and reading does that. The other day we went to our friends' pool and while the kids swam, I lounged and read. Now, who needs to go to the beach? I do, but a day like that will do when I can't. So, I thought that I would share some of my summer reads that have been kindly suggested by my sister Tanya, my friend Cheryl, and others -

1 - The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

2 - The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

3 - Tess of the D'urbevilles by Thomas Hardy

4 - Hester: The Missing Years of the Scarlet Letter: A Novel by Paula Reed

5 - The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

I would reccommend all of these books. My favorite has been The Forgotten Garden that my sister, Tanya, suggested. I just finished it yesterday and now I am taking a break from reading for just a bit. Any suggestions for when I start back up?