Monday, July 8, 2013

July Crafty Project- Butterick B5450- Part 2

The plan for last week was modified.  Modified in that I decided to make a muslin instead of cutting my fabric.  I also forgot to get a lining so I still need to do that.

So how did my plans for last week go?  Let's take a look:

Day 1- Pick the project.- DONE
Day 2- Decide on fabric.- DONE- kind of, narrowed down to 2 but making muslin
Day 3- Prep fabric- wash/dry- holding off until after muslin
Day 4- Prep fabric- iron- I did iron out the muslin so DONE
Day 5- Cut pattern out- DONE
Day 6- Pin pattern to fabric- to muslin DONE
Day 7- Cut fabric- muslin DONE


Not bad since I did change the plans some.

You know when you haven't done something in forever because it takes you twice as long.  Then you have a few "oh yeah" moments.  I started cutting with scissors and then it dawned on me I had a rotary cutter.  Those little markings all over the pattern weren't going to magically transfer themselves to the fabric either.  

For the muslin the lining was skipped as well as the zipper.  The bodice fits fine however I think I am going to adjust the seam allowances at the bottom piece to make it a little more comfy.  Come to think of it I may just use a 4/8" seam allowance for the neck and armholes as well. That will give me a little bit more room.

Butterick 5450 Muslin
So for this week I am hoping to do the following:

Day 1- Prep fabric- wash/dry (pick up black lining)
Day 2- Prep fabric- iron
Day 3- Pin pattern to fabric 
Day 4- Cut fabric, transfer markings
Day 5- Sew bodice (fabric and lining)
Day 6- Sew skirt 
Day 7- Insert zipper

Hopefully next week you will be seeing pictures of a finished product!!!  Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps.


Friday, July 5, 2013

Paleo Pancakes- The Attempt, Fail, and Recovery

I have been desperately trying to eat Paleo and this is one of the quickest recipes I saw.  Paleo Pancakes with a whopping to ingredients, a banana and an egg. Mush it, mix it, smash it up in a bowl and put on the griddle.  Not to difficult right.  I used egg whites since we rarely have whole eggs and the ones in the refrigerator had expired.  Finding the right tool to mush and mix the banana was interesting.  What proved most successful was the thing we use for the juicer to push the fruit down the chute.

Paleo Pancakes 1

Once it was all mixed up off to the griddle it went.  FAIL!!!  It did absolutely nothing but stick to the griddle which was coated lightly with olive oil.  I wonder if using a whole egg would have made a difference here.  It was a mess.

Paleo Pancakes 2

All hope was not out the window.  After a moment of thought I got out my trusty microwave omelette maker and that was the ticket.  Once they were done back on the griddle to brown.

Paleo Pancake 3

YUMMY... banana is such a potent flavor.  Of course the consistency is not that of your traditional pancake but they were a win in my book.  A second attempt is well deserved to see what happens when using a whole egg.  I just need more bananas.


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Visitor

Today when I walked in my office we had a little visitor.  Isn't she adorable.  My coworker couldn't leave her home so she hung out with us all day.  How fun!!  She curled right up under my desk and took a long nap.

Bear



Monday, July 1, 2013

July Crafty Project- Butterick B5450

I like the idea of being able to craft my own garments yet every time I sit down to do it I get pulled away, messed up, fed up or something else.  Clean slate for July.  I am giving myself 1 month to do this Butterick B5450 shirt (View A) which is deemed a Fast & Easy pattern. To me this means an experienced sewist could whip this up in 1-2 hours.  Then there is me.  The not so experienced sewist. Me who is scared to mess up so every little thing is analyzed again and again and again.  One month.  One month I am giving myself for this.  No pressure right.

July Sewing B5450
Here is the game plan for the week.  Itty, bitty, teensy, tiny baby steps.

Day 1- Pick the project.- DONE
Day 2- Decide on fabric.
Day 3- Prep fabric- wash/dry
Day 4- Prep fabric- iron
Day 5- Cut pattern out
Day 6- Pin pattern to fabric
Day 7- Cut fabric

Somewhere between day 1 and 7 I need to check and see if I have a zipper and if not get one. While writing this I changed my mind on the fabric or at least I'm not 100% sure on the one I selected.  We'll see.  That will be decided tomorrow!!