Table Runner

This weekend, the family project was a table runner. I had found a picture of one I liked online but there was no pattern. However, since my mother-in-law is a well-experienced quilter, she was able to come up with something. She didn't make one but since this took me nearly six hours, she was helping by the end of it (as was David). I also learned a lot this weekend, such as chain stitching.

So the one I liked was really bright fabrics so I gathered up all my bright stuff (I believe I had 17 total, mostly fat quarters) for the front. The back I decided to do dark colors but mostly because I didn't have big enough fabric to do a plain backing. The finished product is 50 inches by 13 inches.

You cut out 48 strips of your top fabric (2 inches by 9 1/2 inches) and sew them into pairs (here is where chain stitching is really helpful and makes it go faster). Then sew those pairs together (but only do 8 of them or your numbers won't come out right!). Then sew the remaining pairs onto your sets of 4. This sounds much more complicated than it is. Also, assume a quarter inch seam allowance and be sure to sew right sides together. Iron open in between each addition.

So now you have 8 squares. Cut 4 of these diagonally from top left to bottom right and the other 4 from bottom left to top right. Lay out all your pieces. This part gets confusing because of the different directions you want and how you now have A pieces and B pieces (depending on the way the diagonal goes). Also, 2 of them (one A and one B) are now extra). Here is what mine looks like. If you want to keep the diamonds in the middle, be sure to make your pieces face the right way. Other than that, design is up to you.

Once it's all laid out, you sew together the sections (they're sort of separated in the picture). It's easiest if you sew the diamonds first and then add the outer pieces to it. You'll have four pieces then. Then, you sew those together and your top is done!

Next, you cut out 35 strips for the back and sew these together (since you aren't making the blocks for the back--or at least I didn't--you can just sew these all together at once if you want or do pairs and then add pairs, etc).

This next part is when David and his mom pretty much took over because I was getting exhausted (did I mention I missed my nap?) so I am a little fuzzy on the details. You want batting in it. So you arrange your batting on the bottom, your backing (my dark colors) face up on top of that and your top (the colorful part) face down on that. You sew around the top (your others aren't the right shape yet) and you may need to pull out your walking foot since it's getting thick. Be sure to leave a big enough opening so you can turn it. I believe ours was about four inches.

Then you turn it right side out, iron, and stitch the opening closed. You can choose to top stitch it if you want (especially if you're going to wash it) but otherwise, you're done!

I definitely thought this was going to a less involved project but it was still fun and I'm happy with the way it turned out. I don't see myself making another one for a very long time though.

Fabric Weights Turned Rice Pack

I have been reading on other blogs how handy fabric weights are. By using them, you don't have to pin to cut things out and they can stop a big roll of fabric from falling off the table when you are trying to cut it. They sounded very useful so I thought I would make some (everyone agrees that the ones sold in stores are way too expensive for what they are and they're so easy to make that you should just make your own).

I was given a bunch of quilting squares that are 4 1/4 inches (long and tall) that I have been looking for something to do with. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I did think if I kept them the full size, they would look more like bean bags to me and would seem too big. I cut them down to 3 1/2, hoping that with the way I struggle to keep a 1/4 inch seam allowance, they would be more like 3 inches. I was right. My finished product is about 3 inches.

I had read that people most commonly fill them with rice, beans, pennies, or ball bearings. I thought rice sounded the easiest so that's what I used. I sewed around my two squares of fabric (nice sides together) and left about a one inch gap to turn and fill. Next time, I will leave a bigger gap. This was really small and I felt like I was putting the rice in one grain at a time. Other than that, this method worked well. I used a spoon to fill the rice about halfway to three-quarters of the way full. Then I hand stitched it closed.

I don't know if it's because I used rice instead of something heavier like pennies or if it's because I made them so small but I'm not convinced that these will be heavy enough for some projects. I only made one as a trial run. The other thing is, since it's rice, it would make a nice rice pack! You can pop them in the freezer for a little ice pack or in the microwave and then in your coat pockets to keep your hands warm in the winter. So, I'll find a use for it. I'm just not sure what it'll be yet.

Another way to do a fabric weight is to wrap ribbon around a stack of washers. This also sounds like a cheap idea that would turn out heavier than my rice but it doesn't use my squares so until I really need a good fabric weight, I think I'll wait on that kind.

Here is what mine looks like. It's hard to tell dimensions from this picture but like I said, it's a 3 inch square and kind of looks like (because it kind of is) a small bean bag.

Catching Up After Illness

So today is the first day that I basically feel myself again. I still have a headache and some sinus pain but my runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes, etc are essentially gone. However, since I was sick for a full week, not a lot has gotten done around the house. Even the basic things that seem easy enough to do when sick got neglected. In other words, I have a lot of catching up to do. Of course, I'm still exhausted so that's making it harder to get things done but I have managed to do a lot already today.

Basically, you just need to take it one step at a time. Acknowledge that you are still sick (and pregnant) so you are not running at full speed. Be sure to take breaks when you need them, even if it seems like it's every five minutes. Whatever you get done today is something you don't have to do tomorrow and will hopefully give you a feeling of accomplishment, no matter how small the task.

I know this can be harder when it's a "real" job instead of housework because you can't just put your life on hold for a week and expect to come back and not have things piled up but it can be overwhelming. Today I made the mistake of making a to-do list for everything I wanted to get done while I was sick and feel the need to do today. This was SO long and overwhelming, I thought I wouldn't get anything done. I have a hard time working without a list because I tend to slack off more. Plus, I like the feeling of crossing something off. So I decided to prioritize my list. I don't usually do this because I tend to get the whole thing done in one day but I'm just not sure that's going to happen today. I tried not to put too many things as high priority but I still ended up with more than 10 (my whole list has 32 things on it today). This way, I can get some much needed stuff done but when I need something lighter to do or to find something I can do sitting down (you would not believe how much you feel the need to sit when you're pregnant) I can look at the lower priority things and find something that matches.

I hope this makes sense. You could try to do this when you're sick so you don't fall too far behind but I could barely get out of bed it seemed. Every time I tried, I'd have a coughing fit or the light would make my eyes water. So be sure you pamper yourself and give yourself the time you need to get better but try to slowly get back into gear once you feel better. Just don't overdo it.

On a side note, I haven't written about my rabbit, Cocoa, in a while. Today is driving me nuts because she is trying to move her litterbox out of the corner. We have it purposely wedged in there because this an activity of hers and we can't figure out why she wants to move it! I have written about this previously but...it's still going on. She's cute and I love her but some days, she sure knows how to be annoying!

Leaf Hot Pad

I'm still sick but definitely getting better. But because of that, this post actually probably should've been done last week. David, his mom, and I made a leaf shaped hot pad that is big enough to fit a 9 x 13 pan last weekend (like, the one before this most recent one). Up until this point, if we used our bigger pans, we always had to use multiple hot pads and we don't have that many to begin with. I thought a leaf one would be cute for fall but I choose all green fabrics instead of all fall fabrics so I still could use it for any season.

It was a pattern that David's mom came up with. It was a pretty simple project but a lot of work. David really had to help me with this one because it was just wearing me out too much. You do have to pay attention to how many strips you do before you do another vein (the brown ones) because you want those numbers to be the same. We also ended up making half of it upside down on the pattern so the strips were supposed to make a V and mine ended up as stripes but I think it's cute anyway.

The stem is graduated so the top (before sewing) is an inch wide and the bottom (where it sticks out of the leaf) is an inch and 3/4. We did have to make some slits before sewing it closed to make the stem sit right otherwise it's kind of stubby and reminds me of a dog's tail.

For the inside, we used special hot pad batting (it has little metal pieces in and crinkles when you touch it) so I'm not sure if it would be dryer safe but you can use regular batting or even felt too.

In my pictures, it's not top stitched yet because I'm getting my walking foot for my machine this week and we didn't quite finish it at David's mom's house.

The second picture is the back and that's just a cool fabric I happened to have on hand. Now I get to make another one because someone at David's work asked that I make him one! I'm pretty excited about it. 

Sick But New Fabric

My father in law and husband were sick last week (and still are some this week) and....I got it too. It's always miserable to be sick but to be sick while pregnant is just extra awful because you have your pregnancy symptoms on top of your sick symptoms and you can't take anything! Even some of the natural things, like herbal teas, you have to be careful about because they may not be safe during pregnancy or you have to watch the amount of caffeine.

Because of this, I have had to find even more alternative ways to feel better. I did take acetaminophen (the one pain reliever actually allowed during pregnancy) for my sinus pains, headache, slight fever, and sore throat but that's asking a lot for one medicine. I was thankful that last weekend, even though it ended up not being on sale, David and I bought a humidifier. That really seems to help your throat, especially now that the weather is changing and getting more dry.

I started drinking tea (for those of you who know me, this is a big deal because I really don't like hot liquids unless it's soup). It was a green tea so I had to watch how much I drank to be sure I didn't have too much caffeine but the steam and hot liquid seemed to help too.

Peanut butter is surprisingly good at getting rid of a sore throat and cough. I used creamy. I'm not sure if chunky would make a difference or not. Honey is also good but everyone knows that one. Oh and eating 3-4 marshmallows can also help a sore throat. Something about the gelatin.

And for the rest of my symptoms, I basically just have to put up with it. I do seem to be doing a lot better today though.

Now, onto happier news! I had ordered fabric from fabric.com and it just came this week! Everything I ordered was on clearance (if you can navigate their site--which I will admit, takes some work---they have lots of good sales) with no specific projects in mind but that's okay! I'll find something. You have to order a minimum of a yard but after that you can order in increments of half yards. I also got some great batiks in a charm pack, as well as some buttons. If you spend over 35 dollars, you get free shipping!

It is a little weird to shop for fabric when you can't touch it or see it in person though. I think online takes away a bit of the experience but I do recommend them. They have a deal of the day that changes every day and they have a great selection. They even have name brand fabrics but I don't really go by brand (probably should but since I'm not making precious heirlooms that are supposed to last 100 years, I think it's okay to use cheap fabric. Maybe some day I'll regret it or give in and buy more expensive stuff but for right now, what I have works for me.)

No Sew Fall Wreath

I have been doing a lot of sewing projects lately but I decided to take a break and try my hand at a no sew craft. I decided on a fall wreath. We had bought a winter wreath last year (for like 30 dollars..a little pricey) and I really liked the idea of having a fall wreath too. I didn't want it to be Halloween themed (I'm really not that into Halloween, especially the decorating) so I thought something with leaves or pumpkins would be cuter than something with witches or skulls.

I found this wreath (here) and thought it looked super cool! I am a little worried it's not weather resistant enough for this house (we display our wreaths on the front door and rain and snow always make it under our porch) because it's made of paper but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I guess I'll find out what happens today because it's storming like crazy here!

The website suggested doing this wreath in sections, rather than trying to do the whole thing in one afternoon. I wish I had listened because I got an awful blister just from cutting out all the leaves! Plus, I chose to do the overnight method of soaking them and leaving them out to dry so I wouldn't have finished in one day anyway.

I will also mention that rather than pinning the beginning of the yarn down, I just used painter's tape (I would've used masking but in this house, painter's is more readily available) and then it gets covered up by the yarn anyway. I'm not quite sure how to finish off the yarn because David did that for me. I believe it did some fancy tucking it under method. (If you were interested in knowing, I could find out for you. Just leave me a comment).

The pins also really hurt your hands to push into the wreath so I recommend using a thimble (which I had remembered this trick sooner).

The brown ink was really hard to find (I ended up borrowing some because I couldn't find it in stores) and I'm not sure mine really turned out how they originally intended it to anyway. Mine leaves looked more dirty than anything. Also, because they called for a 10 inch wreath and all I could find was a 12 inch, I didn't make enough leaves. They were really tedious and I didn't want to make more so for the last little bit, we decided to use ribbon instead. Plus, this works out nicely for hanging it.

I think it turned out really cute but I do wonder how many falls it will last before I'll have to look for something heartier but here it is!

A Bag Bag

I have a lot of scraps of fabric. Fat quarters, 3/8 of a yard, and just...scraps. I don't buy fabric in bigger amounts unless I need it for something. These are things that go on sale for 50 cents to a dollar and they're pretty so I can't help but buy them. But then I get home and I have nothing to make with them. I asked David for ideas for what my next project should be and he suggested our curtains. (We bought fabric for them and everything. It's just a matter of hemming them and doing the top for hooks.) I told him that I needed more practice on little things that don't matter as much. I'm much more comfortable with my machine (and my seam ripper) but I would rather not jump into something so important (the fabric was on clearance because they're getting rid of it and we finished the bolt so if I mess up badly enough, I will have to pick out new fabric and it will most likely be more expensive too. Upholstery fabric is not cheap!) So then he suggested a bag bag.

You read that right. A bag bag. A bag to hold all your plastic bags, usually from the grocery store. We repurpose these all over the house. Plus, when our pile gets too big, we recycle them at the store and start over. Before, we had been storing these in the laundry room, basically all over the floor. It was a mess. I'm so glad David suggested I make one of these. I looked online and found a tutorial (here) and it looked easy enough. I did need to buy elastic but it used a lot of my scraps!

I only made 7 stripes instead of 9 because I couldn't find that many coordinating fabrics and I didn't want to repeat any. It seems to be big enough and I don't want that many bags around the house anyway so this will encourage us to recycle them (or use reusable bags but we always forget to take them with us).

I do recommend spray starching the 1/4 inch of fabric (for the elastic casing, before you fold it over again) so it stays. Without it, I had some difficulty keeping it all together (I try not to use pins too often because I'm terrified of breaking the needle on my machine). I did have a VERY hard time getting the elastic into the casing though. Some people suggested a safety pin but I didn't really understand that method so I eventually got it on my own, pinning as I went to hold the bunches of fabric back because my hands were getting tired. I probably made it harder than it had to be but it was also my first time doing anything with elastic.

My strap is actually a collar from a shirt that I had cut up for fabric anyway (you'll notice it matches the top stripe). Here are my results! The first one isn't stuffed and the second one is. Neither one is in the place it's going to be but I don't have a hook on the wall yet and didn't want to wait to take pictures until David got home. I also apologize for the picture quality. I will mention that there is a darker pink stripe along the bottom that you can't see very well because of the amount of bunching for the elastic. I think if I were to make another one of these, I would make the top and bottom stripes wider than called for to allow for the elastic so they are still shown.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite food combinations. I love sweet and salty things together. This is why I did some searching around for a peanut butter brownie recipe. My backup plan was to just pour melted peanut butter on top of brownies or to use the peanut butter as frosting but I thought there had to be a better way.

I found a Betty Crocker recipe (http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/peanut-butter-brownies/22368acb-41f7-4fd3-8dd1-77a64cf2fb0b). I didn't use the frosting they suggested (mostly because I just didn't have the ingredients left to do so). I couldn't really get the brownies to marble the way they were supposed to so the peanut butter mixture was more just mixed into the brownie batter and they still turned out really really really good! We didn't even use Betty Crocker mix. We had a store brand one but everything still worked out just fine.

I do wonder if next time, rather than take the time to mix the peanut butter, I'll just add in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups instead. I'll have to do some experimenting but for now, this will be my go-to recipe for peanut butter brownies.

I'm sure you could do this without a box mix or even mix peanut butter directly into the batter but the last time I tried homemade brownies, I must not have used the "right" cocoa powder because I thought they were pretty gross. David liked them okay but I think both of us really prefer the highly processed milk chocolate to the high cacao chocolate/dark chocolate so that makes a difference too.

Ultrasound

On Friday, David and I had our first ultrasound. I am 22 weeks along so at this point, if we wanted, we could've found out the gender. We stuck to our guns and didn't, which actually surprised our midwife. I guess a lot of people find out even after saying they won't. David claims he has an idea of which gender Teeny is but I had a hard time seeing anything but blobs (except the heart, because that actually moves. It's pretty cool to see.) Plus, the technician tried really hard not to give away anything accidentally (like avoiding the area as much as she could) so we'll have to see if David's prediction is right.

I did have to have a full bladder for the ultrasound which was just about impossible. They have you drink 4 cups of water an hour and a half before your appointment and then you can't use the bathroom until after your appointment. Every bump David drove over on the way to the hospital was torture and I thought for SURE I'd pee my pants. We were supposed to check in 15 minutes early and they did take me right on time but for that 15 minutes, we had to work really hard to distract me. Once the baby was on the screen, it was mostly okay and I kind of forgot about it until the technician would poke my bladder, trying to get Teeny to change positions (or Teeny would poke my bladder while changing positions) and that was also really hard. At times, my legs would go numb from trying to hold my muscles. What a workout! My ultrasound took a half hour (I was surprised it took this long but the technician went really fast but she had to see that all the structures were developing normally--which they were, so I guess it makes sense to take so long). Then I finally got to pee after and it was the best part of the day. I did have my regular doctor appointment after that though so I still had to wait around but at least the holding-my-pee part was over.

So like I said, everything is looking normal. No signs of any defects. I truly have no idea what the gender is either. And Teeny weighs 1 pound 1 ounce! (I have no idea how they can figure that out just by taking a few measurements but it's exciting!)

Here is a picture (I would try to identify some parts for you but to be honest, Teeny looks like an alien anyway and I don't really know what I'm looking at).

Expectant Fathers With Beards

So David has this theory that fathers-to-be have more facial hair than if they weren't going to be a father. I had no idea what he was talking about and figured he was just looking to get out of shaving for a few more days. He finally convinced me to look it up and it turns out that it's basically true!

Some dads will express sympathy symptoms while their wives are pregnant. This could be anything from cravings to gaining weight or even feeling more tired. I believe the statistic is 1 in 10 dads experience this. From what I can tell, David is not one of the 10%. Some of these symptoms stem from just sympathy for their wives but it can also be because pregnant women tend to get more attention and the dad gets put in the background, even though it's his baby too.

So back to the facial hair. It usually  happens in the second trimester, around the time the woman starts to show. The guys try to show off because they see her growing belly as something they can't do so they subconsciously try to do something that women can't do--grow facial hair. It sounds really odd but if you think about it, I suppose it makes sense. I just hope David shaves soon though because he is getting quite scruffy!

Sciatic Nerve Pain During Pregnancy

So last year (or at least a while ago--before I got pregnant) I had really bad back pain (I believe I even blogged about it). It had started out as sciatic nerve pain (on my right side) but then triggered my sacroiliac joint to hurt on that side too. I was unable to move without assistance and excruciating pain for several days. Because of this, it really scared me when my left side started with the sciatic nerve pain because as a pregnant woman, you release a hormone called relaxin (yes that's seriously what it's called) that makes your joints looser (and usually more painful). It has a purpose because you are gaining a lot of weight quickly (if you can call 9 months quickly) and this will help prevent your joints from killing themselves...or something. It also helps loosen you up for labor.

Anyway, with this hormone rushing through me, I thought it would be even more likely that my left sacroiliac joint would flare up and again, I would be unable to move. I have an appointment with my doctor on Friday (it's just my regular monthly appointment plus my ultrasound) and will ask her about all this then but in the meantime, I have to find a way to cope with the pain and not make it any worse. I do know last month when I asked about joint paints in general she said that walking would help (my preferred type of exercise right now considering how out of breath I get even just getting dressed) and prenatal yoga. I had been walking every day but stopped when it got really hot out. I also had been doing some prenatal yoga (thanks to YouTube videos) but nothing specifically joint related. They didn't seem to really help but because of my bad headaches, I was already taking tylenol (at least once a day it seemed) so I didn't want any other medicine.

With this pain, I decided to look up videos specifically for it. I found one I really like and it's only 10 minutes long. I don't even always do the whole video because it's specific poses that really seem to help. I am PERFECT after the video for a while but then the pain comes back. If you're interested, the pose that seems to help me the most is to be on all fours and then make circles with your hips, as if you were making a circle around your knees. They can be as big or as small as  you like. You can feel your sciatic nerve flare up for a bit while doing it but then it calms down.

Sleeping seems to be the big issue, although last night went pretty well since I did the yoga right before I went to bed. Otherwise, laying on the side that doesn't hurt (if you can get there) with a pillow between your knees or laying on your back with something under your good side (I use a bunched up blanket) seem to help.

Sitting definitely makes it worse so the more active you can be, the better (although that's much easier said than done, especially when you're in your second trimester and feel dizzy and light-headed if you are standing for too long (or at least I do)). Any activity you can do will help, even if it's just a short walk around the block.

Lastly, you could take an anti-inflammatory (although if you're pregnant, be careful which ones) to see if that helps calms things down too but basically, it's the baby's fault. The extra weight, the baby kicking, and the rearranging of organs can put a lot of strain on your body. At least people seem to be saying that it tends to get better in your third trimester (although I personally think that would make it worse, being so much bigger, but we'll just have to see!)

Little Pumpkin

So I mentioned yesterday that I made the big pumpkin over the weekend but last night, I made my little pumpkin (you can get the link to the pattern in the previous post). This is how it turned out (next to the big pumpkin and a spool of thread so you can get an idea of just how little this is!)

In comparison to the big pumpkin, it was harder but it just took a bit to get the hang of sewing the smaller pieces. I still needed help putting the floss over the sections to create the plump look but I think it ended up worth it. I also liked that I used an alternating pattern even though it took a little extra work (I had to redo some seams because when sewing, I put the wrong piece on top and then it wouldn't've turned out every other). I also still prefer the look of the brown stem but that's of course personal preference (the pattern recommends a green stem).

Lots of New Things!

Okay I hope this post won't get too long but I'm too excited to try to spread it out into several different posts so this might get crammed.

On Friday night, my sewing machine's tension was acting goofy and despite rethreading it and playing with dials and things, David and I couldn't get it to work right again. We had called his mom because she is really good at fixing machines but she would've had to see it in person to figure it out. She did suggest that I get a cheap, new machine to practice on because I am so nervous about my Goodwill sewing machine. The newer machines can go slower and aren't as complicated to use (for instance, on my Goodwill machine, I have to turn the needle dial after the needle is already down in order to get it to start moving. A pain!). So David convinced me (not that it took much) and we bought a new Brother machine for 80 dollars--very low end but just something to build my confidence. Plus two machines can really come in handy, especially when one of them is broken or happens to weigh 40 pounds (literally). So  yay!!! New sewing machine! I even threaded it and made a bobbin all by myself!

Then I decided that I might as well use it so I could get my practice. I really wanted to make a pin cushion because I heard they are a good beginner project and I felt like I needed one. I followed this tutorial.
http://blog.creativekismet.com/2007/11/16/patchwork-pincushion-tutorial/ Or at least I tried to follow it. I made some changes. I started out using a paper plate (which is surprisingly hard to fold into six pieces instead of eight) that was kind of big (but it worked out okay because I am awful at seam allowances so everything ended up tiny). I had tried to use a 1/4 seam allowance because my original started out so big. I had a hard time cutting my pieces to be the same sizes though (I could really use a chalk pen or something. David's mom has one and it's amazing!). I didn't use felt on the back, I used fleece because at the time, I didn't have felt (I have since bought a few things that were on clearance). I also didn't make my "petals" or do the decorative slip stitch along the edge. I did put my button on to hide all my non-matched up corners. That was really hard to make sure my needle was coming up through my button since you have to go through so many layers with the fiber fill inside (I actually used fabric scraps for this) and I wished I had used a longer needle. So I admit it's pretty loppy and got significantly smaller but it was a good starter project and I learned a lot. Plus, you gotta give me a break since it was basically my first project on my sewing machine. I do plan on making more in the future but for now, here is what mine looks like.

On Sunday night, David and I went over to his parents house to make pumpkins! I have only made the big one so far but I will probably get to my little one today. They were not as easy as I thought they were going to be and took 4-4 1/2 hours. Here is where you'll find the patterns. http://sewing.about.com/od/homedecprojects/ss/Thanksgiving-And-Halloween-Pumpkin-Pillow-Decoration.htm I like the size of the big pumpkin but the little pumpkin is tiny and much much much smaller than the large. I feel like they should have a medium pumpkin to go in between the two sizes. I will post the smaller pumpkin when I finish it (if I finish it. I needed a lot of help with the floss to shape the pumpkin and closing the top). I mostly used dryer lint to fill it since what else are  you going to do with dryer lint? I am really pleased with how mine turned out but I'm hoping these last a long time (I want them for fall/Halloween decorations) so I will never have to go through all that again. I did get to use David's mom's machine though and it is SO nice. It's a Bernina so of course it's nice but it even has a button where the motor only goes half speed so I could only go slow (which is why, for once, my seam allowances were okay!) and the needle automatically goes back up once you stop sewing! It's just so nice but it should be considering how much those cost.

I didn't use carpet thread though. We used upholstery thread leftover from our poufs. I also used brown fabric for the stem because I didn't like the way the green looked. So here is what mine looks like. I know with the way I took the picture it's hard to tell how big it is. I would say the bottom is about the same size as a CD. It looks like a cute, little pumpkin you'd find at the pumpkin patch.

Oh and on Saturday when David's parents came over to work on the house, his mom did get the Goodwill sewing machine working. Turns out, we were threading it wrong (but we don't have a threading guide or a manual. Nor could we find one online.)

I also started a fall wreath but I will post more about that when I finish it. This is a no-sew project but is lots and lots of scissor work. I got a blister!

Meatballs

I have discovered that I am not a fan of ground beef, something about the texture I think. (I don't know if I had mentioned but I was a vegetarian for about six years, a pescatarian (I ate fish) for about a year, and then I got pregnant and had to switch to eating meat for nutritional reasons so I am just starting to discover meat recipes). However, David and I bought about 6 pounds of it because it was on sale and he likes ground beef and at the time, I didn't know I didn't like it. I've been trying to use it up. We've had it in meatloaf, chili, hamburgers, and now meatballs. In this recipe you could also use ground turkey but make sure it has enough fat to it or it won't stick together. You could also drizzle in olive oil if you already have lean turkey.

The seasonings are totally to taste but I used

• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt (if you skip this, your meatballs might end up really bland depending on what you pair them with)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp minced onion (you could use real onions but it's always a battle in our house to find someone willing to chop the onion)
• 1 egg
• bread crumbs (we don't buy bread crumbs so we used 2 slices of toasted bread ripped up. If you buy seasoned bread crumbs, you may want to adjust your other seasonings)
• 1 pound ground beef (or turkey)

Grease a 9x13 pan and put in the oven WHILE preheating to 350. Mix all your ingredients in a bowl and form into balls (you can use an ice cream scoop if it's easier). When the oven is ready, take out the baking dish and add your meatballs. Cook for 20 minutes (with an optional turning over at 15 minutes).

You could also add cheese to these. I hear parmesan or mozzarella is really good with meatballs. I also think that more basil and oregano in addition to the italian seasoning might be really good too but I didn't do it because David doesn't really like them in the first place. 

Finished My Coasters

Back in May, I updated you all on my coasters (the link is under my crafts tab). At that point, I had finished the tops. I even started these before May so I have been working on them for MONTHS but now that my pouf has inspired me to keep working on my sewing projects, I finally finished them! I hand sewed the entire thing and would've gone much faster with a machine (or motivation). I didn't know how to do the invisible stitch after you turn it right side out so that's just a smaller stitch so it's less obvious. I also didn't use the fusible fleece stuff. When I sewed around the edges (before you flip it out), I would make sure to sew at least one edge of the regular fleece (that was my inside) so it stays pretty well when you flip it. I'm sorry if that sounds confusing but once you look at the directions it might make more sense.

 This picture shows the first coaster. As you can see, the corners are the hardest part to turn out. This was also before I did the stitch to close it (so that thread is also not visible on the finished product). But aren't they cute?? These were really fun to make and even if I hand sew them next time, I think now that I know what I'm doing it would be easier. I am pretty sure this was my first time following instructions for something. Basically the only thing I had sewn before was my reusable pads and that was my own design and I didn't really care how bad the stitching looked since they were for personal use.

If you would like to make them and would like more help understanding my modifications, let me know in the comments and I'll help as much as I can!

I Made a Pouf!

I have gotten behind in my sewing projects lately, mostly because I don't have a good place to work yet. When the house is done I will but that'll still take a bit. However, this doesn't stop me from wanting to make things. Yesterday, David and I were commenting to each other how nice it would be to have an ottoman in the living room. We decided to look up how to make one yourself because these can get surprisingly pricey! We found a very nice tutorial but we don't always know what they're talking about so we decided to enlist in his mom's help (she sews and quilts and does projects all the time---she even gets her own room at their house for it!). So we gathered our supplies (mostly from Walmart since we are SO lucky our Walmart has fabric considering the closest Jo-Ann Fabric store is 30 miles away) and headed over. When his mom saw how easy it was to make these, we helped her make one too (we had a nice assembly line going).

This is the link we used. http://www.bhg.com/decorating/do-it-yourself/accents/make-a-pretty-pouf/print/?printAll=true&currentSlide=1

We did change things a little bit.

• We didn't use burlap. We used a (giraffe printed) canvas fabric instead. It also happened to be 54 inches wide so that worked out well. Because of this, you don't need the bed sheet under it. 
• We didn't do the fancy decorate stitching on the outside. It's completely optional and I think ours looks great without it. If we change our minds in the future, it's really easy to add later.
• Our stuffing consisted of thick foam that we had made to match the side sections, a pillow that pushed those out to the sides, bed sheets (I think we used 4) stuffed down the middle of the pillow, another piece of foam on top of that, and a bag of fiberfill. Basically, you want something to help shape the outside. When we had tried to put other things there and just cram it all in, it got too lumpy. We just happened to have the foam on hand so that worked well. Plus, it was heavier so it helped give some weight to the pouf.
• In the second step, they have you cut the patterns out of your fabric one by one with a scissors. You could pretty easily fold it several times and use a rotary cutter instead (we originally had it so all 8 pieces came out with one cutting but the cutter cut dull quick and we had to use really heavy duty scissors instead. If you don't have those, maybe only do four at a time). 

This whole thing only took a few hours, although we were working together. I think it's totally worth the time.

Update: a picture!