Nifty Sewing Notion

While browsing earlier today, I came across Ruth's blog and her Pretty Pattern Weights. They're gorgeous. So pretty *and* practical. I clicked through to her Etsy shop to take a look at the different sets offered and this is my hands-down favorite. They are, as one of my daughter's friends would say, so much that awesome! If I had any money, I'd buy them.

By the way, NAYY. Just wanted to share with other sewers.

Yes, I'm still here

Not that anyone in cyberspace probably cares. LOL I doubt that anyone even checks my blog to see if I've posted. :-) I have resolved to begin posting at least once a week. I don't lead an "exciting" life, nor do I have a gaggle of young children (wish I did) to provide fodder for my posts; though I do have a college-age daughter who makes life interesting. :-)

I am so inspired by some of the blogs I visit on a regular basis. I'll never be as eloquent a wordsmith as they; but I will "take the risk to blossom" just the same.

Those who know me well know that I don't like to cook. I do cook, but not for fun. I have a friend who cooks "for fun". She enjoys making meals pretty, etc. God bless her, but I cannot emphasize enough just how far down cooking is on my "fun-things-to-do" list. I do, however, like to eat -- especially chocolate (it's my favorite food group). And I crave chocolate on a regular basis. So...I'm sharing a recipe I make when I need a serious chocolate fix. I love this stuff!!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

7 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 cups hot water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar, flour, 3 Tbsp. cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in milk, melted butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour batter in an 8"x8" pan.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar and the remaining 4 Tbsp. of cocoa. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the cake batter. Slowly pour the hot water over the top; do not stir (this is what makes the pudding underneath the cake). Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

~~Isaiah 9:6

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
~~Luke 2:8-14

The Weekend

Saturday was, for the most part, routine -- laundry, cleaning, etc.

My brother and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary Saturday evening, so we dropped by for the celebration. Two of my other siblings were there with their spouses. I hadn't seen them since our Christmas get-together in early December so it was nice seeing them and catching up with the latest news. My SIL's brother brought a photo album of the wedding and it was so much fun to see what everyone looked like 25 years ago. LOL I guess I should mention that they are actually my half-siblings and for the first 40 years of my life we had no contact, which is why the photo album was such fun for me.

Yesterday, I SEWED!! I worked on Kwik-Sew 3419. Unfortunately, my results weren't what I'd hoped for. I have definite fit issues to deal with on this pattern and I'm not quite sure how to handle them, but I'm working on it. I'm seriously out-of-practice on sewing with knits and I can't help but think that that was a contributing factor as well. The neckline on this top has a facing which I will definitely nix the next time I make it. I headed to Pattern Review before I started to read other's review of this pattern. I do think if I can get it fitted properly that it *might* be a good style for me -- we'll see.

My other great find was a podcast done by a woman named Heather. It's called CraftLit "a podcast for crafters who love books". Heather is an English teacher and her podcasts are fantastic. She is particularly fond of British Literature (so am I) so I hit paydirt in finding her blog. I have no idea how I got there. I was just browsing blogs and somehow I wound up at CraftLit. Right now, she's in the third (or fourth) chapter of A Tale of Two Cities (the link is a downloadable text version) by Charles Dickens. So as I sewed, I listened -- such bliss.

There's my weekend in a nutshell. Hope all of you enjoyed yours.

Off to work for me. :-(

Don't Try This at Home

DD was shopping in Meijer when she discovered one of those fill-it-yourself "beanbag" cubes on the clearance rack. So in she comes with her cube around (11 p.m.) and a bag of "beans" (which actually looked like miniature marshmallows). We read and followed the directions on the package and a lot of good it did -- what a mess. Those "beans" stuck to everything! I'm still finding them all over the house.

We did, finally, get the cube stuffed. But the styrofoam marshmallow carnage hadn't finished its sport with us. Nope -- not by a long shot.

We needed a ShopVac, but the only one available was in the garage full of wood shavings and I'd had enough trouble with Styrofoam, I didn't need splinter-inducing material added to the mix.

The solution: Mist everything (including us) with water to take the static out...Voila! We had it cleaned up in about ten minutes. Dryer sheets might have worked too, but we didn't have any.

DD suggested we try it outside next time. I can just see those "marshmallows" floating all over the neighborhood...hundreds and hundreds, stuck on people, vehicles, homes, floating on the lake, sticking to the ducks and geese. And oh the letters we'd get from the Homeowner's Association.

Since a picture's worth a thousand words:

Finally, Some Sewing-Related Time

I finally(!!!) got to spend time on sewing-related activities. Yay!!

I traced out Kwik-Sew #3419 (for me!) made an adjustment on the sleeves and raised the neckline. I'm short-waisted, so I still need to make those adjustments. I found some ugly knit fabric for $1.00 a yard at Jo-Ann's -- perfect to use for a muslin.

I need to get started on a dress for dd -- her Senior Prom. She chose this Simplicity Pattern. I haven't sewn an actual garment for quite some time and I've never tackled a formal dress. I'm pleased that she wants me to make her dress and I so desperately want it to turn out well. Her color of choice is Royal Blue. She's a "Winter" and looks fabulous in jewel-tone colors. If I make a mess of it, I told her we'd head to David's Bridal. ;-)

No sewing tomorrow -- I have to work all day and then I'm taking dd and two of her friends to the Pacers vs. Hawks game. The homeschool basketball team she cheered for is going to be the "Group of the Game". We'll get some free thunder-stix, t-shirts and food. Every time the Pacers hit a 3-pointer they'll show the group on the Arena screen. I live in Indiana -- the "basketball state", the home of the reigning Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts and the home of the Indy 500. All that, and I've never been to a pro (or college) sporting event. I'm hoping that since the Pacers are doing so poorly that the traffic won't be as bad. :-)

Off to bed now.

My Daughter

We received notification from the college my daughter will be attending this fall that she's been selected as an Outstanding Freshman Scholar. Great job, my wonderful girl! And a thank you to God for answered prayers.

She's a Varsity Cheerleader with a homeschool basketball team. The team has been on a tournament trip this week. I've missed her, but she's had a blast. The team took 4th place in the conference -- not too shabby. I'm glad she had a great time, but I'm looking forward to having her back home.

She's a sweet girl with a heart for God... such a blessing. Below is a the header from her blog. It describes her so well.