Randomly In March Already

 Spring is here. Most of the east coast and midwest are buried in snow drifts. We in the Willamette valley of Oregon are just sitting back and enjoying our four month show of spring flowers. Maybe a few gray, overcast days to break up the monotonous beauty.

I am taking photos and only a few are even making it to Instagram. A fellow employee retired clear back in October and we have yet to get another body hired. Lots of 12 hour split shifts for me. I was pretty sick since December and I seemed to pick up three versions of something and it's been difficult trying to get on top of the crud with so many tiring work hours.

I took advantage of being tired and played Library Bingo where you could just read four category books and win a mug or you could play all 16 (blackout!) and be in the running to win a Kindle Fire. For some reason, this hit me at the right time of year and I was very inspired to read not just quick novels,  but some new to me books in categories I normally don't read and that seemed to fit my energy level quite well.

Anyway, I took a week off last week to go to SewExpo (sewexpo.com) and used the time well. My son and girlfriend visited and my sis from MN flew in to help do some family (interventions). So the week was busy but not over the top which so often happens when my sis visits.

I also had the opportunity to be one of the first reviewers of a friend's foray into writing children's books. She is a talented illustrator. I don't know if you're familiar with Jan Brett but this gal has a similar style of making the illustrations tell a story beyond the actual story.  She hasn't published yet but is very close.

 This book is a version of the 12 days of Christmas. "...My true love gave to me Six Warthogs Wading...", set in a fanciful zoo of animals.

 Until the princess is surrounded by all these wonderful animals and has to call mom on what to do now.

 This book features a boy who drinks a sip of coffee and turns into a fanciful animal. A very simple story but gorgeous illustrations that are fun to ponder and enjoy on their own.

So, here I am with new fabric for a new quilt. The post office keeps saying since they "delivered' it to a parcel locker, the claim for insurance is denied. The not giving out keys issue is totally ignored. If you're new to this story, I made a quilt for my son for christmas. he never got a key to the parcel locker. My sis in MN also sent him a package that arrived the same day and also, NO KEY. If you can read between the lines, a few choice swear words were inserted.

So quilt no.2 is all sandwiched now and I have started the hand stitching. After that, I can bind it and re-send it either to their new house or via UPS since USPS is ridiculous in their no communication.

I was in sort of a denial place. Partly because I didn't want to re-make this and partly because winter will be over before they get it. And it was made for Christmas Wintery Cold.

And of course the fabric store didn't have the same fabrics - they had also moved onto Spring. Now I think I should have made a spring gingham but I am committed. Possibly I should be committed.

 Here's a picture for Kyle of the snow that shut down Portland. Bare ground. Schools cancelled the day before it even snowed. Gone by afternoon snow.  Portland did get hit much harder than my banana belt community.

And finally.
My dd nailed this photo of the Northern Lights. She's still up in Alaska.
This is what 3am looks like on a cold wintry night.

Holiday Baking

I had time this holiday season to do some baking.

I played with Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten free flour.  Most of the time it behaves just like regular flour. It's a straight replacement and works well for people who must avoid gluten.

I can't eat grains without alarming my auto-immune but gluten-free grains are easier on my system than wheat flour.

This is an amazing flour for Biscotti. I made lemon biscotti and the 1 to 1 flour gave them the perfect dryness.  I just used the first recipe I found online - they are nearly all the same. 

I drizzled mine with dark and white chocolate and they were perfect for dipping in our morning coffee. 

My next cookie is an old Betty Crocker recipe that goes by the name of Cream Wafers. 

My sister discovered this cookie when she was baking for a wedding a long time ago. These are little bite-size cookies that melt in your mouth. The wafers are like a pie crust with frosting between. I will say Bob's red mill 1 to 1 flour made them super melty in your mouth.

You roll them out as thin as you can and then cut with 1 to 1 1/2 inch cookie cutters. Then you sluice them through some granulated sugar and lay them on a cookie sheet. With your biggest fork, prick them like saltine crackers. Bake for just 7 minutes.

However, half of them were so fragile, they broke just moving from the cookie sheet to my counter. I made the frosting as loose as I could but still had some serious airplane disasters. The poor little gingerbread men lost legs and heads at an alarming rate.

I had made a couple of batches of chocolate chip cookies with this gluten free flour and noticed that my cookies were drier than usual. More crumbly after a few days. Someone suggested adding more butter, so I kept this in mind when I made the Cream Wafer dough.

The stars lost their pointy bits

 The pile of broken bits were eaten up anyway. This little cookie is a holiday favorite. I get requests all the time. Next time, I might try half Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour and half regular wheat flour and see it this helps keep them less fragile but still delicate to melt in your mouth. The ones that survived were a fantastic texture but too delicate for me being in my usual hurry.

 I also made my traditional Danish Puff Pastry - also from an old Betty Crocker cookbook but lost the taste for playing and used regular flour instead. It's difficult to experiment, especially at holidays where the pressure is on to have the usual tried and true delectable treats.

It was fun to play with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1  flour with several recipes back to back. I have a good sense of how it works for me now. And it's way better than the old gluten free method of combining four or five different flours to get the texture you want (plus the xanthum gum...).

Both my kids came home. I like to think it's my danish puff that brings them home but it's probably the lottery scratch off tickets that Santa gives out in the Christmas stockings.

 In other news, my dear sewing friend Kyle, made a month by month calendar featuring her bags she has sewn in the last few years. I love this idea and the thoughtfulness of sharing. What better way to acknowledge what we make than to celebrate it.


I'm still working long hours after a co-worker suffered an on-the-job injury that the supervisor is trying to bury under the rug and not do workman's comp paperwork.

 
I'll leave you with a beautiful Oregon coast photo that my son took the day before Christmas.
Both of my kids really enjoy photography and get very creative.

An Ode To Pencil Girl

 It is almost impossible to sew for oneself without a tailors dummy. I'm this close to making a duct tape one - except I hate the smell of duct tape.
The almost 100' heat wave continues here in Oregon, making it impossible to be outside except in the early morning hours. Thank the lord we have air conditioning. And a fan. I have been sewing.

Not easy projects either.
Look - I sewed work shorts and a tank top

I succumbed to a craftsy deal a year or so ago where I bought this pattern and fabric for $25.
Even I know it was a good deal. A yard and a half of Anna Maria Horner's  "Field Study" Rayon Challis plus a Simplicity 1614 paper pattern.
{It's title is "Sinister Swarm" which I didn't know ('cuz that's just scary).}

This fabric is so soft.

I'm using Front D and Back B.

This Sinster Swarm fabric is so busy, that sewing random lines would never appear in the finished item. Plus that yoke bit in front - not so easy to fit on my adult girls. 

Pencil Girl and I met up last May and she tissue-fitted me with these pieces.
Once I cut out the fabric, I pinned the fabric pieces to my tank top I was wearing.

I dealt with an extra inch at the top front by creating 2" of tiny gathers. I also had some armhole gaping in front so I pinched a small 3" dart in as well. This fabric is so busy, I can't even see these seams, so I was doubly glad we opted out of extra seams in view A and B.

Other than that, her tissue fitting was spot on. I am very appreciative that she offered.

Here's the back view below - I think I was leaning forward fruitlessly forgetting that I had my hair chopped off a couple of weeks ago and there was no need to lean my head down.

My daughter was home for a quick weekend wedding and I made her pin my hem and take photos.

Combining different views created a weird hem and I didn't want it straight across.
Originally, I was going to put a small handkerchief hem with points at the side seams but my daughter who has way more style sense than me pinned this instead.

You can see my work shorts too. Three sets of pockets. A buttload of top stitching.
And finished!

Still have chalk marks but the first wash should smarten these up. I'm curious to see what the first wash will do for my rayon challis tank top. I think the bias tape that got a wee bit  stretched  will resume it's proper shape.

Swarm of pretty butterflies...

The top edges and the armholes are all bound with bias tape which is secure. That rayon challis on the bias stretched every which way and I might have had a few words with it before we finished. I almost went with some commercial black  bias tape but decided against because this fabric is so soft and commercial bias tape is not. At times while wrestling, I cursed my decision.

I hemmed this with a simple double hem and grabbed the photographer right before she left.

Not sure why top is rucked up on front right but you do see what's behind me?
The fuselage for the Piper J-5.
In my garage.

Thank you PENCIL GIRL!
I couldn't have started without your help and encouragment.
This tank top is so soft and comfortable. No pulling when I sit down.

*** I didn't have to re-thread anything as Navy Blue was in both the serger and the pfaff.
Me and my lazy ways...

****Pencil girl is just a code name for a dear friend. (I've known her since college!) Those friends of mine who don't blog have a screen name as my internet protection method is one of confusion.

***** Did you notice the wonder clips in the hemming process???