In case you were wondering...

if you take 2 yards of sixty inch wide fabric and make a 2 inch wide bias strip out of it, you will end up with 65 yards of bias tape.

I know you were wondering that.

A few more little known facts -

-When the disappearing ink pen says that it will last 24 hours, do not believe it! It will not last the amount of time that it takes to sew and measure your binding.

-It is very frustrating to re-measure already sewn continuous loop bias binding.

-Children with dirty hands are irresistibly drawn to white satin.

-Convincing slippery satin bias tape to STAY ROLLED is nearly impossible. Swearing may be required. Or duct tape.

-After you have made all of that bias binding, you will need large amounts of semi-sweet chocolate chips and Advil to deal with the resultant migraine.

Hubby's favorite

My hubby has raved so much about this meal to his parents that my mother-in-law requested the recipe! The original (and the picture) comes from the Kraftfoods website, but I make it my own way. Here's my version.Polynesian Meatballs

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (we like Jack Daniel's original recipe)

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, with about half of the liquid drained off

16 oz package frozen meatballs, either "original" or Italian flavored

1 green pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 cup rice, either brown or jasmine are great!

First start the rice by whatever method you prefer. I throw it in the rice cooker, but I'm sure that there is some other way to make it...

In a large skillet, mix the BBQ sauce and the pineapple. Bring to a boil over med-high. Add the meatballs and the pepper and simmer 10-15 minutes, until the meatballs are warmed through and while the pepper is still crisp.

Serve over the rice. Add a tall glass of milk and you've got 4 food groups!

Yum!

The dress - update

Bet you're wondering what's going on with that wedding dress I'm supposed to be making, huh? Well, Thursday night my saint of a husband forced my protesting body into the car so that I could go wedding shopping without my usual two helpers. It was pure bliss to wander down the aisles of one of my favorite places - without the usual worries about grubby fingers touching the silks and tearing up patterns. I came home with many yards of beautiful white fabrics in all sorts of weights and types. We have satin, organza, taffeta - so wonderful!Here is some of the haul.
And here is the organza overskirt, draped over my ironing board. Isn't it sparkly!? I decided to start with the overskirt construction, since it was only 3 seams and the cheapest to replace if I completely futzed it up.
I can't get over how lovely this fabric is. I like sparkly things. Here is one of the french seams. Nice, eh? Since the fabric is so sheer (as you can see from the hand on the other side!), french seams are a must. It is also terribly slippery and ravels like crazy. I figure once I get done with this - the hard part is done. Satin won't be so bad!!

Joy School Tote

Some friends and I are setting up a Joy School style preschool for our kiddos, and we needed a tote to cart all of our supplies from home to home as we swap teaching duties. Despite all of the other things I have going on this month, I figured I could squeeze in a quick tote, and what do you know - I did!
Yes, it really is enormous. Our posters are 18x24, so I wanted it to be big enough to fit them inside. I'm not sure that I love it, but it will do for now, and once we get a better feel for what we need I can make us a new one.
Isn't this perfect fabric? So very scholastic! I hope the other mommies like it!

Ren Fest sewing: Pirate hats

I had thought that I would save these for the week after the wedding in that nonspecific "when I have time" period, which I fear would mean that they would never get done, but since I don't have my bridal fabrics yet, I decided to move forward with the pirate gear, and so I made up these hats. I'm glad that I did. I really think that they will "make" these costumes!

Wow, were they quick and easy! I have made a hat of this style before, but with 6 panels and lined. This one is only 4 panels and is not lined. The Jolly Roger is just fused on with Heat and Bond. The pattern calls for you to glue the brim up to the crown, but I stitched it up there. I think it will hold better than glue would. I did think about lining it, but it is a costume, and really, what are the odds that two toddlers are actually going to wear their hats for any reasonable length of time?? The four panel version was SOOO much easier than a 6 panel! These went together like a dream.Myra likes it!

There was one little area that I just couldn't get, and messed up on both hats! When you attach the cap to the brim, the instructions say to pin the RIGHT side of the brim to the WRONG side of the crown, and in the picture, you end up with a seam in the inside of the hat, but both times my seam ended up on the outside. What did I do? Fortunately, the brim folds up over the seam. I trimmed it really close and ran a zigzag over the seam allowance, so you really can't tell.Can you?