A New Purse

My friend Sylvia came to church with a beautiful purse she had made.

It totally gave me the itch to make a new purse.  So I did.

I thought a lot about the size and style I wanted and came up with this.

The material is a soft green and cream striped linen-type fabric.  I used fusible fleece to give it some substance.

I machine-appliqued a doily on the front for fun.

The back has a long slip pocket for quickly stashing keys, grocery lists and receipts.

This time I used fusible Steam-A-Seam stuff to adhere the doily.

The inside has a stiff insert in the bottom, two slip pockets and small zippered pocket.

Really it looks like this though.

Of course, then I had to make a bunch to go inside of it, including a diaper clutch, coin purse, sunglasses holder and checkbook cover.  (The embroidered pouch isn’t pictured.)

The diaper clutch is my favorite.  It’s made from a vintage pillowcase and I used the fusible stuff to attach another doily.

Now that I’ve figured out measurements and techniques, I kind of want to give it another go with coordinating fabrics.  I think it would be fun to have a purse and accessories that all looked good together.

Little Zippered Pouch

I made this little zippered pouch in attempt organize the jungle inside my purse.

The outside is made from an embroidered baby dress and the inside is made from thrifted linens.

I used a lovely tutorial at Flossie Teacakes and it turned out just like I had hoped.  It was a fun and quick project.

Homemade Yogurt

I’ve finally found a recipe and method for homemade yogurt that the whole family likes.

This yogurt is creamy and thick and delicious.

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Ingredients:

1/2 gallon of milk (whole, 1%, 2%, or non-fat, they really do all work, I’ve tested it)

6 oz of store-bought vanilla or plain yogurt (Greek style is fine), room temperature

honey or agave, to taste

vanilla extract, to taste

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Method:

On the stove (or in the microwave), heat milk to between 180 and 185, stirring gently every so often.

Let milk cool to between 105 and 115 degrees.  Gently whisk in store-bought yogurt.

Pour milky mixture into two quart-size clean mason jars.  Any leftovers can go into a smaller plastic or glass container.  Place lids on the containers and set all of them into a small camping cooler.  Fill the cooler with hot tap water and shut the lid.

I’ve found that my yogurt sets in 4 to 6 hours.  When it’s done, remove the yogurt from the cooler and dump the contents of all the jars into a strainer lined with a layer of muslin (non-dyed cotton fabric).  Cheesecloth or a super fancy fine-mesh strainer would also work.  Set the strainer over a larger bowl and set in the fridge to drain the whey.

Leave it alone for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Scoop the yogurt into a large bowl and whisk it vigorously to smooth it out.  Sweeten it to taste with vanilla and honey and whisk it some more.  Transfer yogurt to desired containers and refrigerate until ready to use.  The yogurt will thicken up even more as it refrigerates.

The nice thing about straining the yogurt is that it doesn’t separate when you leave it in the fridge and you can stir it to your hearts content.  It also makes it easy to serve and has a more appealing texture (in my opinion) and one that my kids recognize as yogurt.  I also really like sweetening it at the end because I can adjust it as much as I like.

We love to eat our yogurt with some fresh strawberry jam and homemade granola.  Super yummy!

 If you want, you can strain your yogurt even longer and make a cream-cheese like product that can be mixed with jam or something savory.  It’s a nice way to use up any yogurt that is still laying around at the end of the week, which hasn’t been an issue with us so far.

Baby Gifts

I made this little baby dress as a baby shower gift.

It matches a flower headband that I had already given her.  I wish I had remembered to take a picture, because it really was cute.

I’m still working on tags.

Actually, I forget to work on tags up until I need one, at which point I just throw something together and call it good.

Tags are on my list though.

I also made this little thing which photographs horribly, unless you have it on a baby which I do not have.

It’s a ruffled romper and matching headband.  It’s the kind of thing that people like to use as photo props.  Hopefully the fit is right, because I had no baby to try it on.

A Dress of Her Own

The sweet babe got a dress of her own and I got to experiment with pattern drafting.

Not bad for the first draft.  I’m mainly working on the bodice which I’m going to tweak a bit.

I like the little flutter sleeves I made and will definitely be doing those again.

Toddler Ruffle Back Dress

I made this sweet little dress for a friend’s little girl who is turning 2.

My own little babe was willing to model it for me so I could get some pictures.

Though, I think she’d like payment in the form of a dress for her own.

I’m happy to oblige of course.

 I combined two different tutorials for this this dress.  The first is at Craftiness is Optional and the second at Creating by Cami.  I think the dress turned out cute.

I used some Michael Miller knit that I had on hand (the print) and the last of some pink jersey I’d ordered on clearance from some site.

I’m feeling more toddler dresses coming this way and not just because I need to make one for the wee babe above.  Clothing design is something that really interests me and I think it’s about time I give it a shot.

Wallets

I’ve been making wallets.  Four to be exact.

I’ve tried several different patterns, but none of them were exactly what I wanted.

I think I just need to draft my own.

Another day.

This is the wallet I made for my sweet boy for his 6th birthday.

It’s a manly but soft faux leather on the outside.

With a pirate theme on the inside.  I freaked out about mid way through this one because I realized that the polka dots combined with the black were channeling Minnie Mouse… but I think it ended up okay.

There is a zipper pocket for change, two long pockets for cash and notes and a bunch of slots for his baseball cards.  He really wanted a long wallet and was very pleased with this one.