Practice, practice...

Soccer--and swim and tennis and karate--practice for the older boys = more practice knitting for me.  More cotton yarn, this time worked in the 'bamboo' stitch for another dish cloth.

And even though I have no business doing this, I've cast on for my first lace project.  It's a free scarf pattern aptly named Branching Out. 

I have learned it is neither suitable for mindless knitting nor to be done without a pencil and the pattern chart at hand.  But I'm enjoying it nonetheless as I'm determined to learn how to read from a chart.  I've reminded myself how 'smart' I am countless times as I've ripped and restarted many, many times due to mysteriously dropped stitches.

Once it's done, I have set my sights rather high on the very thing that motivated me to relearn and begin knitting again in the first place:  the Shalom cardigan.  My close friend, Jenn, is a very experienced and skilled knitter and she says she'll do a knit-a-long with me.  There are so many blog posts about Shalom that even non-knitters have probably noticed it.  I plan to do the soulemama version which has sleeves and an extra button.  I am so excited! 

Sandra

This one is for grandma...

in Cincinnati. 

Who checks in regularly during her lunch breaks at work. 

Who I've meant to call for days--okay, weeks--to tell her about William's arm.

He is fine.  His cast is long off, but not before a round of signatures...

 

 

Good thing, too, because morning reading time that usually morphs into jumping on the bed time has been way too tame for certain critics around here.  But it sure did make for some sweet bits of calm. 

Now, to be clear, I am in no way suggesting that I prefer my youngest child's arm to be in a cast, no matter how much it dialed it down in the house.  But I think someone misses it (or perhaps the extra attention it generated).

Before realizing his cast was off...

and immediately after. 

Happy Monday!

Sandra 

Knitting, again (again).

Two things happened to prompt me to pick up my knitting needles again.

First, my sewing machine had to go in for service.  It took a week to get back!

And second, with the kidlets out of the house for a couple of days last weekend, I felt it safe to pull out and set down long, pointy things.  You see, the older boys are going through a huge, all-consuming, Star Wars phase.  And I use the term phase very loosely because I fully expect it to last years.  Even the two-year-old can make pretty impressive light saber sound effects as he swooshes about whatever he's gripping.

In search of a quick, one skien project, I headed to the library to check out several knitting books.  Two immediately made it to my 'must buy next time I'm allowed to buy books' list (I have a wee problem buying craft books).

My word--these two books have filled my head with ideas, like crazy.  But before I actually go crazy (because odds are I will), I am having fun practicing new techniques with low-cost cotton yarn.  Yes, I am talking about dish cloths.  Sort of a funny thought to me at first.  But now I totally get it.  It's just enough repetition to figure out whether you want to commit to a certain stitch pattern before you cast on a more ambitious project.  And more importantly for an on again/off again knitter like me--it gives you plenty of low-stress opportunity to learn how to correct the inevitable mistake.  First up, a ballband dishcloth, allowing me to practice working with two colors.

So fun.  And quick!  This does not bode well for my craft budget because I foresee a yarn buying trip in my near future.  And looking at the prices of some of the hanks and the yardage required for projects I'm queuing up in Ravelry, I think I might have to find a pile of forgotten funds (ha!) to afford this as a true hobby.

Sandra

Happy (belated) 4th!

Our 4th of July weekend was full and happy indeed--hope yours was too.  We had two significant celebrations to attend to.  Both birthdays, both milestones, and both for fabulous friends.  Our boys did not want to miss out on some family outings while we were preoccupied with these parties so they were treated to overnighters with cousins one night and grandma and grandpa the next.  And considering they slept in until 9:00 a.m. the day after they got home, I'd say they got their fair share of fun this weekend as well.

Sadly, I did not think to bring my camera to one birthday celebration.  So please picture three couples who are longtime friends, enjoying a nice dinner out just chatting and laughing away, undisturbed by curious little hands or other interruptions.  Oh, and do picture me with a purse that did not have to double as a diaper bag because that was pretty exciting.

The next night was a neighborhood birthday celebration and I was in charge of desserts, a few appetizers, and some flowers. 

I made my first red velvet cake--success!  Many proclaimed surprise that I had never baked a red velvet cake before.  But then I reminded them that I usually bake for the under-7 set.  And so a cake containing red dye as a defining ingredient never seemed like a smart option.

I used a favorite cream cheese frosting recipe--probably not the best choice given the soaring temperatures.  But it held.  I really need to take a cake decorating class instead of just fiddling my way through it every time.  Otherwise, I'm a little worried that my handwriting might make an appearance on cakewrecks some day...

And of course there were cupcakes. 

Lots and lots of cupcakes...vanilla bean poundcake with the same cream cheese frosting, just made a tad thicker.  And yes, we had some for breakfast today.

I will post the red velvet cake recipe with my notes later.  I will also try to remember what I threw into a salsa I brought because folks were going at it with spoons.  Both recipes are definitely keepers!

Sandra

Easy oven chicken recipe.

Busy, busy, busy.  No different than any of your summer calendars, I am sure.  But honestly, I have no idea what I was thinking.  I signed up the older boys for karate, tennis, and soccer lessons.  Throw in swim lessons and/or swim team practice and all the other summer fun we're trying to schedule and it gets a bit crazy.  Okay, a lot crazy.  Someone check my head.  I think I panicked in trying to keep our oldest busy this entire summer.  It's his first full summer because his school was previously on a year-round schedule but is returning to a traditional calendar year.  And it's completely like me to overdo things.

And of course, even when we have lots more to do, it's not as if the other stuff goes away.  So I thought I'd share one of my secret weapon recipes.  It ensures a hot, home-cooked meal in front of my family no matter how whack-o I went with the activities.  I'm surprised I've never posted it--it is my go-to chicken dish recipe and I scribbled it down from an online site way before I was blogging so I apologize I can't point you to the original source.  Also note that it's a great "food brigade" dish for new mammas and pappas...especially if there is another little one in the house as it is very popular w/ the kidlets.  I made it last week and dropped it off at the home of our newest neighborhood addition.  And I made a big batch for us to enjoy too--we never get tired of it.

Easy Oven Chicken Recipe

*even though I hate to fire up my oven during the height of summer, this one cooks up pretty fast so it's not completely insufferable. 

Ingredients:

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 C dried bread crumbs (if you use Italian flavored, omit Italian seasoning below)
• 1/3 - 1/2 C grated cheese (Parmesan is our favorite but any cheese is great--cheddar or Monterey is fantastic if you want to swap out everything Italian and make it southwest...)
• 2 Tbs fresh parsley chopped (or any fresh herb that "works" with your flavor profile)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• pinch of Italian seasoning (omit if using Italian bread crumbs)
• 2 lbs skinless, boneless, chicken meat, cut into pieces no larger than 2x2 inches (I always have chicken breasts already prepped for this in the freezer)

Directions.

1 Preheat oven to 450°F.

2 In a bowl, combine the minced garlic with the melted butter.  In another bowl mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, fresh herbs, salt, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper.  Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat.

3 Place coated chicken pieces on to a 9x13 baking dish. Try to leave a little room between each piece. Drizzle with remaining garlic butter and bake uncovered 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Note that the chicken will get much more browned on the bottom side than on the top.

Note:  If you prefer, you can use yogurt or an egg wash for the "wet" stage, in lieu of the butter.  But I'm not going to lie, the butter is better.

Serves 4-6.

Enjoy!

Sandra

My new favorite tote.

I, for one, cannot have too many totes.  Especially during the summer.  Endless uses:  pool bag, wet pool bag, library bag, knitting bag, sewing bag, so on and so on.  And oh, let's not forget to mention a rush-to-the-urgent-care bag.  The kind that swallows up favorite board books, a change of clothes, diaper needs, snacks, and medical records and yet still has room for a panicky momma's things.  The kind that gets you out the door fast but not looking nearly as bewildered and harried as you actually are because little man lost his footing on a two-feet-high plastic Little Tykes slide and somehow managed to hurt his arm even though he regularly negotiates seven-feet-high slides and runs with the big boys incident-free. 

More on that in a bit.  This is about the tote.

I cannot count how many reusable grocery bags I have sitting at-the-ready in the pantry.  They are like bunnies.  They multiply.  But they are neither particularly cute nor comfy.  Instead, I have long envisioned a certain tote shape.  The It Tote, if you will.  Something with a vintage-y vibe, not too big, not too small, and most importantly...something worthy of diving into my stash.  You know how it is.

I started searching freebie tutorials for "my vision" and had no luck.  I nearly gave up and decided I'd just draft it up--I know how to sew up a basic tote and what I had in mind was pretty basic with one specific detail.  But then I stumbled upon Ali Foster's patterns.  Her reversible tote design was just about perfect.  And so I bought it and stitched this up.

And in case you were wondering, the specific detail I sought was the continuous double circle handle straps.  A simple thing, yes, but you'd be surprised how few tote designs have it.  And I love it.

I also picked up a couple of other patterns.  Ali is running a great deal in her Etsy shop--3 patterns for under $10.  AND she gives you permission to sell creations from her patterns.  I still have hopes of reopening my Etsy shop or doing a farmer's market sale and would love to stock it with some fun purses and clutches.  As a side note, I have no affiliation to her shop.  I just love her designs and am a happy customer. 

For the fabrics, I repurposed some lovely nubby, linen-look cream colored fabric that was left over from a recent drapery project.  And for the reversible interior, I used a pretty print I've hoarded for quite some time--I wanted something summery but in black to match the dressform screenprint I added. 

This is supposed to be my sewing bag--to group ongoing projects or pattern ideas that need things for progression.  The idea is I'll just grab it when I'm headed out thrifting or to a fabric store in search of the right trim, fabric, or other notion.

A post will follow about the screenprint.  I finally tried out using my Cricut to cut out the stencil.  I haven't mentioned that Santa brought me a Cricut Expression, have I?  Well, that's because it seems a little excessive for this scrapper-who-once-was, but I hear Santa scored an amazing Black Friday sale on it, so Yay Santa. 

I have not used my Cricut to its fullest potential but I've finally decided it was time.  I'll post about the two software programs I used to design the dressform and even include the file in case anyone else is interested.

Back to Will.  He spent the weekend in a soft cast and was none too happy about it.  Hopefully it will come off today and he can go back to terrifying me on the big-boy side of the playground...he is not allowed near any innocent looking, plastic, baby slides!

Happy Monday.

Sandra

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Summer, week one.

Who gets a stomach-bug-slash-head-cold in summer anyways?  I'll give you one guess.  It's the same person who usually never gets sick...I even amazed my nurse practitioner during all three pregnancies because I never caught a cold.  Not even the sniffles.

But this year--my goodness.  I've had more bouts of things here and there...too many to count, really.  And I've had it.  And so has my family.  I am a horrible sick person.  I want to be coddled while simultaneously left alone. 

Luckily this round hit me the first week of summer vacation with all the kidlets home full-time and looking to me for entertainment.

But I'm better now and here are some highlights of the week (trust me, you don't want the lowlights).

Max joined junior swim team.  It was not planned and the gusto with which he approaches practice is rather shocking--they practice every weekday.  A couple of weeks ago, this child could barely doggie paddle from short end to short end of the pool.  And that was only if you forced him--he much preferred hitching a ride on Charlie's or my back.  And the deep end?  Forget it.  He wouldn't even stick a toe in unless an adult  went with him.  Yet after practicing for 2 and 1/2 weeks, he swam his first meet.

Since nothing was planned, we had not yet bought him his team's swimming gear (that stuff is expensive!).  And he kind of stuck out.

It didn't help that he had no idea how to stuff his mop of hair into a cap...

or that he happened to be lined up with some bigger kids...

or that he had no idea what to do at the start line.  When the announcer said, "swimmers, take your mark," I could almost hear Max's mind saying, "who's 'mark' and where, exactly, am I taking him?"

He had no idea how to dive in, but once he saw what the others did, he just gave it a shot (a good two seconds after everyone else launched)...

Charlie and I weren't sure he could make it the entire length of the pool and exchanged some nervous glances.  But we knew they'd throw him a paddle board or give him a lifeguard (this was a B meet) if he needed it...

But he made it.  All on his own.

 

I know many folks have kids who take to water like fish.  But our two oldest have not so this is thrilling.  Leo starts swim lessons next week.  And we are very hopeful that Max's enthusiasm rubs off.

As for the crafting front, I did manage to cut out and prep some fabric for a little project I've hand in mind (for myself!) for ages.  Here is a sneak peek...

Happy Friday!

xxxx, Sandra

Pick, 2010.

Similar to last year (and, in fact, every year since Max was born), we did our annual trip to the strawberry fields and picked a couple of flats.

It was a good day for it--still plenty hot, but bearable (about two weeks ago).  Max and Leo did a fair job of picking versus eating.  If I had to guess, I'd put the ratio at a solid 4 to 1.

William pretty much just wandered up and down the rows, fascinated.

(Yes, I always dress the boys in red shirts when we strawberry pick.  Ask me how I've learned....)

Once we were home, I hulled and prepped the mountain of berries.  Some were sent to the freezer as whole berries, packed in a simple syrup.  I love freezing strawberries this way for later use in syrups or other dessert toppings.

 

But about 20 cups or so were sliced up for two batches of strawberry jam.

I am really getting into canning (I think a pressure canner is inching its way up on my wishlist).  I especially love seeing all the pretty jars lined up, waiting to be filled.  How I wish I could find somewhere local to buy Weck jars; they are so lovely.  Until then, I'm enjoying the quilted jam jars I picked up last year on sale at the end of the summer.

 

This year I tried a new recipe...strawberry vanilla jam from the blog Food in Jars.  Both the blog and the jam recipe are crazy addictive, just so you know.  The recipe is lower in sugar than most and the addition of lemon and vanilla is just heaven in my book.  And I say this even though the first batch never set--it's no bother for us as we've enjoyed it as a syrup every weekend over our pancakes or crepes.  For the second batch, I added in a bit more pectin and it set beautifully (though it did take a couple of days).  I always make such a wreck in the kitchen when I make large batches of jam.  But it's quite worth it, I say.

We've gifted a fair share of our jars, with little picture notecards of the boys proudly picking the berries.  But we've also tucked plenty in the pantry for the year.  

Go to Marisa's gorgeous post for pictures of the process and the full recipe.  But because I plan to print my blog as a keepsake, I've also copied the recipe here, along with my notes, after the jump.

xoxo, Sandra

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11th hour skirt.

Okay, not exactly the 11th hour, but we're off to the pool and I don't want to miss the deadline to enter a skirt in Crafterhours Skirt Week--be sure to head over there to check out all of the amazing skirts.

In true Sandra fashion, I put this together on the last day of the challenge.  It is a simple straight skirt with a reverse applique free-style design.  I used two of Charlie's cast off knit shirts for the fabric.  Easy peasy.

Er, that shot really makes the applique look sad.  And I don't think it is.  Maybe a close up will help...

 

I think I'll wear it quite a bit as a swim suit cover up as the waist band just rolls down.  I love working with knits...so fast and forgiving.

Happy Friday!

Sandra

A thank you gift.

Today is Max's last day of first grade.  And I simply cannot believe it.  When he returns to elementary school next year, he will take his younger brother, Leo, with him.  Leo is a rising kindergartner!  Cannot believe that either.

I had the pleasure of volunteering fairly regularly in Max's classroom.  So I got to know the other children...what a great bunch.  Yesterday was my last day with them and I tried to take some pictures to document the space and faces that captured so much of Max's time.  I will try to get that post up over the weekend.

Here is a non-identifying shot of his teacher (I don't know how she'd feel about having her face blasted across my blog!).  She is wonderful.

She and her husband are headed for a nice vacation after school lets out.  And as I thought about a good thank you gift for her, I decided on a simple bag.

It is the downloadable Monterey Market Bag pattern from Grand Revival Designs.  Max tells me her favorite color is blue so I dug into my stash and found some coordinating prints that I adore.

The bag is a very simple design--no pockets or zippers to fuss with (though you could easily add those in if you like).  The only modification I made is to lengthen the strap to make the bag a cross-body style.  I think it's perfect to take on trips, folded up and tucked into your suitcase or purse and ready to pull out when you're shopping and come across a must-buy souvenir. 

I hope she likes it.  But most of all, when she pulls it out every now and then, I hope she thinks of her first first-grade classroom at our school (she was a new teacher this year).  And a little dark-haired boy and his mommy who think the absolute world of her.

Thanks for everything Ms. P!  Have a happy summer. 

Sandra

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