Swimsuit update

My friend Charity sent me this cute picture and a note on Facebook.

"Your adorable suits make fabulous hand-me-downs. My niece is on the left (this year) and Ellie is on the right (3 years ago). Thanks again!!! "

So fun for me to see where these little suits end up.

Original post about this suit can be found here.

Swimsuit Model #2

Little Miss E. modeling her swimsuit I made.







Such a funny little thing.  She was loving being in the water.

Original swimsuit post HERE.

Breaking out of our jam rut

At our house the preferred jam of choice is Raspberry.
Homemade.
Hands down!
I think there are a few kids who won't even try anything else.
Sad day for them this year as my raspberry patch is no more.
Dead from a Japanese Beetle attack.
It really is a sad day for all of us, but not much I can do now.

So I am trying a couple different jam recipes than we haven't had in the past.

Last week I made Strawberry-Blueberry Freezer Jam.





I made homemade bread the next day to give with a jar of jam to the teachers as a thank you.
It is always a hit with people.
I also gave one to my stylist.
I've brought her bread and/or jam before.
She told me she hides her jar in the back of the fridge so she doesn't have to share with her family.

Details:

• Recipe here.  
• I used frozen blueberries that I bought at Sam's.  I just measured out the amount and then let them thaw in the fridge overnight.  I drained off the melted liquid before chopping them up.
• We prefer freezer jams normally, but the Sure-Jell packages come with cooked jam recipes too.
• I was able to get 9 - 1/2 pints out of this recipe.

Bra Cup Supplies -- bring on the modesty

My 11 yr. old daughter just cringes when I talk about bra cups.  She's at that age where wearing a bra (sports bra with no shape whatever) is the worst thing we could ever torture her to do.

This is the first year I am putting bra cups in her swimsuit and she is DYING about it.  Let's face it, unfortunately when little girls get to be 10, 11, 12 years old their bodies are right in that in between stage where an additional layer of lining in the swimsuit does not necessarily provide enough coverage and most bra cups are too big.  But who wants to see little boobies?  Not me....or anyone else for that matter.

My cousin Tiffany helped me find a great supplier for bra cups.  I had been buying them only at Jo-Ann Fabrics, using a 50% off coupon when I could, but they didn't come small enough for any preteen and not even small enough for my #2 daughter who is 14.  They just worked for me and daughter #1 (soft molded bra cups -- size A/B cups).

Enter Sew Sassy Fabrics LLC, a company out of Huntsville, Alabama.

Their bra cups come in a WIDE range of sizes, beige or black, and single pairs or dozen pairs available for purchase.




Their sizing chart:

Size	Approximate bust/cup size
2	30 A
4	30 B
6	32 A
8	32 B
10	34 B
12	36 B
14	36 C
16	38 B
18	38 C
20	40 B
22	40 C
24	42 B
26	42 C

They also have a nice variety of elastic if you can't find what you are looking for locally.

Recently I bought 4 different sizes, in bulk, because we make lots of swimsuits here, and they are awesome. For my youngest daughter, who is 11, I bought size 4.  They can also be cut down some and not fall apart if you think you might be in between sizes.  Although she was NOT happy with the idea, she does recognize that she could use a little more modesty in her swimsuits.  And really isn't that what it is all about--being able to enjoy yourself and not worry about modesty or over-exposure or some body part?

For this 2-tone racerback I just tacked the cups into the suit, mainly because it was already completely made.





For suits that have a bra shelf I would sew it into the shelf completely, or make a "pocket" within the bra shelf (basically a double layer of bra shelf) for the cups so they can be removed before washing.



This suit I made last year for one of my daughter's friends.  She wore it once, before her mother banned her from wearing it in public.  Too much nipple exposure when wet, even with a bra shelf.  We'll add the bra cups to it for this year and she should be able to wear it without any issues this summer.

Enjoy your upcoming summer days!  Gotta go buy our swim pass and we'll be ready.

NOTES:
Call Sew Sassy to ask for wholesale prices.  
You just need to order at least $50 of supplies to get the wholesale discount.
I was able to get a dozen bra cup pairs for $15.  

How to Freeze Corn

....otherwise known as stocking up when fresh corn on the cob is in season and on sale.



This past week or two I've noticed that most of the grocery stores here locally are running sales on corn on the cob.  $.10-.17 per ear.  Most have a limit per purchase too, which I find annoying when there are huge bins of corn just sitting there.  There are 7 people at my house...limit 10 or 12 doesn't even give us 2 ears each.

I work around that though and bring my kids or hubby with to each purchase their limit, OR I go thru the self check-out lanes and do a number of separate transactions.  I think that my kids think I am being dishonest this way.  Maybe.....anyway, I do it regardless.  If I didn't do it that way I'd just come back every day and buy my limit.

In anticipation of canning more vegetable soup in the upcoming weeks, I froze some corn to have it ready to go once I am.



Notes:

• 1 large ear of corn is approximately 1 cup corn kernels.
• I put about 8 cups of corn in each gallon freezer bag and flatten it out as best I can before putting them in the freezer.
• Ball Canning instructions for freezing corn found here.  Info from Nat'l Center for Home Food Preservation.
• I use the Pampered Chef Kernel Cutter (see above) to remove the corn kernels.  This gadget is slick. We love it! Great for kids who have braces and can't eat corn ON the cob.  Just saying....

Peasant Tops

I used to make peasant style tops all the time for my bigger girls back when they were little.  They are super easy and super comfy and really you can use cottons or knits without any problem.

I had to buy a new pattern, however, because it appears that I either gave it away or tossed it, having not used it in awhile.  Most likely the pattern I had was too small of a size currently for even my youngest daughter.  Luckily I found a couple on sale at Jo-Ann's for $1 each in bigger girl sizes.

McCall's 6500
Simplicity 4206  Have to say I preferred this one for the top.

The McCall's pattern was so MUCH wider in the body of the top.  We didn't like that.  And the sleeves were 2 pieces--you can't really see it on the pattern, but the McCall's sleeve has a slit in it.  So if you like that style this would be the one for you.  I did like the length of the sleeve better on the McCall's, but I don't have a problem lengthening a sleeve pattern.   And I did use it for the leggings pattern, just not the top.

For the Simplicity pattern on the first top alone I had to add 3" in length for a size 10.  And even then my daughter would've liked it even longer.

So on round 2 I made the shirt more like a tunic for her to wear with leggings.


She liked it so much she wore it 2 days straight before I told her she had to put it in the laundry.

Details:

• Blue & white floral fabric from thrift store for $1.49 or less--it was about 1 1/2 yds. worth

• Navy leggings from a thrifted knit sheet.  We'll have to make some more before school starts as this daughter refuses to wear jeans of any kind.

NOTE:

I've had a few people ask me about the yardage fabric I get at the thrift store.  I go to Unique Thrift Store near my home and they actually have a fabric section in their store with big pieces of fabric, yarn, patterns, notions, etc.  I tend to go every week just to browse--some days I'm lucky to find good stuff and other times they have nothing that interests me.

Storm Interruption

This is just a quick note--written while I am briefly hooked up to the internet..

Friday night we had a super storm here in MN.  Hubby and I were out on a date when it hit.  We almost couldn't get home because it was SO BAD.  2 big limbs off one of our ash trees came down into the neighbor's yard, but over the power lines.  We lost power that night and here we are Monday and our home is still without power.  The power guys came and removed the limbs off the lines, but we are not expected to get any until Wed. evening.

Shoot me now!

This sucks!

I had my meltdown on Saturday afternoon.... right before we found a generator at a Home Depot in Bloomington, 30 miles away from us.  Well worth the drive!  And well worth the money at this point. Every thing, and I do mean everything, close by was sold out.  Our neighbor told us where he found his there was fight that broke out over the generators.  Fun times.

I am supposed to be leaving tomorrow for Church girls camp, with possibly still no power.  Not sure if I'll be able to do that.  Can't leave my other kids here in charge of a gas generator while I'm gone.  Could be an even more interesting week.

So, anyway, the point of all this is I probably won't be posting anything any time soon.  Although I did briefly hook up my sewing machine to the generator so that I could applique two more camp shirts for a couple late comers..

If you're the praying type we could use some.  I really need to have power by the morning so I can leave with the rest of the group and know that my kids will be fine too.

Another summer dress for the girl

I don't intend for this to happen (well maybe I do) but it seems that I rarely follow a pattern exactly as directed.  I'm more likely to use it as a base and then embellish it how I see fit....or how my fabric dictates.  I say that because I tend to buy remnant pieces from the thrift store, or end bolt pieces and so I get what I get and then I have to work around it.

That is what happened with this dress.

Had I used a different style and pattern I would've had enough but #3 wanted this particular dress and so I had to "wing it" a bit.  Not enough of the bird print to get the entire dress.  So I substituted one front panel with some red dotted Swiss to make it appear to be an "apron", added an upper band at the empire seam for the apron band and Voila! she is happy with it.





Details:

• Simplicity 5645--used this same pattern for #3's Easter dress in 2012
• Heidi Grace fabric that I probably bought at the thrift store.  Design is "We are Family".
• Topstitched rickrack to each side of the "apron" panel to make it appear more like an apron and not like I had run out of fabric.  

• Added band at empire waist to create the illusion of waistband of the "apron".  It is attached into the side seams and seam attaching bodice to skirt.

• Once again I didn't put elastic in the sleeve hem but added a contrasting band by gathering the sleeve edge onto it.
• Added tiny piping to the faced neckline.  Just sandwiched it between the bodice and facing pieces. And then topstitched it all down.

• Finished the skirt hem edge like I do quilt bindings.  It gives it some body and shape too.

Floral Circle Skirt in Blue & Brown

Here's a fun warm weather skirt that I just made for Spring if it ever shows up here in MN.  Found this fabric by accident as I was browsing for something else.  Loved it and decided to keep it for myself even though daughter #1 was eyeballing it rather seriously once I brought it home.  Sorry kiddo, this one is for me.

Already have a cute brown tee to wear with it.
Could also use this cream t-shirt if I wanted.
I wore it on Sunday to Church with a black sweater because we still have snow and it was cold.

Details:

• Simplicity 4236--this is also a good basic skirt pattern for a straight skirt--not quite pencil, but very close. 
• View C is not quite full circle skirt.  This pattern does have a full circle version to make.

• 2 yds. of 60" cotton fabric (I bought the last of this piece or I would've bought a little more)
• Added 2 inches to the overall length, only because that is as much as the fabric would allow.  I would have preferred about 4 inches added to the length.
• Used 1 pkg. of 1/4" double fold bias tape to finish off the hem.  I couldn't afford to lose any length at all when hemming..

• Finished length--25 inches.

In a Jam....or jelly

My neighbor Vicki came over earlier in the week to use my canner to make some jam.  Her kitchen was slightly out of commission as her husband and FIL were putting in a new back door.  She had everything ready to go except for the cooking part and putting it in jars for processing.  It took us about about 45 minutes for 13 pints.

Process 10 min. for pints in a hot water bath or steam canner.

I don't normally make cooked jam.  I'm more partial to the freezer variety, but canned jam will last longer, especially if the electricity goes out.  I know that from experience, unfortunately.

She makes this jam every summer (usually brings me a small jar) and uses the recipe off the Sure-Jell® package (yellow box) for Triple Berry Jam--raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.  (There is a no or less sugar recipe for this jam too--use the pink box.  I try to use the reduced sugar recipes for my family)  The only change Vicki makes is she prefers the triple combination with blueberries instead of blackberries.  Either way, super delicious.

She left me a pint as a "thank-you" for the equipment use.  I made homemade bread the next day--just for the jam.

 I love the deep red color of this jam.

Don't let those darker spots in the jam scare you--those are the skins of the blueberries

If you get the chance, try it.  I guarantee you'll like it.
____________________________

Earlier in the summer I also made some strawberry rhubarb jam.  With Idaho roots on our mother's side you just have to have a recipe or two for rhubarb in your repertoire.

Not remembering exactly what recipe I've used in the past, I used the recipe for Strawberry Freezer Jam found in the Sure-Jell® for Less or No Sugar Pectin box (pink).  Instead of using the 4 c. of crushed strawberries as the recipe indicated I used only 3 c. and then added 1 c. chopped rhubarb for a total of 4 c. crushed fruit.  Then followed the recipe as indicated on the package directions.

Daughter #2 and 3 both tried this jam and they are on board.  I might have to make more from some of my freezer rhubarb now that I'm not the only one eating it.

**The Ball Blue Book also has a recipe for cooked Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.  Or you can go to Ball's website for more recipes for jams and jellies. 

Canning Green Beans

A week or so ago my friend MaryAnn let me pick some green beans from her garden as she had already picked and canned her fill for what she and her family needed.  We picked 16 quarts worth of green beans and I was so happy to have them.

For a pressure canned item, green beans ares one of the easiest and quickest foods to can.  25 min. in the pressure canner is all you need, but you definitely have to use a pressure canner, not just a hot water bath canner. Probably the most time consuming thing about green beans is trimming the ends and snapping them.  Problem solved with 5 kids, a number of bowls, and a movie.  Mine finished up the job in no time and miracle of miracle, with no complaining.  Another lesson on "many hands make light work."

I know that pressure canning scares people.  However, I almost exclusively pressure can--even those items that don't require using a pressure canner.  Really, if you can read and tell time you can CAN.   Repeat after me, "Yes, I Can."  Repeat it a number of times if you need to.

Canning instructions for green beans are found here--from the Ball Blue Book, pg. 66.
You can print off a pdf tutorial here too for green beans including pics.
Or watch a video of canning green beans.

Basically you need:
2 lbs. beans per quart jar
Water
1 tsp. salt per quart
Process in pressure canner 25 minutes at 10# pressure.

Maxxed Out

So the maxi is in this year as you all probably know.
Not sure how I personally feel about it.....still....

I am 6' 2" and that is a whole lot of fabric if I make myself a dress that almost hits the floor.  Plus (no offense Mom if you are reading this) our mom has always worn a "house dress" as she calls it when she is just hanging out at home in the evening and this sort of reminds me of that.  I'm just not sure I can or want to go there.  You know what I mean?

With that being said I still bought McCall's M6552 pattern.  It doesn't seem so much like a house dress when the pattern envelope has "FASHION STAR" written on it in big bold letters and the model is all glammed up in strappy sandals and chandelier earrings.

I started with a swim cover-up dress for me first before making something from this pattern that I'd wear out and about.

My girls, however, have none of my qualms.

____________________________

McCall's M6552

Showing off a bit

• Border print fabric--with the amount I had purchased (2 yds. I think, because this was originally going to just be a skirt) we were limited on the length we could make.
• Shortened version and took very small hem.  If it was long enough or just close you could also just add some navy bias tape to edge the hem or a wide fabric band in a contrasting color.  I actually tried to get her to add a navy band to the bottom, but she didn't want to.
• Instead of a drawstring we just put in elastic at the waistband.
• I have to say that the pattern pic of this dress shows the model wearing ONLY the dress.  After making it 3x, with 3 different kinds of fabric, I am not sure how you could wear it that way. Really!  It is cut SO deep and regardless of your sized bosoms or your modesty comfort level it seems that you'd be flashing people all over the place with this dress unless you had a tank or cami underneath.

_______________________________________

Simplicity 2437 is what I used for my 9 yr. daughter.
Top version

• Fabric from the stash.
• Embellished with white rickrack and orange 1/2" single fold bias tape also from the stash.
• Sewn in white "cami" made from white interlock.  She didn't want to actually wear a shirt under it, just look like she was.
• Although she hasn't worn this shirt much I'm confident she will once school starts in September.  Especially after I purge her clothes of ratty tees.

________________________________
Maxi Version

• Thrifted floral sheet--love this fabric.
• Double fold 1/4" bias tape (from the stash) to edge neckline and hem.
• Adjusted pattern to desired hem length.
• She says she may use this for her swimsuit cover-up.  That will probably change if I add a little piece at the neck so it appears she is wearing a shirt underneath.

____________________________________

After making these I found this piece of fabric while Tiffany and I were shopping one day and decided this would be an awesome maxi skirt--with a pretty brown top.

I bought 1 1/3 yds. thinking that would be plenty to go around me.  And it would have been great, except that once I brought it home, washed and dried and then got ready to cut it I realized that it wasn't cut straight at all.  So I lost about 4 or 5 inches off the width--maybe more once I got it all lined up.  I would have preferred it a little bit looser at the hem, more A-line cut, but oh well.

It is also a border print too--so that limited the direction of cutting, etc.  This piece was a bit interesting too as it is a 4-way stretch (similar to swim fabric) but the majority of the stretch ended up being vertical--stretching from waist to hem.

I just added a yoga style band at the top and it is super comfy.  

Tee pattern Simplicity 1808--same as daughter #1's top here.

This pic makes the bottom of the hem look super tight, but it isn't this much.

The first time I wore this hubby and I went out on a date.  His comment, "Do I need to dress up?"

"No, just trying to remind you why you said yes when I first asked you out."

Although it looks like raglan sleeves, this top has dolman sleeves--sleeves and front/back are all one piece.

Denim Skirt and a T-shirt Failure

This was supposed to be done in time to wear for the 4th of July.  Didn't happen.  Instead a whole bunch of others things happened.... mainly 7 boxes of free tomatoes.  I wasn't even going to worry about it at all this summer, but it appears that we are going to have an especially warm and long summer in MN and maybe into the Fall and Winter.  Which I am actually fine with....so...I went ahead and got it done.

So happy I did.

Skirt Details:

• Pattern Simplicity 2152 (although I toyed with the idea of using Simplicity 2475 or Butterick 5649).  I finally decided I liked the pockets best on this pattern and the wide band at the waist to hopefully "hold it all in" a bit better, if you know what I mean.  Also, I thought a pencil-ish denim skirt may not be as mom friendly as I'd like in the long run.  Nice little A-line worked great.
• Used a darker washed stretch denim fabric from my stash.  Not sure how long I've had it, but I don't normally pay over $3/yd. for denim.  Usually I wait 'til it goes on sale and only pay $2/yd. at my favorite fabric store (or $1.59/yd. w/ their 60% off coupons)
• White topstitching thread to embellish the seams.  LOVE it this way!  Thanks Tiffany for the suggestion.  I used Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP Heavy--you should be able to buy it at your local fabric store.  

• For the topstitching I set my stitch length a little longer than I normally sew.  Also make sure you don't deviate as you are topstitching.  Any little goof-up will be much more noticeable with contrasting thread.
• I also used a topstitch needle, for the first time ever--not sure I noticed anything different had I just used my denim/jean needle.  Maybe it made the bottom side of the stitch look a little better since I was using heavy topstitch thread.
• For the hem I used a blind hem stitch instead of any topstitching.  Personal preference.  I wasn't feeling it with the topstitch thread at the hem.

The T-shirt was only a failure in the fact that it was supposed to be for ME, not my 12 going on 13 yr. old daughter!!  I loved this striped piece that I had found at the thrift store and was so looking forward to wearing it with my denim skirt.

Well, that's what I get for trying a new pattern (Butterick 5215), making the fitted version, and using a knit that was not very stretchy.  The shoulders and armpits were SO tight and uncomfortable.  And really I am not especially broad shouldered.  You know it is bad when instead of fitting me it fits daughter #2, who when I sew for her she is about 2 or 3 pattern sizes smaller than I am.  I only had to take in the side seams a bit and then it looked great on her.

Single topstitch for the neckband and sleeves

You can see that even on her the shoulders are a bit short.

Bummer for me! I so wanted that t-shirt.

(I'll try this pattern one more time with a different piece of knit and not the fitted version before I chuck it in the trash and stick with my basic, albeit discontinued, Kwik Sew t-shirt pattern.  You can also try this one for basic tees.)


I'm guessing that if you have narrower shoulders that this would be a great pattern for you.  Minimal adjusting.

Not to be left out...

.....daughter #3 wanted a funky skirt like her sisters.  

I whipped one up one evening after all the kids went to bed.  

I think we'll call this the fireworks skirt because of the print. 

She'll be able to wear it with a black, pink, red, yellow, or turquoise shirt--depending on her mood.

Details:

• Pattern McCall's 4363 (discontinued pattern that I've had for at least 8 years--copyright says 2004)  
• You could easily make this pattern yourself.  All you do is cut the front piece shorter slightly angled down towards the side seams.  Then for the back piece start where the front side seams end and then cut longer and curve the back hem.
• Used view C--size 10.
• Fabric from thrifted knit sheet--$3.
• Super easy with elastic waist.