Monday, April 2, 2012

This, that and the other.

Not totally sewing related, okay not at all sewing related (I'll save that for the end of the post), but I cannot sing the praises of this book enough:

So far, my eight year old son has made us Swedish Meatballs and Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa for dinner. Since their dad is working out of town for the next few months, I have really been giving them a lot more responsibilities (aka chores) around the house. They empty the dishwasher, fold laundry, set and clear the table, clean their rooms, and now, Ta da! Cook dinner! (With my help and supervision of course.) It's a beautiful thing. Plus, they're a lot more interested in eating their own cooking than mine (barfing, simulated and real, has actually been elicited by my cooking, and I'm really not a horrible cook).

This morning, on an impulse I bought the PDF version of the Wiksten Tank pattern. I should have been cleaning the house, but instead I printed the pattern and cut it out from a vintage sheet. I blame Leila at Where the Orchid Grows where she posted a beautiful Wiksten Tank made from Liberty, after seeing that I couldn't resist. I will probably make mine out of voile, but am starting with a vintage sheet to make sure the sizing is right -- I know it's a tank, and it doesn't really get any easier than that, other than making yourself a headband, but I have had such bad luck with fitting lately that I just want to make sure.

Also on my to-do list for this week is to make these little charmers:

These are Easter Nests from the original Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson. They are not super healthy, but they check all the other boxes when it comes to Easter treats for my kids' classmates, even for their gluten-free friends. Not to mention, they are too cute!

Now, a crafty blog needs at least one crafty item, and I do have a huge backlog of FOs to show. This is the item that probably gets more use than anything else I have made:

It's a zig zag quilt made from vintage sheets (you have probably figured out by now that I have a thing for the vintage sheets, and have a rather large collection). I used Amanda's brilliant tutorial at Crazy Mom Quilts in order to avoid the HSTs. It is a bit smaller than twin sized and lives on our couch. I love it, but if I were to make another one I would sash it with a solid (like in Amanda's tutorial).

The binding is hand sewn with some unknown but well matched stripey fabric from the big cupboard. There is nothing so sweet as seeing your little ones all snuggled up in a quilt that you made :)

Thanks for visiting!

 

3 comments:

  1. Yzo...nice to follow your comments to this lovely blog of yours. Sounds like our kids are similar in ages...heartened to hear that they are picking up the chore responsibilities...I am doing that here in our household too. My son was enjoying folding the sheets with me last night - a job I loathe on my own. I will look that book up online. I am a vintage sheet affectionado too...so I am going to see what else you have made with them. I have a big project planned with some later this year.

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  2. I too have an obsession about vintage sheets! Glad to find a fellow addict! Your quilt is beautiful,

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  3. What great vintage sheets! And I love the zig zag look.

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