Tuesday 22 May 2012

Rosie Tote Bag and Rosie the Hen


I had found an old little girls red corduroy dress at the Share Shed and thought how cute parts of it would be "upcycled".  Again, this one is reversible, although I made it more like a lining this time, as I think this bag will be for me!  For our trip to the ocean in June...


Details from the little dress

The lining with a large pocket

Other side of the front, more pocket options
 This bag reminds me of our "Rosie" hen.  My daughter Ruth's little Partridge Cochin.  She faithfully sat on 5 little eggs and while she had messed (pooped) all over them within the first few days, they all developed!  Only 1 didn't hatch and I was counting my blessings that any had!  4 chicks/5 eggs is not bad at all!
Rosie, isn't she cute?

She now has 3 little chicks like the one above ( Brown Danish Leghorn, some Americauna) and 1 that is a golden color ( Brahma/Buff Orpington).  What a blessing to have another favorite chicken hatch out for us!  2 more broody hens are setting still, so we'll see what we end up with in the end!

Monday 21 May 2012

Dandelion Syrup or Dandelion Honey

It's all the rage out here in BC to pick those lovely yellow blossoms and make them useful!  Did you know that besides being a supporter of liver function and cleansing, dandelion helps your brain?  It was brought to Canada for it's nutritional support to build your blood, etc so there must be something we can do with it in 2012!

Do a quick search online for recipes and you'll find some good ones, I just don't know if I should post them all on here.  Aww, changed my mind, here is a link to a blog and then you can go from there.
click here
and try HERE  as well.
 We picked nice big yellow dandelions, shook out bugs, then I sat and watched a movie while I used scissors to cut the yellow flower off the green parts.  You can also pull it with your fingers, they get very green and sticky though. 
 Some say to leave no green, but it was late and I didn't bother taking ALL the green parts off.  I also did not measure anything, sorry, I was just not feeling like it.  I poured my yellow dandelions into a pot and then covered with store bought water.  It was just like making mud pies!
 I brought it to a boil, boiled and stirred for 1 minute, turned the element off, stirred and then let sit, covered, over night.  Then strain out the flowers.  My liquid was dark, not a nice yellow like it some peoples pictures.

 I added honey, as we are trying to stay away from sugars as much as we can because of some other health problems.  I added 1 1/2 cups of honey.  It was NOT thickening, even after hours of simmering.  We still ate in on the pancakes and it was sweet, not real flavorful when put together with a pancake.  I did NOT use lemon, as I had wanted to taste it free of any other flavors first.
We got these 4 jars full.  Then I decided... hey, I'm going to put 3 of the jars back on the stove and boil them.  Added 1/2 cup of brown sugar and boiled them.  Then I had 2 jars and it was more like a syrup.  I can see myself adding a scant teaspoon of it to my tea.

My experience ~ I'll have to try again and may have to use brown sugar.  It was so sweet with honey and didn't thicken, unless I need to BOIL it instead of simmering.  Makes me wonder if any nutrition is left in it though when it's heated so much.  ACK... it tastes good and has got to be better than store bought syrups.

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Little Girls Reversible Apron Tutorial

I have never used Google documents and I have somewhat successfully made a Tutorial for a girls apron on it.  I used to beat myself up if it wasn't quite perfect, now I'm just happy I had the guts to try it!  ha ha!

Hopefully this link works for you.  Give it a try HERE

It is for this little sweet apron ~


Tuesday 1 May 2012

A sweet little baby girl's Quilt

One of my most precious child hood friend had the sweetest little baby girl in November.  She had a head full of hair, porcelain skin tone and such a sweetness about her.  Her momma waited a long time for that little blessing and we wanted to make her a baby quilt.  Well, it is finally finished and in their hands, not mine!

I finally decided on using "scraps" of fabric in strips and then sewing the strips together.  The symbolism was meant to be little memories, moments in time all combine together to create our lives. Some fabric has musical notes for my musical friend, some has hearts, etc.   
 I filled it with All Cotton Warm 'n' Natural fill and then backed it with flannel for the sheer coziness of it all!
 John Deere for her Daddy's job and life
 I used my regular sewing machine foot and did some wavy lines on each strip and then mitered the corners of the backing up over the binding. I wrote with some fabric pens a dedication to the sweet child and some special Bible verses to finish it off.  So happy it has found it's home now.

Mickey Mouse Unisex Child Apron

I have 2 of these little aprons.  Fully lined, fully adjustable due to the over the shoulder straps and waist strap.  Approx. size 5-10

One has a front pocket and the other does not.  $15 each